Writing and the Internet
I'm still in my linguistics class, and last week we talked about language on the computer. My textbook said that writing on the Internet is somewhere between speech and more "traditional" writing. It also said that on the Internet, grammar and spelling mistakes tend to be ignored. People just do things however the heck they want. Obviously, that's true. Some people in my class think it doesn't matter all that much, but I'm one of those people who complained about it during our discussion. I want grammar and syntax to be important, dang it! I want people to know it! I guess it's the fact that I'm an English major who works at a college writing center. I have a definite preference for "corporate" news sites like MSNBC. A site like that has publishing standards, and everything has to be passed through a kind of gateway before getting posted. But I also love the way the Internet facilitates self-publishing. Blogs are awesome! In the end, I think the Internet gives people a voice where they wouldn't have one otherwise. So my final verdict is a big thumbs-up.
To all my writing friends (and anybody else who's interested): What do you think of the writing you see on the Internet? Has the Internet influenced your writing for better or for worse?
To all my writing friends (and anybody else who's interested): What do you think of the writing you see on the Internet? Has the Internet influenced your writing for better or for worse?