Changing Media, Changing Type

At different points in A Better Message, I have commented and will comment on how changes in communication technology have impacted our ability to get a message across – for better or worse. Each medium presents its own advantages and challenges. The number of available of communication media is increasing, and enables knowledgeable communicators to select more options for effective transfer of meaning than ever before.

Amid all this change, one topic that might not be at the forefront of our thoughts is Typography. If we take a minute to think about it, it seems almost obvious that the type style selected helps make the message, providing a visual/emotional context for meaning of our words. However, it may be that we seldom stop and think about the impact that typeface has on the many messages we read every day. And to the extent that our daily activities now have us authoring messages, we may rarely think about the impact of type at the times when it might be most beneficial to do so.

In reality, there are several limitations imposed on our selection of typeface. Depending on the message and medium, our reasonable choices are often limited by circumstance. Are you writing for your company something that will actually be printed on paper? Use the standard fonts in the company Style Guide. Want to get creative in that Word doc you are going to email to a client? You’d better be sure that she has the same font loaded on her machine before you hit “Send”, or else it may be read in something like Courier. Want to get fancy on that website? Better make sure that it can be rendered well on most screens by most browsers. Better yet, stick to something mainstream, like Arial, Verdana, or Helvetica.

Notice that the latter issues are all within the realm of digital communications. That’s because more and more of our communications are being shifted from print to digital media. And those suggestions I made about sticking with the tried and true typefaces . . . they are the defaults used in most web browsers. It turns out that some fonts are easier to read on paper, while some work best on screens. The three fonts I mentioned are sans serif fonts, which work best for screen-read text. And although they work well, they are not as warm or elegant as the serif fonts typically used for printed text.

Well, we are not the only ones who have noticed that the environment in which we read is going digital. While it is true that many traditional typefaces do not render well on computer screens, not everyone believes that sans serif fonts need to look and “feel” Spartan. When Microsoft introduced Office 2007, it also introduced several new ClearType fonts, partly to foster easier reading of digitally-rendered type. One of those fonts is Constantia, a font that is designed to read well on-screen, and look good on paper, too. However, the one I have been using for a while is Calibri, which I believe is the default font in certain recent Microsoft applications.

I’ll fill you in on little secret. Calibri didn’t get to be one of my favorites because of my extensive analysis of fonts or because of my vast expertise (ahem!) in Typography. Rather, when working on my resume a couple of years ago, I stumbled across it in my MS Word program. I liked it instantly. Calibri is simple and to the point, like many other sans serif fonts, but this one seems a little . . . well . . . warmer and easier to read. "Hmmm . . . Why is that,” you ask? Let’s take a look.

IS IT LEGIBLE?

One simple test to assess text legibility, the degree to which letters are recognizable, is to cover either the bottom or top half of a line of text and see if you can read it. If you can read the sentence, the text is likely to be considered legible. To try this out, I compared three lines of 10 pt. text (from top to bottom using Arial, Calibri, and Times New Roman).



Ok, so I picked three fonts that are all considered very legible, primarily because Arial and Times New Roman are very popular sans serif and serif fonts. But I found it easy to make out the sentence, “Think about how children and seniors differ in their behavior, disposition, interests and intellect." I hope you could also. Truth be told, I didn’t see any major legibility faux pas here, so our conclusions regarding legibility differences between these three fonts may be subject to our own preferences. But I think Calibri edges out the other two fonts in this test, because we are looking at this on a screen, the text is a few words, and Calibri has a little less character mass with a little more space between the characters. I wonder if our collective opinions would change if we saw the same three on paper?

IS IT EASY TO READ?

Readability, the ability to easily read text set in a specified typeface, results from several factors in typeface design. One of those factors is character spacing. To compare the amounts of character spacing, see below:



In this instance, you can see that Times New Roman and Calibri have about the same horizontal spacing. Arial is wider, but the characters do not seem to be spaced, in relative terms, as far apart. In my opinion, Arial is hardest to read, and it seems related to the relatively close spacing between the rather wide letters. Calibri, on the other hand, seems to have a bit more space between its characters than Times New Roman, and the overall character mass is less than Arial. This gives Calibri more white space (or, in this case, black space) within and between characters, as well as vertically between the lines of text.

