grammar humor

This cartoon popped up on Facebook the other day, and I knew immediately that I had to share it here. Sure, I laughed when I saw it, but then I've already admitted what a word nerd I am.

How about you?

Think this is funny? (You probably notice incorrect punctuation and grammar, too.)

Not amused? (Maybe you're one of the many folks who have trouble with the its/it's dilemma--look for a post help with this soon.)

Are you chuckling and shaking your head? (You must be an English teacher!)

More funnies honoring (er, laughing about) grammar:

A Walk in the Words
The Oatmeal
Cyanide & Happiness

misspelled brand names: clever or controversial?

Ah, grade school spelling tests. Did you pass with flying colors, or would you sweat buckets, hoping your teacher wouldn’t call out words like possession (is that one “s” or two?), principle (vs. principal) or caffeine (so much for “i” before “e”…)?

As an adult, you no longer receive a letter grade when you write something down. But like it or not, you are still being judged, only this time it’s not your teacher—it’s your customers and clients. And they may come down hard on you if they sense misspellings.

Some people won’t think much of the errors, but others won’t think much of you. Maybe this isn’t fair, but it’s a reality. I know, because I’m one of those (judgmental) people. Only my biggest pet peeve isn’t a lone typo (we all do that sometimes)—it’s business or product names spelled incorrectly on purpose.

Don’t get me wrong. I love puns. I dig wordplay. But when you’re trying to come across as a reputable entity, promoting cutesy spellings just doesn’t cut it.

Especially when you’re producing educational toys (Playskool) or attempting to educate children (Las Vegas-based preschool, Kidz Kidz Kidz).

Food establishments and items are super guilty. Krispy Kreme, Maid-Rite, and Cheez Wiz are double whammies. 

And any brand ending in “z” in stead of “s” drives me bonkers. Examples include Tastee Freez, Darq Tanz, and Karz Auto Sales.

I understand that many names are misspelled to enhance brand recognition, I can’t help it—this sort of thing still bugs me. How about you? Do intentional misspellings annoy you? Or do you think they hold value?

are you twitterpated?

Remember Thumper from the classic Disney film, Bambi? He probably deserves a big fat royalty check, because this wascally wabbit (oops, wrong show) long ago coined a type of term that's getting lot of play these days: "Hmmph. Twitterpated!"

One of the amusing things about my journey into Twitter is this lingo associated with the social media mogul. I don't mean necessary abbreviations--RT, @twitterperson, etc.--but variations on the Twitter name.

Some terms are cutesy and some are clever. All loosely honor Elmer Fudd, whose speech impediment is now echoed not just by 2 and 3-year-olds, but by much of the adult world. For example:

Tweep - Twitter friends (Twitter + peep)
Twoob - Twitter newbie
Tweed - Twitter feed
Tweek - Twitter geek
Twendy - trendy Twitter post
Twerd - Twitter nerd
Twaddle - Twitter posts nobody wants to read

Seriously, though, my Twitter adventure has been a positive experience. In the morning I check in, bookmark articles of interest shared by my Tweeps, and check them out when time allows. What I've found so far is that Twitter is a wonderful place to find quality resources: blog posts, articles, etc. I'm mostly following writers, bloggers, productivity experts, networking gurus, and marketing folks, but my list will expand as time goes on, I'm sure. (Remember, I'm a Twoob.)

That's my Twitter wrap-up (Twap-up?) so far. How about you...who do you follow on Twitter? How does Twitter benefit your business/organization? Have you made quality connections? What kind of information do you share with your Tweeps?

does your newsletter make money?

A few posts ago I touched on the importance of publishing a newsletter (see Newsletters Are Not Dead). Today I came across this blog post, Email Newsletters Are Serious Business by Jason Baptiste, CEO and co-founder of Onswipe. Further proof-is-in-the-pudding that newsletters are not only NOT dead, they're helping companies MAKE money.

What do you think? Do you have a newsletter? Does it resonate with your audience? Does it help with your profits?