Blogging and Corporate America: How Weblogs Can Enhance the Marketplace and Foster Intellectual Capital

In a broad sense that the weblog can be beneficial to the business world as a whole. More specifically, however, it provides technical communicators with unprecedented opportunites at innovation and leadership.

Danielson, Joe. Orange Journal, The (2005). Articles>Business Communication>Online>Blogging

Blogs: Viral, Targeted, Fast, Informative--And Becoming Critical

The world of blogging, also known as the blogosphere, is wild, highly viral, uncensored and unedited. It is also the newest and most critical tool in a business communicator's toolbox. Why? Because with blogs, communicators can quickly, regularly and easily deliver a variety of information to a highly targeted audience. A good blog will create a more personal relationship with customers and influencers by showing that the company is listening and responding to what they have to say.

Cohen, Ephraim. Communication World Bulletin (2005). Articles>Business Communication>Online>Blogging

Building Your Personal Brand Online

It probably wouldn’t surprise you to know that we are operating in a distrustful world, and that both companies and individual executives are subject to suspicion. In 2005, a worldwide Gallup poll found that 40 percent of people believe that company leaders are “largely dishonest,” and a 2006 Watson Wyatt study says that only 56 percent of company employees believe their top management acts with honesty and integrity. These are worrisome figures, given that senior executives worry a great deal about their companies’ reputations but may spend little time on their own.

Fierman, Stephanie. Communication World Bulletin (2008). Articles>Business Communication>Ethics>Online

Business Development Through Online Networking

Recently, business networking has been perceived negatively due to its widespread use in the network marketing industry and the proliferation of “lead generation clubs” that focus on impersonal lead referrals rather than on building relationships. The surge in popularity of social networking sites on the Internet, however, has sparked a renewed interest in meaningful discussion and research on the value and importance of “networking,” particularly to mainstream businesses.

Teten, David and Scott Allen. Communication World Bulletin (2004). Articles>Business Communication>Online

Combining Paper and Electronic Communication

A few ideas for ad hoc workforce communication that must be conveyed on paper as well as electronically.

McAlpine, Rachel. Quality Web Content (2005). Articles>Business Communication>Online

Communicating About Scientific Research Over the Internet: A Case Study  

University communicators specializing in science and technology are making increasing use of Internet resources to supplement traditional methods of producing and publishing their work. These resources include electronic mail; the text-only interface called Gopher; and, most recently, the World Wide Web. This paper describes some of the specific ways that communicators are using these Internet tools. It also includes a list of advantages and disadvantages that we have discovered in our work at the Georgia Tech Research Institute (GTRI) and seen at other technological institutions. These 'lessons learned' may benefit our counterparts who wish to begin or enhance their organizational 'presence' on the Information Superhighway.

Davis, Nancy E., Mark Hodges and Leigh F. McElvaney. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Scientific Communication>Research>Online

Communication in the 21st Century: The Original Liberal Art in an Age of Science and Technology    

Communication is dramatically changed by new technologies. In the 20th century, we have seen the effects of the telephone, radio and television, film, high-speed printing, xerography, desk-top publishing, electronic mail. These communication technologies have changed our national political life, corporate management styles, family connections, individual work habits. Additional change in the next century is inevitable, as we adopt video conferencing, multimedia, and internet technologies. Many of the effects of new technologies are unpredictable: the predicted 'paperless office' has failed to materialize, for example, and word-processing software has transformed the labor of writing in a way that was never anticipated (and later was resisted) by computer developers. But some aspects of communication, both oral and written, have not changed. Communication is still the social glue that holds together nations, corporations, scientific disciplines, and families.

Miller, Carolyn R. North Carolina State University (1996). Articles>Communication>Online

Conflict in Virtual Communication

Conflict is an "expressed struggle between at least two interdependent parties who perceive incompatible goals, scarce resources and interference from the other parties in achieving their goals." We'll look at each of the components in this definition.

Kandath, Krishna, John Oetzel, Everett Rogers and Ann Mayer-Guell. Communication World Bulletin (2005). Articles>Communication>Online

A Critical Look at E-mail  

E-mail usage is so common and popular now that we hardly think about it. Because of its prevalence, many people have written critically about it, compelling us to look at our own usage.

