We know that most of communication is transmitted by body language and tone of voice. What does that mean for blogging? Well, in the case of most blogs it means you are communicating with one lung tied behind your back. In other words, much of what you say may be misinterpreted, misconstrued or otherwise misread.
How you write, in addition to what you write, matters.
As a funny example, I was reading through a LinkedIn discussion board recently and came across what I consider to be one of the most bizarre writing styles I’ve ever seen. Have a look below:
I Think Joshua Summed Things Up Pretty Well. However I Would Like To Add That Since Each Software Has Its Own Way Of Handling Content You Will Need To Analyze And Understand The System And At The Same Time Have A Development Team.What You Choose Depends On Whether You Are Looking For Document Management Or Component Content Management. (CCMS). And Whether You Want Manage The Content At A Granular Level (Component) Rather Than At The Document Level.Since Each Component Has Its Own Lifecycle (Owner, Version, Approval, Use) And Can Be Tracked Individually Or As Part Of An Assembly A CCM Can Be A Separate System Or Be A Functionality Of Another Content Management System Type (E.G., Enterprise Content Management Or Web Content Management). Also The Benefits Of Managing Contents At A Component Level Are Multifold
OK – what’s up with that?! Who capitalizes every first letter of every word in a sentence? That’s just completely insane and very hard to read.
So, what’s your problem? Do you lack punctuation? Do you use too much punctuation? Do you shout at your audience with lots of these?!!!!!!! or do you just use the megaphone all-caps LIKE THIS? Perhaps it’s more subtle. Perhaps your sentences run on and on and on like some kind of legal mumbo jumbo that no one wants to read and in which your reader is lost about half way through and is now left to themselves to navigate your rambling sentence which seams like it may never come to an end? (yes, that was intentional). Perhaps you just have a hard time communicating your thoughts in a cohesive manner on a screen.
Whatever your “problem”, and we all have some, try to read and re-read your content objectively before you hit Publish. If possible, have another person read through it as well. A set of fresh eyes can be a great thing. When in doubt, shorten the sentence, use simpler language and cut down on punctuation and all caps.
…and what ever you do – Do Not Write Any Sentences That Look Like This.
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Good points, Tom. I’ve never been good at copy editing and always seems to mis spell the same words. (I blame the concept of “inventive spelling” that was started when I was in grade school
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That said, I’ll come clean. I work with a proof reader for my blog. I write, and then Chris has access and free reign to scan through the posts and fix any typos, misspellings, etc. We’ve worked together for about a year now and I’ve come to trust him. He knows my writing style and also knows not to make any changes to sentence structure and content. it’s a good working relationship. Not a bad idea if you have the resources to partner with someone…
I have noticed the “Start Every Word With A Capital Letter” popping up on Facebook status’ as well. Drives me nuts, but I think the grammar-police part of my idenity is going to have to hybernate while online.
Not only is it hard to read, but it’s got to be harder to type, hitting the Shift key every 6 letters.