A Seasonal Aside

It's now 11:11 p.m. Sunday, December 21, and in a few hours we will have officially entered the season of winter (in the Northern Hemisphere, that is). In honor of the Winter Solstice, I'm going to take a break from the usual "content on content," and devote a few words to the season instead.

Many ancient peoples celebrated the Winter Solstice; several of their traditions passed into Western culture as the Yule Log, the Christmas tree, and kissing under the mistletoe. But the tradition I want to focus on today is a plain celebration of survival. The darkest day has passed, and we're still here. From this day on, each day will hold a little more light than the day before. From this day on, each day will bring spring a little closer. We can take a moment now to celebrate, hoping that the worst is over and the best is on its way.

2003 hasn't been the easiest year for my family; it's been a rough year for many other families I know. Like the solstice, however, we can hope that our darkest day has passed and that brighter days are near. We've made it so far--let's celebrate!

Wishing you light, life, and love,
Carolyn

P.S. I'll be taking next week off to take my own advice and do a little celebrating. See you in 2004!

Speak the Language Always take your audience into account when you write. Know the terms and phrases they're familiar with, how they're used, and when to use them. The special language of an audience is called "jargon," and you'll find it in every field and group. If you're writing for a group of Customer Relationship Management consultants, they'll recognize the acronym "CRM" as standing for their field. If you're writing for executives, they will probably have heard of CRM, but you'll want to spell it out at first use to avoid any possible confusion, for example, "Customer Relationship Management (CRM) is a business practice that...". Most writing teachers will tell you to avoid jargon wherever possible, but a judicious use of jargon, well-defined, can make you look like "a member of the club" and help identify you to your audience as someone who knows their field. The key here is "well-defined," as confusing readers on the Web is far more costly than confusing readers in a book. If your book confuses them, chances are readers will continue reading in order to see if their confusion will clear up. Confused Web readers will find another site that's more understandable, leaving your site in the dust. A good rule of thumb is to always explain any jargon term at first use. While your target audience already understands the concept, your site may pull in readers from other audiences who will be grateful for your foresight. How do you "learn the language"? Research other sites devoted to your target audience. Look for common acronyms, phrases, and themes, and how these other sites handle them. If you don't recognize terms and they aren't defined (shame on their writers!), look for help sites to assist you. For information technology (IT) terms, a great help site is www.whatis.com. When you speak their language, the audience relaxes and is more receptive to your message. And since the whole point of your writing is to deliver your message, that's pretty important.

Lagniappe lagniappe: n. Chiefly Southern Louisiana and Mississippi 1. A small gift presented by a storeowner to a customer with the customer's purchase. 2. An extra or unexpected gift or benefit. Also called boot². See Regional Note at beignet. Definition provided by www.yourdictionary.com I've always liked the word "lagniappe" because of the spirit behind it. The unexpected generosity, the "baker's dozen," what a wonderful concept! And whether or not you've ever heard of the word before, you've certainly seen the concept in action on the Web. People are incredibly generous here, making their knowledge available for free and helping countless people they’ll never meet. A case in point: a few weeks ago I started a contract job that would require using Quark Xpress. Now, I used to be a pretty fair hand at Quark, but as I hadn't used it in the last three years, I was a little worried. I turned to the Web and searched for some online tutorials…and that's how I found Mike's site. Mike's Sketchpad had several Quark Xpress tutorials (http://www.sketchpad.net/quark.htm), including a 42-part tutorial that walks you step-by-step through the creation of a technical manual. It was exactly what I needed. Mike didn't ask anything from me. I didn't have to pay anything to take advantage of his skills and know-how. I don't know why he decided to go to all the trouble of writing and coding his tutorials, although I'm sure there were several valid business reasons (to demonstrate his professional knowledge, to entice prospective clients into buying his services, and so on). Nevertheless, his business reasons also served a humanitarian turn: helping folks like me. When you're creating content for the Web, remember lagniappe. Give more than is expected - provide more than was asked. Provide as much content as you can for free: your white papers, newsletters, product recommendations, etc. It's not just "nice"; it's good business. Which vendor would you buy from: the one who gives you what you ask for, or the one who gives you what you want and a little something extra, for "lagniappe"?