Hokey-Hokey! (any "Sim"-ians out there?)
Yesterday, I happened to catch part of an episode on that new game show on the Discovery Channel called Cash Cab . It's a game in which people are picked up (completely randomly) by a cab in New York City and, before they reach their destination, they have to answer all kinds of questions-- if they do, they win a few hundred dollars (depending on how many questions they get right); if they get three wrong, they have to get out. It's cute.
Well, yesterday on the show, one question was: "What is the punctuation at the end of a sentence that includes three periods and indicates an unspoken word or phrase." The people in the cab didn't know. . . even when one of them called their mom. Isn't that sad?
It took me a moment to think of it. . . and maybe I'm picking nits. But the definition they gave threw me off. Because, while it CAN indicate an "unspoken word or phrase" it usually only indicates a word or phrase that trails off. . . either because the writer has left something out or because they don't KNOW how to finish the thought. Or they could just be pausing. . . you see what I mean?
Anyway, I finally realized they were referring to an ellipsis. . . something I over use whenever possible! I love ellipses-- they're awesome! (BTW, for those who don't know, punctuation is what people used before emoticons came out-- and what some of us still find completely satisfactory in expressing all our thoughts.)
Oh, I have an acid-wit today.
That's because I was drawn into a rather nasty back-and-forth over the word "could". Now, come on: could? I mean, that's a pretty basic, 4th grade word, isn't it? Well (for all the 3rd graders reading) could has two meanings:
1) Possible or able
Ex: "It could rain today."
2) Allowable or acceptable
Ex: "I asked my mom if we could go to a movie."
The reason this came up -- and was made into such a big issue -- is less important than the fact that the person who insisted on the wrong definition did so only because, in her mind anyway, it proved her point. She was wrong, of course, and no amount of hysterics changed that.
But she would not even consider the other definition.
This raises a very interesting issue. . . because, as writers, we need to pay close attention to the words we use when marketing. And, yes, I expect you to pick through each and every word -- both as a reader and a writer -- to be sure of the meanings.
This, after all, is why online marketers have gotten such a bad reputation (in many circles of the offline world, we're considered schemers and scammers, period). Unfortunately, sometimes, because the wording is so slick, we are decidedly guilty of these claims.
To say something like, "Sign up today and Start Earning A Living Working Online," for instance, deliberately implies that the person signing-up will begin actually MAKING money the same day they sign up. And, while they will "begin the process," that process may take anywhere from several weeks to several months, all of which is hardly the SAME DAY. Thus, a form of false advertising, a form of deception. . . and exactly what the marketer wants. Heck, that's WAY more exciting than saying, "Sign Up Today and begin the Process of Earning A Living Online Someday."
But (back to "could"), as I told the person who kept insisting, it's important to not only know how to read on the internet, but to be wise enough to see what is right in front of you, not what you would like to see. Fools, after all, always see what they want to see.-- mo
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