My First Week at Clearly Delicious: the AP Stylebook and the Question of “tweet” and “Twitter”

posted by Meredith Quinn, Writing & Editorial Intern (Spring 2013) on Friday, February 22nd, 2013

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Off We Go!

The first week here at Clearly Delicious has gone off with a bang, and like Helana’s beautiful greyhound, we interns are beginning the first stretch on the track towards enlightenment.

[Ok, so that’s a pretty cheesy metaphor, but the excitement of this journey is truly like a day at the races. If only we could don those beautiful hats like royalty atAscot.]

It has only been a few days but I have to admit, I have already learned so much. For example, while discussing a recent post, the Editorial/Writing team at CD came across an interesting dilemma: is “tweet” capitalized? And by “tweet” I am referring to the increasingly popular social media site Twitter, in which each post is referred to as a “tweet” (a noun), as well as the verb “to tweet.”

[Of course, you’re probably already familiar with these terms, but I find it’s useful to clarify these nuances and rules when thinking about how to edit or write for social media.  Although many of my English major friends still prefer pen and paper to 140-character tweets.]

Pictured: The little blue bird iconically used for Twitter’s logo

The article discusses issues regarding social media and the public’s growing concerns about who decides how we define our presence(s) on social media sites like Twitter.One commentator even observed, “I’m not sure why we should allow the AP to define how we, who’ve been on Twitter since early on, describe what we do.” However, Grammer Girl makes the necessary distinction that the AP does not dictate the language we use, but actually approves/disapproves patterns of speech of which we’ve already been using.

You can read the whole article here.

To save time, however, here was their conclusion: “tweet” is lowercase. Despite being a product of the site, the term is not a proper noun. Of course, the title of the site (Twitter) is a proper noun and should be capitalized. Who knew? I sure didn’t. Yet, it is one of the many (chicken) nuggets of knowledge I continue to digest during my time here at CD. While I haven’t even rounded the first corner, I hope the finish line doesn’t appear on the horizon too soon. I still have so much more running left in me!

[Ok, I promise I’m done with the racing metaphors.]

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Sources:

AP Stylebook for Twitter – https://twitter.com/APStylebook

Grammar Girl’s Quick & Dirty Tips: “tweet” or “Twitter?” http://grammar.quickanddirtytips.com/tweet-or-twitter-verb.aspx

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Meredith Quinn is a senior at LSU seeking a degree in English. Naturally, she is thrilled to be a part of the Clearly Delicious team as an Editorial and Writing Intern. A self-professed addict of anything British, Meredith can often be found with a cup of Earl Grey and a Raspberry Scone.

Contact: meredith [at] clearlydeliciousfoodblog [dot] com

 

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