Creating+and+Editing+Websites


 * CHAPTER 14: CREATING AND EDITING WEBSITES, BLOGS, WIKIS, E-MAIL, AND SOCIAL MEDIA **

14.1 Introduction

14.2 Websites 14.2.1 Web Authoring Tools 14.2.2 Planning a Website 14.2.3.Reading on the Web 14.2.4. Writing and Editing Web Content 14.2.5 Web Site Page Types 14.2.6  Web Site Navigation 14.2.7 Web Site Visual Design 14.2.8 Web Site Usability 14.2.9   Web Site Accessibility 14.2.10 Web Sites and International Audiences <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; padding-left: 50px;">14.2.11  <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Web Site Heuristics <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; padding-left: 50px;">14.2.12 <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Web Site Usability Testing <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; padding-left: 50px;">14.2.13 <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Scheduled Web Maintenance

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">14.3 Blogs <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; padding-left: 50px;">14.3.1 <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Blog Authoring Tools <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; padding-left: 50px;">14.3.2 <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Writing and Editing Blog Content <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">14.3.3 Blog Navigation <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">14.3.4 Blog Visual Design <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"> 14.4 <span class="wiki_link">Wikis <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">14.4.1 Wiki Authoring Tools <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">14.4.2 Writing and Editing Wiki Content <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">14.4.3 Wiki Navigation <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">14.4.4 Wiki Visual Design <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"> 14.5 Email <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">14.5.1 E-mail Authoring Tools <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">14.5.2 Writing and Editing E-mail Content <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; padding-left: 50px;">14.5.3         <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">E-mail Visual Design <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"> 14.6 Social Media <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">14.6.1 Web 2.0 Tools <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt; padding-left: 50px;">14.5.2  <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Writing and Editing for Social Media <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">

14.1 INTRODUCTION <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; padding-left: 50px;"> Websites, blogs, wikis, e-mail, and social media are all forms of digital communication, each with its unique characteristics. Websites are made up of collections of web pages and files that are published to the web and may be accessed through a browser. Blogs are websites written by individuals on a particular topic. Wikis are websites that allow people to collaborate; they allow multiple users to add, edit, and update information. E-mail, modeled after the memo, is the most common form of business communication. And today digital social media focuses on content and community; content in the form of photos on Flickr or information on Wikipedia, for example; community in the form of, for example, connecting with family and friends on Facebook or networking on LinkedIn.

This chapter discusses the creation and editing of each of these technologies as well as visual design, navigation, accessibility and usability. Although this material is mainly concentrated in the website section; much of it also pertains to blogs, wikis and social media. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">

14.2 WEBSITES <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 8pt; padding-left: 50px;"> = = <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">A website is a collection of interlinked web pages that contain information on a particular subject (Johnson-Sheehan 363). Web pages are electronic or digital documents created with HTML. Besides text and graphics, web pages may also contain downloadable data files, audio and video files, and hyperlinks to other web pages or websites.

Websites are hosted on a web server and are accessed through a browser. Each website has its own unique web address or URL, which can be reached through an Internet connection. The opening page of a website is usually called the home page and contains hyperlinks to pages on the same website or on other websites (Johnson-Sheehan 363). The URLs of the web pages that comprise a website organize them into a hierarchy, although the hyperlinks between them control how the reader perceives the overall structure of the site and how traffic flows between different parts of the site (Johnson-Sheehan 365). A single web server may support multiple websites and a single website may reside on multiple web servers.

Websites may be //static// or //dynamic// (Rude 368). If static, the website displays the same information to all visitors (Rude 368). If, on the other hand, the website is dynamic, web page content will change automatically or frequently based on certain criteria (Rude 368-69). Dynamic websites collate information each time a page is requested (Rude 368-69). Commercial websites are dynamic sites, and as such, they allow the flow of information to and from the website to create meaningful relationships with visitors by tailoring content to visitors’ needs or interests. The goal of a commercial website is to grow the presence of a business or other entity by using Internet marketing tactics. Commercial websites may be programmed to perform secure transactions over the Internet, if needed by the site owner (“Does Your Business Need a Commercial Website?”). Amazon.com is a good example of an extremely large, well-known, and successful commercial website.
 * Static and Dynamic Websites**

Taken altogether, the World Wide Web is comprised of a collection of Internet resources including hyperlinked text, audio, video and remote sites that can be accessed and searched by browsers based on standards such as HTTP and TCP/IP**.** Generally referred to as the web, the World Wide Web was created in 1989 by British physicist Tim Berners-Lee as an easier way to access information scattered across the Internet.
 * The World Wide Web**

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">14.2.1 Web Authoring Tools <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Web authoring tools, or software, allows individuals, even with none to very little programming knowledge, to create web pages easily that include text, photographs, video, animations and audio. Behind the scenes, the software builds Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) code which tells the computer how web pages should appear and behave (Gurak 381). Interactivity on websites is accomplished with Flash or Java software.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Style Guides, Templates and Cascading Style Sheets** To ensure consistent website authoring, both style-wise and visually, Style Guides, templates and Cascading Style Sheets are used. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> 14.2.2 Planning a Website <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">"Since building complex web sites involves writing, visual communication, creating various media and coding, most web pages are created through teamwork and collaboration with a design team" (Gurak 381).
 * Web Authoring Tools Examples**
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Adobe Dreamweaver
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Microsoft Front Page
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Google sites
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">HTML
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Style Guides are documents compiled by and used within organizations to ensure that various aspects of the web site are consistent with respect to terminology, capitalization, spelling, abbreviations, and other website specific elements.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Templates are a generic form of style sheet which specify web page design features such as screen layout, color, and headings.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Cascading Style Sheets (CSS) are specific to the organization and specify the same design features as templates.

Planning is key. It is critical to perform an audience analysis and a needs analysis up front to: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Personas and Scenarios **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Using the audience analysis and needs analysis, personas are developed. "A persona brings together in one example the facts ... gathered from thinking about or, even better, watching and listening to people" while they are using web content (Redish 19). Develop scenarios as well. "Scenarios are short stories that give editors a good sense of the people who come (or will come) to the site, what their lives are like, and what they want to do at the web site. Scenarios give life to goals and tasks in the same way that personas give life to lots of data about classes of web users. (Redish 24). <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">
 * Audience Analysis and Needs Analysis**
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Understand the audience
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Understand the purpose of the site
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Know the kinds of tasks that users will want to perform
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Anticipate what users will need to know
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Anticipate the questions users are likely to ask
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Know user demographics
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">age distribution
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">members of a particular community or worldwide
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">specialists or lay persons

**<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Storyboard, Prototype and Test **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Before the final web site is published, it will go through several iterations from storyboard to prototype testing. With pencil and paper, storyboards (wireframes) are sketches used to visually outline the website topics and their connections. They identify content components and their organization for each page type. They go through several rounds of ever more finished prototypes. The final version of each of these page types becomes a template from which content writers, designers, and coders develop the actual web site pages (Redish 135). Usability testing on the initial prototypes is usually done within the organization; testing on later prototypes may be done with the target audience. "No matter how good [editors] are at editing, [they] will not discover all the possible ways in which users might try to use the online document and possibly fail. . .By observing the way users negotiate the website or online help, the tester can identify some ways to improve the information and navigation" (Rude 377-378). <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> 14.2.3 Reading on the Web

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">People read differently on the web, "most uses of the web are for gathering information or doing tasks, not for the pleasure of reading" (Redish).

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Users scan rather than read on websites (Rude 369). They “read to do,” not “read to learn” (Rude 369).


