A few nights ago, during a session of playing Eve online, an interesting topic of discussion formed. Some of the players began typing in CAPITAL LETTERS and as usual other players began to deride them for doing so, nothing new there. However, one of the offending players made an interesting comment that I’ll paraphrase here:
with more and more people getting broadband and using Teamspeak [Teamspeak is a form of voice communications popular with gamers - Marc] I don’t believe typing in capitals constitutes as shouting
(No the gamer was not that eloquent!) For those not in the know, typing in capital letters is akin to shouting and is one of the rules of etiquette for Internet communication (commonly referred to as netiquette).
So why am I saying all this? Well when it comes to blogging, as in verbal communication, what you say and how you say it forms an integral part of how others perceive you. In other words it contributes to your brand.
Written Word v Verbal Communication
“Offline etiquette” is far more complex than online and this lack of complexity can actually be detrimental to what you want to say. In verbal communication – such as a telephone conversation – your tone of voice and inflection easily reveals what kind of mood you are in, how serious you are being, your level of confidence and so forth. In face to face conversation body language also plays a large part. None of that is applicable to the written word and is particularly problematic on the Internet where anonymity has brought out the darker side of people.
How then do you express your feelings and thoughts in written form without them being misinterpreted? Not an easy task as any blogger will tell you, but here are some of my tips:
- Review and edit your posts. Don’t just write the first thing that comes to mind and post it to your blog.
- Support your arguments with evidence wherever possible. This could be a link to an authoritative source or a quote from a textbook or similar.
- Elaborate when needed. Especially if you are just stating your opinion or otherwise don’t have evidence to back you up. Give reasons for your feelings and/or actions.
The Rights and the Wrongs
Having said all that, there are plenty of examples of people making a healthy living both online and off by ignoring the rules of etiquette and by otherwise doing what “normal society” frowns upon, in other words being controversial. Are they right, or are they wrong? Which method should you employ?
There is no easy answer to that, the best advice I can give is to do what you feel comfortable with or as my mother would say
treat others the way you’d want to be treated
So is netiquette out-dated? Have you been affected by someone misinterpreting what you wrote? Do you subscribe to controversial writing (and writers)?
In a follow-up post I plan to offer some advice on what to do when what you have written is taken completely the wrong way.
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All good advice and to add, I think it’s important to be conisistent. If you’ve developed an online brand, don’t post something controversial completely out of nowhere. Remember your readers are there because they like what you write, so don’t shock them and confuse your brand.
Have you read the wonderful Nick Cernis’ 44 forks?
Absolutely right Iain. When it comes to branding, consistency is a must. It can take a long time to build a brand but only a moment to ruin it.
For evidence just look at the celebrity world!