The LinkedIn Rant That Started It All
I’ve been happily posting travel stories, local adventures, flowers, seagulls, and the usual WMEO nonsense… and then yesterday I stumbled across a full‑blown rant on LinkedIn. The writer had clearly just had a run‑in with the AI writing detectors — the kind that swoop in, slap your hand, and tell you your own words aren’t yours.
It got me thinking.
If he can get tackled by the digital hall monitors, what chance do the rest of us have?
And that’s how we ended up here today, talking about spell check, AI inspectors, SEO gremlins, and the general chaos of trying to write anything in 2026 without being scolded by a machine.
Spell Check: The Original Traitor
So you think writing all day is easy, do you? Well… maybe it used to be. Before the world of AI kicked in and decided to become the boss of all of us.
First it was spell check — the original digital menace.
Don’t tell me you’ve never typed a quick text to a friend only to have spell check change the word and the meaning, leaving your friend staring at their phone wondering what on earth you just said. Even worse when it’s a business text.
Stupid spell check. It’s been sabotaging writers since Windows 95.
AI Inspectors: The Little Digital Hall Monitors
Then came the AI inspectors — those little digital hall monitors who patrol your writing like they’re guarding Fort Knox. LinkedIn has them. Facebook has them. WordPress has a whole army of them.
Write three sentences in a row that start with the same word? SLAP. AI alert. You’re clearly a robot.
Use a vocabulary word bigger than “nice”? SLAP. AI alert. No human could possibly know synonyms.
Write a paragraph that actually flows? SLAP. AI alert. Humans are supposed to be chaotic, didn’t you know?
Honestly, the better you write, the more likely you are to get flagged. It’s the digital equivalent of: “You’re too good at this, so clearly you must be cheating.”
WordPress SEO Guardians: The Gremlins in the Corner
And then we get to WordPress, where the SEO Guardians live. These little gremlins sit in the corner judging every syllable you type.
Passive voice? SLAP. Fix it.
Sentence too long? SLAP. Break it.
Paragraph too short? SLAP. Add fluff.
Now they even have a little icon you can click so the AI can “correct” your passive voice for you. Because nothing says “authentic writing” like a robot rewriting your sentence so another robot will approve it.
Meanwhile, you’re just trying to write a simple post about puffins or donuts or your cats without getting yelled at by a machine.
Yes, I Use AI — But Not the Way You Think
Do I voluntarily use AI? Of course I do. It’s an outstanding tool — but I don’t turn it loose to write my whole post.
I use it the way writers have used editors for centuries: as a sounding board, a second set of eyes, and occasionally a therapist when my sentences start misbehaving.
I toss ideas around before I start writing. Then, after I have a draft together, I let AI review it, make suggestions, and correct my many, many typos.
You don’t want to read a sentence exactly the way it first appears on my screen. Trust me. Some of them look like I fell asleep on the keyboard or tried to type while riding a mechanical bull.
I’ve told you before — I’m a hunt‑and‑peck typist. And when I start going fast? Oh, it’s over.
My fingers turn into fat little chaos gremlins, and suddenly my sentence needs a code breaker, a translator, and possibly a priest.
Sometimes I read my own typing and ask myself… What??? Not “what did I mean?” Just… what is this? It’s like my keyboard went rogue and started writing in a dialect only dolphins understand.
That’s why I use AI the way normal people use spell check — except spell check betrayed us years ago. AI at least tries to help instead of turning “I’ll call you later” into “I’ll corral your lizard.”
In Closing
So yes — I saw a rant on LinkedIn, and it reminded me that in this brave new world of spell check sabotage, AI hall monitors, and SEO gremlins, writing isn’t the peaceful hobby it used to be.
But I’m still here, typing away, chaos gremlins and all.
As Banner would say: “In this newsroom, even the typos have seniority.”
Cute. Reminds me of my new cell phone I got just before mom’s fall. Jim tested you while we were in Albany Med and I sent John a message. I said that mom fell and broke her pelvis. My phone said that mom fell and broke her Elvis. Three times it did that before it gave up and let me say pelvis. Yesterday I sent a message and used the word off…however my phone put office. my new phone keeps talking to me and I just give up. Prefer the old way of doing things. Oh well such is life. Just glad I don’t write like you do, you must have more patience that me that is for sure. Still love reading your blogs.
I think I must have been an aspiring writer all along. I never loved composition classes back in high school, but over the years I always found myself volunteering to write team newsletters or company updates whenever the opportunity came up. Later I took some online writing courses and even considered freelance travel writing, though I never quite mastered the art of pitching.
Eventually I started a blog, and that’s the form that finally clicked for me. The writing itself isn’t the hard part — it’s keeping a steady stream of ideas flowing. Thankfully, having modern AI tools to help refine and polish things makes the whole process a lot easier.
I’m glad you enjoy my stories, reflections and posts. I plan to keep writing as long as I can sit at a keyboard so buckle up