 * How Users Read Online**
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Users are goal-oriented and topic-oriented (Wertzbaugher).
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Users do not want to read while navigating (Wertzbaugher).
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Users do not want to read on navigation or pathway pages (Wertzbaugher).
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">These are pages that Redish calls, “scan, select, and move-on” pages. They provide more menu options than the home page and convey information without users having to read paragraphs of text.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Users will tolerate a few more clicks, if the pathway to the information they seek is quick and smooth (Wertzbaugher).
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Words matter: if users’ expectations are not quickly met, they will leave the website directly.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Findability is critical (“Ginny Redish Spoke at MIMA”).
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Users have much less tolerance for paragraphs online than they do on paper.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Short paragraphs with short sentences that quickly make their point work best online.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Users pay particular attention to links, headings, and subheadings, which help them to retain information.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Links are best placed within text, not off to the side so that users must go hunting for them (“Ginny Redish Spoke at MIMA”).
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Too little space drives users away.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Too much space makes it hard for them to see how the page is organized (Wertzbaugher).

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">People browsing the Web view large blocks of text - a "wall of words" (Redish) - as obstacles to avoid. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Optimum Line Length for Web Pages** Optimum line length for websites is about 12 words or about 65 characters per line. Research shows that reading slows and retention rates fall as line length begins to exceed the ideal width, because the reader then needs to use the muscles of the eye and neck to track from the end of one line to the beginning of the next line. If the eye must traverse great distances on the page, the reader is easily lost and must hunt for the beginning of the next line. Quantitative studies show that moderate line lengths significantly increase the legibility of text (Lynch and Horton 97).

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> 14.2.4. Writing and Editing Web Content <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ginny Reddish tells us to let go of the words and focus on how readers scan for information online. Gerry McGovern, author of //Killer Web Content//, tells us that words most definitely matter ("Publications, Chapter 1"). Their advice sounds different, but these experts are essentially saying the same thing. Web writers and editors must use words that summarize what their audience cares about, focusing on how people will search for the site and on featuring fewer frills ("Publications, Chapter 1").

Because users want to find the information they seek quickly and easily, the website must not overwhelm them with too much information. "Especially on the [home] page, write in short, crisp sentences, using active voice, and limit the size of text to one short paragraph on one topic. Save longer text for secondary web pages" (Gurak 382).
 * Write in Short, Crisp Sentences**


 * Focus on the Essential Message** (Redish)
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Write in Inverted Pyramid Style
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Put your essential message first
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Many web users read only a few words on a page - or of a paragraph - before deciding if it is going to be relevant and easy for them to get through (Redish 102).
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Make sure the writing targets your readers, using their own language and words they would search with.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Keep language simple and content relevant. Use one idea per paragraph. Simpler language also engages low literacy users.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Make sure that pages are scannable through the use of keywords and the consistent use of meaningful headings and subheadings.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Advocate for the User** The web editor must serve as an advocate for the reader and ascertain how easily the reader will be able to grasp what the writer is trying to say ("Publications: Web Content Style Guide Excerpt"). Editors must ensure that the content on the website meets the needs of the users.

The editor must question every word and every sentence, asking
 * Questions Editors Ask**
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Is this clear?
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Is there a simpler way to say this?
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Is there a shorter way to say this?
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Is this necessary? ("Publications: Web Content Style Guide Excerpt")

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The editor must be willing to rephrase anything that is ambiguous, simplify anything that is unnecessarily complex, and eliminate the non-essential—to cut entire sentences or paragraphs, if need be ("Publications: Web Content Style Guide Excerpt"). <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Include context, keeping in mind that any web page may be accessed out of context; for example, a page may be accessed directly from a search engine such as Google or Bing. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> 14.2.5. Web Site Page Types = = <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">According to Ginny Reddish, there are four types of pages in most websites (Rude 373). <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Figure 14.1 <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The relationship between website page types (Rude 373). <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">
 * **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Home Page **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">identifies the site,
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">establishes “brand recognition,”
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">sets the tone,
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">tells users what the site is about,
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">gives a big picture of the possibilities on the site,
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">starts users down the right path quickly;
 * **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Scan, Select, and Move-on” Pages **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">provide more menu options than the home page can accommodate;
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Site Map.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">A variation of "scan, select, and move-on" pages. Besides functioning like a book’s table of contents for a site’s users, a site map also helps editors check that information is complete and that the site’s structure is logical, that is, it helps editors check that topics are grouped in logical ways (Rude 373).
 * **<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">“ <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Scan and Get Information” Pages **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">provide the content for the site;
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">users may encounter paragraphs, preferably short ones with headings that identify contents so that they can scan for the information that interests them;
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Form Pages** allow interaction or necessary sharing of information (Rude 373).

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Figure 14.2 <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Home Page <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> - <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">NJIT Homepage .<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">
 * Examples of the Four Page Types**

Figure 14.3 <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">“Scan, select, and move-on” page - NJIT Student Services page. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">

Figure 14.4 “ <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Scan and get information” page - <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">NJIT About page. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">

Figure 14.5 <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Form page - <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">NJIT Library Catalog Search Form <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> 14.2.6 Web Site Navigation <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">According to Rude, "'Navigation' is a metaphor for locating information on a website" (374). Navigation refers to the way a website’s menu links are structured (Vest, Crowson, and Pochran 101). It is the way users travel from one page to the next, and back again. Editors ensure that navigation is effective so that users can find the information they seek. Menu categories, site maps and search functions are all forms of navigation.

With the purpose of each page established, the navigation scheme may be selected. Typically, these fall into one of two categories, or potentially, a mixture of the two. Each navigation scheme is fine, depending on the purpose, audience, and content of the site (Kimball 39). <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">
 * Hierarchial and Linear Navigation Schemes**

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">A hierarchical navigation scheme begins with a home page and then gives users subpages to visit. In web terminology, this is commonly referred to as a tree, and may be characterized by the diagram on the left in Figure 14.6. A hierarchical site encourages readers to go where they want (Kimball 38-39). <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> A linear navigation scheme, shown in the diagram on the right of Figure 14.6, also begins with a home page which then links to the next page. Page two then links to page three, and so on, though each page should contain a link back to the home page. [A] linear site encourages [readers] to read one page at a time (Kimball 38-39). <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Figure 14.6 Hierarchial and linear schemes for web pages. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Ways to Make a Web Site Easy to Navigate** (Peterson) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> 14.2.7 Web Site Visual Design
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Use standard icons and conventions.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Make link text explicit, if possible.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Avoid irrelevant links.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Every page need not be stuffed with links to every section of a site.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Reveal site structure.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">A small site with focused content may naturally lend itself to a toolbar that reveals the contents of the entire site.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Diverse sites, such as Amazon.com, should have unique toolbars for each section.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Leave breadcrumbs.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">These are a horizontal series of text links connecting to all levels of the hierarchy above the current location. They help users know where they are, and they add to users' understanding of the website by placing each page in context within the hierarchy.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Avoid burying information.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">No page should be more than three clicks away from any other page. Thus, if your site is a large one, you may want to include shortcuts, a site map, a table of contents, or a pull-down menu.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Do not be mysterious.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">If a graphic is navigational, it should be obvious to users. They should not be kept in the dark unless or until they pass their mouse over the graphic.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Provide help, if your site is a large one!
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Open links in new windows.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Opening links in new windows ensures that users will not lose navigation or have to use the arrow keys to get back to their original web page.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Use descriptive file names.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">File names should consist of lowercase letters, numbers, or underscores, and they should //not// include numbers that reference location or sequence.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">"Strong visual design is especially important for web pages, because of the sheer volume of web-based information that the average Internet user will encounter on a daily basis . . . Visual design creates the first impression of a document and invites or discourages reading. Well-designed web pages make information easy to locate, fun to use, and more readily comprehensible. The design of a web page also adds to the credibility of the organization, company or person who runs the site. Poorly designed web pages not only look bad, they can take away from the credibility of the product or organization. In fact, the Stanford Web Credibility Research Project found that people quickly evaluate a site by visual design alone." (Gurak 381).

