Spelling matters

It's not that hard to find articles bemoaning the lack of spelling skills in written communication. Even spell checkers don't help that much; I regularly see student work with "costumer" instead of "customer" and "form" where the intended word was "from." One often sees the problem attributed to instant messaging, but it turns out that's not necessarily the case. This study from the University of Alberta shows that students who can spell in text messages also spell well in traditional writing, and students who don't spell well in traditional writing don't spell well in text messages either. Which is cause and which is effect?

However, there is no question that spelling properly is important. The hapless head of the Chilean mint misspelled the name of the country on a coin (!!!) and lost his job as a result. What's bad for him might be good for coin collectors, though.

Wall St Journal article on email

This article about mistakes made in email should be required reading for anyone using email for business. Personally, I have not grown to love Twitter, though I hope that its appearance makes people learn the value of brevity, since there is a 140 character restriction on content. The WSJ article points out the value of short, clear content and useful subject lines. Which email would you open first - one titled "Meeting" or one titled "Your action items from Friday's meeting"? The article also contrasts the meaning of Dear Betty, and Dear Betty! Have a look, and see if it doesn't spur you on to higher quality in your email communications.