140 Characters: A Style Guide for the Short Form - Softcover

Sagolla, Dom

Softcover

ISBN 10: 0470556137 ISBN 13: 9780470556139

Publisher: John Wiley & Sons, 2009

Synopsis

Make the most of your messages on Twitter, Facebook, and other social networking sites

The advent of Twitter and other social networking sites, as well as the popularity of text messaging, have made short-form communication an everyday reality. But expressing yourself clearly in short bursts-particularly in the 140-character limit of Twitter-takes special writing skill.

In 140 Characters, Twitter co-creator Dom Sagolla covers all the basics of great short-form writing, including the importance of communicating with simplicity, honesty, and humor. For marketers and business owners, social media is an increasingly important avenue for promoting a business-this is the first writing guide specifically dedicated to communicating with the succinctness and clarity that the Internet age demands.

• Covers basic grammar rules for short-form writing
• The equivalent of Strunk and White's Elements of Style for today's social media-driven marketing messages
• Helps you develop your own unique short-form writing style

140 Characters is a much-needed guide to the kind of communication that can make or break a reputation online.

About this title

About the Author

DOM SAGOLLA helped create Twitter with Jack Dorsey and a team of entrepreneurs in San Francisco. He also helped engineer Macromedia Studio, Odeo, and Adobe Creative Suite, and now produces iPhone applications with his company, DollarApp.

From the Back Cover

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

Edition details

• Publisher: John Wiley & Sons
• Publication date: 2009
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 0470556137
• ISBN 13: 9780470556139
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 208