Parts of a Web Page and Design **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Just as printed books have evolved to be designed and printed a certain way, "web page design has evolved over the past several years to encompass key features that make the puzzle of figuring out the web site far less complex for readers. Web pages should therefore conform to these basic design and layout principles" (Gurak 382 - 383). <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Layout on the web is different from print due to proportions differences; print has a portrait orientation, whereas computer screens have a landscape orientation (Gurak 381).
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">
 * **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Layout **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Alignment - web page layouts follow a grid pattern whereby elements are aligned.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">White Space - white space is used to draw the user's eye to key parts of the page.
 * **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Navigation Bars **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Navigation bars should be consistent and follow a standard web page format.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Users expect key navigation bars to be across the top of the page, or along the left margin.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Use the left navigation bar to navigate to other key pages on the web site.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Use the bottom of the page to navigate to less frequently accessed pages
 * **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Search Box **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Place the search bar on the top margin of the page.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ensure the search bar is placed consistently across the web site.
 * **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Links **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Use consistent colors for visited and not-visited links.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The color should change once the user has visited a link.
 * Web Pages have Landscape Orientation**


 * Ways to Design Web Pages that are Easy to Use** (Redish 128)
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Make page elements obvious
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Consider the entire site when planning the design
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Work with templates
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Use space effectively
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Keep active space in your content.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Active space is the space inside the main content area; between headings and paragraphs.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Beware of false bottoms
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">False bottoms are horizontal lines or large areas of space within the page design
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">They stop people; people may not scroll beyond them even if the scroll bar indicates more content follows.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Don't let headings float
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Keep headings and the text that goes with them together
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Add active space above the heading
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Remove active space between the heading and the text
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Use a fluid layout with a medium line length as default
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Don't underline anything but links
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Provide good contrast between text and background
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Think about all your site visitors when you choose colors
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Some users may still have monitors with 800 x 600 resolution; use the standard 760 x 420 pixels size (Vest, Crowson, and Pochran 24).
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Add //alt tags// for links and text used as a graphic, as well as images, including photos and illustrations.

Typography is an important element of design and has an enormous impact on the message that a visitor gets from a web page.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Typography **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">

Editors and designers should, however, make their sites include code that offers users the next best or preferred font, just in case users do not have the original font in their system.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Set a sans serif font as the default
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Use a relative type size with a default large enough to read easily

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Font Readability Not all fonts are easy to read online. Most were created for print, and work better there. The fonts that offer more space between letters, like Verdana and Georgia, were designed for the web, and therefore are easier to read (Vest, Crowson, and Pochran 56). Trebuchet is also a good choice.

If presenting documents online that users may want to print, however, it is best to offer the documents in fonts that work better in print, such as Times New Roman.

The trend today is toward smaller font sizes that give a sleek look and provide more space on the page. To make sure everyone can actually see the font, editors and designers are encouraged to make sure that the font size is adjustable. That is, make sure that users will be able to see the font if they make adjustments in their browsers. Highlighting Critical Data **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Within web design, highlighting is used to make something stand out on the screen by selecting or choosing. It is also a visual indicator that shows something is important. The indicator can be as simple as using italics to call particular attention to a word or phrase. > <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> > Figure 14.7 <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The link darkens during mouseover to make it visible. >
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Use //italics// or **bold**, or //**both**//, to highlight text, but be aware of grammatical and style rules.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Use <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">different size <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">fonts,
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">but maintain a consistent set of font size for headers and titles to differentiate from highlighted text.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Use headings to make major points.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Use <span style="color: #f8307c; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">colors <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> to highlight fonts <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">**.**
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Choose font colors that have adequate contrast with the background colors.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Follow specific color rules to avoid problems with blind-color people.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Use different color fonts from the background, not just a different hue.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Make sure that <span style="color: #0000ff; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">clickable <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> items are highlighted differently from the critical other type of highlighted data in the document.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Do not use UPPER CASE letters to highlight text.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Upper case letters have different meanings with other online tools such as email and instant messaging.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Do note overuse highlighting; too much reduces the effectiveness of calling the attention of the readers.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Do not use multiple ways of highlighting text within the same document; this can confuse the readers.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ensure that links remain visible during mouseover and other changes.

Color **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The notion of web-safe color pallet, a set of 216 colors that could be viewed on any color monitor, is virtually obsolete (Vest, Crowson, and Pochran 89). As such, the web-safe color pallet is no long used to design websites. Editors should keep in mind that all colors will look slightly different on other monitors because monitor settings differ between computers.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">

Because color theory, the color wheel, color values, saturation and hues comprise a course of study in and of themselves, editors and designers are strongly encouraged to familiarize themselves on the subject. They are also encouraged to learn about the psychology of color and to keep in mind cross-cultural issues. For example, in China blue is for young girls and black is for young boys, rather than the pink and blue association made in the U.S (Vest, Crowson, and Pochran 94).

Keep in mind how color usage affects color blind users and possibly even the elderly. For example, the colors used to prepare the excerpt from an e-mail message shown in Figure 14.8 are not only jarring for average users, they may also be difficult for some users to see. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Figure 14.8 Jarring use of color. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Correcting the color problem shown above may not necessarily mean making a color substitution. Simply adding a white outline around the green letters may help.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> 14.2.8 Web Site Usability <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Websites are said to be “usable” if they are easy to use and effective in enabling reader comprehension and performance.

>
 * Questions Editors Ask to Ensure Usability**
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Purpose**
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">What must the site achieve?
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Is the purpose still the same as when the site was first launched?
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Has the purpose broadened or become more specific (Johnson-Sheehan 367)?
 * **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Users **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">What are the needs of the primary users of the site, including their values and attitudes?
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Who are the secondary and tertiary readers of the website, and have their needs been addressed as fully as possible (Johnson-Sheehan 367-68)?
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Context of use**
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Where are users most likely to access the website?
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Are there economic, political, ethical, personal, corporate, and industry-related issues that will shape readers’ interpretation of the content (Johnson-Sheehan 368-69)?
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Content**
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Are there digressions or gaps in content?
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Is more research needed to make important points?
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Do readers have all the information they need in order to make a decision or take action?
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Is there too much information (Johnson-Sheehan 318)?
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Is the text short enough to fit on the screen? If not, has a version suitable for printing been made available to users (Rude 370)?
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Organization**
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Does the organization of the website facilitate easy navigation?
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Are the means of searching obvious and reliable (Rude 370)?
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Design, color, and consistency**
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Have the effects of user hardware and software variations on the appearance of the screen been considered as fully as possible, including the screen might appear to those accessing the web via hand-held devices?
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Is the type legible online (Rude 376)?
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Is there consistency in how information (functional vs. structural and content information) is displayed and in the use of type, icons and color to enhance comprehension (Rude 376-77)?
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Are headings and paragraphs distinguished through the effective use of typeface, type size, and spacing (Rude 376-77)?
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Are headings and paragraphs consistently displayed (Rude 376-77)?
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Style**
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Are sentences clear and concise?
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Are grammar, spelling, and punctuation correct?
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Have subtle differences in word usages been considered (Johnson-Sheehan 323-25)?
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Do paragraphs have a clear topic and support?
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Do headings help users scan for important information?
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Do the graphics support the message?
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Is there a style guide that establishes terminology for the site (product names, spelling and capitalization, etc.) and describes conventions for illustrations, logos, and the naming of files (Rude 372)?
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Cross-cultural considerations**
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">If an international audience is expected, have short, direct, positive sentences been used as well as a limited set of words?
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Have humor, jargon, sayings, clichés, idiom, metaphor, slogans, or slang—all of which may not translate well— been checked, minimized, or avoided?
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Have verbal instructions been substituted with visual ones (Johnson-Sheehan 325-27).

