Mistakes can be funny. They can be embarrassing. And when they’re in your marketing communications materials, they can also be costly or even dangerous. That’s why proofreading is so important.
My experience has taught me that there is a certain kind of error that proofreaders miss more often than any other kind … and it’s quite possibly the most embarrassing type (except perhaps for substituting a call-in sex line’s phone number for your own).
If you use an electronic sign, always check the number of characters it can display at any one time. One local business called “Glass Pros” uses its sign to make promotional messages, some of which end with the company’s name. Unfortunately, it appears that the screen can only display eight letters and/or spaces at a time, so when a message stops scrolling, only the last eight letters and/or spaces remain visible. Take a look at their name, do a little counting, and you’ll see how their sign presents them.
Indiana is currently embroiled in a battle over what its proponents are calling “education reform” and what opponents see as an attempt to dismember the public school system (personally, I’m in the latter camp, but that’s not the point I’m here to make).
Newspaper articles and TV coverage of the battle have been extensive, and the websites of these media outlets give voice to readers and viewers through their “comment” sections. Judging from many of those comments … particularly those from the pro-“reform” side … Indiana should spend a lot more money on education, not less. I base that on the plethora of spelling errors, grammar gaffes that go beyond picky mistakes, and leaps of logic that aren’t even in the neighborhood of what we call reasoning.
“… He then undressed her from the waste down and cut open her shirt and bra …” That salacious gem came from a story on the Indianapolis Star’s website. I had images of Lady Gaga wearing an outfit made of trash, or perhaps someone who was stuck headfirst into a landfill. Once again, a story was spellchecked, but not edited. Or maybe the writer really wasn’t referring to a woman’s waist.
A similar, but less exciting example appeared in the February issue of Trains Magazine. In an item about a railroad executive, a writer mentioned that the man “was previously general council.” No, that would be “counsel,” a noun most often referring to attorneys when preceded by “general.” A “council” is a group of people gathered for a particular task, such as a “town council” or a “merchants’ council.”
I’m always fascinated by words that are frequently misspelled and expressions that are widely misused. Some may blame the mistakes on shared ignorance, but I think there’s something more insidious at work. I think mistakes are contagious. People who see the words misused lack confidence in their own knowledge and mistakenly believe that what they already know must be wrong.
And why is it that store and restaurant owners invariably ask employees who suffer from that contagion to manage the changeable-letter signs in front of their businesses?
It’s time for our semi-irregular look at mistakes in writing or marketing that may be embarrassing to those who made them, but that are darned amusing for the rest of us.
The local police report listed several calls for “wreckless drivers.” Isn’t that a good thing – drivers who have managed to avoid accidents? I suppose that a reckless driver might be a wreckless driver, but only if he or she is very fortunate.
There are many words that have been misused so often that their meanings have started to blur – and writers who should know better have used the wrong words in the wrong places.
For example, I recently read an article in a national magazine claiming that a particular musician had earned his notoriety by producing a couple albums. “Notoriety” was the wrong word – unless those albums were downright horrible.
Back when computers were the size of your garage, programmers often summarized a particular situation as “garbage in, garbage out.” It normally referred to either bad data or bad instructions that, when fed into a computer, led to worse results. For example, if the programmer’s client didn’t provide a precise description of the program’s objectives, the result might not be what was expected. Or, if the data being fed in was inaccurate, the results could be even worse.
The same comment applies to writing. No matter how much talent a writer may have, the results he or she will be able to produce are entirely dependent on the quality of information that’s available. If a client can’t express the objectives or parameters, there’s a good chance that what the writer does won’t meet expectations.
Had to share this excellent article about a pair of modern-day heroes every writer will appreciate. Thanks to Nancy Brandt for sending it my way. http://www.startribune.com/lifestyle/102651174.html?elr=KArksUUUoDEy3LGDiO7aiU
Some time back, I received a coupon ad from a pizza chain. The ad, which was produced by some out-of-town printer or ad agency, included several familiar Indiana towns. It was designed to create the impression that the chain’s stores were really locally oriented pizza parlors.
But there was one town I hadn’t seen: Fishus.