"Social media" is out. So is "microblogging." No more "social bookmarking" either.
What am I talking about? Clear writing. Plain language.
I'm not pulling the plug on all this stuff. However, I am going to start to write about it in terms that the average person on the street can understand.
Out with the old, in with the new
I often hear people say we should write so our grandparents can understand what we're writing. Well, my grandad certainly wouldn't have a clue about blogging, vlogging or unconferences.
So, next time I chat to someone about the stuff I'm up to, I won't throw out the latest jargon that we've conjured up. I'll use short, simple words to describe these complex ideas.
Will I dumb down the way I communicate? No. Far from it.
I'll open up my conversations to people who don't live in our little bubble and who don't know our terminology, but who want to know about this stuff.
It's not easy to cut out these words and phrases, but I guarantee to you that far more people will understand you.
This is the kind of thing that visitors to the Social Media Training Wiki need. Simple, direct language.
Here are a few simple starters:
- Out: my blog
- In: my website
- Out: social media
- In: online tools that let you have two-way conversations
- Out: URL
- In: web site address
- Out: RSS feed
- In: Web site content you can subscribe to
What web jargon would you like to eliminate? What would you say instead?
(photo credit: ~k~)
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