The Plain Text Gazette
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THE PLAIN TEXT GAZETTE - Issue 5, December 2002
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Contents
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* Editorial
* Introducing the A-Z of Plain Text
* When communication doesn't #5: caught in the Web
Editorial
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Welcome to the last Plain Text Gazette of 2002.
It's been a high-profile time for no-nonsense writing here in the UK, with
the annual 'Plain English' awards exposing the worst of corporate and legal
gobbledegook for public edification. We were particularly amused by a revelation
in the NTK newsletter that one of the award-winners for bad writing -- a corporate
mission statement -- was in fact created by a 'corporate mumbo jumbo' generator
in the Dreamweaver software package. It's encouraging to know that machines
are beating us in the incomprehensibility stakes: there's hope for real writers
yet.
With this clash of person and machine in mind, the fifth in our series of 'when
communication doesn't' articles will look at the vexed subject of writing for
the web. And for Gazetteers who signed up following Plain Text's recent 'Effective
Writing Online' seminar in London, don't worry: there will be something different
here.
Before this article, though, we're going to introduce 'The A-Z of Plain Text',
a new resource on our website for business writers. And we have a special offer
for Gazette subscribers.
Have a fine festive season.
Keep it plain,
The Editors
Introducing the A-Z of Plain Text
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In a shameless ploy to make the Plain Text website 'worth the detour', we've
added an alphabetical guide that further fleshes out our thinking on writing.
With one entry for each letter of the alphabet, it's a small resource that
we hope will serve as anything from an amusing diversion to a useful reference,
depending on who's reading it. To give you a flavour, Paul Nero's entry for
clichés begins: 'Pulling out all the stops is a cliché. Use only
when referring to organists.'
Anyway, we hope you find it useful. If you haven't already found it on the
site, it's here.
The other reason for producing the A-Z was to provide you with something in
print to remember us by. If you'd like a print copy of the A-Z, which will
be out shortly as a stylish A5 booklet, it's free to all Gazette subscribers.
Please email with your name and address and we'll send one out to you.
When communication doesn't #5: caught in the Web
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One of our favourite ways of illustrating the value of good writing on websites
is to talk about intranets, thus:
"You've spent 2 years and GBP 2 million to create the ultimate content
management system. Your staff have reached the nirvana of 'total relevance'
where they have precisely the right amount of information they need. But because
it's so boring and badly written, they don't read it. The board wants to see
a return on their massive investment reflected in usage statistics. You have
but a tiny bit of budget remaining. What should you spend it on?"
We all know the answer, and it's not software. Gartner estimates that USD 30bn
will be spent on information management systems in 2002. The same survey reports
90% of companies still feeling overwhelmed with information. A little editorial
expenditure could go a long way.
But if you can't convince management to call in Plain Text or other editorial
heavyweights to take a scythe to the content haystack, here's some tips for
getting more out of online content, in our favourite 'how to get it wrong/right'
style.
1. How to frighten off users in four easy steps
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* Always use a 'Flash' introduction of at least 750k
Nothing impresses readers more than an introductory animation. Especially when
it is something like a lengthy mission statement slowly disappearing, 'Star
Wars'-like, into the background to the strains of an inspirational corporate
anthem.
* Make readers guess what the page is about
Web users like surprises. So don't tell them what your company does. Keep them
guessing with an elaborate series of pages explaining your 'Vision', 'Mission'
and 'Values'. If they want to find out that you are, in fact, a tractor manufacturer,
then they can jolly well go and search Google.
* Let rip with literary language
People love to curl up on the sofa with a PC. So give them writing that takes
time to read. Long, literary flourishes are what they want to read on web pages,
with lots of scrolling before they reach your conclusion.
* Just let everyone do their thing: the web is a self-organising system!
Editorial control? Style Guides? Sounds, like, Orwellian, man. If we just,
like, empower everyone to contribute their stuff, then we'll unleash this amaaaazing
creativity.
2. How to get 'em back again
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In the interest of not repeating ourselves, we have a short list of 'writing
for the web' guidelines covering the importance of brevity, 'scannability',
accuracy, linking and the 'inverted pyramid', all of which are well-documented
best practice for web writing.
We'd like to add two more points to this list that don't, in our view, get
enough airtime:
* Know your audience
Who's it for? is the first question that should be asked of any piece of business
writing. On the internet and intranets it's crucial, because the readership
can be so wide. If the audience is hardcore geeks, for example, then jargon
is fine. If it's the whole company, or a demographically diverse audience,
then the highest standards of writing are needed.
* Impose editorial control and style guides
The web is self-organising, for sure. Readers gravitate quickly away from badly
written, inaccurate sites and towards the good ones. For example, the vicious
Darwinism of the weblog world keeps the top blog-writers sharp. Within companies,
and on corporate sites, editorial and stylistic control is essential to make
sure that content stays on track. No amount of software will ever be able to
do this.
That's it for this issue. As always, keep your comments and suggestions coming
and please pass the Plain Text Gazette on to friends and colleagues.
Paul & Paul
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© Plain Text Ltd 2002 all rights reserved