Choice of Words: The Strategy Behind the Content

Friday Flubs: This Week’s $1,500 Typo at Macy’s

Every Friday’s post is a collection of typos or grammatical errors I’ve spotted throughout the week. Sometimes they are things I find while out and about and sometimes they are things I find on the Internet. If you are anything like me, these typos drive you crazy, especially when they come from people who should know better.

You’ve probably heard about Macy’s big typo this week. If you haven’t, take a look:

Image from Macy's ad (WFAA-TV).
Image from Macy’s ad (WFAA-TV).

That $47 diamond, sterling silver and 14-karat gold necklace is supposed to be priced at $479. The store’s major blunder cost it lots of money (as some customers reportedly bought the necklace for $47) and possibly some customers. When Macy’s realized its mistake, it posted signs in its stores explaining the typo, stopped offering the necklace at the wrong price and canceled online orders for it.

A typo like this can cost a business money and can hurt its reputation. While most of us may look at this as a humorous misfortune, customers who were denied the wrong sale price or who had their order canceled may be left with a bad taste in their mouth.

The moral of the story? A good editing job includes every aspect of a piece of copy, including numbers and prices.

Friday Flubs: Phil Jackson’s First Tweet and its Perfect Video Follow-Up

Every Friday’s post is a collection of typos or grammatical errors I’ve spotted throughout the week. Sometimes they are things I find while out and about and sometimes they are things I find on the Internet. If you are anything like me, these typos drive you crazy, especially when they come from people who should know better.

Retired professional basketball coach and player Phil Jackson tweeted for the very first time this week. Here’s what it looked like: Continue reading “Friday Flubs: Phil Jackson’s First Tweet and its Perfect Video Follow-Up”

Technorati Study Shows Blogs are More Influential than Social Media

Technorati released its 2013 Digital Influence Report and the findings about blogs are very interesting. The importance of blogs when it comes to branding, SEO rankings and communicating with markets has been recognized for a long time. However, some of the new statistics reinforce the importance of blogs used in online marketing campaigns. Continue reading “Technorati Study Shows Blogs are More Influential than Social Media”

Is Google Reader’s Demise a Sign of Something Bigger?

By now you’ve already heard that Google Reader is closing down this summer. As the news spread people aired their frustration on social media and blogs everywhere. If you depend on Reader to get your daily news or just to follow your friends’ blogs, things will likely change for you. But, the bigger question some have been asking is, “Is the era of the RSS feed over?”

Personally, I think this sentiment is an overreaction. Yes, Google is an industry and thought leader, but the loss of one of dozens of feed services doesn’t signal the death of an entire channel of communication.

Continue reading “Is Google Reader’s Demise a Sign of Something Bigger?”

Friday Flubs: Big Mistakes = Big Embarrassment

Every Friday’s post is a collection of typos or grammatical errors I’ve spotted throughout the week. Sometimes they are things I find while out and about and sometimes they are things I find on the Internet. If you are anything like me, these typos drive you crazy, especially when they come from people who should know better.

I’ve spotted some major flubs lately. Yes, everyone makes mistakes. But, the idea is to catch those mistakes before the copy goes to print. If punctuation, grammatical and spelling errors are published your business won’t look professional. If you think I’m exaggerating, take a look at these:

Wait. What do these menus possess? Oh, never mind. There is just more than one.
Wait. What do these menus possess? Oh, never mind. There is just more than one.
If you want them to "spend wise" use grammar wisely.
If you want them to “spend wise,” use grammar wisely.
Hey! It's not nice to call people a group of "nobodies!"
There is a serious problem…or three…here.