Archive for January, 2009

the importance of proofreading

Jan 28, 2009 writing

Rhon and I were out and about running errands on Monday when I happened to spot this on the van parked next to us at the post office.

Now, I’m all for promoting your business in as many legal ways as possible, but I would think if you’re going to spend the money to get this put on your vehicle, and drive around town with it, you would proofread it before paying for it. Just look at that photo. Twelve words and they can’t even spell “electronics” correctly. That’s even the title of their business!

My friend Jeff, who is also a fellow writer, and I constantly banter about how people represent their businesses in a text format but they are constantly misspelling things.

For instance, the other day I caught a Twitter from the MGM Grand in Las Vegas that read “not that I’m byast, but you should stay at MGM Grand” — really? Byast? Try b-i-a-s-e-d…biased. Hooked on phonics just doesn’t cut it when you want to project a professional image.

I don’t expect that everybody should know how to spell everything. Even I don’t. But I do know how to rock a spellcheck on my computer programs. I do have dictionary.com on my toolbar and I’m not afraid to look things up if I’m not 100% sure. And if I can do it, so can these people who constantly represent their businesses or other entities in a corporate manner.

I also understand there are typos – I make them everyday, and occasionally one or two slip through. But in the instance of the van above, this is a glaring reason why it’s important to proofread everything. In essence, the person paid money to produce this vehicle sticker that reflects badly on his business.

Twelve words and nobody at his business OR the printers caught that “electronics” was missing the first “c” in the word. Meanwhile it took me all of five seconds to spot it. What does that tell you about the attention to detail these businesses offer?

Think about what it would say about you and your business.

So if you are going to represent something in a professional way, take a few minutes to check the spelling. It doesn’t cost you anything and it makes that first impression shine.

Jeff posted a link to Copyblogger’s article, “14 Foolproof Proofreading Tips for Bloggers“ a few days ago, but it is worth a read if you do any sort of business writing, as well. Let your words in print speak for you in a positive way, instead of them giving the wrong impression to prospective customers. It’s worth the extra time, IMHO, to do it right if you’re going to bother to do it at all.

* steps down from soapbox *

We now return you to the silly YouTube videos…

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win a $100 amazon gift card

Jan 27, 2009 contests/freebies

As a writer, I am also a voracious reader. So when I read that Miss Musing was giving away a $100 gift card to Amazon, of course I had to enter.

There are several ways to get entries in so if you want a shot at it, just head over to her blog for all the details. This giveaway ends at 11:59 p.m. Eastern (8:59 p.m. Pacific) on Friday, January 30th, 2009.

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would darth vader approve?

Jan 25, 2009 online humor

Came across this hilarious video of a stormtrooper getting down to Britney Spears’ song “Circus” and thought I’d share with you.

Some pretty interesting moves for a Stormtrooper, eh?

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dot com pho shoutout

Jan 25, 2009 life, tech stuff

Those that follow this blog know I’m an avid reader of John Chow‘s website and his Twitter feed. One of the regular features on his website that I like is video of the Dot Com Pho meetups that he participates in around his hometown of Vancouver. It’s kind of like eavesdropping in and some of the discussions are pretty interesting, like this week’s conversation about there being no wifi in the Whitehouse.

Dot Com Pho Richmond Shoutout

Now, during these videos Chow has started adding a scroll of website shoutouts, so when he sent out an afternoon Twitter asking if anyone wanted one, I decided “what the heck” and Tweeted back my info.

Turns out both myself and my buddy Jeff both made this week’s cut, so thanks John for the Dot Com Pho shoutout!

In a semi-tangent, I think I’m the only one who spells zengrrl without capitalizing the “g” – though in fairness I don’t usually capitalize the “z” either. LOL

In another semi-tangent, I wonder if we could get some Orlando-area bloggers together to start doing this. I think it’d be a fun way to meet each other and maybe network, too.

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a new era of hope for our country

Jan 21, 2009 life

Yesterday, the entire country – nay, even possibly the world – stood transfixed as the nation’s 44th president was sworn in.

Though much has been made of the fact that President Obama reflects the positive results of decades of changes due to the civil rights movement, I honestly think it goes beyond that. For me, it’s not that he’s our nation’s first bi-racial president, though that is a wonderful thing. It’s that this is a man who truly seems to be dedicated to be inclusive rather than exclusive.

He gets that we may not all see eye to eye but that we all need to work together if this country is to be rebuilt.

As he said yesterday during his inauguration:

“For we know that our patchwork heritage is a strength, not a weakness. We are a nation of Christians and Muslims, Jews and Hindus – and non-believers. We are shaped by every language and culture, drawn from every end of this Earth; and because we have tasted the bitter swill of civil war and segregation, and emerged from that dark chapter stronger and more united, we cannot help but believe that the old hatreds shall someday pass; that the lines of tribe shall soon dissolve; that as the world grows smaller, our common humanity shall reveal itself; and that America must play its role in ushering in a new era of peace.”

And it’s true. Our nation now stands on the brink of a very large crossroads. The only way to truly make it through and make America strong again is to put aside our political differences, our racial differences, our religious differences…to embrace that we are all unique individuals who need to work together to affect the change needed to make our country the strong nation it once was.

It won’t be easy. But I truly believe, as I think do others who witnessed the dawning of a new era in the Whitehouse with the swearing in of President Obama, that we have taken the first step in the right direction to make the change happen.

And I believe that President Obama just may have it in him to bridge all of these divisive gaps and bring us closer together as a nation.

Only the next four years will tell if we are right, but for now, it feels like there is a new era of hope for this country. One which I’m glad to see.

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Obama Inauguration Party in Orlando with IZEA

Jan 19, 2009 Orlando, tech stuff, work

If you’re in Orlando tomorrow, you might be interested in this event being held at the IZEA offices downtown:

And note that above info also shows off a new feature at Metblogs that allows you to embed one of our posts into your blog. It’s in a “very beta” stage, but if it causes any problems on your site, you can simply remove the code and all should be ok. Pretty spiffy, eh?

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