Are you sure you’re a blog master?
Frank Lloyd Wright is renowned as one of the great American architects. He created, for example, the lovely “lily pad” environment in the Johnson Wax building, where strong, tall pillars meet a ceiling that lets natural light flit into the huge main room. There’s something interesting about Frank Lloyd Wright though. Despite his fame as an architect who could create unforgettable exteriors and luxurious interiors, almost everything he designed has suffered, at one point or another, from serious structural problems. Ceilings in his buildings leak. Foundations in his buildings crumble. Is beauty enough to certify someone as a master? Does structure not really matter?
The same question holds true for blogging
There’s no shortage of advice on how to create powerful content, content that will inspire people to do what you want, content that will make people buy anything from you that you want them to buy. There are a lot of people around who excel at this kind of content creation. You could wrap yourself in their words. Their blog posts are like the richest chocolate fudge, filled with ideas and inspiration. There’s an increasingly common problem, though. The structure, like in Frank Lloyd Wright’s buildings, is shaky. Instead of leaky ceilings and crumbling foundations, many blogs suffer from poorly constructed sentences, spelling errors, grammatical mistakes, and more.
Blogging is writing, right, Wright?
It seems like blog readers are in the same school as fans of Frank Lloyd Wright. Grammar and spelling are not enough to get in the way of the essence of a blog post. If someone has a really good idea, and especially if someone has lots of good ideas, they can get away with confusing its and it’s. They can escape without a tongue lashing when they have a paragraph filled with sentences that don’t really make sense. If the blog post focuses on an idea or a concept that is new and refreshing, you can get away with linguistic murder.
Maybe I’m an insufferable perfectionist, but this bothers me. This bothers me a lot. Am I alone?
It seems to me that if we are moving towards a culture of content marketing and content creation, we should be really clear on what qualifies as good content. Are we moving to a point where the idea carries the day, so much so that the technical details of those ideas are presented don’t matter? Is communication moving to a “close enough” model? Is blogging becoming something other than a type of writing?
So what is a blog master?
What is more important in a blog post? Is it the idea that is presented or is it how the idea is presented? Can you skate past spelling errors if the idea is really compelling? Can you not get past grammar mistakes to even identify if an idea is good? What is our measurement of mastery in this space? I’d love to hear your opinion.
Image by Svilen Milev. http://www.sxc.hu/profile/svilen001
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I’m with you 100%. The blogosphere is marred by countless instances of poor writing. And it worsens every minute of every day.
It’s the penalty we pay for the luxury of publishing without editors between us and the audience. But it’s a terrible penalty.
Basic errors, sloppy thinking and nonsensical sentences do no credit to the people who publish them.
They’ll defend the brilliance of their ideas and their right to speak their minds to the death. But the majority of us know garbage when we see it.
Well, I guess you have a pretty strong opinion about this, my friend 🙂
I was discussing this with my friend Suzanne today and noted that often times I catch myself not writing in full sentences in my blog posts – I structure my sentences more like I talk. Is this bad writing? Is blogging a new form of writing or something else?
I’m puzzling 🙂
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It’s funny that bloggers (especially) will talk about “content strategy” but not “information architecture” – I get that the latter almost requires a major in sociology with a minor in literature… But seriously.
We’re platform builders, right? Platforms are scaffolding – the intent is for each level to rise higher than the last. If each blog post is supposed to be another level of the scaffolding, and there’s no architecture (ongoing structure) backing that levelling up… What happens?
Very eloquent, as usual M. Love it.
Great point, and that takes it to another level. There are the technicalities of the language, but then there’s also what you are actually trying to build with your blog. Excellent point indeed! Thanks, Ian!
Dear Margie,
Errors such as these detract from the message. Guilt though seems to be inherent in my nature. When I sit in a 2200 member congregation I think the sermon is directed at me. I am sure you know where I am headed with this. I read your post and immediately I think, come on Margie what’s wrong with my structure, where have I missed the grammatical errors. lol So of course I’m not taking this post personal at all. With that aside I think structure, grammar, and spelling are very important.
I had a recent post that I felt was going to be much more than it was and fell short at the point of connectivity. I feel I can do a fix however sometimes one must just learn and move on. I do and would appreciate constructive criticism when I miss the mark. By the way I am an expert proofreader and I can’t get away from it in the work of others. I even proof read novels I read.
Sincerely,
Gaga
Silly 🙂 No, I had no one in mind at all, as a matter of fact!
Yes, I am an obsessed proofreader as well. Typos and blunders in books drive me totally mad. It’s a dreadful problem 🙂
I agree with you–when there are spelling/grammar check programs on every type of blogging software there is really no excuse for all but the most obscure errors. Interestingly, I’m more forgiving of the occasional misspelling or misuse of “its/it’s” in passionate rants than I am in essays, or, most inexcusable of all, in fiction.
I recently edited a story for a friend and had to completely restructure several of her sentences and then lecture her on ending sentences in prepositions. Some readers will not be bothered by this faux pas, but others will, and editors will certainly not stand for it. The same readers are the ones reading posts on the internet, and one truly abysmal post can ruin your readership…and your chances of being published, if that’s your goal.
I agree Sarah. Not long ago I wrote a post about things that prevent me from tweeting out posts. Grammar and spelling errors topped the list – I do my best to avoid such things in my writing. If I tweet out a post rife with errors, it looks like I simply didn’t read the post. What you promote reflects your personality almost as much as what you write (in my opinion, anyway).
Thanks for the comment!
The level of annoyance I experience when coming across blog spelling and grammar errors varies, depending upon the purpose of the writing. When my niece is sharing her experiences in China via a blog designed for family and friends, I could not give a hoot if she mixes up “your” and “you’re” or misspells a word or two. I just want a vantage point from where I can watch her wonderful, life-changing adventure unfold. However, if someone is blogging to establish professional credibility or if a blog is part of a business or organization website, I best not come across more than the rare blooper. Sloppy writing leaves me with an impression that the writer and/or the business doesn’t have much regard for details, and I then begin to question how much attention is given to services and products. I unashamedly admit that I am a judger.
Good point. I think if you’re blogging for professional reasons, it really serves your best interest to try to make it your best quality of work. It is a representation, after all, of how much you value your community and your industry. Are you taking the time to read over your work? If not, why not?
On the other hand, as you say, if someone is basically using a blog as a mass email sort of resource, well, they can make mistakes without it reflecting too poorly on them in the long run.
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