140 Characters: A Style Guide for the Short Form
The advent of Twitter and other social networking sites, along with the ubiquity of text messaging, have made short-form communication and constant contact an everyday reality. Expressing yourself clearly in short bursts-particularly within Twitter's 140 character limit-takes special writing skill.\ For marketers and business owners, social media and text messaging have become an increasingly important avenue for promoting a business, but you have to be able to get your message out in just a...
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How to write short and sweet for the Information Age The advent of Twitter and other social networking sites, along with the ubiquity of text messaging, have made short-form communication and constant contact an everyday reality. Expressing yourself clearly in short bursts—particularly within Twitter's 140 character limit—takes special writing skill. For marketers and business owners, social media and text messaging have become an increasingly important avenue for promoting a business, but you have to be able to get your message out in just a few words. 140 Characters is the first writing guide specifically dedicated to communicating with customers, colleagues, and contacts with the succinctness and clarity that the times demand. Twitter User #9 Dom Sagolla teaches the lessons of great short-form writing, including the importance of communicating with simplicity, openness, and humor. What Strunk and White's Elements of Style did for traditional media, 140 Characters does for the social media revolution happening today. Inside, you'll learn all the basics of: Developing your own honest and unique writing style Evolving rules of grammar for the short form Principles of brevity, including tech-speak/leetspeak Avoiding the too-much-information syndrome Mastering the art of the text message Winning techniques for writing poetry, news, fiction, and much more
Acknowledgments xiForeword Jack Dorsey xiiiIntroduction xvThe Short Form xvThe History of Twitter xviiPart 1 Lead 1Chapter 1 Describer: A Brief Digression to Discuss Journalism Is Warranted 7Observe the Truth 10Play with Perspective 11Lead with Action 13Chapter 2 Simplify: Say More with Less 15Constrain Yourself to the Atomic Unit of One Message 16Appreciate Craftsmanship as a Thousand small Gestures 18Start Small and Serve a Special Niche 19Limit Yourself to One Sentence, One Thought 21Chapter 3 Avoid: Don't Become a Fable about Too Much Information 23Remember What Not to Do 25Find Your Lowest Common Denominator 28Divine a Strategy against Too Much Information 29Practice Self-Defense 30Reinforce, Don't Replace, Real Life 32Part 2 Value 35Chapter 4 Voice: Say It Out Loud 39Extend Your Range 41Build Your Repertoire 43Strengthen and Amplify 44Chapter 5 Reach: Understand Your Audience 46Measure Reader Engagement 47Gauge the Reaction to Your Message 48Identify Your Fans 50Chapter 6 Repeat: It Worked for Shakespeare 53Enable Repetition of Your Message 53Repeat the Words of Others, Adding Your Mark in the Process 56Exploit the Twitter Effect 56Chapter 7 Mention: Stamp Your Own Currency 58Design Your Mark 59120 Is the New 140 61Post One or Two Replies, Then Take It Offline 62Chapter 8 Dial: Search for Silence, Volume, and Frequency 64Pipe Up Just When It's Quiet 64Understand the Use of Capitals 65Discover Your "Office Hours" 66Chapter 9 Link: Deduce the Nature of Short Messages 70Study the Anatomy of a Single Message 70Share thePower of Hypertext 71Change the Meaning of Words by Linking Them 72Chapter 10 Word: Expose the Possibilities in Phraseology, Poetry, and Invention 74Design Your Own Pattern 76Build Your Own Lexicon by Inventing New Words 81Poetry Is a Guide 89Part 3 Master 95Chapter 11 Tame: Apply Multiple Techniques Toward the Same End 101Technology Will Consume Us If We Don't Learn to Control It 102Discover the Antidote to Each of 12 Stages 104Manage Multiple Accounts Effectively 108Remember: It's All about Timing 109Chapter 12 Cultivate: Meet 140 Characters, Each with a Unique Story 110Create a Culture of Fun 110Imagine Your Audience 112Focus on Learning 113Chapter 13 Branch: Steady, Organic Growth Is Most Manageable 115Don't Let Success Go to Your Head 115Do the Same Thing, but Differently 116Never Stop 118Evolve 123Chapter 14 Filter: Teach the Machine to Think Ahead 129A Little Programming Goes a Long Way 131Breaking Things Is a Path to Learning 133Chapter 15 Open: Give and You Shall Receive 135Go Positive 136Never Limit Yourself to One Platform 138Chapter 16 Imitate: There Is Nothing Original, Except in Arrangement 140Become an Apprentice 140Take Someone Else's Style One Step Further 141Create a Caricature of Yourself 142Chapter 17 Iterate: Practice a Sequence of Tiny Adjustments 144Write Everywhere and Often 144Games for Words 145Ignite Change 146Part 5 Accelerate 149Chapter 18 Increase: Do More 153Produce a Series on a Short Subject 153Manufacture Velocity 155Exceed Constraints 157Chapter 19 Fragment: Do It Smaller 158Decrease the Size of the Atomic Unit, the Message 158Embrace Ambiguity 159Recommended Reading 161Glossary l65Index 173
