• Waterstones ditches its apostrophe – faux pas or good move?

• Day three: Joe’s Movember challenge

• WAR gets social @ the Cambridge News B2B event

• Businesses need to get more used to saying “You’re hired!”

• Beware of the vanishing story – there’s no magic solution

Waterstones ditches its apostrophe – faux pas or good move?

Who could have imagined a little punctuation mark would cause so much debate? This week’s announcement from Waterstones that it was dropping its apostrophe has created a maelstrom of publicity for the bookseller.

The move sparked a flurry of discussion in the Twittersphere, with accusations flying of yet another example of the dumbing down of Britain.

Grammar experts have panned the move and even praised other big apostrophe-loving brands like Sainsbury’s and McDonald’s for getting it right.

Waterstones has also changed its logo, which will go back to its sharper serif Baskerville typeface after a redesign in 2010 resulted in the ‘W’ being written in lower case.

The bookshop chain has said that the reason behind the move was purely pragmatic. Managing Director James Daunt said: “Waterstones without an apostrophe is, in a digital world of URLs and email addresses, a more versatile and practical spelling.”

It seems unfortunate that a bookshop chain is leading calls for a relaxed attitude to spelling, but is it really that much of a shock that a retailer is looking to use the web more to increase sales?

The Christmas results are yet to be announced for the business but this time last year 11 Waterstones stores were forced to close due to poor trading.

Few would argue a sole reliance on trading on the high street is the best approach for a bookshop chain and on the face of it a strategy of maximising sales channels in a tough market is nothing radical.