Crawley, Charles R. STC Proceedings (2003). Articles>Communication>Online>Email

Easy Public Relations with Online Tools

Shoestring-budget heroes, rejoice. The Internet offers many inexpensive opportunities to deliver better public relations results in our broadband-driven universe. No doubt, emerging concepts such as corporate blogging, podcasting or immersive web content (like "advergames") can produce their fair share of angst. But let's not forget to explore simple web-based tools available to large and small organizations alike.

Heule, Nandy. Communication World Bulletin (2006). Articles>Business Communication>Public Relations>Online

Empirical Studies Assessing the Quality of Health Information for Consumers on the World Wide Web: A Systematic Review

The quality of consumer health information on the World Wide Web is an important issue for medicine, but to date no systematic and comprehensive synthesis of the methods and evidence has been performed.

Eysenbach, Gunther, John Powell, Oliver Kuss and Eun-Ryoung Sa. JAMA (2002). Articles>Scientific Communication>Biomedical>Online

Evaluating Your Online Reputation

One of the primary concerns of public relations practitioners is reputation management. Traditionally, PR professionals measured the perception of their brand, products or services through media coverage; whatever was written or broadcast about a company was viewed as indicative of public opinion. The Internet has vastly changed the dynamics of how communicators assess and evaluate public opinion.

Murphy, Allison and Howard Kaushansky. Communication World Bulletin (2008). Articles>Business Communication>Public Relations>Online

The Growing Power of Internet-Driven Public Relations

Many people don't realize the extent to which public relations has increased its influence since the growth of the Internet. This influence continues to grow as does the popularity and utility of the Internet itself. Literally millions of new web sites are added every month, and they represent the most extraordinary way to target your audience. Today's journalists, radio and television news producers and editors all prefer to receive news via e-mail and to instantly access web sites to secure the facts.

Caruba, Alan. Communication World Bulletin (2003). Articles>Business Communication>Public Relations>Online

Internet Public Relations and Messaging Can Drive Visibility and Sales

Today it’s harder than ever for companies to get above the noise and get their messages heard. Many consumers are so overwhelmed with advertisements about new products and marginally improved releases that they automatically tune out anything that sounds promotional. While it may seem like there’s no time to learn new tools and technologies, there are many sites that offer useful guides, quick tips and case studies on how to achieve measurable results.

Woods McNamara, Julie. Communication World Bulletin (2003). Articles>Business Communication>Public Relations>Online

Review: Internet-Based Workplace Communications: Industry and Academic Applications    

Internet-Based Workplace Communications: Industry and Academic Applications, edited by Kirk St.Amant and Pavel Zemliansky, is a collection of essays that aims to bridge a gap between academic and industry understandings of the role of digital technologies in business and technical communication. The essays consider the implications of new online communication technologies for classroom and workplace practices. Although the essays are geared toward an academic audience and do not offer a comprehensive look at Internet-based workplace practices, the collection can serve as a starting point for educators who would like to discuss in their technical communication courses the implications of integrating Internet technologies into contemporary communication practices.

Jablonski, Jeffrey and Jessica Reyman. Journal of Business and Technical Communication (2007). Articles>Reviews>Business Communication>Online

Is Scientific Writing on the Fast Lane of the Information Highway? An Analysis of Electronic Publishing  

Because of the advances of computer technology and the accessibility of the Information Information Superhighway, electronic publishing is surpassing print literature. Electronic publishing includes libraries, on-demand publishing and journals. This paper specifically covers the purpose of electronic journals and the techniques for publishing. It also focuses on the advantages and disadvantages of electronic journals, and asks 'Is it a viable form of written communication?'

Burdan, Amy L. STC Proceedings (1995). Articles>Scientific Communication>Publishing>Online

Issues of Online Research Repositories from the Perspective of the Biomedical Sciences  

This commentary on Joseph Y. Halpern's proposal for a computing research repository discusses difference in traditions and practices of online publishing and repositories between computing and biomedicals sciences. Issues of accessibility and archiving are also discussed.