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">14.2.9 Web Site Accessibility <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Accessibility means that the website is usable by the widest range of users. User impairments may be visual, auditory, cognitive, or motor, or they may be age-related declines of the sort that eventually affect us all (Rude 378). Accessibility means that users with such impairments can effectively read the website even if they require assistive technologies such as screen readers. Screen readers help users with visual challenges to hear what is written (Rude 378). For these technologies to work, however, the website coding must be valid (Rude 378). <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">One reason why editors need to be concerned about website accessibility is to capture the largest possible online audience. It is estimated that in most populations, ten to twenty percent of persons are disabled (Vest, Crowson, and Pochran 105). This large group should not have their access to the Internet unnecessarily restricted when there are options available, such as those noted in previous paragraphs, which offer a better outcome. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">

Another important reason for editors to tend to website accessibility is legalities - the climate of inclusion in the American workplace, and compliance with the federal government. American companies with at least fifteen employees are required by law to make reasonable accommodations for people with disabilities (Vest, Crowson, and Pochran 105).

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">As editors, it is important to be familiar with accessibility issues as well as the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). According to Rude, "A good editor at least imagines the document as readers are interacting with it to anticipate the likely uses and needs of readers. Even better, the writer or editor consults with the user to learn about the needs and hopes for the document."

ADA requires accessibility compliance for websites that do business with state and federal governments. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">It expressly prohibits discrimination on the basis of disability, and section 508 of the ADA requires that federal agencies and their contractors give their employees and members of the public access to information that is comparable to the accessibility available to others. In 1996, the Department of Justice formally stated that the ADA applied to the World Wide Web (Vest, Crowson, and Pochran 98). This legislation affects all who conduct business with federal agencies and, as such, their respective websites.
 * Americans with Disabilities Act - ADA**

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">Most countries are developing public policies and laws protecting the rights of people with disabilities to access the content of the Web. The US Access Board published the Electronic and Information Technology Accessibility Standards following the US passing of Section 508 of the Rehabilitation Act. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; font-weight: normal;">

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">These standards are broad in scope, covering accessibility standards in the following areas: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Although Web sites developed for US entities (state and federal agencies) are subject to Section 508, these accessibility standards benefit everyone because they are designed to reach the broadest possible audience.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Software applications and operating systems
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Web-based Intranet and Internet information and applications
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Telecommunications products
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Video and multimedia products
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Self contained, closed products
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Desktop and portable computers

The W3C is an international consortium of member organizations, full-time staff members, and general participants that work together to develop Web standards. Technical editors should edit and organize Web content to adhere to these standards in order to reach the widest possible audience.
 * World Wide Web Consortium - W3C**

W3C is an excellent resource to find out more about website usability and accessibility. W3C develops interoperable technologies (specifications, guidelines, software, and tools) to lead the web to its full potential. W3C is a forum for information, commerce, communication, and collective understanding. W3C has a special Web Accessibility Initiative (WAI) dedicated to exploring strategies, guidelines, and resources to make the Web accessible to people with disabilities. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">

**<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Writing for Assistive Technologies ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Accessibility focuses on converting non-text elements into their text equivalents. Pictures, flow charts, maps, audio, and video are all examples of non-text elements. Technical editors must combine their knowledge of accessible technologies with their advanced writing skills to transcribe the various non-text elements into meaningful text equivalents.

General recommendations include:
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Keep it simple.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Clutter and confusion overwhelm and interfere with assistive devices (Rude 378)
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Provide alternate text for illustrations
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Avoid complex data tables (Rude 378).

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; font-weight: normal;">A screen reader is a software application that enables visually impaired people to use a computer. It uses a Text-To-Speech (TTS) engine to translate on-screen information into speech. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Two of the most common screen readers are JAWS, and Window Eyes. The most common disability impacted by online information is blindness or low-vision. These programs are capable of reading text from the Web as well as various text-producing software. Speakers and writers use and recognize the meaning and context of a sentence. Special emphases on words or phrases are easily identified as compared to the way screen reader technologies relay equivalent information.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Screen Readers **

Textual information can be punctuated perfectly but lose clarity when spoken by a screen reader. For example, bolded or emphasized text is not interpreted meaningfully by screen readers. Screen readers pause for periods, semi-colons, commas, question marks, end of paragraphs, and explanation points. Special punctuation, such as dashes and parentheses, are read as characters. Text that is heavily punctuated with these types of entities can pose a significant barrier to communication. Punctuation, such as parentheses, dashes, and asterisks, are read by most screen readers by default, but some do not. Other sentence punctuations, such as periods, commas, and colons are generally indicated by pauses and many others are read as characters.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Some screen readers allow users to choose between speaking all punctuation, most punctuation, some punctuation, or none. However, as user advocates, we must develop content that can be easily deciphered by most screen reading devices. This includes older screen reading technology that may not allow for some of the customizations available in newer versions of the software.

The following example gives some indication of how difficult it could be for a person, who is dependent upon such technology, to understand a sentence containing numerous sub-clauses, abbreviations, or parenthetical statements. The following sentence: //“This page is best viewed in Internet Explorer (or Netscape).”// Is read by the screen reader as: //“This page is best viewed in Internet Explorer left parenthesis or Netscape right parenthesis”//

An overly complex sentence structure could become quite confusing when relayed this way. Screen readers generally try to pronounce words that have sufficient vowels/consonants; otherwise, they spell out the letters. For example, XEROX is pronounced as a word, whereas NIH is pronounced as “N. I. H.”

Without the proper punctuation, the screen reader will go from a heading to the paragraph text without a pause; a list is read as if it’s one sentence. For example, an unordered list of “birds” without punctuation will produce a sentence that reads like the following: My bird list <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Remember, sentence punctuation such as periods, commas, and colons are generally indicated by pauses, so be sure to include suitable punctuation in all sentences, headers and list items.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">cardinal
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">blue mocking bird
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">house finch
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">goldfinch

Now, read the same sentence again with the proper punctuation: My bird list **<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">: ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> The sentence punctuation signals the screen reader to pause, which helps to clarify the content as a list and not as a sentence.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">cardinal **<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">, **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">blue bird **<span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">, **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">mocking bird <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">**,**
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">house finch <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">**,**
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">and gold finch <span style="color: #ff0000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">**.**

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Headings and Hyperlink Descriptions** There is a variety of assistive technologies available for people who are visually impaired. Users of this technology can call up a list of on-page headings and links, and jump to the section of the page in which they're most interested. When scanning Web pages in this way, it is important to develop meaningful headings. Common link descriptions such as //click this// and //click here// do not accurately convey the nature of the target link. Link descriptions such as, r//ead more about nutrition// or //click here to review the charter information// are more appropriate and allow users to scan pages more efficiently.

The most common cause of inaccessible Web pages is the failure to provide descriptive text for informative and decorative images. An efficient way of determining how to describe images on a Web page is to ask yourself how you would read the page over the phone. For example, consider a photo of a mountainous landscape. If this is merely a decorative image, then a simple description such as //a landscape photo// is well written because it’s concise and includes the most important information. However, if the image is meant to inform the user, then a detailed description such as //a landscape photo with a lake, trees, and a background of mountains// is more appropriate.
 * Image and Text Equivalents**

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">With the purveyance of audio and video on the Web, it is important for technical editors to understand the various text options available for this type of media to ensure their content reaches the widest possible audience.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Text Equivalents for Audio and Video **

Common Text Equivalents <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">All of these text options ideally render utterances as well as tone and manner of voice where necessary. Technical editors should ensure that textual equivalents capture tone and manner, especially when they’re important to the conveyance of the message. Consider the following examples:
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Captioning
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Captioning is the on-screen display of text for spoken dialogue and other meaningful sounds.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">In captioning, text is synchronized with the audio.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Audio descriptions
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">In audio descriptions, text is written to describe actions, gestures, scene changes, and other visual information.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Audio transcriptions
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Transcriptions are conversations in written form.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">(//Whispering//)
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">[DANISH ACCENT]
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">[Nicholson, Narrating]

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Technical editors should make sure that Web pages contain an access instruction page. It should explain the accessibility features of the Web site and include an e-mail address for visitors to communicate problems regarding Web page accessibility.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Access Instruction Page **

