Typoes (Free iTunes Gift Card)

I have a queston for you. (Please don't leave me hanging. Leave a coment with your opinion. I'm seriously curious.)

When you're reading something and you see a typo, whats the first thing you think of? Does your reaction differ based on the medium of the article (web or print)?

When I see a typo in print content I think that the editor either didn't do their job well. Maybe they had too much on there mind when proofreading it or maybe they had too much copy to that day. Whatever the case, in my mind, its the editor's fault.

When I see a typo in web content I think that the author is to blame, but I don't hold it against them. To me, the nature of web content is fast and furious. There's little-to-no time for multiple editing and proofreading passes by the same person that has to create all the content. It's just not feasable in the fast-paced world of copyriting that blogging has created.

So, let me know what you think when you see a typo. Don't be lame; chime in. (Also, how many typos do you count in this post? The first one to comment with the right number wins a $10 iTunes Gift Card, but only if you answer the main question.)

Nov 18, 2009

Amanda Sims said...

I think my reaction varies based on what I'm reading, or WHO I'm reading. If it's something that I know is meant to look professional, my inner editor sort of gets a case of the twitches. But if it's informal and "on the fly," so to speak, I'm a lot more understanding.

And I think I saw 7.

JKBane said...

I expect professional results on a professional piece. For on "on the fly" content it doesn't bother me. I count 8 goofs

Nov 19, 2009

Chris Vaughn said...

I only care when I see typos in print for the same reasons pointed out in your post. However I'm getting to the point where I don't really care as long as I understand the point the author is trying to make. It's rare, if ever, that I've been confused by the use of "there" instead of "their".

I counted 9 mistakes.

Alex Tran said...

I counted 7 as well. But I guess Amanda beat me to it.

In print, any typo is a big, fat fail in my mind. On the web I'll tolerate one or two typos in a post (assuming the rest of the author's post conveys a basic grasp of spelling and grammar). ;)

David Ballard said...

Regardless of the medium, I believe typos are a bad thing to have.
I found at least 16 typos. Were you including grammar as well? There could arguably be even more.

Scott Magdalein said...

Yes, poor grammar is eligible.

Ben of BenandJacq said...

I cannot stand typos, in anything that's supposed to be professional. Anybody that is setting out to be a good writer/communicator and writes passed instead of past or their instead of there loses me as a fan very quickly after about the third typo. I am working on being less of a Nazi about it, but to be honest, I think it's ok to draw a hard line at some point. The web/print distinction might be that hard line.

I only find 7 mistakes in this article, though... so I guess I am not the biggest N-word around.

There could be style arguments such as usage of parentheses but I'll say 20 typos. Plus a slight headache after intently reading white text on a dark background for so long :)

Sorry David. Maybe you should win a bottle of Aspirin for the most typos found.

Lori Bailey said...

Here's my first pass: http://skitch.com/loribailey/nefws/typoes-free-itunes-gift-card-scott-magdalein Usually when content is that messed up, I need to make 2 passes ;)

What I think depends on the context: is the content of a personal nature or on a personal site, or does it represent an organization? If it's personal, I leave it at, "That person doesn't have the gift of spelling and grammar." Some of my favorite people are horrible spellers :)

If the content represents an organization, then I think someone should go to the extra effort to have the content edited. When there are careless mistakes on an organization's site, it makes me wonder what else they don't care about.

Jay Caruso said...

It often depends on the typo. Sometimes I can tell that it was an innocent mistake or maybe just a keystroke error. However, when I see people writing "loose" instead of "lose" or "seperate" as opposed to "separate" that just gnaws at me. Some typos are mistakes. Some are the result of laziness.

As for errors, I counted 9 if grammatical errors are part of this exercise.

Nov 20, 2009

(No winners yet. Still an iTunes Gift Card on the table.)

I'm seeing a trend. Most are saying it's worse to have a typo in print, but it's mostly forgivable on the web. Also, there's a distinction between a solo blogger and an organization. I'm with you.

Well, so much for my career as an editor.....

mikesingletary said...

I counted 12.

I agree. There is usually a more detailed editing process when something goes to print, so there's not much excuse for errors. Stuff that's published online is usually less formal and therefore may be more forgiveable for errors. Either way, if it's obvious, it should be caught and corrected. However, I have later caught obvious errors on my blog that I didn't catch during the first few passes. It happens.

Rich Barrett said...

I counted 10 if you count the title. I liked Lori's edit, except that I think you were correct to hyphenate little-to-no as a compound adjective. Sometimes an edit is stylistic, not absolute. For example, "I think that the editor" is longer than necessary but not exactly wrong.

To answer the main question, there are some typos and grammatical errors that are so obvious they drive me nuts no matter whether it's an individual or corporate blog.

I am actually more forgiving of print. The world of print production is often just as fast and furious as web production. The difference is you can't go back in and edit the print version once it's been printed! Web editors have no excuse for not going back in and correcting the blog.

If you are looking for a copy editor, I know a great one who reviews everything at Access Church for us. She's available to freelance and I highly recommend her.

@richbarrett wins! 10 is my count as well. Free iTunes Gift Card coming your way, bro. (We're good on the copy editor. Lori Bailey is fantastic!)

Lori, well done on the full visual edit! Glad to see you're embracing Skitch!

Thanks, Scott :) Re. "little to no" take a look at this NYT headline: http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/05/business/05health.html I think that one could go either way.

Skitch was one of the reasons I wanted to switch to Mac - couldn't imagine editing web content without it!

You mean you switched to a Mac *just* for Skitch?! That rocks! That should be on their homepage or something.

Yep, I also think "little-to-no" could go either way. :)

Get a few english teachers to grade the same paper and you will get different grades from each teacher

JKBane is right. Which is why every organization needs to adopt a book of style.

Pick one: Chicago, AP, whatever. But then, be consistent. Each organization will likely have industry-specific terms that might be gray. For example, when I started editing, there was no published standard for the words, "web site." So, each organization had to decide whether it was one word (website) or two (web site) or even hyphenated (web-site). In such a situation, the key is to be consistent with the style you choose.

Scott Magdalein