In search for the error-free blog

Let’s see if I can do this without screwing up.

Easier said than done, especially lately. It’s a red flag warning that needs to be addressed sooner, rather than later.

From my vantage point, there are two types of mistakes in this business: Boneheaded mistakes and super boneheaded mistakes.

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I’ve made both this week. This isn’t so much true confessions. More like a conversation with myself, so it doesn’t linger.

People are human, and we err. Whether blogger, doctor, or highway worker, we all have the occasional oops.

I’ve learned — unfortunately, through numerous experiences — that it’s best to fess up to these things, sincerely apologize, and vow not to let it happen again. Then, make sure it doesn’t.

My errors tend to fall into one of three categories:

— Lazy errors. That’s what happened this week with the Pine Ridge golf course blog. I said owner James Dicks paid $1.8 million for the golf course, when the actual number is $850,000. I used the first number based on an email, but even as I’m writing Sunday night, I’m thinking, “Mike, check the deed.”

Later, while editing, same thought. Check the deed. An email is fine, but a deed is a deed. No misunderstanding. But I got caught up in what I was doing and quickly forgot about it.

And…the next time I thought, “Mike, check the deed,” is when a reader pointed out Monday morning that the purchase price in the blog was incorrect.

Lazy errors are preventable errors. I probably kick myself over these more than any other.

— Mindless, illogical, sleight-of-hand errors. That’s often the misspelled name, such as my Florida Politics story about the Senate District 11 special election. I misspelled Democratic candidate Ash Marwah’s name.

I truly was stunned when Mr. Marwah emailed me early Wednesday to point out the error, and I jumped out of bed to fix it. I mean…he had sent me a press release and photo. I’d been looking at the state elections website all day Tuesday, where his name appeared with two other candidates. I googled his name for research. I linked his Facebook page and other online mentions in the story.

Now you tell me…how in the world do I misspell that man’s name?

This is beyond careless or lazy. It’s unexplainable. There’s no internal process to fix when something like this happens. But it’s a huge flag that not all the brain cells are in alignment. I can’t dwell on it because that leads to more errors, but I also can’t ignore it.

— Errors of judgement. This is the scary one. I’ve had one or two of those over the blog years where I truly did not see the obvious. When the errors were pointed out to me, I realized how wrong I had been. Everyone in the room could see it but me.

Judgement errors are teachable moments. Frankly, at nearly 67, I've about had it with that. 

Errors stink; they can ruin a day. It’s not good for me, and it’s not good for the person whom I’ve wronged, and it’s not good if the blog contains inaccuracies or outright mistakes. (It puts me in the same mood as our gator friend when someone interrupts his lazing in the sun to take a picture.)

One mistake, OK. Two in a week, hmmm. Three? Bordering on catastrophe.

Errors are always a sign of something bigger. The uncertainty of the World Headquarters relocation certainly is weighing heavily, so that’s a likely culprit. It’s like I could use a few days off from life, ya know? Clear the fog some.

Absent an escape, I double up on prayer and become very aware of my surroundings. I tend to snap out of it pretty fast.

Hope I didn’t get too windy. I don’t have a newsroom to commiserate mistakes, so it’s blog friends who get to hear my confession. Lucky you.

Look. I’m probably making a bigger deal than it is. Readers have constantly told me to not be so hard on myself. Getting this out of my head helps. Thanks for listening.

Have an awesome Thursday, friends.

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