Another factor affecting readability is x-height, the base height of lower case letters, discounting any ascenders or descenders on the characters. Typefaces with larger x-heights are reported to be easier to read. The balance of white space also matters – all other factors being equal, more white space can be found in type with larger x-heights, which makes text easier to comprehend. To compare x-heights, I again placed the three fonts together for evaluation. The relative height differences can be seen below:



All three of these typefaces are regarded as having relatively large x-heights. It seems that Arial is largest, but, again, it also has the widest characters. The x-heights of Calibri and Times New Roman are similar, with Calibri being just a bit higher.

SO WHAT IS DIFFERENT ABOUT CALIBRI?

In my opinion, there are two characteristic about Calibri that are striking. One is that it has “soft edges”. Calibri is rendered differently on the screen because of a technique related to aliasing, the treatment of pixels used to compose digital images. The end result gives Calibri a less defined edge to its lines, imparting a warmer color to this than seen in other sans serif typeface.

Another factor I noticed was the use of changing line weights in Calibri. It is not as pronounced as that seen in Times New Roman, but is more pronounced than that in Arial, and perhaps the other mainstream sans-serif typefaces. Even though Calibri is a sans serif font, its line weights make it seem as though it is somewhat closer in style to some serif fonts. This can be seen in the top curve of lowercase h’s or the curves in the letter m. The result is a text that is slightly more elegant and still quite readable.



Finally, Calibri has some rounded elements that give it more personality. The lines in each character have bowed ends and rounded corners. The rounded line ends are seen in the feet of the R. End curves in the text tend to be even, using a bit larger than normal radii – see the base of a lower case t, for example. Again, from left to right, the typeface is Arial, Calibri, then Times New Roman.



So here it is. Communication is changing in ways that are even affecting how text is presented, read and understood. To accommodate these changes, typography is also changing to maintain functionality in the new media. Traditionally, serif fonts, like Times New Roman, have worked best for long printed passages. In Calibri, we see some elements that are often used in serif fonts, making it more readable while still being screen-friendly.

As a new font for digital media, Calibri has been well received – see a review here and a somewhat more technical read here. And as for me, I’ll be happy to use Calibri in more documents . . . as soon as I know my recipients’ machines are also similarly equipped.

Design For All Ages

Technical Communicators frequently account for many factors in their work, but I don’t recall hearing the user’s age being a variable that gets a lot of discussion at the water cooler. Yes, in isolated instances, perhaps . . . let’s say you are writing for Social Security recipients . . . then the needs of the elderly might come into clearer focus.

Perhaps age comes up more than we think in today’s design world. What if you had to design a website to tell Seniors how to use their cell phone? How would that be different than providing the same info to children? Many children today pickup homework on a web-based platform used by their school, just as adults now go to college online . . . surely, the site designs in each instance differ, and for tangible reasons.

Now let’s take this to another level. Think about how children and seniors differ in their behavior, disposition, interests and intellect. Think about how they learn. Even within those groups do they all learn the same way? There’s plenty of information on variations in individual learning styles. For example, some folks learn best by seeing – visual learners – and some by doing – kinesthetic learners. Think this through far enough as you design your next website, and you can see that you may need to have something to satisfy everyone.

To explore these concepts further, I decided look over two websites targeted to different ages and compare their differences. For the younger folks, 8 to 10 years old to be specific, I selected The Stacks at Scholastic.com. You might know this company as the one that hosted those annual book fairs in your grade school, at least here in the Eastern U.S. Scholastic has been publishing to children for many years and should know a thing or two about presenting information to them.

I decided to also look at Elderhostel, an organization that promotes travel with an educational twist to retired folks, who could range in age from 55 to 80+. If you are getting seniors on a fixed income to spend money on your service, you need to have a site that effectively gets your message across.

A DESIGN FOR AN OLDER CROWD

Let’s start with Elderhostel. Here’s their homepage:



The layout is orderly, with a four column format and lots of white space. A photograph near the top center of the page is the element that draws my eyes fist – it’s the most colorful thing here. Its motion also gets my attention, as do the moving letters that change to suggest a relationship between Elderhostel and its sister organization, Exploritas. The header type there is a semi-elegant serif style, with the balance of the page text using sans serif type. I was surprised that the font size wasn’t larger, but then again, these are ACTIVE SENIORS. Perhaps issues of poor vision and dexterity have not affected our viewers.

Looking over this site, my initial impression was that there wasn’t anything too new here, meaning the visual elements were pleasing in a subdued kind of way – predictable, with a concentration on the content. It’s simple, effective, and orderly, qualities you’d want to see in an organization to which you might trust your money and time. The design seems appropriate for the types of end users here, who are primarily older folks looking for information about travel they might like to plan. Secondary users might be someone else that’s trying to convince Mom she ought to go on a trip.

