Re: the anonymous comment from “PR Woman”, I feel obliged to point out a few things:

i. It’s somewhat unclear to what the plural pronoun that opens your second sentence refers. “These” – in the context of your paragraph – seems to belong to “many typos” and “poor proofing,” yet you state that these are “skills taught in first-year PR writing classes”. I’m not aware of any school that teaches those failings as skills.

ii. Your use of “aptitudes” strikes me as puzzling here. “Aptitude” is not a synonym for “skill” – it means something entirely different. Whilst “aptitude” can be used to refer to an acquired ability, I would venture to suggest that this usage is uncommon and unusual enough to be worthy of comment. The more usual, accepted meaning is of an innate ability or talent – hence, an “aptitude” is not something one generally thinks of as being “developed”. (See definition, here: http://snurl.com/2bfvl)

iii. You’ve chosen to open your third sentence with a conjunction. Where I went to school, such casual flouting of Strunk & White would be considered anathema. I understand that it is not uncommon in informal usage, but in a comment that sets out to be critical of someone else’s writing, one would think a more formal observance of exemplary style would be prudent.

In other words, people who live in glass houses…

I have earned my PR Certificate and still make mistakes AND write blog entries with typos. As a former “front desker” here at TFC I can say with some authority that while running the office might not teach you what how to write a news release or make media lists on medianetcentral, it does teach you how to deal with clients, how to manage a crisis, time management, expectation management, just to name a few. I don’t think Sammy exaggerates at all when she says it’s “just short of a full degree’s worth of education in PR.” I learned the basics in my PR Program but I learned how to be good at it at the front desk.

This is a blog. Relax. And when dismounting from your high horse, please do so with care.

wonderful first post! happy to see you’re officially out-lauren-ing lauren, you techno-savvy lady, you.

and: the printer and computer malfunctions will never end, and they will eat your brain and be the bane of your existence until they drive you naked, confused, and screaming into downtown toronto traffic.

can’t wait til next week. or, tomorrow, i guess.

congrats! you’ve cyber-arrived.