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It makes me really upset when I visit a government website and find it written in dense technical or bureaucratic language.
I can appreciate the desire of public servants to be precise and accurate in their choice of words, but often the language chosen is incomprehensible to people without two degrees and ten years experience in government.
I've heard about - and witnessed - instances when experienced writers or communication professionals have translated complex text into plain English and been told 'you're dumbing it down'.
No they're not. They're lifting the language up.
Writing in plain English is about respecting your readers - writing for them, not for yourself or your boss.
When writing complex multi-syllabic diatribes, the writer is not demonstrating their intellectual superiority or eloquent grasp of sophisticated phraseology.
The writer is showing they don't have the writing skill and experience to lift their language out of government-speak to a level used by society, by their audience - a level used every day to share and explain some of the most complicated concepts and thoughts imaginable.
The writer is hiding behind their words, using them to conceal a lack of appreciation and respect for their audience and a lack of understanding of their topic. They are revealing their limits and fears - and they are not getting their message across.
One of the core capabilities for the Australian Public Service is to 'Communicate with Influence'.
'Influence' doesn't mean using big words, it means using effective words - words that can overcome the gaps in communication between writers and readers to convey meaning and understanding.
So when writing your websites and developing your documents, think about the invisible people in the room - your readers. Is your choice of words appropriate for their experience and education?
Will they be uplifted by your simple and clear language or left feeling 'dumbed down', lost and frustrated by your turgid turns of phrase?
Wednesday, May 04, 2011
Dumbing down or lifting up - writing in plain English respects your readers | Tweet |
Tuesday, April 07, 2009
Getting started with Twitter in Australian government | Tweet |
Twitter has emerged as a significant channel for breaking news, announcement and discussions on political, social, environmental and commercial topics.
Over the last three years the service has grown to over 25 million users globally, including many senior business, political and entertainment figures. In fact it's been the fastest growing online channel, with over 750% growth through 2008.
Australians are major users of the service, with Neilsen estimating that there were 149,000 Australian Twitter users in January 2009.
So with 150,000 Australian Twitter users, how many Australian government agencies are using the service?
Well there are three councils, Wyong, Mosman and the City of Sydney, and the Training.gov.au project from DEEWR has an account.
Both the Prime Minister and Leader of the Opposition are using Twitter, as are The Greens and a few other politicians at Federal and State level.
This compares to over 90 UK councils using Twitter, plus many national government agencies and 10 Downing Street. In the US, well lets just say they're now a major user of the service, at both agency and political levels.
Below I hope to explain a little more about why and how government agencies can use Twitter.
What is Twitter
Twitter allows people to send 140 character messages ('tweets')to others around the world from their computers or mobile devices on a near-instant basis. If you think of the success of SMS on mobile phones, Twitter has extended this onto the internet.
After registering for Twitter you can choose to follow others to see their tweets and others can choose to follow you. You can send direct tweets to people following you, which are only visible to the recipient, but most tweets are visible to the public.
It is also possible to 'protect' your tweets which means that your tweets are hidden to anyone other than those you authorise to see them.
Tweets can contain links to websites, photos, videos or audio which can provide more information on any topic.
Using someone's Twitter name, starting with an '@' symbol (such as @CraigThomler) in a tweet makes it show up as a reply.
It is also possible to 'retweet' messages from others, and courtesy is that the name of the original message sender is included with 'RT' before their @name.
Using a hash symbol '#' before a word is used to designate a particular subject as a 'hashtag', for instance #BCC2 was used as the hashtag for the recent Canberra BarCamp. This is useful for grouping tweets on a given subject to make them easier to find later.
What can Twitter be used for?
- Listening
Firstly, with 150,000 Australians using Twitter there are a lot of conversations occurring. It's possible to track mentions of topics of interest to you in almost real-time using Twitter search tools, such as TweetGrid. This makes it possible for a government agency to keep on top of what people are saying about them and potentially identify emerging trends before the media picks them up.
It also allows government a means to gather a feel for public sentiment on various policy-related topics and, finally, is a great way to experience and even ask questions at conferences that you are unable to attend.
- Talking
Twitter is a fast and low overhead way to distribute information, making it ideal for getting emergency and other types of announcements out very quickly.
By linking to web pages with more information it becomes an effective way to send out disaster messages. Of course Twitter won't reach everyone, but people pass on the message, retweeting and speaking to others. Media outlets also monitor Twitter for breaking news.