Two things strike me about our primary user: (1) if they are like my 70-year old mother, they may not be all the comfortable with using a computer. This may cause some emotional angst about using the site, which could be heightened if they are also anxious about the travel logistics. A predictable, easy-to-read site is what is needed. Research indicates that adults learn best when they build on something they already know. If you are 67, you probably have a lifetime of familiarity with text, people, and images of world destinations, three visual elements that figure prominently in this site’s design.

My simpleton view of the site soon changed a bit when I further examined the features included here. I found that there is something for everyone. For the visual and verbal learners, there is a lot of text to go through – page after page of itineraries, programs and prices, which can be gone through sequentially for those so inclined. But kinesthetic learners (active learners) are not left out – there is a lot to do on this site. Just take a look at across the home page and note the sidebar below:



Email a travel idea to a friend, sign up for an e-newsletter, review or even enter the photo contest (nice shots!), communicate with other Elderhostelers on the Community Board or the Social Network, or become part of the Alumni Association . . . Who says Seniors don't do Web 2.0? There is enough to make anyone feel like there is something valuable to see and do here, and learn about travel in the process. The sidebar is not just for the active learner, however. It gives a number of links that essentially layout the whole site, something global learners may also be inclined to use as they assess the breadth of features here.

In the end, while this site isn’t flashy, it’s the kind of site I could spend hours on as an armchair traveler. I’ll keep Elderhostel in mind for my interests 20 years from now.

A DESIGN FOR YOUNG (AND YOUNG-AT-HEART)

Now for The Stacks, the children’s section at Scholastic’s website. Here’s the main page:



My eyes were drawn first to the graphic near the top of the page. Like the Elderhostel site, the image changes, and both the images and the movement draw my attention. This site seems to draw the eye to points of interest, although in a less orderly manner. I noticed this even more on the Opinions page of the site:



Note the banners that draw the eye to titles that identify the element, as well as lead one to the point of action (check out “Join the Conversation” or “Pick a Profile Widget”). Graphics and photos are often combined in the same image, something kids can grasp in thoughts that change between reality and make-believe. This site is all about color and jagged linear structures, and it creates a rather eclectic dissonance, an intentional lack of unity, that seems to mirror the active nature and short attention span of children in this age range.

As for design, the type is in warmer, friendlier, casual fonts that are mostly sans serif. The wording is simpler, consistent with the language skills of the intended viewers, and more slang is used. Perhaps the human factors such as the vision and dexterity issues I discussed for seniors are not an issue here; rather this site is all about the language skills ad interests of our primary viewers. (Secondary viewers here are parents, likely Moms, as evidenced by the meal ideas I saw in an advertising header – adults use the site to by the books and other materials their children are interested in.)

Thinking about those language skills, I reflected on how the learning styles of children must be functionally different than those of adults. Without fully developed reading and language skills, children are by necessity more likely to be kinesthetic learners, and more likely, I think, to have a “show-me-don’t-tell-me” disposition that requires emphasis on non-text elements. It also has me wondering if children learn more sequentially, preferring something a bit more structured. After all, unlike adults, children have less knowledge, conventions, and practices of habit to guide their learning. While they are more likely to experiment in the navigation and comprehension of the site, their lack of intellectual experience could be well served by a more structured approach. That seems to be borne out in the lack of the side bar global navigation we saw in the Elderhostel site. The Stacks only has links to other parts of the site occurring in the horizontal header.

My impression of this site is, as it should be, nearly opposite of the Elderhostel site. The design is as eclectic as an 8-year old’s imagination, but the structure that is here is more subliminal. As expected, it does seem like a more “fun” site. For a momentary pleasant diversion, do note that the site presents the animated movie trailer for a movie based on my favorite children’s book, “Cloudy with a Chance of Meatballs”, which can be viewed at the bottom of the Main Page, or in at a larger scale on YouTube.

OK, so I am a big kid . . .

CLOSING THOUGHTS

One thing that surprised me was the amount of text used . . . or not . . . on the sites. I only have four data points for this, so I am not sure if further research would bear this out. But I started this evaluation thinking Elderhostel would use more text, and The Stacks less. On their main pages, I counted the words in the longest text element I could find. Elderhostel – 59 words. And Scholastic - 59 words. So I clicked on an itinerary for an Elderhostel trip – 411 words were in the body of this trip description. I jumped on a blog at The Stacks, and found 545 words in a blog entry about design in graphics for video games. Who says children don’t do text?

