I blame much of this on the use of spell-check utilities as an alternative to proofreading.  On a domain name auction site I was viewing this morning, the word ‘capitol’ was incorrectly used in place of  ’capital’.  Clearly, spell-check is useless here, as the word is spelled correctly but it is the wrong word.  What is needed here is a context-sensitive homonym checker. In other words, a human being.  This occurred on a page trying to persuade me to list my domains with this company.  I found it less than convincing.

My previous sentence reminds me of another common mistake of this same type.  It seems many folks don’t know the difference between ‘then’ and ‘than’.  The former is used to indicate a position in time while the latter compares two items.  For example:

I read six blogs today, five of which were rife with errors, then I became ill.

I would rather be publicly flogged than write with such carelessness.

Again, spell-check will not help in this case.  Some may think I’m being too fussy or trivial.  Ask yourself two simple questions.

1. Why do I publish on the Internet? The most common reasons include sharing experiences, communicating with friends and family, and conducting business.  Much of this communication will be publicly visible for a very long time.
2. Do I want to project the image of a lazy, careless person or even an idiot? Most will answer no, I hope.  Your message is important, but clear, concise communication is the best means of conveying your message.  Can you imagine someone offering to manage your marketing or public relations campaign when they can’t manage their own?

Because of the seemingly instant and informal nature of social media communication (email, Twitter, IM, texting, blog comments, etc.), it has become common to use conversational language with less strict usage.  No one wants to labor over the best possible way to craft an instant message.  I sometimes use ‘text speak’ when it seems appropriate.  While I find “Where r u?” acceptable for a text message, it is not acceptable in a blog post (except when used as an example, as it is here).

A comment on a post in today’s reading included this gem: “There is no such thing as Failures-they are only Delays!”  This should read, “There are no such things as failures – there are only delays ” or “There is no such thing as failure – there is only delay.”

Many people on the Internet today do not speak English as a first language.  I can forgive such errors in this case, as I am monolingual and in no position to criticize.  But I have actually asked some folks for their native language (I like to use Google Translate in an effort to communicate in someone’s native tongue), only to have the offended party exclaim, “Why, English, of course!”

Proper attribution of quotations is another pet peeve of mine.  This often comes from a lack of reading of the classics.  If I use the term, ‘Know thyself”, I assume the reader knows this should be attributed to Socrates, not to me.  Although I sometimes use it in the biblical context of  ’to know’ for people of whom I’m less than fond .

I could peruse a few blogs and sites for additional examples, but I leave that to the reader.  I will close here with this request: please proofread your writing before clicking the ‘submit’ button!  And, for the love of all you hold dear, please teach your children to do the same.  Maybe even have them read books that were published years ago, before people became dependent on spell-check.  It was rare to find errors in published material when I was a child.  Now, sadly, it is the rule rather than the exception.

I’m enjoying this new site so much! Cre8Buzz! is a friendly network of talented people trying to spread the word of their projects while making friends and contacts. Because of the ranking system, and the communities, it is easy to quickly find talented people in many fields. Two things I noticed immediately: the warm welcome from the community and the lack of css themes. Both may be attributable to the relatively small size of the user group.

The Buzz, as some users call it, just launched recently. Many users keep the default theme, which is clean and functional. Some try using Myspace themes with predictably horrendous results. Some members use themes from khenny of Quartz Mountain Communications, a California-based web design studio. His themes are very good but limited in number. As some of you may know, I love to play with themes, changing them to suit my mood. So I’ve started saving them to themes.timbury.net where they are available to all. While the site is not “live” yet, the themes can be accessed now. I hope to get the site built up soon, with a snappier look and an upload facility so everyone can share. As always, feedback is welcome.

So come join in the fun, sign up on Cre8Buzz! and use my themes or create your own. Stop by my page and give a shout out to my friends Antman, RealWorldMom and piper of love. They all have great profiles and links to some really slamming blogs of their own. Peace.

A post on Mashable brought this to my attention. It should be no surprise that a CA Linux startup, A La Mobile, is the first to offer a suite of apps based on Android, Google’s mobile platform. Let’s hope open source can play an increasingly important role in the mobile and handheld scene. I’m interested to see what Android looks like. Googleis pushing hard to become the backbone of all our connectivity; I’m suspicious of their methods. The licensing issues in Android are fuzzy. Based on the Linux 2.6 kernel and other code released under various open source licenses, Android can never be “nailed down tight”, a condition Morgan Gillis claims is necessary for adoption by handset makers.

What we need next is clear to me: an open source hardware platform for mobile devices. The PC was open sourced by IBM in the 80’s, allowing other manufacturers, large and small, to offer competing designs. This was the single biggest factor in the success of the technology. Now, one of these mobile hardware companies with deep pockets needs to step up and release a design spec that can be developed openly.

Why can’t I purchase or build my own mobile device and choose my own OS and applications, select a carrier and enjoy communicating my way? Why do the carriers and handset makers dictate what my mobile communication experience will be? Wait a minute, I have an idea for a new project!

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Tags: Android, mobile, Linux, open source, A La Mobile

You’ll note my new Utterz widget in the sidebar below. I think it’s pretty damn cool (kewl?), but a little confusing yet. I’m supposed to call one number to record a voice message, text another number to post a text entry, or email an address from the phone to upload video, photos, or text in one post. Huh?

I’m determined to keep practicing. Luckily, Utterz seems to have a very helpful support staff. I sent the first post attempt from my t-mobile cell to the utterz email address. Unfortunatey, Utterz didn’t recognize me. I’d registered the phone number with them, but my email came from my_name@tmomail instead of my_number@tmomail. But I received a “who are you” message with instructions and my entry was soon posted! Twitter seems simpler, but less powerful.

The point of this rant, if there is one, is that the world seems to demand that we are in touch, on the grid, within ear/finger shot of anyone who’s trying to reach us. And we must publish our daily movements, plans and mood swings as they happen. I have listened, with difficulty, to 16 year old PopTart Baby from J-Town High School babble on for 3 minutes or more about how she resents people who think she’s too young to understand some things. That’s because, of course, she’s too young to understand.

Ajmac has kindly posted a photo of “more flipping meds” for “whatever they think is wrong with me”. One young lady mentioned how drunk she is and how much she normally drinks (too much), while another was clearly posting from work about how lazy her co-worker is and what an ass the boss is. I’m sure her co-worker, the boss and any future prospective employers would love to read her thoughts. And now, they can.

This generation seems to be almost completely unconcerned with privacy. It requires a constant flow of data and source of entertainment. In the meantime, it is providing both for law enforcement officials. They no longer need a wiretap warrant, just a web-enabled mobile device and a Twitter account.