Twitter has already had an important role in a number of disasters, such as the Victorian bushfires, Hurricane Katrina, Mumbai attack and Sichuan earthquake and has the attention of disaster experts (here is a video featuring the Mayor of San Francisco and a found of Twitter discussing Twitter's uses in emergencies).
Twitter also can (and is) used for traffic announcements, media notifications, new developments and basically any other form of outbound communication, to help spread information more rapidly in a targeted way.
- Conversing
Twitter is also useful as a conversational medium. While messages are very short, conversations occur all the time across a number of topics. People ask for support, information and share experiences all the time.
Telstra, along with a number of international companies, uses Twitter as part of their customer support framework, listening for mentions of their name and then potentially sending tweets addressing questions or issues.
It can also be used for asking what people think of a particular service, although this use is still limited to services that are appropriate to an online audience.
There's some simple steps to getting started
- Personally set up an account and try out Twitter
This will give you a personal feel for the service and how you might use it officially. - Build the business case
Decide how you intend to use Twitter and why, explaining how the service will help you achieve your goals. While Twitter is free to use it does require a time commitment, so match your goals with appropriate resourcing. - Get the required approvals.
Twitter could simply be a tool like your website, email or RSS for distributing your media releases - if so you might not require high-level sign-off to begin using the service for this purpose. if you're intending to respond to tweets, that becomes more of a public engagement issue and higher-level approval might be required. - Set up your account
Setting up the account is simple, but you might want to spend some time thinking about the name you wish to use. Many names are already in use so you might need a few options in case your first choice is taken. You can set up your account as protected at first in case you do not want it visible yet. - Decorate your account
Add a simply bio and customise the look to reflect the official status of the account. While Twitter supports limited customisation you can adjust colours and add a logo. - Get the word out
This is best done initially online, via a website link 'Follow us on Twitter', via blogs, emails and tweets from staff members. This helps build an initial awareness of the service and potentially should happen before media releases in order to build a follower list. - Start tweeting
Try and send out regular messages - potentially up to a few per day. This keeps the account active and, as people can view your history, allows them to see that you are active and the account isn't dead. - Monitor replies and conversations
Keep an eye on the replies you get and any discussions that occur online out of your announcements. Even if you are not prepared to respond yet, knowing what people are saying will provide you with further announcement opportunities and builds a future case to engage in two-way conversation.
Here's a great video explaining how Twitter works.
Monday, November 17, 2008
Guest post: How you can increase traffic to Government websites with Government Press Releases | Tweet |
Today I welcome a post from guest blogger Cheryl Hardy, of the Department of Innovation, Industry and Regional Development (DIIRD), State Government of Victoria, Victoria, Australia.
Cheryl manages eGovernment Research in DIIRD and is a prime operative behind the Victorian eGovernment Resource Centre, which was one of the global top ten nominees for the World e-Democracy Awards 2008, winning a Special Mention, just behind award winners such as mybarackobama.com.
The eGovernment Resource Centre is, in my opinion, the single best resource for egovernment and online channel information in Australia.
How you can increase traffic to Government websites with Government Press Releases
You are a government web manager. Imagine you live in a perfect world. (Suspend reality for just a few minutes!) Imagine you had control over government press release content - (wow like that is going to happen!) then you could optimise its content and potentially bring a substantial increase in traffic to your website.
Keep imagining - To do this successfully you must use keywords (especially those that your target audience are using), in the content of the press release, and link these to strategic content pages on your website(s).
For example, the following press release was published on 15 September 2008 on a State Government website in Victoria: "BRUMBY GOVERNMENT UNTANGLES PLANNING RED TAPE".
There is some really great content in this release, but there are no links to where people can find out more information. Here is how I would have written this release (in my imaginary world) using keywords with links to relevant content, provided by Victorian Government websites, while making the content useful to the residents of Victoria:
Victorian Government untangles planning red tape
The Victorian Government has acted to remove unnecessary planning permits for some residential and commercial work, including rain water tanks and sheds in regional areas of the state.
Acting Planning Minister, Richard Wynne, said the Cutting Red Tape in Planning exemptions are part of the Victorian Government’s commitment to cut planning red tape.
It is estimated that up to 2,000 planning applications will no longer be required as a result of these changes. Victorians are encouraged to contact their local council to confirm what permits are required before they start any work so they fully understand the changes.
The implementation of Cutting Red Tape in Planning coincides with a reduction in permit application numbers from 54,788 to 49,587 over four years despite strong activity in the building industry.
