#2

This weeks readings were a good mix of new information and revision.

In the ‘leaping into identities’ chapter, it really highlighted that social context matters when trying to effectively communicate with a variety of different audiences. Tone was another term that stuck out to me, meaning that you want to connect with your audience in a way that will urge them to feel receptive to your message. Personally this makes me think about how I communicate with the different audiences at work; for example the difference in communicating with adult cliental regarding more serious matter versus interacting with the kids on a more relaxed level, my tone completely changes.

‘Crafting Brief Messages’ covered the basic rules of writing a lot of different forms of social media, texts, tweets, blogs, emails and podcasts. The section on email was kind of a review for me, the basic rules to writing an email were covered and I think that will help me in writing the professional email draft.

One thing that did interest me a little was the so-called rise of the “blog” in regards to the business world. When I hear the word “blog” the first thing that comes to mind is something like a fashion blog or just a personal blog. I never really put much thought into the fact that social media sites such as Twitter are being viewed as micro blogging tools capable of community building. I also found it interesting that some companies view blogs as a replacement option for emailing. To me this seems a little less secure/confidential yet productive in the sense that more audience members can be reached without the possibility of the information being considered spam mail. Now I get the sense that blogs are much more useful than I once thought, and like the text suggests, blogs might be the next best way to “foster positive relationships with colleagues, customers and other important audiences.” 

To tie it all together, I found the reading to be quite informative. I have become more aware of writing for specific audiences, making sure I have the right tone and including only the information that is necessary.