Sunday 22 July 2012

Facebook


I had an amusing conversation this week with a fellow student at college about people's use of language on Facebook. She was spot-on in her comments that people seem to think that language rules can be relaxed when using social media. I would add that this also includes social communication via email and texts. Amusing comments aside, no matter what the forum, when you use language poorly in writing it really does reflect badly on you.

Take this blog for instance. I've let some spelling errors and poor turns of phrase get through, despite checking and double-checking. But I take the time to try to make sure that there are avoided, and I fix them retroactively when I pick them up later. I feel that the same applies for social media and email. Yes, there are all of the shorthand abbreviations, and I totally understand those being used, particularly on Twitter, for example, where your wordage is limited. But poor spelling and grammar in any of your written communication just doesn't do you any favours.

We all want to try to present the best face to the world, and the language we use is a large part of that. A good example is the reading I've engaged in recent years about social media and employment. More and more, prospective employers check our your online presences to see what you say and how you say it. Things can come back to haunt, even bad spelling and grammar. And you never know to whom you email will be forwarded, or if the person reading it will be a prospective employer. It's not about demanding perfection in language and all of the mediums you use it, but more about making sure that you've expressed yourself as well as you can.

So, here's hoping I've not made any mistakes in this post ...


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