Logging On and Logging In
August 3, 2006 \ 3 CommentsI keep hearing a phrase on television and on the radio that has always bothered me, but I finally snapped last night and vocalized my displeasure to my wife. There is a widely-misused phrase by businesses to direct people to their website:
Log on to our website at...
You don't "log on" to a website. You visit a website, and you can even point your browser to a website, but the log on is a different step. According to a recent study, only 25% of active internet users dial-up to get online. Only the dial-up folks actually "log on" to the internet. Everyone else is simply online. The only logging in most people do is in to a website (like when you log in to check your e-mail) but logging on never applies to a website.
I cordially invite all the offending institutions to update their scripts. This includes NPR, and just about every local television station (KSL, abc4news, etc.). I have yet to hear a national television news anchor make this mistake.
Okay, off the soapbox and back to work.
Tags: internet, logging in, logging on, online
Well, I guess you know what SaraJoy and other graphic design people feel like when people use the word font instead of typeface. When Al Gore first "invented" the internet, the majority of people used dial-up (unless you worked for NASA or China), where "logging on" was the norm. The transition to broadband, high speed, or DSL/Cable has been rather quick, so certain terminology is still going to be lingering, especially if it has become an universally accepted term associated with "the web". How long did it take for people to stop saying "tune in" with regards to TV even after cable TV became the norm?
This has irked me for quite some time. Fight the good fight, man!
Dude, yes! This has always bothered me. Unfortunately there are not many good replacements for this trend. 'Visit' doesn't really sell you. 'Go to' is too vague. I think it's better to not say anything, just supply the web site, people know how to the Internet. Talk about what's there instead 'on OurSite.com you'll find special offers, downloads and exclusive content. check it out today!' (not the lack of www, i agree there too)