Beware, those of you who play it fast and loose with grammar. If you write messages in all-caps or can't tell the difference between "sneak peek and sneak peak" on Twitter, there are a host of “bots” out there that'll automatically note (and broadcast) your snafu. These automated accounts spend their day hunting out grammatically incorrect tweets...and making examples out of the culprits in seconds.
For example, Twitter grammar bot @CapsCop finds messages in all caps and sends messages like, “The caps lock key is not cruise control for cool.” The technology couldn't be simpler. Programmers simply have to write a code that searches for a specific string of characters and the offending user is shot a snarky message like, “Wow, look at how much cooler you are for tweeting in caps!” Zing!
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Started by Buzzfeed reporter Andrew Kaczynski, Twitter grammar bot @YourInAmerica specifically targets tweets that contain the phrase “your in America” with the reply “I think you mean ‘you’re’ in America.’ That’s embarrassing.” @StealthMountain tweets “I think you mean ‘sneak peek’” to users who type “sneak peak.” @YourorYoure messages users with a simple “[Wrong!]” when they confuse the possessive adjective "your" with the contraction "you're."
Is the world of tweets and texts changing the English language for the worst? Experts say no. Rather, like headlines and shorthand, “tweet speak” is a variant of English that follows its own set of rules and serves a specific purpose. So, kids, keep on doing what your doing...wait, what you're doing. (Washington Post)
Image: Courtesy of Twitter
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