Technical Writing 2013

1. Technical Writing 2013

2. This week… • Plain and Persuasive style • Letters, Memos & Emails • Social Media & Web 2.0 apps

3. Letters, Emails, & Social Media Basic overview of...

4. Traditional vs. New • Currently, workplace communication forms include the letter, the memorandum, and the email. • The word Email , a shortened version for electronic mail, is often used for both formal and informal communication. • Many email clients (such as Gmail) blend the formatting of traditional letters and memos.

5. Organizational Pattern • If written correctly, all three follow a similar organizational pattern of ...

6. Social media & Web 2.0 apps • By contrast, social media (web 2.0 applications) can be either in long-form blog sites such as Wordpress, Blog.com or Google Blogger or short-form microblogging apps such as Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram. • Web 2.0 applications blend capabilities of text, audio, and video features such as Gchat and Skype.

7. Popular or Not Popular • Social media has both benefits and drawbacks. • Benefits include creating an ambient awareness and social presence amongst colleagues and acquaintances. • Drawbacks include loss of privacy and potential surveillance.

8. [Ambient] Awareness • “A new form of peripheral social awareness....propagated from relatively constant contact with one's friends and colleagues via social networking platforms on the Internet” that gives users a “sort of omnipresent knowledge...that allow[s] a constant connection with one's social circle.” Wikipedia contributors. "Ambient awareness." Wikipedia, The Free Encyclopedia. 6 May. 2013. Web.

9. [Social] Presence • “A framework building block [social] presence represents the extent to which users can know if other users are accessible.” • “It includes knowing where others are, in the virtual world and/or in the real world, and whether they are available.” J.H. Kietzmann et al., Social media? Get serious! Understanding he functional building blocks of social media. (245).

10. Making sense of it all • Social media has allowed corporate communication to be democratized. • “The power has been taken from those in marketing and public relations by the individuals and communities that create, share, and consume blogs, tweets, Facebook entries, movies, pictures” etc. J.H. Kietzmann et al., Social media? Get serious! Understanding the functional building blocks of social media. (242).

11. Functional Building Blocks of Social Media Figure 1: J.H. Kietzmann et al., Social media? Get serious! Understanding the functional building blocks of social media. (243).

12. Real vs. Virtual worlds • Electronic communication provides a relatively quick method to disseminate information either to one person or many. • Now more than ever, it is important to consider the image that you want to project in both the real and virtual worlds. • Image can be carefully crafted through your use of both tone and style.

13. Emotional color • Tone is an important aspect to written communication because the receiver of the message does not have the luxury of hearing you speak the words nor the ability to immediately ask questions of clarification.

14. Adjusting Tone • Your tone should sound professional but not bureaucratic. • When necessary, your tone should be firm but never shrill or harsh. • Avoid coarse language, slang or euphemisms that would be unfamiliar or inappropriate to your audience.

15. Plain Style • Along with the tone of the letter, style is also important. • Business correspondence is typically written in a plain style. • Be clear and concise. • Consider your audience when crafting the letter/email/memo.