Typos vs speed and efficiency for emails, messaging and blogs
Posted By RichC on July 15, 2018
Like most who spend their days using smartphones, tablets and computer devices, I’m prone to making typos along with various written communication mistakes. If you’ve read my blog a few times, you will undoubtedly notice mistakes, even if you have an untrained eye — that is because I rarely proofread.
I’ve been criticized by everyone from my wife to annoyed professionals who believe if something is "published to the public," it should be as mistake free as possible. I agree, that would be nice. I’ve debated this over the years with close friends and wonder if I should spend a little more time proofreading blog posts … as well as the quick email communication or text messaging in order to pass along information (more recently social network Tweets). After giving it a little effort, I end up with the conclusion that so long as the "intended thought" is efficiently communicated, I’m not going to waste additional time to reread or rewrite. Still, I hate being criticized and know is show a lack of professionalism (and laziness) when I should be spending a few extra minutes reviewing and correcting typos and at leas a few of the grammatical errors.
Is there is a right or wrong protocol for personal personal written communication? If it is to spend more time proofing than writing, I would likely not post as often? Some, like me argue that "communicating" is the "art of conveying information" and so long as it is clearly understood, the act is successful. Other like my wife say that it is a poor reflection on my professionalism and role as a "semi editor" when it comes to work my company publishes. Hm, she sounds correct too. As for business communication, I do put a little more effort into correcting writing, even if I still personally find it hard to devote the time on something glanced at once or twice if I’m lucky.
I tend to fall back on the original purpose of journaling — my "private paper journal" was started to make me more comfortable with 
"communicating through writing." The paper journal (40 years ago) has long given way to a daily "blog" but the writing still serves my initial purpose — write something down daily … a thought, idea, rambling letter or anything … and it will make you a better written communicator. For me, having to proofread my desultory thoughts or even Tweets, would mean spending time rereading or rewriting … and this would defeat the purpose (and reduce my ambition to write/type.) If I spent more time each day reviewing, it would become a chore and would be too easy to stop. So for those who tell me "you make too many mistakes," I’ll make a blanket apology and let you know that your critique was heard … and I will continue to try to improve.
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