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Figure 14.9 Alt tag displayed on mouseover.
 * Ways to Make Websites Accessible**
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">When linking to a document, considering offering an HTML version which screen readers are able to read.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The general population will appreciate an HTML document too, as these also load more quickly.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Though Word documents can be read by screen readers, PDFs cannot, unless they are made to do so.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">PDFs are considered images, which screen readers cannot read. Thus, if PDFs are offered, subject them to a thorough accessibility check, which is a function contained within Adobe’s PDF software. An accessibility check followed by the recommended revisions will ensure that screen readers will be able to read the PDF.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">If a site has audio clips, offer a printable download of the script for the hearing impaired (Vest, Crowson, and Pochran 112-13).
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">If that is not possible, then software is available that allows for easy creation of captions for streaming media.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">All images should have alt tags (Vest, Crowson, and Pochran 107-10).
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">These should provide descriptive information about the image, not just “pic 1” (Vest, Crowson, and Pochran 109). In this way, those using screen readers will gain access to the image. The image in Figure 14.9 of two women embracing shows a very detailed yellow alt tag during mouseover. Alt tags may be used in this same way to identify images within a website’s banner or navigation.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> 14.2.10 Web Sites and International Audiences
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The color pallet of a website should not interfere with the ability of those with low vision or color blindness to view the text.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Certain shades of red and green when shown together may, for example, make an area invisible or difficult to see for color blind users and others with low vision (Vest, Crowson, and Pochran 110-12).
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">For users who are unable to use the mouse, a site that is navigable via the computer keyboard is most helpful (Vest, Crowson, and Pochran 114-116).
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Using a tableless format to design a website ensures that when users make adjustments to the screen, they will see the site as the designer intended.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Besides helping the visually impaired, this feature also benefits those who are accessing the web via portable devices.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Most websites today are built by using the same high level authoring tools; these tools make website development easier, and create a consistent look for the interface by taking care of buttons, scroll boxes, and windows. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> What is not automated is the design of the website’s appearance, functionality, and content. These factors, in many cases, are not carefully designed to take into account the specific cultural issues to reach multiple cultures at the same time.

Most of the time, web designers build websites with a global audience in mind, but the actual web users normally arrive to websites from a local perspective; as a result, sites with the intention of connecting globally need to respect not only language differences, but also cultural differences.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">“The meaning of written communication resides not just in words and their arrangement but also in the cultural and social experiences that readers bring to the text” (Rude 347). Today writing and editing online content means reaching a global audience in a clear and concise manner, and considering the audience’s beliefs and practices.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Differences among cultures have an impact on the effectiveness of communication. A typical example is the communication style between Western and Asian countries; for instance, American communication is linear and direct that begins with the main point of the message; in contrast, Eastern culture considers it rude to start a communication with the main point (Rude 348). <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Although language is the primary concern when editing global content, the editor must consider the values and expectations of the audience, therefore, do not write for a single culture or ethnic group.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Globalization also known as internationalization is the process to ensure that a product or document can address an international audience; it is the process of eliminating, or at least reducing, culture-specific content for a website. To communicate with an international audience, it is necessary to use a common language, a //lingua franca// (Rude 349). The use of a common language saves time and cost because it is faster than traditional translation to localize products or websites. However, the editor still has to consider the variants of //lingua franca// in different regions of the world. For example, American English is prevalent in Central and South America, but British English is present in Europe and Africa. As a general practice, it is common to say that the global standard of English is the British version.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Globalization **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Localization is the task of adapting material and meeting the needs of a local culture; it ensures the material is not in conflict with local customs, and prevents mistakes when translating language, symbols, or measurements (Rude 355). When editing illustrations, the editor must consider interpersonal interactions, popular culture, or other cultural elements that could lead to the misinterpretation of the illustration’s message.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Localization **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">


 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Examples of Elements that are Localized **
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Dates and date formats
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Time and time zones
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Currency
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Names of seasons and holidays
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Number format
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Paper format and sizes
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Units of measurement
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Native spelling, vocabulary, and grammar
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Acronyms and abbreviations
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Color

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Tables 14.1 and 14.2 provide examples of specific date and time formats from different countries. The editor should rely on these types of tables to facilitate the review process of localization. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">
 * TABLE 14.1** Date Formats
 * **<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Country ** || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">**<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Date Format ** || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">**<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Example ** ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Brazil || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">dd/mm/yy || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">24/04/09 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Bulgary || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">yyyy-mm-dd || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">2009-04-24 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Denmark || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">dd/mm/yy || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">24/04/09 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Finland || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">dd.mm.yyyy || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">24.04.2009 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">France || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">dd/mm/yy || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">24/04/09 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Germany || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">dd.mm.yy || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">24.04.09 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Japan || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">yyyy-mm-dd || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">2009-04-24 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">United States || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">mm-dd-yy || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">04/24/09 ||


 * TABLE 14.2** Time Formats
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">**Country** || **<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Time Format ** ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Canada (English) || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">8:49 P.M. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Canada (French) || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">20h49 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Finland || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">20.49 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Germany || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">20.49 Uhr ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Norway || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Kl 20.49 ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">United Kingdom || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">8.49 p.m. or 20:49 ||

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">A subjective culture is psychological and deals with attitudes that make audiences experience products and content differently. Factors that can influence subjective culture are beliefs, stereotypes, ideals, values, religion, politics, behavior, and myths. The differences among cultures and these factors should be considered when designing international or localized documents. One particular methodology to review cultures differences was developed by Geert Hofstede who created five dimensions to analyze and understand differences in regional (subjective) cultures.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Subjective Cultural Considerations **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">


 * Hofstede's Five Dimensions**
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Low vs. High Power Distance**
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The extent to which the less powerful members of organizations and institutions (like the family) accept and expect that power is distributed unequally.
 * **<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Individualism vs. Collectivism **
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The degree to which individuals are integrated into groups.
 * **<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Masculinity vs. Femininity **
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The distribution of roles between the genders which is another fundamental issue for any society to which a range of solutions are found.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Uncertainty Avoidance**
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">A society's tolerance for uncertainty and ambiguity; it ultimately refers to man's search for Truth.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">It indicates to what extent a culture programs its members to feel either uncomfortable or comfortable in unstructured situations.
 * **<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Long vs. Short Term Orientation **
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Virtue regardless of Truth.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Values associated with Long Term Orientation are thrift and perseverance; values associated with Short Term Orientation are respect for tradition, fulfilling social obligations, and protecting one's 'face'. (Hofstede)

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">A web designer can use Hofstede’s dimensions to develop more effective websites.

Linda Main in her book //Building Websites for a Multinational Audience// provides a detail analysis, as illustrated in Table 14.3, about using the five dimensions to make a Chinese website more efficient. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Strong focus on expertise, authority, official stamps, and logos. || Objective Cultural Considerations **
 * TABLE 14.3** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The five subjective cultural dimensions and the corresponding analysis for a Chinese website.
 * **<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Hofstede’s Dimension ** || **<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Measurement (Chinese Culture) ** || **<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Recommendations to build a document or website ** ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Low vs. High Power Distance || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Medium power || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Include references to authority, power, expertise, and wealth.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Individualism vs. Collectivism || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">High collectivism || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Place little emphasis on personal achievement. Promote solidarity. Emphasize tradition and history. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Masculinity vs. Femininity || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Medium Masculinity || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Since it is not strong index, the web designer does not need to emphasize particular features for either very masculine or feminine societies. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Uncertainty Avoidance || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Low uncertainty avoidance || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Include many choices and large amounts of information. Minimal control over the user’s navigation controls to provide freedom to navigate the website. ||
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Long vs. Short Term Orientation || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Long-term || <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 150%;">Display perseverance and patience in pursuing goals. Provide content with a practical application. Emphasize relationship as a source of information. ||
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Objective culture is closely related to localization, they both deal with the way the same information is displayed in different formats according to local rules. Dates, currency, numbers and units of measures are examples of objective culture. In contrast with subjective culture, objective culture is more visible and easier to evaluate.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> 14.2.11 Web Site Heuristics <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Redish states in her book //Letting Go of the Words// that the heuristic evaluation of a website is to help readers to find what they need, when they need it, in the amount they need, as quickly as possible. In addition to that, an editor must consider evaluating the type of audience, the purpose of the content, and the context itself.

