From a PowerPoint created by this guy:
Nissannews.com Needs a Proofreader
Just what, exactly, is Atlantic Cheery wood?
How Not to Advertise Your Business
This was on Mashable in response to a story on the correlation between Old Spice’s viral videos and their products’ recent sales. Is Howie unclear on the concept of a blog? Does this principal of Sky Pulse Media, which claims to specialize in social media and customer engagement, not understand the nuances that distinguish most blogs from most traditional news outlets? In most cases, blogging is about niches, attracting page views, and feeding an ever-hungry monster with material. Good bloggers see potential connections and hypothetical cause and effect relationships that translate into stories that draw readers and encourage dialogue in the comments. I know only a few bloggers that have the time and resources to thoroughly vet the rumors, hints, claims and tips that give birth to blog posts. Those that do I usually consider as sources of dependable journalism; all others are interesting entertainment. Chill out, Howie.
"Bailout" versus "bail out"
I proofread a blog called “The Truth About Cars” and, as you can imagine, there’s been much written on the domestic auto industry of late. While the site’s contributors try to keep the posts light and humorous, there is a need to report the news truthfully without spin (ahem, MSM). Bailouts are a popular topic and require me to be extra vigilant. Too often “bailout” and “bail out” are used interchangably though they mean two different things. “Bailout” is a noun, as in The auto industry bailout is a boondoggle. “Bail out” is a verb + modifier, as in I’m going to bail out if this plane suffers a malfunction or Help me bail out this water before the boat sinks!
Neglect
Oh, my five regular visitors, I’ve neglected this site for too long. It’s not that grammar has gotten better, it’s just that there are so many other things to worry about these days. Things like money. Blogs are certainly not fields of dreams—I’ve built one, placed some ads, generated some content, and have made a whole $10. My partner has disappeared but I don’t begrudge him (much).
Kindle-ing
People often ask how I became an editor. It started the summer after I graduated high school. Amazon.com had just started, and from them I ordered a book titled “Car Secrets Revealed” (by Corey Rudl). The book, while somewhat interesting, was nearly impossible to read because of numerous spelling errors, run on sentences, and other grammatical mistakes. The book had some good info in it so I didn’t want to return it; instead, I researched the author, got his e-mail, and pestered him to let me edit the second edition of his book. The rest is history. While Mr. Rudl went on to become an infamous “e-mail marketer,” I went to college, dropped out after a year-and-a-half, and found myself in a succession of various jobs that were information management-related: database programming; converting Boeing tech manuals to PDFs; and proofreading for a major commercial printer. Each setting was completely unlike the other but two things remained with me always: a good dictionary and a style guide (usually The Chicago Manual of Style).