Business Communications – Week 3 Lecture

Online Communication

There are three primary types of Web presence:

• Intranet – Accessed by employees at all locations of a particular company.
• Extranet – Accessed by select employees and company partners.
• Public – What most of us refer to as “The Internet.”

According to Lehman and Dufrene (2011), Web users have certain habits that business writers must follow:

• Skim, browse, and skip around rather than reading an entire section.
• Scan from top to bottom and left to right beginning at the top left-hand side of the main content area.
• Can more easily scan items in rows rather than columns.
• Refer infrequently to directions and are more likely to read numbered steps than notes, sidebars, and help files.

As a result, they state that writers should follow these guidelines:

• Be brief and keep it simple
• Consider appropriate jargon
• Use eye-catching headlines
• Break longer documents into small chunks
• Use attention-getting devices judiciously
• Avoid placing critical information in graphic form only
• Assure accessibility by users with disabilities

Channels

We all know there are a wide variety of electronic communication channels available. However, sometimes it can be confusing to choose the best channel for which type of message.

Email – Email is efficient and allows us to communicate immediately with supervisors, customers and colleagues, without a minimized focus on time zones and work schedules. Reducing storage concerns and paper cost, email is widely used today in business environments. In fact, it is now the preferred method of communication among people charged with accomplishing a significant number of tasks in short time periods. Some considerations include your subject line, content formatting and signature.

Subject lines should be brief but descriptive. They should draw attention without overstating the importance of the message’s content. When the subject of an ongoing exchange changes, the sender should also change the subject line. Content should be concise with short sentences and short paragraphs. Use white space to break up main ideas. And always include a signature with your professional title as opposed to nothing or initials.

Texting and Instant Messaging - Text messaging, as well as instant messaging, are used at work for professional and personal reasons. In fact, a 2012 Pew Research Center report notes that 95% of 16 to 24 year olds use text messaging regularly, each sending around 100 texts per month. The habits that are forming now, will continue as the generation ages. This could be a positive thing for business communication, but could also include enough distraction to make this channel counter-productive. Advantages include real-time information exchange; disadvantages include a potential lack of privacy and formality.

Blogging – According to R.F. Verderber and colleagues (2012), “A blog is a website with dated entries, usually by a single author, often accompanied by links to other blogs. They state that in business, “Blogging …can increase accountability because the project is organized, documented, and visible to others. Blogs are not fact checked, so they are not always reliable sources of information.” Many businesses use blogs to build their brand and to build relationships with the public.

Social Networking - This includes online communities such as Facebook.com and Twitter.com. Like blogs, companies use these to build connections.

Netiquette

The rules and etiquette for writing online are unique to the medium in some cases and, in others, are in line with standard business writing guidelines. V. Shea’s The Core Rules of Netiquette (2008)explains the following rules in detail. Click on each link below for detailed guidance and explanation.

• Rule 1: Remember the Human
• Rule 2: Adhere to the same standards of behavior online that you follow in real life
• Rule 3: Know where you are in cyberspace
• Rule 4: Respect other people's time and bandwidth
• Rule 5: Make yourself look good online
• Rule 6: Share expert knowledge
• Rule 7: Help keep flame wars under control
• Rule 8: Respect other people's privacy
• Rule 9: Don't abuse your power
• Rule 10: Be forgiving of other people's mistakes