The World Wide Web helps to find information quickly; the process of going through millions of online pages to find a particular topic is performed within seconds. When the search finds a site, the user needs to confirm the web page really contains the desired information. A web page that does not conform to basic heuristic guidelines could fail to deliver information efficiently; consequently, site visitors can lose interest and ignore the entire website. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> 14.2.12 Web Site Usability Testing <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">No editor, despite their level of proficiency, will be able to discover all of the ways in which users may try to use an online document and possibly fail. A usability test gives a representative sample of potential users some tasks to do using the website. By observing the way users negotiate their way through the website or online help, the tester can identify how to improve information and navigation (Rude 377-378).

<span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif';">Usability Testing is a process performed to determine if products or documents are usable. In the case of documents, both online and paper, usability testing should determine if users are able to: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> In contrast with other types of testing, usability cannot be measured with numbers. For example maximum usability is reached when readers or users don’t have trouble using the document or product efficiently. Usability testing, which is also called document validation, is very important in the computer and manufacturing fields to prevent problems with documentation that could result in malfunctioning equipment or defective products (Samson 63).
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Easily locate the information they need
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Understand the information immediately
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Use the information successfully

Usability testing is usually done in two steps: alpha testing and beta testing. Alpha testing is performed by the product’s designers or the document’s author’. Beta testing is performed by actual users, or a group of people who resemble the main audience for the document or product that try to use the document (Lannon 336). They report on any problems they encounter so that noted problems can be resolved before the document or product is released to the primary audience. (Samson 63).

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> 14.2.13 Scheduled Web Maintenance <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">By the time a website is tested, revised, and published, the material may begin to become out of date. Information gaps or changes, usability and accessibility issues—all of these problems may manifest themselves and impact adversely on users’ experience of a website (Rude 378). With this in mind, editors are advised to update regularly or advocate for regularly scheduled web maintenance to keep online information valuable to users (Rude 378).
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16pt; line-height: 150%;">

14.3 <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"> BLOGS ** <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Short for “weblog,” a blog is a kind of website, a personal online journal that reflects the personalities and interests of its authors or the purposes of its host website. <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Topics include, but are not limited to, brief philosophical musings, commentary on the Internet, politics, and social issues. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> They <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> are characterized by their format; a series of entries posted to a single page in reverse-chronological order. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Blogs allow people from different locations to collaborate and share ideas and links to other sites by <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">inviting readers to comment upon posts. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Most blogs have an open access policy, where anyone can make comments and track back to other related discussions. (Gurak 55).

<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The author of a blog is generally referred to as a blogger (“Blog”).

Many blogs syndicate their content to subscribers using Really Simple Syndication (RSS), a popular content distribution tool (“Blog”). <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> The video in Figure 14.10 gives advice on when to host a blog versus a website.

Figure 14.10 Video - Blog vs Website. Which One? <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 10pt;">media type="youtube" key="Jq1wqtteb3I" height="364" width="445"

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">14.3.1 Blog Authoring Tools <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Many institutions and commercial hosting sites offer free blog spaces and software. These sites may offer choices about page layout, visuals, and content (Gurak 58). <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">

<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Depending on the software used, blog entries can include links between words, illustrations, and other multimedia (Gurak 55). <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">

<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">There are two types of blog software packages, Hosted Services and Self-Hosted. Within each, there are many packages to choose from.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> 14.3.2 Writing and Editing Blog Content <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Relevant, well-written content, new and interesting angles, and snappy headlines are the most important components of any blog (Renders 10-11). <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">
 * Hosted Services Blog Software**
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">TypePad
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Blogger
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">LiveJournal
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Self-Hosted Blog Software **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Wordpress
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Movable Type
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Textpattern

<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">**The Personal Nature of Blogs** While blogging, the use of "I" is fine because bloggers are writing about personal experiences and opinions (Redish 177). But they must remember that an Internet document is always a public document. Bloggers may feel inclined to share personal information on a blog; and although they can preserve anonymity and mask personal information from other users, they must be aware that information can always be obtained on digital systems (Gurak 57).

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Fulfill Blog Readers' Expectations **
 * Tips for Writing Blogs**
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Determine both the audience and purpose of the blog (Gurak 59).
 * <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Develop a "brand" - decide the tone or personality of the blog (Redish 33).
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Name the blog title clearly (Gurak 59).
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Create clear, bold subheadings (Render 10).
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Write short paragraphs.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Include one to two sentence paragraphs and an occasional longer paragraph to break up the look of the page (Render 10).
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Write short blog posts, even as little as 250 words, to be most effective(Lyndon).
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ensure that meta tags and keywords that people would use to search for a post are included in the body text, headers, images, and page names (Render 10).
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Keyword placement should be natural and not seem out of place (Lyndon).
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Add links to earlier posts, if appropriate and when possible, to remind readers about the context for the current post (Gurak 59).
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Maintain an established style
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Write entries that are consistent and relevant to your purpose (Gurak 59).
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Post entries regularly, at least once a week (Gurak 59).

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ways to Keep Blog Readers Engaged **
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Invite interactivity through
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Polls, assignments, and comments (Render 11).
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Make sure that posts are peppered with links to germane web pages (Lyndon).
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Link information in the blog to other internal entries or to other websites (Gurak 59).
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Create a “best of” list of posts.
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Offer a “related posts” or “categories” option on the blog’s menu (Render 11).
 * Before Posting a Blog Entry**
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Read and edit the entry thoroughly
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Test links to other sites to ensure they are still working (Gurak 59).
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Check color, pictures, or load issues on other browsers and computers (Gurak 59).

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">14.3.3 Blog Navigation <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Because many bloggers are always managing or adding new blog content, they should pay special attention to navigation issues within their sites. <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">

<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Visitors can always find posts by browsing through the archives, checking through categories, or doing a search, but they will find it harder to navigate a blog as more content is added. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ways <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">t **<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">**o Improve Blog Navigation** <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">(Vandelay Design)
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Make old content accessible.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Add a “related posts” plug-in,
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Manually create and regularly update a sidebar list of posts that have proven to be most popular or helpful to visitors. (The key here is to update the popular posts list regularly in order to avoid having a static list).
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Create contextual links to related posts; they are an excellent way to help visitors access older content that might be of interest to them.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Make less use of categories and more use of tags.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Consider eliminating category links from the sidebar that
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">have few posts, or
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">are not that relevant to the blog’s visitors
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Make sidebars useful
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Create a list of three or four related posts at the end of the latest post
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">For example, “If you enjoyed this article, please see…”
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Visitors often ignore related posts plug-ins
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Create internal links within the blog.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Go to older posts to create links to newer ones, and vice versa.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> 14.3.4 Blog Visual Design <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Blog hosting sites and software use templates with choices about page layout and content. Experienced blog owners can alter some or all the design choices provided with the template (Gurak 58).

<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> **<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ways to Add Interest to Blogs ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Parts of a Blog ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">
 * Ways to Break Up Blog Content**
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Use white space effectively
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Use bullet points
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Use headings
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">pull-quotes
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">call-outs
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">video
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">audio
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">images, and
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">color
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Banner**
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Indicates the sponsoring organization
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Displays the blog title
 * **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Links **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Place on the right side of page
 * **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Related blog entries **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Place before blog text, or
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Place in a block near the top of the blog text
 * **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The blog entry itself **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Includes a title
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Includes body of blog text
 * **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Comment Box **

14.4 WIKIS <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;">

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">“The simplest online database that could possibly work”, these are the words Ward Cunningham used to describe WikiWikiWeb, the first wiki software, which he developed in 1995. Wikis are websites that allow people from different locations to collaborate and share ideas and links to other sites by creating and modifying Web page content using any Web browser. The wiki is unusual among group communication mechanisms in that it allows both the content and the organization of contributions to be edited.(“What is Wiki”). Some wikis, like Wikipedia, have an open access policy, where anyone can add or update information and make comments. (Gurak 55).

