Soci@lByte

From the Desk of Ef Rodriguez…

On matters of style, PR peeps defer to the AP Stylebook as a rule – largely because some of our most critical interactions are with reporters and editors, almost all of whom adhere to AP style in their publications. To that end, we have all taken time (at one point in our careers) to learn AP thoroughly.

But as our communication targets widen to include consumers directly via social media, is our style changing to reflect that? As we reach out to people via social media, what are the new language standards as they relate to web parlance? (For example, I should have capitalized Web in the previous sentence, but that looks strange to me on a blog.)

At what point do we decide for ourselves how best to communicate with our audiences? Sure, the AP Stylebook is just a set of recommended guidelines – we are certainly free to write as we see fit. But for the sake of consistency, many pros side with AP style, even if it makes their online outreach seem a little stiff and oddly formal.

Consider words like:

• tweetup
• website
• email
• startup

How do you handle style issues as they relate to technology and social media? I know some agencies and companies have developed internal stylebooks – I’m starting to think that’s a good idea.