This isn’t a new problem, I’m not unique in being annoyed by it, and others have explained it more extensively, but still. I WILL NOT GIVE UP. An email to the Guardian’s Readers’ Editor (slightly re-formatted for the web):
Hi,
I’m noticing more and more instances of writers using “blog” when they mean “blogpost”. For instance, here’s one from today:
According to Shenton, who wrote a detailed blog about the incident for the Stage…
It’s quite jarring as one has to stop and think, in this instance, “Do they really mean ‘Shenton wrote an entire blog about the incident,’ or do they simply mean ‘Shenton wrote a blogpost about the incident’?”
It’s like being confused about whether someone has written an entire magazine about a subject, or only a single article. The difference is often apparent from the context but surely language should avoid ambiguity where possible, and in this case it is perfectly possible. One instance of where it’s extremely ambiguous is in your own column yesterday:
A Guardian colleague objected when she spotted this in a TV blog about a Channel 4 programme that seeks out hidden talent and featured a grandmother who climbed the Old Man of Storr.
I can’t tell from this whether you’re referring to an entire blog about the Channel 4 programme, or if it’s a single blogpost about the programme.
The distinction is already clear in your style guide, so perhaps writers should be more aware of this, and maintain the clarity in their writing that I’m sure they usually strive for.
Many thanks,
Phil
I think I usually write “blog post” myself, but then I don’t have a style guide to stick to.
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