The Grammar Police snapped the cuffs on me for my last post about breaking the formal rules of usage. As part of a community-service plea bargain, I concede their major points:
1) Know your audience, and use an appropriate voice (persona). If you're writing for investors, keep your sense of humor to yourself and follow strict conventions. An annual report is still an annual report, even if it's online. And "wacky" is rarely appropriate.
2) Adapt your style to the medium. While all are new media, blog writing is less formal and more personal than the company web site, and Twitter is practically shorthand, demanding an open style to achieve economy (144 characters).
3) Write well. You can break rules to express personality, but do so consciously; don't be careless. Our writing will hang on the net for a long time, telling readers about you and your company with words you may never be able to change.
This said, be human in your writing. Authenticity is the currency of new media.
Am I still fired?
Question: I created one child for print, and another for the web
Is there a difference? Can you tell the difference?
Answer:
The child created for the web is a lot shorter and much more active.
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