Email, discussion groups, blogs and wikis.

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Informal Writing

• Email, discussion groups, blogs and wikis.

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• gt So, for those of you in the tech sector, what
  kind of writing do you do as part of your job?
• Subtle but politically charged emails and
  reports which will be circulated via mailing list
  to be seen by higher-ups that make it clear what
  the problem is without actually pointing a finger
  of blame at anyone who will get hostile as a
  result. - Dan Johnson

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• gt At what skills do you find your fellow
  colleagues sadly lacking?
• The ability to make vast wastelands of
  (nonetheless important!) data look formatted and
  attractive enough to wade through. I hate the
  form-over-content marketing crowd, but people,
  a few headings and some table layout will make
  your results so much easier to understand.
  Dan Johnson

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Big Blocks O Text

• Frequently, the recipients of long documents,
  rather than analyze the entire document
  carefully, have a tendency to simply read the
  first little bit. This can be particularly true
  of documents sent via email. Sometimes, this
  syndrome can be alleviated by turning longer
  blocks of text into shorter lists of individual
  points. Even simple things like white space
  between list items can help draw attention to
  each underlying idea.

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Listifying

• Sometimes, document recipients just read the
  first bit.
• This is particularly true of emails.
• Putting the key points in a list can help.
• Putting them in a big block of text does not.
• The empty spaces between the bullet points make
  the list look even simpler.

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Responding to an email

• First questions
• How many people are getting a copy of this
  message?
• How closely are they paying attention?
• Are you responding to
• An original email?
• A response to a previous email?
• One of many responses to an ongoing group
  discussion?
• How closely are you paying attention?

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The easy stuff

• Simple correspondence with one other person
• Read his or her email carefully.
• Respond as seems appropriate.
• Be both clear and polite if something can be
  misread as hostile, it frequently will be.
• Email is typically brief and direct.
• Brief and direct is easy to misread as angry,
  dismissive, or insulting.

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Multiple-recipient email

• Even if youre just responding to one persons
  statements, you have an audience.
• Dont say it in email if you wouldnt say it in a
  meeting room
• where you knew you were being recorded.
• The larger the recipient list, the more
  opportunities there are for words to be
  misinterpreted or taken out of context.

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Top Posting Posting a response above the
original email

• Your response
• Sarahs ideas show a lot of potential. I think
  the additional functionality would be worth the
  added complexity of the UI.
• Original message
• gtSo, what do you think about Sarahs new
  proposals? Theyd make our product more
  versatile, but marketing thinks the necessary
  changes to the UI would make the learning curve
  too high for new customers.

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Top Posting worst case scenario

• Your response
• Sarahs ideas show a lot of potential. I think
  the additional functionality would be worth the
  added complexity of the UI.
• The (whole) original message
• gtHi everyone. Great meeting today I think we
  really brought up some crucial issues to address
  before product launch. Id like to schedule
  another such meeting for Wednesday of next week.
  Does that cause scheduling problems with anyone
  else?
• gtSo, what do you think about Sarahs new
  proposals? Theyd make our product more
  versatile, but marketing thinks the necessary
  changes to the UI would make the learning curve
  too high for new customers.
• Julie Wilson
• Product Manager
• Kobayashi, Inc.
• [phone]
• Great spirits have always encountered
  violent opposition from mediocre minds. Albert
  Einstein

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Bottom Posting Posting a response beneath the
original email

• Original message
• gtSo, what do you think about Sarahs new
  proposals? Theyd make our product more
  versatile, but marketing thinks the necessary
  changes to the UI would make the learning curve
  too high for new customers.
• Your response
• Sarahs ideas show a lot of potential. I think
  the additional functionality would be worth the
  added complexity of the UI.

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Interlaced Posting

• gtSo, what do you think about Sarahs new
  proposals?
• Sarahs ideas show a lot of potential.
• gtTheyd make our product more versatile, but
  marketing thinks the necessary changes to the UI
  would make the learning curve too high for new
  customers.
• I think the additional functionality would be
  worth the added complexity of the UI.

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Interlaced vs. Bottom posting

• Interlaced
• Pro
• Can address individual points specifically.
• Can be less ambiguous.
• Con
• Can accidentally separate sections from a larger
  context.
• Can look somewhat untidy, or difficult to read.
• Bottom Posting
• Pro
• Can deliver a cohesive overall message.
• Con
• Can take longer for a reader to get to that
  message.

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In Defense of Top Posting

• Is the recipient list a small group of people?
• Are they clearly focused on the matter at hand?
• Then top posting can be the most efficient type
  of response.

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Blog Writing

• Expositional narratives
• How I solved this problem, as a drama.
• Highlights real life problems and real solutions
• Can help frame seemingly technical issues as
  general interest ones.

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Blog Writing

• Tutorial Blog Writing
• Before you start this project, youll need to
  get some basic safety equipment a fire
  extinguisher, welding gloves, and some goggles.
  (All can be bought at your local hardware store.)
• Youll also need a roll of heavy duty duct tape
  (6.95)
• Use conversational, not formal language.

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Conversational vs. Formal Writing

• Formal"This program is about what type of plants
  survive on different planets. For each planet, a
  plant will be designed. The goal is to learn what
  type of roots, stem, and leaves allow the plant
  to survive in each environment. Some hints are
  provided throughout the program."

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• Conversational"You are about to start a journey
  where you will be visiting different planets. For
  each planet, you will need to design a plant.
  Your mission is to learn what type of roots,
  stem, and leaves will allow your plant to survive
  in each environment. I will be guiding you
  through by giving out some hints."
• (Examples from Kathy Sierras Conversational
  Writing Kicks Formal Writings Ass.)

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Bottom line talk to your audience

• Consider your recipient list, or potential
  visitors to your blog.
• Showing off your advanced knowledge is good, but
  so is remembering and retelling your early
  mistakes.
• Experienced readers will typically commiserate
  with your failures.
• New readers will learn from them.

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Editing Wikis

• See Wikipedia Editing a page
• Minor edits spelling, grammar, slight formatting
  changes.
• Not changes to content, even minor changes.
• Major edits can include changing even a single
  word, if that changes the entrys content.

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Major edits

• Create an edit summary
• Note what youve changed, and why
• Make note of summary limitations
• Example Wikipedia has a 200 character limit.
• Follow the appropriate Manual of Style
• If youre changing, but not replacing, an
  existing entry
• Try to keep the same style as the previous author.

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• Any questions?