1,160,000,000 hits for “why style guides?”

I casually gave a search in the smartest search engine ‘Google’ to take a dig about the need of style guides. It produced 1,160,000,000 results. The total number of search generated, definitely guarantees the importance of style guides but at the same time these numbers do not justified the relevance of the content what I was looking for. Nevertheless, even if I narrow down my search, I am sure I am going to get quite large number of sites which will have message for me about the style guides.

Why style guides? Do we really need it? The answer from most of the technical writers is going to be ‘yes’ in all cases. This is the approach of any technical writer to produce documentation conforming to the elements of writing to be consistent across all the documents of same nature. For publications or companies with a large number of contributing writers, a style guide is essential if the end product has to look alike.

Style guide becomes important for technical writing, commercial or business writing, journalism, web copy writing and many other forms of publications. In all these cases, to ensure the consistent writing style, guidelines are usually published. This allow writers to contribute avoiding their personal element of style but to adhere to the style of publication, company or website.

A style guide provides a means of documenting basic rules or features of the writing. For technical writers a style guide for a particular customer or project is to ensure that the data they deliver is in acceptable form and in consistent to the previous deliveries or other publications that the customer already has.

The style guides differs depending upon company, publication, customer because of the fact that there is no single authoritative source on styles for written English. The use of punctuation and correct grammar is well established and clear but style is much more than just the correct usage of punctuation, grammar and vocabulary.

Style can define many different aspects such as document structure, paragraph numbering and indentation, the use of headings, the use of lists, trademark or branding considerations, sentence lengths, layout, font sizes, depth of treatment of a subject, spelling (UK v US for example), readership considerations, use of abbreviations, terminology, the use of symbols, and voice preferences (active v passive).The list could go longer too. The fact is creative writers may not be worried about these listed items, whereas a technical writer will have to heed to all of these defined styles.

For a writer who is associated with a company or publication will follow the guided principles laid down by the employer but the real challenge is for Freelance writers. Freelance writers should continually evolve style guides for each customer or publication type.

Most of the creative writers love using their own styles. Nothing is wrong about that but if they only follow certain amount of styling consistently the job of proofreading and reviewing becomes easier. That is why sometimes the publisher prescribes certain guidelines to send your write-ups in the particular format and use defined styles. Failing which even if your write-up is brilliant, it will not see the light of the day.

Some of the writers would still disagree to follow the style guides. For them, ‘long live imagination, bury the style guides’ may be the catch line. You too can fall into this category if you are not tied up as a contract technical writer being on the payroll of a company. Technical writing is structured writing and it demands certain style guides to be followed.

Citizen Journalists and the Bloggers

There are two segments of writers who have been immensely popular with advent of Internet, that opened the opportunity for them to express their views on several web media. These are Citizen Journalists and the Bloggers. If we look at both these writers in their individual capacity and perspective of selling their write-up, they have all the ingredients into their write-up to be saleable and appealing. Then the question obviously arises, what stops them to be the writer in traditional media. May be the lack of platform to launch themselves and sustain continuously.

However, there is another element also that contribute to the fact they can not show allegiance to a particular ideology, person, community or organization, which at times can be a limiting factor for them to be the part of the traditional media. Traditional media by and large run by some guided principles of some ideology, group or the organization, may be political or apolitical. Whatever the bold face they show to be independent and impartial, it is well understood by the people that they are not.

Moreover, people have their own views and they are stung by inspiration to hear, read and listen to the news and views that they like to hear. For the people, unbiased opinion from media is impossible because that is run by a set of people and who have their own ideology, which reflects into their writing. Therefore, people in the media support a particular ideology to feed the desire of certain sets of people in public, which suit their liking or disliking. Rightly once described by a traditional media punch line, “We bring the news what people wants to know”. Don’t take any other meaning of it. This is nicely intended to bring you the news to satisfy your psych. You want certain politician to be cowed down, business people to be called the blood sucker of the society, police to be branded the biggest criminal in uniform and many more. All that might be there in the media, which you choose to hear or listen to.

In spite of the prevailing fact, there are some people in the public who are in belief that media means the truth and writers are the custodian of society to fight corruption, rights of the people and disparity by way of their writing. I would doubt any such writer and media exist in this world. However, there have been some speedy changes obvious that Internet has provided platform for writers on citizen journalism web site and on the blog site to post their blogs. That have led the way as an opportunity for even the commoners to air their views and prevailing state of reality which is guarded by the so called press. Everyone has equal opportunity on the Internet.

Citizen journalism has existed in the pocket areas of the globe from the long time and it was because of outcry of the left out issues of the people and apathy of the authority to address that. However, not much was seen in terms of popularity or in terms of being a stakeholder in the media. But Internet has changed the face of it by providing every netizens a chance to be a citizen journalist and to be a part of the movement.

Today, there are many citizen journalism sites, which offer you the challenge of being an acclaimed writer. Type the word in google and you get hundreds of sites in different regions. The beauty is that these citizen journalism sites might be part of regional news and views, yet they have global presence by default. It is here that someone who wants to realize their dream of being unbiased and independent can do so to some extent. Although, these sites provide you ample opportunity to be the writer of the spelling truth; it does not provide you the earnings of the traditional media.

Blogging is another new opportunity for writers of all sorts to try their hands in different forms of writing to be the feed for the readers who look for the beauty on the Internet. You need not spend money having your site to post your blogs, you get it free of cost. Freedom of expression is that you can write anything and everything abiding by the compliance of Internet policy which does not allow you to hurt the feelings of the people of any region, use hate and defame people by name without having enough evidence. This freedom is free to use and not to misuse.

Today, around 10 million bloggers are running their blog site around the globe. I agree that most of them are inactive. But still the active blog sites are enough for the people to keep them busy on the net. Some bloggers are such brilliant writers that even the professional writers will have to shy away comparing their writing with them. In modern times, bloggers are giving tough competition to the traditional writers.

If analyzed, citizen journalists and bloggers are the ones, who have bigger stake in the Internet media. The message is loud and clear that so called writers have competition and it is not only with a few. There are many standing face to face and many in waiting. Be the part of the revolution, if you like writing. It cost you nothing except your time and thought but it might make a difference.