THE ULTIMATE TEST

While writing this, my 9-year old daughter, Mary, started peering over my shoulder.



I explained to her what I was doing and asked for her opinion on these sites. She looked at them both, and then I asked her what she thought of the Elderhostel site. “Hmmm . . . . Could be interesting, but I’m not into reading as much.” When I showed her The Stacks, she said, “Fun . . . Lots of Activity . . . Interesting . . . . Colors really get me.” For the record, I’d prefer to look at the Elderhostel site.

So our impromptu test subjects fell right in line with the intent of the sites and the body of design knowledge I discussed here. So much for Dad’s theories!

Video As Design For Technical Communicators

I’ve found another example where form and function combine to deliver a clear and effective message. Recently, someone brought several videos to my attention, discussing how design elements were applied. Hmmm . . . videos . . . hadn’t thought of that when I started this blog site. But come to think of it, in my initial blog post , I penned:

“I remember a time when science and engineering issues were worked out using a pencil and paper . . . now the latest technical support comes through as a web-based video.”

Given the increasing use of video in online communication, perhaps evaluating video design and impact is perfectly relevant to technical communicators.

Out of the dozen or so videos I reviewed, I was most affected by “Lost Generation” by “metramv” on YouTube. It projects the text of a passage by Jonathan Reed, which is also spoken using a young woman’s voice. Here’s the video, please have a look:



Right off, what I found most compelling about this video was its message. I hope you agree. I’ll come back to that at the end of the post, but for the moment, let’s look at why some of the primary graphic devices and techniques in this video really work well to support the message.

The primary visual element I noticed were the lines of white text on a dark background. The lines are the primary elements, what we look at first because . . . well . . . they appear first in this video. Text primacy is maintained, however, as the background changes to include a soft-edged textured orb in the center of the screen. The linear text arrangement looks harder and edgier, giving the sense that the text is in the foreground. Placed asymmetrically left of center, the text orientation causes one to notice first the words at left. The text size decreases slightly to the right, moving our eyes towards the background containing the orb. Slightly brighter, it also draws our eyes right. These synergistic elements work to move our eyes in the direction in which the text is read, exactly what is needed to enhance concentration on the words and their consequent meaning.

When I first viewed the video, I noted a low-contrast, monochrome theme. However, a closer look identified other contrasts in the scene, contrasts of shape and texture. The text lies across the screen, forming implied lines. These lines contrast with the circular orb in the background, and this contrast makes the text more prominent. Furthermore, the orb's textured pattern – I imagined it as the surface of the moon - contrasts with the untextured darkness around it, which seems like colder emptiness. The type used is rather plain and unremarkable (perhaps it is Times New Roman?), in this case a good thing - a less standard font might be distracting in this instance. But here’s the catch - it's really small. It forces you to pay attention.

I also think that rhythms play a strong role in this video. Not just musical rhythm, rather, there are visual rhythms, as well as that of the spoken words. The brighter lines formed by the text contrast with the darker spaces between them. As the text moves, it is not unlike the rhythm of waves upon a shore, albeit, very small ones. The rhythm is clean and even, dictated by the meter of the passage.

Until it stops.

Then reverses.

An anomaly of movement, it gets our attention at an important point in time, causing us to focus further on the message. This reversal parallels the similar reversal in meaning that becomes evident as the lines are read in reverse order.

While the primary elements in this video are visual, there is also a musical rhythm applied by the background music. There are actually two songs; they change at the break. Taken together, the songs are soft and low, setting a pensive audio background. Though each tune is not so different from the other, the second evokes a bit more tension, and gently underscores the contrast in meaning that occurs when the text direction is reversed. Interestingly, the gap between the songs is a musical anomaly that coincides with the cessation of movement; both work to grab our attention at an important point in the video.

Again, in my initial post, I noted: “All the technology in the world will not improve a message that lacks clarity, concern for the reader, or content that matters.” Please bear with me for the quote, but this video nails all three of these criteria. Both the design and the message conveyed are clear and viewer-focused. More importantly, the content matters, a good example of A Better Message.

Form AND Function In A Visualization

The byline of this blog is "Form vs. Function in Technical Communication". When I recently came across an example where the form supported well the function of the message, I thought I'd share it here.