Wikis are often used to power community websites and create collaborative websites, such as this one (Stafford and Webb 1). They are widely used in education and business for their intranet and knowledge management capacities. The collaborative encyclopedia Wikipedia is one of the best-known wikis. If you are new to wikis, you may want to watch the YouTube video in Figure 14.11, Wikis in Plain English, to gain a basic understanding of the functionality of this application. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Figure 14.11 Video - Wikis in Plain English media type="youtube" key="-dnL00TdmLY" height="364" width="445" <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">

14.4.1 Wiki Authoring Tools <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Depending on the software used, wiki entries can include links between words, illustrations, and other multimedia (Gurak 55). <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">

**<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Examples of Wiki Software Packages ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> 14.4.2 Writing and Editing Wiki Content <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Wikis are the ultimate exercise in "writing by committee." <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Wikispaces – software used for this wiki.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">MediaWiki – software used for Wikipedia
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">DokuWiki is – simple software for creating documentation.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">**The Factual Nature of Wikis** Wikis differ from blogs and some web sites with respect to tone or personality; wikis are generally not used to express personal points of view. Instead, the writing style of most wikis is factual and encyclopedic. Neutral point of view (NPOV) entries are often enforced by the editorial policies of the wiki (Gurak 55).

<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Wikis normally provide information, where appropriate, such as (Gurak 58) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Organizing the wiki into subsections avoids the problem of a long page of text, though perfectionism in this regard should not necessarily be a goal. On a wiki, provisional drafts and writing are key. Throwing down half-thoughts, potential seeds, links, and factoids that might be useful at a later time is the whole point of using a wiki. That said, wikis can be certainly be used more precisely, as did Stewart Mader, who wrote Wikipatterns on a wiki. According to Mader, the wiki allowed for portability and easy editing. <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">
 * Tips for Writing for a Wiki**
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Determine your audience
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Determine the purpose for the information (Gurak 59)
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Name the wiki site title clearly (Gurak 59)
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Blend edits into the tone and flow of the existing article
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Avoid the first person
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Do not inject personal opinion and analysis
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Present the facts and acknowledge controversies in clear, clean and neutral language ("How to Write for the Web")
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Link information in the wiki to other internal entries or to other web sites.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">when the entry was updated
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">places where facts still need to be checked
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">places where more information is needed

**<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Before Posting Your Wiki Entries **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Test links to other sites to ensure they are still working (Gurak 59).
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Check color, pictures, or load issues on other browsers and computers (Gurak 59).

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> 14.4.3 Wiki Navigation <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Navigation within a wiki is typically non-linear, comprised mainly of hypertext links to other pages.

Wiki users can, however, create indexes or tables of contents with hierarchical categorization or other organizational schemes. Tables of contents may, however, be difficult to maintain by hand, when multiple authors are creating and deleting pages in an ad hoc manner. Thus, wiki software will generally provide ways to categorize or tag pages to support the maintenance of indexes.

It is not unusual for wiki users to create links to non-existent pages as way to invite others to share in what they know about a topic new to the wiki.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> 14.4.4 Wiki Visual Design <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Wiki hosting sites and software use templates with choices about page layout and content (Gurak 58). <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> **<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Parts of a Wiki (Gurak 57) ** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">
 * **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Banner **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Indicates the sponsor of the wiki
 * **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Search **
 * **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Contents **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Place before wiki text, or
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Place in a block near the top of the wiki text
 * **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Links **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Place on the left side of page
 * **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">The wiki entry itself **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Includes a title
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Includes body of wiki text
 * **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Works Cited **
 * **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Discussion **
 * **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">History **

14.5 E-MAIL <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">"E-mail is considered by many to be the "original" social media platform of the digital era" (Hunt Part 1) and is the most common form of business communication.

<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">E-mail is a method of composing, sending, and receiving messages over electronic communication systems (“E-mail”). It predates the Internet (“E-mail”). <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">

<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">E-mail was designed after the memo, its paper predecessor and as such uses the standard From, To, Date and Subject fields in its header. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">An e-mail usually includes the header, a message, a signature line, and attached files. Almost all e-mail systems allow compose, print, send, reply, forward, and add attachments functionality (Gurak 63).

<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">While it is acceptable to refer to electronic mail as //email//, the spelling //e-mail// is more established, and thus remains the preferred version (“Definitions”). <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> 14.5.1 E-mail Authoring Tools <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Many email authoring tools are available on a variety of platforms.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"> 14.5.2 <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">Writing and Editing E-mail Content <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Today, e-mail is the principal form of communication in many workplaces, which has raised expectations for its usage. People look for e-mail messages to be professional and non-frivolous (Johnson-Sheehan 343). <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Examples of E-mail Platforms and Tools **
 * **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Windows **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Microsoft Office Outlook
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Microsoft Outlook Express
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Pegasus
 * **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Mac **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Mac OS X Mail
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Mozilla Thunderbird
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Opera
 * **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Web-based Access **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Mailreader.com
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Gmail.com
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Mail2web
 * **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Linux and Unix **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Opera
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Mozilla Seamonkey
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Evolution

<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">E-mail messages are usually written in an informal tone that resembles talking. Often, there is no salutation ("Dear Joan") or closing ("Sincerely") (Gurak 63). <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Yet, as with all correspondence, e-mail should be written in a way that is appropriate to the situation. When editors are writing to someone they have never met, they should err on the side of being formal, polite, and respectful.

<span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;"> <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Ways to Write Effective E-mail** <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> The e-mail in Figure 14.12 sorely needs editing, as its recipients are quite likely to delete the entire message without opening a single attachment (Bauer). <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Figure 14.12 An example of an e-mail NOT to write.
 * Well Written E-mail** **Characteristics** (Gurak 65):
 * **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Professional **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Be aware that e-mails often get forwarded to others not addressed in the original e-mail.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Write with the assumption that //anyone// in the organization may read it.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Avoid complaining about coworkers or policies.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Strive for messages that are informative and useful.
 * **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Considerate **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Be considerate of others needs.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Craft meaningful subject lines that allow recipients to see what the message is about without opening the e-mail.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">When forwarding or responding to an email, ensure that recipients do not need to reread a long string of messages.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Write responses that are self-explanatory and self-contained.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Include those parts of the original message you are responding to so recipients will be informed.
 * **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Concise **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Respect the fact that most professionals today are overwhelmed with e-mail.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Write e-mails that are clear, concise, specific, and detailed.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Avoid writing cryptic messages as those in instant messages.
 * **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Careful **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Do not write anything in an e-mail that one would not say aloud in a formal meeting.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Be aware that most organizations have the legal authority to monitor their workers e-mail, including attachments.
 * **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ethical **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Before forwarding an e-mail, consider whether the sender would want it sent to others.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Be aware that any e-mail sent may be forwarded to others without any action taken on the part of the original author.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Consider that blind carbon copy (bcc) allows some recipients of the e-mail to be unaware of others who also received the e-mail.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Be mindful of the time an e-mail is sent; e-mail sent late at night will probably not be read and responded to until the next morning.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Be careful not to use e-mail in any way that violates copyright law <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">s.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Client e-mails, for example, cannot immediately be posted to the company website without the client’s permission (Johnson-Sheehan 343).
 * **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Subject **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ensure the subject line is meaningful.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Avoid blank or ambiguous subject lines.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">For example, the subject line —“quick question”— could more appropriately be phrased as the question the sender is asking: “10 confirmed for Friday…will we need a larger room?” (Bauer).
 * **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Message **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Keep message length to under a screen and a half. Longer messages probably will not be read carefully (Johnson-Sheehan 351).
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Divide, if possible, longer messages into separate emails that readers can delete, reply, file, or forward individually (Bauer).
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Keep messages focused and readable by
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">numbering key points,
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">using standard spelling and capitalization, and
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">creating proper breaks between paragraphs (Bauer).
 * **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Signature **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Include a signature when you e-mail for professional purposes (Gurak 66).
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Appending a signature at the end of an e-mail is especially helpful to those who may not know the sender, especially if pertinent contact information is included (Johnson-Sheehan 347).
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">A professional signature consists of name, title, work e-mail, office phone and fax, web page and mailing address.
 * **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Attachments **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Advise readers of attachments in the body of the message (Johnson-Sheehan 345).
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Be aware of how much space an attachment takes up.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Consider that attachments can take a long time to download.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Always check with the recipient about file size and format of attachments since not all e-mail systems accept all kinds of attachments and may have size limits. (Gurak 67)
 * Before Pressing the E-mail Send Button**
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ensure it does not have too much humor, especially irony or sarcasm.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Witticisms may not come off as intended, especially if messages are going to overseas audiences.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ensure it does not express unpleasant or angry statements
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ensure it does not contain anything that could be considered proprietary.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Classified information and trade secrets could accidentally land in the hands of competitors or the media.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">If information is proprietary, it is best to use traditional routes like the regular mail or a courier.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Paraphrase emails before excerpting or forwarding if there is a chance that another’s message could be misunderstood (Johnson-Sheehan 351-52).

