Final Blog Post, Tyler Grant

In the waining hours of the semester I'm thinking back over all that's happened since the cold days of January. Copyediting and Proofreading is not what I was expecting at all. Instead of sifting through grammar and correcting sentence after sentence of mistake ridden nonsense, I was tossed into the abyss of social media.

Now, this wasn't entirely new, but I did get see see other aspects of it. Personally, social media is something I've been using for more than a few years. When I lived in Europe, I used it as a means of staying in touch with my friends back in Canada, and the friends I'd met throughout of travels. The difference now is that I'm not writing for my friends, and I'm not reading about them, either. Instead of an email, I write blogs for anyone who wants to read them. Instead of a Facebook status update for friends or thinking of something I want to share with my clan from myspace, I'm being directed to Twitter, so followers can read about the goings on of my day.

I can see the point of blogs. They're digital opinion pieces. For most people, they would love to share their opinion. This is something good for a journalist who would love to slide his opinion into a story, but is restricted to just the facts. One problem with a blog is that a journalist, or anyone for that matter, must be careful what he or she writes. If you're using your real name for a blog, be respectful, tactful, and avoid offending people. Imagine what a boss would think should he or she come across a scathing piece about the company where you work. Where would that leave you?

Blogging is a great idea to get your ideas out there, and to keep up with your craft. Practice does make perfect, and the more you practice, the luckier you get. Now, if I could just make money off my blog.

As for Twitter, I'm still not sold. I've never felt the need to be up-to-date every second of my day. Sometimes, I like to shut technology off and steep myself in my real environment. Granted, there are useful aspects like breaking news of a shooting or something, but for the most part, it's not my thing. I can't ever see myself using Twitter to find out the latest concert dates or sports scores, or even recipes. The only time I can see myself using Twitter is for work as a journalist. Even then though, I'd do my homework to check the credibility of what I'm reading.

The main thing I got out of my class though, is the importance of reading over my work. I know that when I write something and I see a typo, my view of the credibility drops a notch. If the writer didn't take the time to edit his piece, why should I share my time reading it? Because I view writing this way, I do my best to eliminate my errors. To be honest, if I'm really unsure of my own writing, I'll go as far as looking up the grammar rule in a book or on the internet.

Seeing as how I'm that pedantic, I've even made sure others in my class have quoted me properly, and I've gone out of my way to point out some mistakes I hope my classmates would point out for me. Sorry for picking on you Dale, but you made mistakes while quoting me.

The mistakes I noticed are in the comments boxes:
Dale Boyd's Over-logging of Blogging?
Dale’s Citizen Journalism
Dale’s Editing Detective post
Katie Elliot’s We Regret the Error
Nancy Gordy’s Crap Detection Post



Photo courtesy of: valleywag