Typo Ventillation

A few days ago I posted my first ever blog and, to my great shame, I discovered that, horror of horrors, I had published this prize piece of pontification with, er hem, some typos.

A 'typo', to the uninitiated is what we in the writing business know as a 'typographical error' and is usually the result of fingers flying too quickly over a sometimes unreliable keyboard or inattentiveness, a common sin of those at a certain time of life.

Now where was I? Oh yes...

Now this may not be considered a completely heinous crime to most, but for someone whose profession is about the correct presentation of words, even the most minor typo can be cause for the most brutal self-flagellation.

But why are typos so potentially mortifying, scary even, you may ask? What's the big deal anyway? In these days of PMSL and LMAO and not to mention WTF, who really gives a rats about that misplaced vowel or that hotchpotch of consonants that gives away, well, a bad-finger day (we all have those).

The fact is that typographical errors remain an occupational hazard for those in the publishing industry with very good reason. They can lead to embarrassment. They can actually lead some people to want to burn effigies of you.

One of the best stories I have is some work experience I did back in the days when newspapers still worked with cold-type, when journalists worked on typewriters and there was no such thing as a mobile phone. I know I'm showing my age but seriously, back then, a typo had to make quite a long journey from typewriter, to bromide to typeset. So frankly, this typo was unforgivable because it wasn't noticed until it was all horribly too late.

The story I'd meticulously crafted was really gripping stuff, being a student on work experience. It was a story about how to care for your canary, because believe it or not, the paper's demographic suggested a large proportion of canary-lovers amongst its readership (go figure).

In the second sentence of this Pulitzer-worthy piece, began a sentence that was supposed to read: "Countless canaries suffer from beak rot" or words to that effect. Unfortunately, in the translation the letter 'o' dropped out of the word 'countless.'

Needless to say, my editor was horrified at the number of phone calls we received from little old ladies wanting to know what 'that C word' meant. Humiliated? What do you think!

Much later in my career, I was lucky enough to have a job editing a full-colour magazine for a large financial services firm. The magazine had a readership that would leave some regional newspapers gasping and, may I boast, it was an award-winning publication in which a mention of your name brought untold kudos to employees. (Really!)

Now as journalists know, it is absolutely vital in the mention of people's names that the spelling (in the written form) and/or the pronunciation (in the spoken form) is correct. It's a mark of professionalism and it is something most writers work hard to achieve.

But it can be somewhat difficult in this multicultural world we live in. For herewith, I confess to my second instructional typographical boo-boo (gasp! horror!) I misspelled a person's name. In my defence, this was the first, last and only such example of nomenclature I have ever encountered in my life in which said name, in fact had zero vowels. So of course, I put the 'v' next to the 'w' when in fact it should have been the 'y',

The fall-out from this unthinkable faux pas was completely out of proportion to the nature of the crime, in my view. You would think I had murdered someone. My telephone rang hot with all kinds of people baying for my blood. It was as if I did not deserve the title of Editor for this foul misdeed. My name was 'mdu'. Mud, even.

These two experiences amongst others, have taught me the importance of typos. To all you eagle-eyed editors out there, I apologise for my oversights in this or any of my forthcoming posts. I am happily willing to be corrected.

If you're a writer, I'd love to hear some of your stories about your own typo-ventillating experiences.

Blog or Be Damned

You've been invited to subscribe to a blog, but hang on, what should you expect? What are the rules of engagement?

After all, this isn't like a mainstream newspaper you may be familiar with. Blogs, generally, aren't guided by any formal 'editorial policies'. They aren't niched to specific target demographics and they're not sustained by advertising dollars. So how do you know if a blog is for you?

Should you subscribe to my blog, you'll come to know that I'm one of those people who has a theory for just about everything. It's a congenital weakness that I have absolutely no explanation for. Although if pushed, I'm sure I could provide you with a theory as to why I have a theory for everything.

Here is my theory about what makes a good blog. Like all good theories, it is open to testing.

