As a public relations professional, English, journalism and writing courses heavily dominated my education. I can’t help but to live and breathe grammar. I notice grammatical errors and misspellings everywhere from billboards and commercials to labels and posters. It’s practically in my genes and can be pretty annoying.
Professionally, I’m surrounded by people who also are in communications, so solid writing and grammar skills are customary. But, social media has changed everything. In reading status updates and comments, I have realized that our society is incredibly challenged by spelling and grammar. Frankly, it’s driving me crazy! Did we not pay attention in seventh grade English?
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Last week, the week following the 10th anniversary of September 11, when a plethora of news was happening everywhere (a new jobs bill, the faltering economy, the 9/11 anniversary memorials, more job cuts, the U.S. Open, NFL opening weekend – take your pick), the TODAY Show featured coverage of Casey Anthony’s parents and reality star Kate Gosselin. Now, I’m not picking on the TODAY Show. I love Matt, Ann and Al as much as the next girl, probably more. But, why is any media outlet still covering these “stories?”
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Last Friday, Xstatic PR invaded beautiful Spokane, Wash. — and what a day it was! The Spokane MarCom Association hosted Xstatic CEO J.D. McCartney to present a workshop, “Information Explosion: Communication in the Digital Age” at Gonzaga University. 130 area marketing and public relations professionals were on hand to learn and collaborate about marketing in the age of Internet, mobile networking and social media.
Top ten things we learned at the workshop:
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When life gets busy, it’s easy to let yourself go. Whether it’s missing some workouts, eating more junk food than you should, or in our case, lagging behind in our blog posts, things that are usually a priority can easily fall by the wayside. But, it’s a New Year – time to make improvements, recommit to your good habits and get healthy.
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With the 2010 election two weeks away, the barrage of negative political ads is in full swing. You can’t drink your morning coffee in peace or relax to this week’s “Grey’s Anatomy” without getting bombarded by these ridiculous commercials. The ads are like an unwelcome, obnoxious guest who insists on joining you at home as you get ready for work, eat dinner or watch the evening news.
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