With the plethora of instant text communciations it is easy for us to become sloppy in our spelling, and when using texting, reducing words to rebuses and abbreviations is near-mandatory.

Still, when you are involved in any form of business writing, especially where you have an outside audience, an audience that has some control over your future, correct spelling, and edit reviews are critical.

One of today’s contributions to Global Entrepereneurship Week is our “Back to the Fundamentals” article Spelling and editing are fundamental business planning activities.

I regularly post on this blog about the importance of accurate spelling and correct grammar. It is an ongoing issue for everyone who works with the written word; in education, in any publishing media, in all facets of business, etc.

But don’t think for a minute that I’m preaching from some high seat of perfection. I regularly have my blog posts reviewed by the other two members of our Documentation Team, and they always find some egregious error. [Thanks Teri and Sara!]

It really is impossible for any of us to be correct all of the time. Even the pros make mistakes.

Philip Corbett, the deputy news editor for The New York Times has just begun a new blog, posting “After Deadline,” The Times’ weekly newsroom critique.

As Corbett explains, “The goal is not to chastise, but to point out recurring problems and suggest solutions. Since most writers encounter similar troubles, we think these observations might interest general readers, too.”

Stop by this blog, enjoy the critiques and comments, and improve your business writing.

My thanks to Andy Isaacson of our Palo Alto Software Web Team who sent me the link to this blog.

Steve Lange
Senior Editor
Palo Alto Software

I did it again: early adapter, early adopter, damn! I hate it when that happens. In my last post, I called myself an early adapter but should have written early adopter. So, under the premise that if literate good-speller/good-writer me makes this mistake, then others must, here’s a correction and clarification from Simon Cooke at Accidental Scientist: 

Folks, please, don’t make the mistake that one head of marketing at Sierra I used to know did (and fought me tooth and nail on it, insisting that they were correct), and call the people you’re relying on to buy your product early in the game early adapters. The phrase you are looking for is early adopter.

Note the ‘O’.

This is someone who is part of the first vanguard of people to ever use a new thing. They adopt the thing early on. (Adopt meaning “to take up and practice as one’s own”). An early adapter, however, is someone who takes something early on and, like McGuyver or the A-Team, adapts it to their own nefarious purposes. This usually involves and/or incorporates duct tape somewhere in the process, a pocketknife, and potentially a Sharpie permanent marker. Big difference.

So I stand corrected. Better late than never. Thanks Simon (and Eve, at Entrepreneur.com, who caught it first.)