HOPE'S THEORY ON BLOGS

Blogs are generally written by people who:

1. Believe they are interesting (and yes, sadly, some are kidding themselves).
2. Think they have something to say (not always meaningful)
3. Have time they wish to invest in the process (often, arguably, a little too much time).

Blogging can be inspiring and interesting and provide a worthy platform for you to showcase your writing talents, your ideas and takes on life. They can also reflect a certain narcissistic attachment to the daily minutiae of life, and a desire to analyse one's thoughts on a specific issue or the day's events.

It is arguable as to whether such attachment and the predisposition to analysis is healthy. As a writer, for example, I do read the occasional blogs posted by my colleagues in their fervid attempts to promote themselves. I am always struck by the high levels of self-involvement in these blog and I imagine the writers, sucking on their lukewarm cups of coffee while seated at their desks in their pyjamas and looking like Phyllis Diller on a bad hair day, posting their latest with one mantra driving them on. That mantra is: "It's all about me."

Call me cruel, folks, but frankly YOU may not be all that interesting. Much as I'd love to share your breathless reports about how fabulous YOU is progressing on your fabulous journey through your fabulous life (or alternatively, how depressed Dora is coping with the latest miserable episode from a tawdry, little life), this is not what blogging should be about.

I for one have always imagined that any communication, blogging included, however small, should be motivated by some simple guiding principles that I consciously attempt to apply in all my daily interactions (not always successfully). I urge all bloggers to consider these:

Firstly, any communication, should be targeted at a specific audience with the process of targeting providing good boundaries for determining, for example, appropriateness of topic and style of language used. In communication strategising, audience targeting is the first step in good planning so why not apply this as a blogger. Ask yourself, who are my subscribers? What are they interested in? Apply the WIFM principle as all good marketers do. Every reader is looking for a level of engagement that delivers a personal benefit. Whether it is to make them laugh or cry, whether it is to enlighten and enthuse them, whether it's to establish a connection with them through your own life, it doesn't matter. Just spare some time to determining what your audience wants and expects from you.

Secondly, every communication, however mundane, is necessarily driven by a specific objective. "Pass thee salt", "lend me some money", "come over for coffee". Whenever we open our mouths or consign anything to paper, there is usually something we want to achieve or to get.

There are three main outcomes we can want from any communication. To:

• Inform
• Persuade
• Entertain.

These outcomes, as you can see, apply to the WIFM principle (What's In It For Me). Most people love learning new things. They respond to new points of view that might have them thinking about or doing something differently. They like to laugh! Information, persuasion and entertainment, ultimately aim to deliver something of value to your listener or reader.

Over arching it all should be the desire to impress because every communication ultimately impacts on your public and personal image. Let me say here that gushing self love is not certain to make you impress. Let me be blunt: nobody likes a wanker so err on the side of caution. Be proud of your accomplishments but sandwich the exuberant ego masturbation between a top and tail that puts your accomplishments in the perspective of your reader and what he or she may gain from your journey.

Finally, in determining if or when you should disseminate your communication, whether it is to have 'that' chat, or send out 'that' email, or even write this blog, the single, most important criteria you can apply is the ibe I learned in the very first week of my journalism degree: Is it newsworthy?

Knowing what's newsworthy is like breathing for any journalists worth their salt. A good story will get a journo's spidey senses tingling almost quicker than a rumour of a 75% off sale at David Jones will send my ESP (Extra Spending Potential) into a spin. Journalists know what makes a story newsworthy and it is based, on a variety of criteria. For example.

1. Is it timely?
2. Is it relevant to your audience?
3. Does it have a high immediate value?

(I found a more detailed description of newsworthiness at www.cybercollege.com).

Be aware though, that newsworthiness along can provide no clear guarantee as to the attractiveness of your story or material. True journalists, I'm sure, are with me in rueing the impacts of checkbook journalism and celebrity-fever on the calibre of news with a tendency today for front-pagers to be dominated by a fawning kind of populism. Opinion masquerading as news has tarnished the quality of many news reports in my view.

Still, if you haven't managed to secure a picture of Rihanna's cellulite to help sell your site, be assured that if your material is timely, relevant and valuable, you will have an audience somewhere.

Happy blogging!