Grammar Games: Not Only for Children!

Over the last couple of weeks in my intersession course, we have been talking about text shorthands.  We were discussing that people, especially the younger generation, use abbreviated words thanks to texting, Facebook, and Twitter.  That made me think about how I learned grammar growing up.  That thought then drifted to Sesame Street, which I remember watching all the time.  Now Sesame Street really only teaches numbers and the alphabet, but that is definitely a good foundation for grammar.  So it made me realize how much more enjoyable it is to learn something when fun is involved. 

I'm sure many people do not think of fun when it comes to grammar.  So here are a couple of sites which help learning about grammar a little more enjoyable.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/skillswise/words/grammar/

http://www.yourdictionary.com/dictionary-articles/interactive-grammar-games.html


No matter how old you are, games are always fun.  And just think, you're not wasting time while playing these grammar games.  Instead, you're learning something you never knew or refreshing your memory!

So happy playing!

The Wonderful World of Websites

Editing is obviously an important part of any piece of writing to ensure everything looks, sounds, and is spelled right.  However, what about when it comes to creating domain names?  A company's name may be spelled correctly on paper, but what happens when the company name is put all together?  There are many website names that create an unfortunate alternate meaning when spaces are removed.  Here are a few examples of what I mean:

Spanish Holiday Rentals

choosespain.com

Who Represents?

whorepresents.com

Pen Island
penisland.net

Lake Tahoe

gotahoe.com

Mole Station Native Plant Nursery

molestationnursery.com

So even though the company's name may be spelled correctly, when editing for a domain name, it doesn't mean it transfers well.

Once you click on a website, that can make all the difference as well.  Even if a company has a normal domain name, and everything is spelled correctly, design also plays an important role.  If a company has a poorly designed website, it can be hard to ignore.  There are many examples at www.webpagesthatsuck.com.  Here, you will find many examples of how companies make it difficult to pay attention to anything except how bad the websites are.

All in all, if a company doesn't have a proper domain name or website design, good editing can mean little.  People have to be able to make it past the aesthetics to reach the carefully edited "meat and potatoes" of a company .  

So Not Everyone is Crazy About Spelling Mistakes?

I am currently taking an intersession course at RRC called Editing Print and Online Media.  It's a seven week course, twice a week for two hours a class.  Even though it's summer break, I figured it was totally doable and would be advantageous for 2nd year CreComm.  So here I am about to begin the second week of the course, along with a handful of fellow CreComms.  We have been instructed to make a weekly blog entry about anything that relates to the course. 

Yesterday I was at my sister's house.  I was reading an invitation that she had attached to the side of her fridge and I noticed a spelling mistake.  I mentioned it to her and she said that she doesn't notice those things like I do.  That got me thinking about my hate for simple spelling mistakes.  Now I'm not saying that I never make spelling mistakes because obviously I do.  However, whenever I notice a spelling mistake it makes me wince a little bit.  

This brings me to my next thought.  Do I notice spelling mistakes more often now that I have gone through my first year of CreComm?  Has spending the last year agonizing over correctly spelling all kinds of words made other people's mistakes more noticeable to me?  I can safely say that the people I know do not care about spelling the way I do.  However, I think that it's a good radar to have when it comes to incorrect spelling.  As I will be entering the communications field in about a year, spelling something incorrectly can be damaging to one's credibility.

So I'm proud to say I don't mind noticing spelling mistakes and am happy to point them out, even though my friends and family may find it annoying.  Having this detailed eye will only help me in the future.