WhatsTheBuzzAbout.com

Have You Mastered Being Succinct?

Have you noticed that over the course of the last few years, communication via the internet seems to be expecting us to express more using fewer words? It has become commonplace to see yellow smiley faces to represent happiness and other moods, acronyms such as roflol to represent that we are laughing (rolling on the floor laughing out loud) and tweets in 140 words or less.

On web sites we are asked to summarize ourselves using no more than 25 key words, or to give a quick synopsis of our expertise in a profile, or lists our “needs” and “wants” in less than 50 words for each category.  We are told that in order to be understood, we should write for an 8^th grade student or below (using the United States educational system as an example).  We are encouraged to think in outline form using bullets or numbers to help clarify our statements for readers. We are expected to be “politically correct” in the United States and “culturally correct” and sensitive when using the written words without the benefit of body language or facial expressions to help connote the meaning and the respect.

With all the expectation, we are learning how to be succinct. We use shorter sentences. We adopt the headline news approach in our emails in order to avoid the undesired “spam” filter.  We use smaller words – words that will not send someone to the dictionary to determine the meaning.  Our hiring officials generally take less than a minute to review a resume, and may discard for errors in punctuation or grammar on first review.

In short, the demands on us are now to adapt to the quick bite. We must communicate our information and questions rapidly. The pace of life and work seems quickened by this need to get the “point across” in short order.  Should our children be taught in school to be succinct? Is brevity the goal? If it is, we may lose some of the beauty of words, thoughts, ideas, creativity, and expressiveness along the way.

Have you mastered the art of being succinct without losing your authenticity?

What is your buzz about?

Do You Respect the Rules of Social Media Web Sites?

Does it seem that you often run across individuals who deliberately violate the rules and standard practices of various social media sites? They may do this overtly, such as setting up profiles using corporate names instead of their names, including email addresses or unusual characters in their names, creating two profiles in different names, etc. They may do this covertly, such as deliberately posting employment opportunities or commentary in the wrong place on a web site assuming that the moderator will not move or delete the postings. They may deliberately misrepresent their status offering commodities or services or jobs or skills that they do not possess or to which they do not have access.

They may farm email addresses and use them to spam. They may attempt to monopolize a group by posting repeatedly or pretending that their postings inadvertently were duplicated on the site.

There seems to be a major issue with integrity that each of us observes on a daily basis. Putting aside the schemes, the sensationalist stories, and the criminal acts and individuals, many individuals whom you may know and with whom you may even do business may have violated the rules on any particular site. There has been an ongoing discussion about authenticity, but complying with the rules is more than being authentic.

Compliance is a fundamental reflection about the respect that some individuals have or do not have for the medium, for the participants, for the creators of the web site, and for the owners and moderators of the site. By failing to abide by the rules and engaging in what amounts to “online civil disobedience,” individuals are demonstrating that they simply are in it for themselves and have little regard/respect for others. It is an unsettling social commentary that violations of policy are prevalent on so many sites, and that many individuals participate or appear to be indifferent about that fact.

Moderating Your Own Conduct

You have a continual opportunity to choose how you conduct yourself. Choose to show respect for the sites in which you participate and work within the system to have the rules changed if you do not agree with them.

Moderating the Conduct of Others

You have a continual opportunity to help the owners and moderators ensure that others conduct themselves with integrity.  You can refuse to connect with violators and miscreants. You can report violations to the moderators, etc.  You can address individuals off-network and encourage them to follow your path.  There are a myriad of choices –choose wisely but choose to become active.

What is your buzz about?