Apr | 08 | 2008

Internet Babel Targets Big Bloggers Over Grammar

Posted by Jimmy as Blog Tutorials News, Opinion, Tips, Writing

How important is proper grammar when it comes to writing blogs? I am sure that you already have an inkling of my position on this matter. I have written several posts on how being a blogger does not excuse anyone from using decent grammar when writing. Nick Sullivan over at Internet Babel and I share the same point of view and he even took it one step further – he singled out some of the biggest bloggers for their bad grammar!

Here’s an excerpt:

Now, bloggers aren’t necessarily writers but still. They do write. I don’t mind bad grammar, I couldn’t care less but it’s quite annoying when you see small time bloggers get hassle about it from what little readers they have. Yet big bloggers like Shoemoney and John Chow have really bad grammar. Understandably John Chow’s first language isn’t English so that’s fair enough but Shoe seems to be openly sloppy. Like, childlike sloppy with his grammar. My grammar is far from perfect but I at least spell basic words right! come on Shoe, how hard is it to use Spellcheck!

He also noted Darren Rowse of Problogger as needing some work when it comes to grammar. My oh my. Though I do not know if I would single out people in a blog post just because they have bad grammar, I do totally agree with Nick Sullivan that just because you are not a writer does it mean that your grammar, spelling, and whatnot has to be sloppy. There is always room for improvement, though. So, big blogger or not, make sure to check your own posts!

One Response

Karen
28|Apr|2008

I agree with the bad grammar is no excuse. English as a second language doesn’t cut it either. There are tons of free dictionaries online; there are even several language converters. Plus people usually have many friends that can help. I personally don’t read anything with bad grammar (being a college instructor, it makes me cringe). I noticed MSN and CNN writers have a lot of mistakes in their news articles. I don’t mind an occasionally mistake but there are lots of spell and grammar checkers around and bloggers (everyone) should use them and not be so lazy.

Enjoy the day

K

Our Features

Design and Themes

Is Your Blog W3C Compliant?

Last night I checked my personal blog’s code hoping I can proudly display the W3C Validated Button. Since I use Blogger and do not really do anything to clean up the code (beyond adding Alt-tags to the images I embed) I wasn’t surprised at all to find that my blog contained lots of errors - [...]
Read on
More Design and Themes Features
Software and Widgets

Wordpress Plug-ins

If you blog using Wordpress and can’t do something that you want done like adding Sphere-related content at the end of your blog posts you might be surprised to find out that there are already plug-ins available that make it happen.
To find good Wordpress plug-ins all you need to do is search for “wordpress [...]
Read on
More Software and Widgets Features
Reviews

A Friend In Need

I’m helping out my friends from the UA&P - IShareHappiness Blog Team.
Whenever you feel pessimistic, angry, troubled, frustrated, and depressed – what have you – you need someone to talk to. Someone who could help you be more optimistic and help make you feel that there is hope. Sometimes it’s hard to talk to someone [...]
Read on
More Blog Reviews
Monetization

Making Money Through Consumer Generated Ads

As I mentioned in my previous post today I will be suggesting some ways you can still profit by joining programs such as Pay Per Post and yet ensure that your readers don’t get turned off.
In my opinion the only way to really do this is by making sure that your blog entries stay [...]
Read on
More Monetization Features
Marketing and Search Optimization

Building your blog brand step by step

Building your blog’s brand does not need to be difficult. However, when it comes to branding you should always remember to exert effort to be consistent with the image you wish to portray or you’ll end up with confused, turned-off, and/or skeptical readers. Branding inconsistencies will make it obvious that the image you’re putting up [...]
Read on
More Marketing and SEO Features
Blog Resources