In which I rant about grammar

Here's a thought... Does bad spelling/grammar actually matter, and do people who don't get it think you're wrong when actually you're right, and if they're the majority does that mean it's better to be wrong?

It’s not the coolest way of going about but I pride myself on being able to use where/were/we're and their/there/they're correctly (and I don't put ect. when I mean etc.).

I have worked long, hard and unashamedly on my position as unofficial Head Geek and Proofreader in my office (for the record I can also spot a double space on a piece of artwork at several paces *looks smug*) so I was dismayed when an evening strolling round my local IKEA was ruined by in-store signage the size of the side of my house with the wrong kind of 'to' on it. 

When a local takeaway advertises 'Chip's, burger's, pizza's ect.' it's kind of endearing, and when there's a handmade sign attached to the self service till in B&Q saying 'Card's Only' I can forgive it because it's the work of some proactive member of staff just trying to help out their customers...

But when the marketing department of a multi-national brand can't get it right, well that's not acceptable. And no, I don't think being head-quartered in Sweden is an excuse. In fact I bet the Swedes would get it right.

The other side of this is those of us who are promoting *ourselves* as a business and if your Linked In profile is littered with errors and bad English, there's no way you'll be getting my business... which is a shame because it doesn't actually mean you're bad at what you do.

Perhaps all this 'error spotting' is just a snobby little in-game for those of us who think our 'book learning' makes us better than those with less education... but then I have plenty of peers with just as many letters after their name who just can't get it right...

The lesson has got to be 'know your strengths' - if you know you're not Head Geek material, then seek out the person in your office, your family, or your circle of friends who is and ask them for a quick check over. Believe me, we geeks *love* the opportunity to show off :-)