Tom Gonzalez maintains Form-Function, a blog about communication using data visualizations. The subject of a visualization that I found interesting is the national trade deficit, specifically from 1998 to 2008. Go here to see and operate the visualization for a month-by-month depiction of the deficits and surpluses the US racks up with its major trading partners. Gonzalez describes the work on his blog and gives his own opinion of the outcome:

As a result I think the data visualization still works for the main trends. You can see annual trade surplus/deficit information for each of the top 10 countries for each (surplus/deficit.) The countries that are in surplus (adding cash to the US Economy) are along the top, while the countries along the bottom show the corresponding trade deficits (that are taking cash out of the US Economy.) It is pretty obvious that overall the US has far more deficit than surplus trade, and by a huge margin, and that in later years the US deficit with China is pretty large.

I think this viusalzation strikes effecive balance between form and function. There are sufficient visual elements and details to tell the story and make me "get it", but there are no extra frills to get in the way. I hope Gonzalez will update the work over time. His blog is worth your review.

Questions:

I am wondering about the bottom center of the visualization - it seems a bit busy. How would you handle the label "United States"?

Do you think Visio might have presented some constraints for the work?

Overall, did you get the same impression as I on this piece?

Leave a comment one way or the other.

A Two-Blog Comparison

I want to set something straight. I am new to blogs and blogging, and only recently became aware of their increasing impact on corporate communications. One way to learn more is to review blogs that are already out there, so I recently compared two CEO blogs. As the leaders of companies whose missions I’d might know, CEOs seemed like a logical “point-of-contact” between corporations and the public. (Not everyone agrees – see Dave Taylor’s Why CEO’s Shouldn’t Blog, which mentions that perhaps CEOs have better things to do.)

In the end, I decided to review Mena’s Corner, the corporate blog of CEO Mena Trott at Six Apart, a relatively new company that has shaped some of the blogging world by developing blog authoring tools. I also came across CEO Michael Hyatt’s blog – he heads up Thomas Nelson, Inc., a company that’s been around since the 18th century and is known mostly for publishing Christian Bibles. While both companies are involved in some form of communication, they seemed like they couldn’t differ more.

What’s That Blog About?

To begin my contrast, I tried to determine who the blogs were written for and what they were about. Ms. Trott’s blog had an “About the News Blog” sidebar that stated the following purpose:

Welcome to the official Six Apart blog. Anything that affects our company or the entire blogging industry is up for discussion, since 2002. You'll find out about public appearances that we make, new product announcements, major company news and even some peeks behind the scenes.

That seemed straightforward, rather broad, but easy to understand. However, upon surfing additional pages on the Six Apart site, I realized the same purpose was listed on each of several other company blogs. Was this text part of a CSS for the entire Six Apart blog site? Maybe . . . but it left me wondering what Ms. Trott’s mission is. Something to remember as I progress with A Better Message.

Mr. Hyatt’s blog did not explicitly state what his blog’s mission was. Rather, he just listed his most popular blogs on his About page. Here’s the list:



Looking over the list, I found career management and productivity articles (like I’d expect from a CEO), information on presentations and Twitter (who said this company was stuck in the 18th century?), and an article on publishing (this is a publishing company, after all). Looking over the topics list on the left side of the page, I found categories for Technology, Blogging, and Productivity. So even though no purpose was explicitly stated, I got a sense of what the site is about from his list – authoring, publishing, leadership, and Web 2.0 applications.

Who’s That Blog For?

Neither blog explicitly stated their intended audience. In each case, I was left to speculate on the readership by reflecting on the content. Better stated, I needed to determine if the content interested me, something I found rather inefficient.

For Ms. Trott’s blog, I suspect the readership is primarily composed of experienced enthusiastic bloggers and IT staffers. The focus of the subject matter was: (1) Six Apart’s software products, which bloggers can use to blog, advertise, and generate revenue; (2) Ms. Trott’s remarks on her own public appearances; and (3) internal happenings at Six Apart, such as staff appointments and service outages.

I suspect that Mr. Haytt’s blog for Thomas Nelson Publishers will appeal to a more general audience. The articles and categories already noted apply to folks who are trying to get more done, use Web 2.0 applications, and navigate a career. These are topics that an aspiring author might find important, but many other folks wrestle with these issues every day.

What About The Comments?

Comments facilitate the feedback from readers and make blogging a potentially interactive experience. Positive comments and dynamic interactions are said to boost credibility (see Lorelle VanFossen’s Does Your Blog Have A Comments Policy?), an important consideration for a company that’s trying to manage its reputation. However, having folks post negative comments about you or your organization can also be damaging (see the “Potential Issues for Corporate Blogs” section of Corporate Blog Design: Trends And Examples). For an example of negative comments you don't want to have to manage, see these at Verizon's Public Policy Blog.

