PR 101 – Weekly Rant #18 Good Writing Is the Most Important Part of Social Media
Jeff Cole | April 21, 2010
I have been a writer since I was five-years-old. My first piece was entitled “The Eagle That Had Acrophobia.” It was the first writing assignment I was ever given. It came from my kindergarten teacher toward the end of the year. I think the assignment was given to us to test how much we knew about writing and reading. I am not sure the content mattered that much. At any rate, I got a gold star for using all of the words correctly.
That was my first lesson in writing. Always make sure every word is used and spelled properly. Now, I still have not attained that proper state of writing, although I get closer everyday. I am getting closer because I care deeply about excellent writing and I work hard at it.
Which brings me to the point of this screed – how much just plain lazy and incorrect writing I see everyday. Now, I am not talking about typos. To me that’s an honest mistake. The key to read reread so they can be detected and corrected.
No, what I am talking about is the incorrect use of words, run-on sentences, sloppy logic, and just plain bad writing.
Look, social media demands good writing. I am not saying you have to be a Mark Twain or an Ernest Hemingway. I am saying all of the writing posted has to make sense.
Tell me if you can think of a social media application where the use of language is not important. For instance, every study I have read says blogging is the most effective social media application. Well, a blog has to be written, doesn’t it? Twitter demands clear, concise writing if a thought is going to be stated clearly in 140 characters. For a YouTube video to make sense, the person speaking has to do it such a way that viewers can understand.
Yet, everyday I hear people talking about “building a new building.” Who builds an old building? Or look at the “new baby.” Ever seen an old baby – in the literal sense? Or one of my favorites – “this door alarmed.” How can one tell if a door is upset?
The other night I was watching the local news in Milwaukee. The newscaster talked about the “tragic death of a five-year-old girl.” Have you ever known the death of a five-year-old not to be tragic? Or “the fire totally engulfed the house.” Look of the definition of the world engulfed – “totally” is not needed.
I did a web search and found sterling examples of bad writing, such as:
- PET OF THE WEEK: Nannouk is a 10-week-old Spitz mix female and will grow to be medium sized. She does well inside. Sterilization is mandatory for anyone wanting to take her.
- Operationally, teaching effectiveness is measured by assessing the levels of agreement between the perceptions of instructors and students on the rated ability of specific instructional behavior attributes which were employed during course instruction. Due to the fact that instructors come from diverse backgrounds and occupy different positions within a given university, both individual and organizational based factors may contribute to the variance in levels of agreement between perceptions.
- The man was eating a fish that still had its head on and was drinking red wine in great gulps. The fish’s eyes looked alive.
My thanks to the University of Minnesota-Duluth for the examples. There are a lot more on the university’s website.
I am not going to get into people who don’t know the difference between then and than. Or writers that don’t know when to use who and that. I could go on forever.
Yes, those examples are all funny, but they are also sad. Allegedly educated people who spoke English as their first language wrote those three examples. What the hell is wrong with them?
I just had to rant about this. I know I am fighting a losing battle, but it doesn’t mean I plan to stop.
“Look, social media demands good writing. I am not saying you have to Mark Twain or Ernest Hemingway. I am saying all of the writing posted has to make sense.”
It’s funny how you forget the word “be” in that statement.
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Thanks Flip. As I said, typos happen. I made the correction. Clearly I am not perfect.
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“What the hell is wrong with them?”
It’s the logical result of a system that does not value high quality writing. People have been saying that “content is king” for decades. Maybe it’s even true. But content refers to the type and quantity and yes even quality of information within a given string of words. It has nothing to how stylishly, skillfully, or memorably the writer conveys that information.
When you go that way, you get writing fit for SEO. If you’re a search engine, you love this kind of writing. If you’re a person, you don’t. If you’re an avid reader, you really don’t. And if you’re a talented writer, you sometimes almost want to “take gas” – an expression you’ll be hard-pressed to find with Google (it means commit suicide by breathing natural gas instead of air).
Only when people get sick of reading words crafted for computer consumption will they once again value good writing, and go back to participating in a system that pays good writers to take up their keyboards and create it.
You go, Jeff. I’m a Corporate Language Trainer and, I admit, a prescriptive linguist who cringes at all misuse, written and spoken. The worst is when people think they’re being smart: the head of HR said, “My husband brings home dinner for my daughter and I.” She didn’t appreciate me correcting her! The head of R&D said, “If it wasn’t for the Labs…”. When told it’s “were” he said, “That’s not how we talk in Brooklyn!” And most people say, “Her and Cheryl went to the store.” And want “less calories”.
I know language evolves and the future present tense is a goner but not in my mini-van and not in my classroom. Rant on.
I wrote a post on tips for good writing on my blog http://atandemtextbook.wordpress.com
See if you agree?
Suzanne
Jeff,
Well put and nicely written as always. I hope and believe you are right. However, I spoke recently with a very senior and accomplished out-of-work writer/editor who says he was told recently in a job interview that he needed to dumb down his style to be less grammatical and more friendly — not just on the web but also in print.
David
A well-written thoughtful piece. Here’s my question if we are all told to ‘dumb’ down and become more friendly in our work, where do we go to read/watch insightful, thought provoking stories.
If this is a rant against poor use of the English languange, you might want to take note that there is a huge difference between the terms “everyday” and “every day.” Also, in your first sentence, you don’t need to hyphenate “five-years-old.” That only needs to be hyphenated if you are writing something like “When he was a five-year-old child.”
Regarding your critique of the the news report of the “tragic death” of a child, I feel safe in guessing that the death was unexpected, and hence, tragic, as opposed to what certainly always would be gut-wrenching (as in the case of succumbing to a lengthly cancer batter), at the least.
Having said all of that, I absolutely agree with the sentiment behind the piece.
I wish more people were concerned about preserving correct grammar, good spelling and sensible writing. I think it has to start in kindergarten classes–or maybe now in daycare centers–across the country. Even in the highly-rated Wisconsin public schools, there is very little emphasis placed on the correct use of the English language.
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