I guess I could never really get it out of my system such that now, as an adult, I have the uncanny ability to notice bad spelling when I am not even consciously looking for it....
Disclaimer: I am not a publisher and I am not a proofreader...I am merely an average Internet denizen just like the rest of you out there. I don't like to point out spelling flaws. It doesn't give me any particular sense of joy, satisfaction, etc.
In fact, quite the contrary!!!
I find it sad, to be honest with you.
It's easy to commit the occasional spelling mistake especially with the prevalence of text messages and internet shorthand...anyone can do it especially in our modern day lives that move at the speed of light and we have to crank out our thoughts and emotions so quickly...it happens! It is part of our collective technological experience.
The thing that drives me crazy, however, is when so-called journalists and journalistic sites with LOTS of capital and resources publish material on the internet without taking a second to ensure that they are doing so through the use of proper spelling.
In my opinion there is absolutely no excuse for it. With all of the resources at their disposal why is it that they can publish an article with bad spelling? Doesn't someone check it before it goes up on the internet for the rest of the world to read? Assuming they are using Microsoft WORD or some other word-processing application, don't they have a built-in spell-checker upon which they can rely? Or is it simply because they are too lazy? Perhaps they just don't care? For the myopic or those suffering from astigmatism perhaps it is merely a function of the need to update an eyeglass prescription...the possibilities are endless but it all boils down to the simple fact that if you are a site with major national or worldwide brand identity, you should be able to spell properly before you publish material all over the internet....
The aforementioned is the fundamental premise based upon which I have decided to start this blog.
To the extent that I am able, I solemnly promise that I will point out the exact spelling violation(s) as they should happen to come across my field of vision and I will make sure to also include the source of the violation, the date published, the associated link to the source of the violation, and the duration of the violation (before someone notices it independently and decides to correct it, removes it, etc.). In addition to this data I will also include the correct spelling that SHOULD HAVE appeared had the violator chosen to pay attention to what was being published before committing said violation.
Catching spelling mistakes may seem like a pretty insignificant thing when viewed in the context of the macro sense of life and quite frankly it is...in the big picture sense this doesn't matter even a little bit...
However, to the extent that effective communication is important and as long as information is being transmitted via the internet (especially via theoretically legitimate and hard-nosed journalistic sites), it should be done using proper spelling (and grammar but I am just pointing out bad spelling at the moment)...otherwise those who perpetuate the bad spelling by publishing it and those who read the poorly spelled communication are equally responsible for creating a linguistic anarchy of sorts.
With that soliloquy I will inaugurate my blog with the winner of today's bad spelling prize...
That rare and dubious distinction goes to Forbes.com and the specific violation (pointed out in huge bold red font) is as follows:
2008 Software Predicitions
Sorry, Forbes.com editors and/or journalists....the proper spelling of the word is PREDICTIONS...
You have placed an extra "i" between the letter "c and the letter "t".
Today is Sunday, January 27th 2008 and it appears that this particular example of poor spelling has been on the internet for 2 days thus far...It is further evident that during this 2 day period the spelling error has gone unnoticed (by someone at Forbes.com)....
I can't even bring myself to watch the video clip to find out what you have to say about the outlook for the software industry in 2008 because I don't know what the hell a "predicition" is....I can't find a reference to it in the dictionary...
What if I were a random child (more likely teenager) doing research on the internet? I would think:
a) there is such a word as "predicitions" in the English language but for some reason that is unknown to me I am not able to find it in the dictionary so maybe I will decide that the fault lies with my dictionary (or even worse than that perhaps it says something about me but being a child or teenager I lack the personal development that is required to take a introspective look at my own psyche so for the moment I am going take the easy route and will just pin it on the dictionary)
OR
b) I would think that a careless person with poor typing skills, spelling skills or some combination thereof made the entry on the Forbes.com site which would lead me to think that incompetent people work at Forbes.com either in the department that writes articles or in the department that posts articles or in some department in between....
Call me crazy but neither one of these is a particularly good scenario if you are Forbes.com let alone the poor confused child/teenager!!!
By the way, even as I am typing my entry for this blog every time I type the word "predicition" or "predicitions" my built-in spell-checker underlines the mystery word with a dashed red line which causes me to pay attention to it and gives me the option to either correct it or ignore it...you would think that a similar thing happened to someone at Forbes.com but it seems quite evident that they chose to IGNORE it!!!
I invite you to embark upon this journey of proper spelling along with me by forwarding any violations that you may have occasion to notice especially those that are committed by major news sites or internet sites that may have a journalistic association, reputation, leaning, bent, etc.
I will endeavor to post the violations in my blog with the necessary corrections so that we can collectively strive to create a place on the internet where proper spelling is appreciated and encouraged.
Have a wonderful day wherever you may be!!!
Signing off,
Your Champion of Proper Spelling
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