Sunday, June 15, 2008

Connecting "Paper Style" with "Web Style"

Wow.
Web style and paper style actually have a lot in common according to Spiderpro's Styleguide and Lynch and Horton's Web Style Guide.
Firstly, and maybe most importantly, both sites discuss "knowing our audience". It is very important in writing to know who we are writing to. What diction/vocab do we choose? Are we talking to rocket scientists or fifth graders about moon rocks?
One major similarity I found even with our previous readings of Strunk and White and Williams is using appropriate language and grammar. It is important to use the standard to ensure wide-spread understanding. Punctuation is noted as important in Spiderpro, as well as using short-and-sweet sentences. "The web is not a book," as it is stated, but even Williams suggested using short and to-the-point sentences (but, he does say this is pretty difficult!)
Lynch and Horton's discussion on how to "plan" for your website reminds me a lot of how to make a "web" for a paper, or a rough draft. It is important to think about the content we want to communicate, organize it, and then figure out the best possible way to format it.
There are also many notable (and sometimes funny) differences. One that makes me chuckle is is Spiderpro's guide: "DO watch for robots"
Obviously, we don't really have to worry about font colors and sizes. There is a standard that is accepted (12 point font, Times New Roman) , but on websites we actually have to consider colors and readability. Websites definitely have curb appeal, and I can tell you that the Spiderpro website definitely was more "appealing" than Lynch and Horton's.
Writing professionally for "paper" style actually takes a lot less thought than "web" style, surprisingly. In websites, you have to consider absolutely everything, not just what you want to write. You have to "create" the entire thing. When writing on paper, we don't actually have to create the paper by hand like you do the website.

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