Viaspire - Define.Innovate.Maximize.

From Cave Wall to Web Wall

This month's New Scientist cover story caught my eye. The writing on the cave wall is a fascinating look at ancient pictographic languages. From lines to dots to hearts, these early symbols provided a visual communication that helped to communicate experiences quickly and simply.

View larger image >>

I couldn't read this article without thinking how these early symbols are no different than our own iconography, emoticons, text-based shorthand that we use today. Moreover, where we communicate is also much the same from cave wall to web wall.

Lastly, I'm finding more and more that infographics are such an efficient and comprehensive way to communicate simply. Infographics tell a story just like "pictographic" languages started out.

Have we evolved or is language inherently the same with only the method (how/where) as the variable?

Writing for the Web - Articles, Blogs, Books, Oh My!

To all of our Web content creators out there, here's a list we've compiled to help inspire, guide and instill good writing techniques for effective online communications:

Insightful Articles - Give These a Try

• Optimizing the User Experience
• Usability Basics
• Content Organization
• The Importance of Headings, Titles & Labels
• Writing Web Content
• Writing for the Web/Plain Language

Blogs & Feeds - Read & Subscribe

• How to Write for the Web
  By OJR: Online Journal Review | Online Journalism Wiki | RSS
• Copyblogger
  By Brian Clark

Books - Get Them Off the Shelf

• Developing Online Content - The Principles of Writing and Editing for the Web
  By Irene Hammerich, Claire Harrison
• The Web Content Style Guide
  By Gerry McGovern
• Writing for the Web - Writers' Edition
  By Crawford Kilian
• Call to Action - Secret Formula to Improve Online Results
  By Bryan Eisenberg
• Persuasive Online Copywriting
  By Bryan Eisenberg
• The Elements of User Experience
  By Jesse James Garrett
• Don't Make Me Think: A Common Sense Approach to Web Usability
  By Steve Krug
• Information Architecture - Blueprints for the Web
  By Christina Wodtke

Also, be sure to visit past posts, Viaspire has written on Writing for the Web.

The Listener Is As Important As the Sender in Social Media

I stumbled upon a great article this weekend written in 2006 that tells the story of a man, John Francis, PhD, who "gave up speaking" and realized how much he hadn't been listening.

When I read this article it really made me think about where we are in the era of Social Media. Like any rush to be a part of something new, the push has been to PARTICIPATE, but I don't think there has been an equal push to honestly LISTEN. We are in an age of processing information, sending out information that can be syndicated to multiple sources, pushing "our words" out to the masses.

There's communication that spins off of that, even tremendous action, which can influence local and even global groundswells.

But, yesterday, on a quiet Sunday afternoon, as I read this article, the message for Social Media has been to  PARTICIPATE, CONVERSE, INTERACT, ENGAGE, but it strikes me that the passive notion of LISTENING has been under-valued. 

Francis, author of Planetwalker, said - "sometimes we forget that the listener is as important as the person sending the message. Communication is a shared responsibility."

In 2009, three years later, when there are so many ways to communicate via post, tweet, status, DM, text message and feed - we may need to take a step back and LISTEN.

In social media it is important to PARTICIPATE, but it is also our "shared responsibility" to LISTEN.

How can you LISTEN better on Twitter, on Facebook in your blog circles? You'll be surprised what you hear and how much clearer your response is when you really can really see what's being said.

"It's not so much that we get to where we're going, it's that we're on our way there." - John Francis

Social Media & the Gov’t, Helpful Insight for Managers

Number one recommendation for managers in government, learn everything you can about Social Media. Jeffrey Levy, Director of Web Communications at U.S. EPA provides a great introduction to Social Media for Government managers.

Social Media And The Gov’t: A Brief Introduction for Managers

View more presentations from levyj413.

Being Proactive & Prepared for Response in Social Media - U.S. Air Force

There is an excellent business process workflow map published by the U.S. Air Force Public Affairs Agency - Emerging Technology Division addressing their standard of operations for reputation management and response in social media.

It's simple, clear and addresses the way in which the U.S. Air Force Public Affairs intends to engage online. For any organization assessing their level of engagement -- what it is or will be, this visual decision map may help create a framework for discussion and planning.

Special thanks to Joey deVilla for sharing this at Global Nerdy.

iMediaConnection: The art of self defense against brand-jacking

As a follow up to our earlier post today, we came across another good article further emphasizing the need to actively monitor and protect your brand.

Tim Lynch, senior experience design specialist at Molecular, explores the concept of brand-jacking. "If your brand is online, it's susceptible to consumer influence -- both benign and malicious. See what steps your company can take to mitigate the risks."

Read More >>

Why Email Starts Fights

BNET has a great video on how email needs to be used appropriately for communication. Words, tone and visual cues are very important in 1x1 and group communications. With ninety-three percent of communication being  nonverbal, email is not always the optimal medium for effective interpersonal communication.

Brand Friendly

As I ended my original post on My Friends, I realized there was a natural follow up for brands engaging in social media to connect with partners, consumers, fans, etc.

Within the context of social networking, the definition of friend comes with the responsibility of a trusted and  responsive relationship.

As brands and brand representatives are connecting more intimately with their followers, there has been much discussion about the appropriateness and community effort required to cultivate and sustain a conversation and trusted relationship. When you think about making a connection at this "friend" level from brand-to-consumer and/or consumer-to-brand - setting clear expectations of what this relationship means and how it is cared for, trusted and valued will reveal the true sincerity of transparency and authenticity in this relationship.

If there was one brand representative who completely excels at this naturally is @Comcastcares on Twitter. Frank Eliason, the "friend" at the heart of @Comcastcares lives and breaths a responsive, "we can help" presence on behalf of Comcast that to me is remarkable and the perfect case study in being "brand friendly" in social networking.

Good visual design leads to more meaningful interactions

Luke Wroblewski of User Interface Engineering published a great article this week on the importance of First Impressions Through Visual Web Design.

Wroblewski's notes that visual design ("when done right") helps Web users clearly understand:

- What am I looking at?
- How do I use this?
- Why would I want to use this Web site?
and I would like to add...
- Where do I start or take action next?

Wroblewski outlines how visual design helps to communicate quickly, form (and move beyond) first impressions, as well as allow Web users to find information and next steps through scannability - all leading to a more meaningful interaction online.

Read more >>

A Historical Speech Captured in a Tag Cloud

Tonight's historical acceptance speech by Barack Obama for Democratic nomination for president has been captured in a word cloud by GraphicDesignr. It strikes me because of the meetings we had today covered everything from keyword optimization for search, the art and science of tagging, and then watching this evening's speech with iPhone in hand refreshing Twitteriffic to the max. I was able to experience a historical speech, and monitor as well as participate in the discussion on the back channel for #DNC08.

Experiencing the 2008 Summer Olympics and now this election in the era of Web 2.0, it's clear that we have more access, more organization, more ways to track, convey, collaborate and develop meaning for any given message, event, and opportunity.

I thought instantly, a historical speech captured in a tag cloud, the perfect conveyance of form and function!