During 2006-7, applications for residential alteration and additions, specifically targeted by the cutting red tape initiatives, dropped by over ten per cent. However, in the same period there has been ongoing increase in the number of building permits now at slightly over 100,000 reflecting Victoria’s growth.
The new exemptions will mean that:Cutting Red Tape in Planning is the Victorian Government's plan from which key improvement in planning have originated including:
- Rain water tanks in rural areas no longer need a planning permit regardless of size;
- Rain water tanks in industrial areas on longer need a planning permit provided they meet site and height requirements;
- Domestic sheds under 50 m2 no longer need a planning permit in farming zones (This document requires the use of Adobe Acrobat Reader). You can also convert PDF documents into alternative formats; and
- Minor domestic building work such as a pergola, deck, swimming pool no longer need planning permit in most areas that are not in a flood prone, heritage or environmentally significant area.
For more information visit the Planning section on the Department of Planning and Community Development website.
- Planning Applications Online;
- Making Local Policy Stronger (in pdf format - 778kb) (This document requires the use of Adobe Acrobat Reader). You can also convert PDF documents into alternative formats; and
- The Review of the Planning and Environment Act.
Forgetting search engine ranking for now, providing links to all this content provided by the Victorian Government achieves two things:
- the reader of the press release can find out more information about the topic very easily if they choose to; and
- visitor traffic is then driven out to the content providers. This is traffic they would not have received using the existing format of the press release
Do you have examples of press releases which could be rewritten to provide more usable content? Send in your examples - we could start a competition!
Thursday, July 03, 2008
Less words, more pictures = better government | Tweet |
One of the biggest issues I've seen in government websites is excessive use of words.
Government agencies often treat each website page as a stand-alone fact sheet. This means they err on the side on completeness, leading to wordiness.
Most of us have seen the research. People don't read wordy, jargon-filled pages - they skim.
People prefer web pages with fewer words, with the option of drilling down to more depth if they need it.
The web is good at this. It's called linking.
All of us have good reasons for our websites being wordy,
- The communications team doesn't understand how to write for the web
- The legal team made us put in those extra (really big) words
- The concept is very complex and people may not understand without details
- My SES made me do it!
It's time to face the music
Why are government websites wordy?
Because website content managers let them become wordy.
As website content managers we are the custodians of what appears on the pages of our websites.
When people want to write long and involved content, it's our responsibility to advise and support them in making the text accessible, readable and effective for the online channel.
We should advise them when other approaches would work better than words - images, animations, audio or video.
They don't need to learn how to write for the web - we do.
Tuesday, June 10, 2008
Lean forward not back! | Tweet |
This is a great Alertbox article from usability guru Jakob Neilsen regarding writing for the web versus the print medium….
Writing Style for Print vs. Web
In summary:
I've spent many columns explicating the differences between the Web and television, which can be summarized as lean-forward vs. lean-back:
- On the Web, users are engaged and want to go places and get things done. The Web is an active medium.
- While watching TV, viewers want to be entertained. They are in relaxation mode and vegging out; they don't want to make choices. TV is a passive medium.
This doesn't mean that you can't have entertaining websites or informative TV shows. But it does mean that the two media's contrasting styles require different approaches to entertainment and education.
The differences between print and the Web may not seem as strong, but to achieve optimal results, each requires a distinct content style.
Saturday, May 24, 2008
Getting (web) content right! | Tweet |
Here's a great presentation from Donna Spencer (formerly Donna Maurer) discussing how to get content right.
http://maadmob.net/donna/blog/2008/web-directions-ux-getting-content-right
The key things she picks on are:
- The reader is important - you're not
- Really think about what the reader wants to know
- Write as you speak - with a real voice
- Use images as well as words - more people are visual than verbal
It's scary, it's difficult to get approved at times and it involves change.
But our customers would find out what they needed faster and with less confusion and frustration.
Sunday, May 27, 2007
Where do you start with Web 2.0? | Tweet |
I've never liked the term Web 2.0, but it's become established as the 'in term' for websites involving more than flat pages and information.
These days everyone wants to be seen to be doing Web 2.0 - even when they are not.
But what really IS Web 2.0?
What separates the sites that are really engaging in an interactive way with their audience? That are driven by participation rather than command and control?
And what does this mean for government (a user-participation activity!) and business in the future?
Professor Michael Wesch has some ideas in his video, The Machine is Us.
