Ian Burke Writing For the Profession Blog

       For someone who has spent the better part of a decade being taught to edit and revise projects before submission, the corporate world still needs to catch up to this concept. Graves outlines why Usability Testing is so important to do, and so important to do early. Consumers who purchase a product and are able to decipher the instructions/navigate a website and obtain the requisite information with ease are likely to continue doing business with that company, and unlikely to do so if the instructions or website is completely incomprehensible. Usability testing is one method in which companies can avoid the black hole of bad documentation; by organizing the information, blocking it out to distinguish the separate sections, structure the sections with titles and graphics and headings, and outline the information of the prospective users are ways in which documents can be made more usable. The usability test can be given anonymously and the results collected, one...

 In this chapter, Mizrahi explains the careful and meticulous process behind writing companies' social media outreach programs and other types of social media. This expansion in the usage of social media by large companies and corporations stems from a desire from most online users to have their opinions acknowledged. Gone are the days of passively accepting a companies message or product, the audiences on social media wish to engage with corporations and vice versa. As such, many corporations use the techniques Mizrahi elaborates upon in this chapter to "build brand loyalty" with entire sections of a company devoted to PR and social media management. As far as the typical consumer, a social media division may create several "personas", or consumer archetypes in which they wish to craft their targeted messages and media around. Companies also use an internal social media method to share information amongst employees, such as company events or simply just to conn...

      Darics readings introduces us to the concept of digital writing in an age in which new media creates a professional environment that necessitates instantaneous response to messages and updates, but is comparatively lethargic in learning and adapting to the nuances inherent in the language of well-structured communications through digital media. The book introduces these overlooked concepts to go over further, an employee's punctuation and word choice, level of formality in a message, and even the extraneous details afforded by new media such as e-mail. The second of Darics readings dives straight into the complexities of communication within a business or office setting, and how even in a simple conversation, employees are trying to accomplish several tasks while communicating; creating or learning the workplace culture, identifying and expressing solidarity with the workplace community, expressing friendliness, showing one's position through use of language specifi...