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;">

14.5.3 E-mail Visual Design <span style="color: black; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">E-mail can take on many different styles depending on the context. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> E-mail presents a blank screen with no direction to the author about format or length. As a result, e-mail messages can mimic other communications such as letters, memos or reports. Take context into account when determining the style of an e-mail (Gurak 66).

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;">
 * Tips for E-mail Format and Design** (Gurak 66)
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Avoid ALL CAPITAL LETTERS
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">They are hard to read
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">In electronic communication, they are considered the same as shouting
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Avoid the use of emoticons :-)
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Do not use them in formal communication or in the workplace
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Do not go overboard on the use of:
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">fonts,
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">pictures,
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">background images, and
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">other visual features.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Not every email program will display them correctly.
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Keep formatting to a minimum
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Send a formatted attachment, rather than a formatted e-mail message.
 * Parts of an E-mail** (Gurak 64)
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Toolbar** with e-mail commands such as //send now// and link options
 * **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Header **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Recipient e-mail address (To:)
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Carbon-copy e-mail address (cc:)
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Blind carbon-copy e-mail address (bcc:)
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Subject
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Attachments
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Body** of the e-mail – the message
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">**Signature**

14.6 SOCIAL MEDIA <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 18pt;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Many people think that Social Media is a new and radical way of communicating and interacting; but it isn’t. According to Hunt, the term “social” in social media is best thought of as human interaction. “Social media is effectively people-powered communication, driven by the desire of individuals to create and share knowledge and information with one another. Social media is different from our ‘traditional’ notion of media, in which content is created, owned and disseminated by a single entity (usually an organization) and broadcast to the masses. As a people-driven form of communication, social media tends to emphasize dialogue (or multilogue) rather than monologue, leveraging one-to-one and many-to-many communication channels in addition to the one-to-many approach used by organizations. Relying more on informal interaction than formal message delivery, social media creates exchanges that are less scripted and more organic.” (Hunt Part 1).

If the digital side of social media is removed, it can be seen that social media has existed throughout the history of the human race, from prehistoric cave paintings to contemporary graffiti and posters. So, what we call //social media// today, would more aptly be called //digital social media.// “The technology is new, and the platforms and communication channels are different, but the drivers are the same. Digital social media is effectively a ‘new’ set of tools for doing ‘old’ things” (Hunt Part 1). <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> 14.6.1 Web 2.0 Tools <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 16pt;"> <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Social media focuses on either content (creating, sharing, and interacting about specific content) or community (maintaining interactions with friends, family, and or professional colleagues) (Hunt Part 1) <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 14pt;"> 14.6.2 Writing and Editing for Social Media <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Social networking sites are getting lots of attention recently. But in the future, social media, in the form of Web 2.0 technologies, will be key to organizations achieving their goals (Hunt Part 2). <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">
 * **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Content Focused Social Media Tools **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Video sharing sites
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">YouTube
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Flickr
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Wikis
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">This wiki
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Wikipedia
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Folksonomies
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Delicious
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Blogs
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Mashups
 * **<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Community ****<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Focused Social Media Tools **
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Social networking sites
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Facebook
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">LinkedIn
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Twitter
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Web-based communities
 * <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Ning

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">To be successful, organizational leaders need to embrace social media. Hunt in Part 2 of her Social Media Primer provides the realities of social media and provides recommendations.

For example, the Whirlpool customer who broadcast her dissatisfaction through Twitter and accumulated more than a million followers, or the attack against Nestle by Greenpeace on their Facebook page which escalated due to Nestle’s inadequate response.
 * Reality: the balance of power between organizations and their external customers is changing.**

Hunt recommends that organizational leaders recognize that it is in their best interest to use social media to their advantage to form stronger relationships with former, current and future employees and customers.

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">To this end, organizations must have a clear set of policies, and experienced staff before they set up a social media presence on community sites like Facebook (Owyang). <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt; line-height: 115%;">

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif;">**Reality: Organizational leaders are hesitant to engage social media because they fear a loss of control.** But they don’t get a say; social media platforms make it easy for individuals to comment on their experiences with organizations in organized and ad hoc ways. The recommendation is to participate in those conversations and respond in appropriate ways. “The //loss// of control is a bit of a paradox, because it actually creates the opportunity for //more// control – maybe not of the conversation, but of the subject of the conversation itself, which is far more important. Especially when the conversation is negative, the experience may not be pleasant, but the opportunity to learn important lessons, share key information, and create needed changes is invaluable” (Hunt Part 3).

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">When allocating resources to social media initiatives it is important to recognize that content expertise is more important than technological expertise. Because social media is integrated with the organization’s strategic goals, those assuming the most significant social media roles should be those most familiar with the organization’s mission, stakeholders and operating environment (Hunt Part 5). <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 9pt;">

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Once social media has been integrated into the organization, leaders need to be personally involved both internally and externally; meaning, they need to subscribe to and read internal blogs, if present, and they need to follow external accounts the organization maintains such as Twitter (Hunt Part 5).

<span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Communication today is more informal and conversational; it is most important that leaders express the organizations perspectives in a genuine voice. As such, organizational leaders need to assume an active social media role by such activities as blogging themselves rather than using a ghost-blog (Hunt Part 5).

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;"> **Reality: “Social media is poised to become a fundamental aspect of how business is conducted**, and the sooner organizations recognize and respond to this inevitability, the sooner they will be able to reap the benefits.” Social media technologies need to be integrated into virtually all aspects of organizational functioning; and although it may seem like more work in the short term, addressing social media at the beginning of projects will pay off in the long term (Hunt Part 3).

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Today, within organizations, the general social media applications are the employee intranet and knowledge management. Knowledge management encompasses tools such as wikis, blogs, and chat rooms, to name a few (Hunt Part 2).

<span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> Organizations can use Web 2.0 technologies to create: <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> One of the most significant ways organizations can use social media is talent management - how the organization communicates with former, current, and future employees. <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">Sites like Twitter and LinkedIn are key to talent acquisition for organizations. <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt; line-height: 115%;">Another significant way is learning management; through learning management, organizations can offer specific training, <span style="color: #000000; font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"> and facilitate collaboration and problem solving (Hunt Part 2).
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">private social networks for employees,
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">administrative wikis, and
 * <span style="font-family: Arial,Helvetica,sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;">leader blogs.

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