To re-read The Elements of Style and get my hands on an updated edition of the AP Stylebook.
Their simple rules of grammar and guidelines for consistency and usage are the unseen dark matter that keeps the universe of journalism from sucking itself into a black hole of maddening confusion.
If the blogosphere wants to compete with, work with, or simply be equals to the traditional media, bloggers must be better disciplined. Most of us don't have the safety net of senior editors, copy editors and proofreaders scrutinizing commas, subject-verb agreement, awkward adverbs, etc.
Consider the consequences of inconsistency if a blogger posting well thought-out comments on, for example, the irony of Kassams/Qassams launched from Bet Hanun/Beit Hanoun, killing a Bedouin/Beduin in Ashkelon/Ashqelon:
- Readers won’t return to your site.
- Anyone who can amplify your message in newspapers, blogs, social media, mailing lists, etc. will dismiss you.
- You’ll undermine your own SEO.
Grammar always bored me. I sat at my desk, watching the clock tick away second-by-second till the bell rang.
But now, I'm a blogger by choice. What I write about matters to me and my readers — which means it's time to brandish semi-colons and verbs like Batman using the tools in his Batbelt. I expect the discipline will draw out, not stifle, my voice.
Now's the time for bloggers to raise the bar with the "write stuff."
