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Friday, February 11, 2011

How to instantly alienate your entire mailing list

Apparently common sense is not something all humans have - or have a grasp of. I got this message the other day from a professional I have done business with:

" I have noticed that many of you who email me, have forgotten the "art" of capitalization.(Too much "texting" on your phone perhaps?) Capitalization is the difference between helping your Uncle Jack off a horse and helping your uncle jack off a horse. I hope I've made myself clear.‬"

I agree in spirit with the writer but - and maybe it's just me - I find this email (which went to a lot of people because, as a redemptive point, the writer used the BCC option) pretty blunt. I'll also note the incorrect use of quotation marks and the misplaced full stops, which, considering the message, say something about the writer's own grammatical abilities....

I am ALL for having opinions and expressing them; ALL for that, as you'll know if you've been here before but one must take care when putting forth such strong opinion by email because, unlike a blog, which people choose to come to, an email is right in your face.

For the record, I probably screw up regularly, and it is entirely possible that I've been "blogged" (this is the correct use of quotations, as "blogged" is not necessarily a word) for said unknown screw-ups.... I dunno but perhaps chastising people directly isn't the best way to boost and attract business?

So, words of (unsolicited, I know) advice; I agree that poor grammar, spelling and syntax are distracting in any kind of communication - written in particular, where it comes to business - but there are times when the direct attack is probably the greater sin, whot?