As both you and PreciseEdit said, you do have to agree upon a style guide with your client/employer before setting out.

That being said, professional writers are also expected to be the “expert” in this area. The Chicago Style Guide may differ from, say, the US Government Printing Style Guide in small ways. But generally speaking, spelling is consistent. The word “traveler” will be “traveler” in any US style guide. Yes, your dictionary may list the double-L version as a variant, but it is likely referring to the fact that the UK spelling is traveller. It does not mean that it is a correct way to spell it within the US. (BTW, I agree with you — the word seems more balanced with two Ls, doesn’t it?)

Incidentally, there are many words that do not yet have an accepted and consistent spelling like “Internet” vs. “internet” and “website” vs. “web site” etc. What I usually do is look at a client’s past use of these words, and keep consistency moving forward.

As for the effect of the Internet: I think that what is more likely to happen is that US spelling will become the “accepted” grammar system internationally. You already see this happening in Canada — all word processors have US dictionaries by default, so when all these non-writers do their spellchecks, suddenly they have squiggly lines under words that are actually spelled correctly (like “traveller”). I can’t tell you how frustrating it is to see this happening — my wife gets mad at me now anytime I point it out in Canadian signs and advertising, it happens so much.

This change will happen slower in places like the UK and Australia (further away from US influence) but I wouldn’t be surprised if, for example, places like Hong Kong and even perhaps the European Union eventually switch to US spelling and grammar.

In the short term though, yes, you can see the hodge-podge of styles in blogs and other social media already. People are used to seeing and reading different spelling styles. It certainly makes for a more exotic Global Village, doesn’t it?

TV commercials — lol — in Canada, we see the original UK commercial on Canadian channels, and the dubbed ones on US channels. For example, that Cheerios commercial where the husband asks his wife if she’s losing weight. (”The box says: ‘Shut up, Steve’.”) The dubbing is a little off in the US version…

~Graham