Okay Geek Farm
Important tips in case you missed Blogging School
Darryl Cobb
A fellow blogger, Ree Ree Phillips of ReeReeInTheCity.com, inspired this particular post because of her constant nagging. However, it is a topic that goes grossly ignored by those who blog, those in technology and geeks in general. Something we consider very trivial in today’s world in comparison to the various programs we manipulate with ease, the beautiful tasks we can make computers do by our coding and the elegant machines we create. But imagine trying to create your latest and greatest iOS 4 game with FORTRAN or HTML. You would fail miserably. Imagine going into a job interview, write for a professional technology journal using Twitter or text message speak? Fellow geeks and gadgettes, we need to turn our attention to the importance of the use of proper English.
The first building block of proper English is the proper use of the words that make up that language. Often times we rely on the tools that are set before us like spell-check but it is a flawed tool. We need to get back to the basics of using the dictionary. You know, the old dusty thing that sat in the library unused by everyone except the one kid who was on punishment. So, in getting back to basics, I would recommend The Dictionary by Dictionary.com. You can download it for free from the Android Marketplace. I like it because it also includes a Thesaurus and it has a very simple interface; Type in a word and then the proper spelling comes us along with the definition. And one click on the Thesaurus, you can get a list of similar words that might make your writing a little more colorful.
Second thing you want to pay attention to is your grammar. We, as the technical brain trust, have to perfect our usage of grammar. Often times we rely too much on jargon and techno-slang that only we would understand, leaving out the layman and 80% of our readers. There isn’t an easy application for this nor is there shortcut. The only thing we can do is keep our audience in mind, have non-technical people assist with editing and make sure we keep focused on the reason for the article. Often times we write our blog posts as if we are sending Twitter posts and text messages to our friends. This isn’t the goal of our labor; Our goal is to educate ourselves and those who are looking to us because they lack the knowledge and/or understanding.
Last thing I will mention is professionalism. Most of us are bloggers and writers with a very small circle of influence. The only way to grow that circle of influence is to present our material in a manner that people will feel comfortable enough to share with others, and build their own opinions. Professionalism will give you a certain level of credibility with your reader because they’ll get the impression that you took the subject matter, and the writing of it, seriously, and based your “opinions” on the actual facts, and not just biased riddled arguments you had in the past, or hate you have for one specific person, or brand. Humor and creativity doesn’t have to be sacrificed in the name of professionalism. You might have to work a little hard at it but it is well worth it.
For now, that is it for this particular article. Understand your words are your opening handshake to a potential suitor, employer and/or opportunity that you worked to attain, not to mention, the thousands of people that read your blog, and tear apart every word you type. Don’t throw it away carelessly because you lack the energy to present yourself in the best way possible, take your time to create great content with a positive attitude and open mind to back it up. Be witty, thought provoking and direct in your sentences and poignant in your posts. And for the sake of everyone reading your posts, use a dictionary.
Thank you for reading. — Darryl Cobb
