Content Trouble - Fightin Words or Bad Words or.
WRONG WORDS actually; nearly all of us do it. We don't know it, but our site visitors do, and it does not help our credibility.
We think we are being careful and accurate, but we don't see our mistake. Not many of us have the benefit of a proof reader or editor before we post our content, so our blindness can bruise our image. Here are some of the Wrong Words I recognize most in content by others:
LEAD (rhymes with speed) when you really mean LED (rhymes with bed). Yes I know that LEAD can also rhyme with bed, but that LEAD is the soft gray metal used for fishing weights, and it's a noun, not the verb you wanted.
BREATH (rhymes with death) when you actually mean BREATHE (rhymes with seethe). I don't understand the confusion between this noun and verb about the same thing, but I do see it a lot.
There are many more, and they all have in common that they are real words, just not the ones you needed. Spell checkers don't help with this, so if you don't have someone else proof read your post, it might be good to use a grammar checker.
I haven't used Grammarly, though I've heard good things, and it is free...
So, PLEASE, if you see Wrong Words in MY content or my posts, Speak UP. I'm not thin skinned, and I Need To Know...
Thanks,
Steve
Recent Comments
16
Great post, Steve. We are so close to our blogs that we can't see these obvious mistakes and many of the spell check programs will choose the wrong word often without us double checking before we hit the send button. Great advice.
Wayne
I agree, Wayne, my eyes used to be a lot sharper, but they never did see that well looking in the mirror. I know I miss a lot in my writing, but I can easily spot it in posts by others.
Thank you for this post. It lays the fact that choice of words is so important and should always be considered. Please forgive us, for the Egnlish language speaking people, we only copy your language and often times we make mistakes in using it. Unless we were born in your own country maybe we could have a lesser mistake.
Thanks for your thoughts, Jimmy, but you do very well. No forgiveness is needed for mistake or two when English is the second or third language. In fact, I think native English speakers like me are the worst offenders, and we don't have an excuse. Besides, we can't be critical of others unless we've tried this sort of thing in a language that's not our first, and I have not.
Good point...spelling is easy to check but grammar a bit more difficult but equally important.
Debbie
Thanks Debbie, I agree. Also laziness comes into it - spell checkers are built into everything, but loading a grammar checker takes effort - what's MY excuse for not doing it?
Excellent post. That is why we are here to help not criticize. There goes another word "criticize" some may say it spelled "criticise" it all depends on with side of the equator I am.
Have you tried using "Site-Content" in your virtual office?
Nope Joeanne, I'm still pretty green, after a month, here. Is that a wordpress option or a WA option? I can't seem to find it.
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Thanks Steve,
Words are extremely important.