In this instance, I compared the frequency of comments on the two blogs. Ms. Trott made 10 posts over a period of 2 years. Only 3 of the posts had comments enabled. In that time, 8 comments were posted to the blog. And for the record, the last post on this blog was made nearly 2 years ago, and several posts were made several months apart. In contrast, Mr. Hyatt very recently posted 9 times over period of 15 days. This activity generated ~600 comments, a portion of which were Mr. Hyatt’s own prompt responses.

It seems that Mr. Hyatt’s readership responded more dynamically than did Ms. Trott’s, therefore his blog - and by association, his company- interested a greater number of participants. In this instance, I’d rather read something that is fresh and useful to a dynamic community rather than an occasional post on a blog that almost seems abandoned. At that point, I was tempted to make some hard and fast conclusions about blog frequency, but some folks believe that less could be more in the blogosphere. In particular, I liked this thought from Eric Kintz’s Why Blog Post Frequency Does Not Matter Anymore:

If you want to be a top 50 Technorati blogger, you will most probably still need to post several times a day. But for the rest of us, we should think seriously about the added value of frequent blogging. Actually, according to Technorati, only 11% of all blogs update weekly or more. What will matter more and more is what you write and how you engage, not how often you write.

How Do These Blogs Look?

Here’s what Ms. Trott’s blog looks like at Six Apart’s site:



It uses a number of standard elements to get its message across including:

o A high-contrast header with navigational links and company logo
o A page title
o A date-stamped title for each entry
o A text-intensive layout that uses small fonts
o Side lists for recent comments and posts
o A single ad for Ms. Trott’s personal blog
o An “About” description
o Hyperlinks in the body
o Links to Six Apart’s international sites
o An RSS feed button
o Not visible are a few graphics and videos used on older posts

Looking at the layout and design, there is sufficient white space and the site looks clean, but there isn’t a lot of color, and what’s there isn’t particularly bright.

Mr. Hyatt’s Blog looks like this:



The design and layout of this blog is definitely busier than the Ms. Trott’s blog. It’s a little crowded, but the use of color, images, fonts, and partial entries makes it seem a little warmer and more inviting – perhaps the cyber-equivalent of visiting the home of a large active family.

How Effective Was Each Blog?

In the end, both the content AND presentation within each site conveyed the complete message of each blog. Because each CEO represented their corporation, I extended my impression of the blog to their companies by association.

Ms. Trott’s blog, Mena’s Corner, seemed narrowly focused on managing the firm’s reputation and promoting its products to expert bloggers. I didn’t think the design of the blog was remarkable in any way, and the dearth of recent posts left me thinking that Six Apart and Ms. Trott didn’t care to maintain their blog. To be fair, there are other corporate blogs on the Six Apart site – perhaps I would find those more relevant - I’ve focused here on CEO blogs. (For the record, Ms. Trott maintains a much more personal, varied, and current blog, dollarshort, but it does not seem to have much to do with Six Apart.)

Mr. Hyatt’s Blog, http://michaelhyatt.com/, left a more positive impression. Mr. Hyatt likes to stay in touch, engage his community (Commenters can become book reviewers for the company), and offer content that will be valuable to a much wider readership. I think that even folks who are not interested in the company’s core business would find useful information, including technical communicators who need to manage their own Web 2.0 issues. This left me with a sense of goodwill towards Mr. Hyatt, and by extension, Thomas Nelson, Inc.

Earlier in the post, I stated that the two companies couldn’t differ more. Ironically, in my opinion, the CEO of the 18th century publishing firm blogged A Better Message than the CEO that helped shape the blogosphere.

Starting Out

As a science professional, I've seen technological changes affect professional and technical communications over the course of my career, now in its third decade. I remember a time when science and engineering issues were worked out using a pencil and paper . . . now the latest technical support comes through as a web-based video.

While some of these developments amaze us in their sophistication and others promise a voice to common folk, we still struggle to craft efficient communications that maximize the receiver's benefit. All the technology in the world will not improve a message that lacks clarity, concern for the reader, or content that matters.

The act of investing resources in a new medium does not ensure a greater impact. In this blog, I'll look at applying the best medium to the message, consider when new applications might be worth the effort, and share thoughts on making the form of our communications fit their mission.