Armbruster, David L. Journal of Computer Documentation (2000). Articles>Scientific Communication>Online

Legal Code: When Intra Becomes Extra

And somehow, on March 8, months of chat logs--what a CEO and his management team talked about in their almost daily online chats were the ordinary, boring aspects of running a company. But a few posts involved company strategies. The posts revealed negotiating tactics the team planned to use with business partners, and some of those tactics revealed a fundamental lack of good faith. If the public message logs didn't increase the company's liability exposure, they certainly poisoned its hard-earned business relationships.

Fausett, Bret A. WebTechniques (2001). Articles>Communication>Legal>Online

Materials Data on the Internet    

The availability of the Internet has provided unprecedented opportunities for both data compilers and users. With respect to materials data, this paper explores: how do we know what is available? how can data be accessed, interpreted, exchanged? what novel modes of presentation are now available? what organizations are active in this field and what are their programs? what improvements are needed? where do we go from here and how? Examples will be illustrated of specific materials databases available on the Internet from a variety of materials data fields, e.g. fundamental data, engineering design properties, environmental data, and materials safety data. While there is no question that large and widely varied bodies of data are accessible on the Internet, significant improvements are needed promptly. The paper concludes by summarizing these problems and possible means for their alleviation.

Westbrook, J.H. Data Science Journal (2003). Articles>Scientific Communication>Online>Engineering

A New Way to Talk: ComputerEase.common  

Have you noticed? As the world shrinks, the need for good communication gets bigger. More people talk, chat, argue, negotiate, make love, and make war through electronic communication today than ever before. If you can't communicate electronically with ease, then you'd better learn fast. To rephrase Yogi Bera, 'if you don't know how to talk on the information highway, you'll end up somewhere else.' The purpose of this progression is to foster dynamic roundtable discussion about what it means to communicate well through electronic means such as email.

Baxley, Deborah Lewis. STC Proceedings (1997). Articles>Communication>Online>Email

Online Intercultural Communication  

Most professionals would agree that the Internet enables us to communicate more effectively with our colleagues, both locally and internationally. The ease, speed, and convenience of e-mail, bulletin boards, chat systems, and instant messaging have revolutionized our professional practice. But we often overlook one area of computer-mediated communication (CMC): How do cultural differences affect successful online communication?

Archee, Raymond K. Intercom (2003). Articles>Communication>Online>Community

Professionalizing Knowledge Sharing and Communications: Changing Roles for a Changing Profession    

Web 2.0 technologies are becoming increasingly ubiquitous among younger generations of IT users and this is creating a new set of expectations about accessing quality information for business, research and academic purposes. The article looks at how this situation has impacted on the expectations of users of library and information services. Although there are solid reasons for standing by professional standards, there is little doubt that the next generation has a greater expectation around being participants in, rather than recipients of, knowledge sharing. How will this impact the status of the professional librarian and information manager, and to what extent should they change with this paradigm shift looming?

Cullen, John T. Business Information Review (2008). Articles>Business Communication>Collaboration>Online

Publishing Online-Only Peer-Reviewed Biomedical Literature  

Pediatrics is the official journal of the American Academy of Pediatrics. Published continuously since 1948, the journal has achieved a circulation of 62,500, with broad additional distribution via international translations, proprietary computer systems, and online services. Pediatrics has an impact factor of 3.487, the highest ranked clinical journal (as opposed to research journal) in the specialty. In 1996, the editors were facing a growing backlog of quality articles, longer times to publication, and prohibitive and increasing print publication costs. They needed a viable publishing option that avoided the high variable costs and capacity constraints of print, and the Web beckoned.

Anderson, Kent, John Sack, Lisa Krauss and Lori O'Keefe. Journal of Electronic Publishing (2001). Articles>Scientific Communication>Online

The Readers and Writers Behind Electronic Mail

As electronic mail replaces face-to-face communication in many work environments, a thorough analysis of this evolving medium and its impact on communication is necessary. In many workplaces, telephone calls and knocks on doors have dramatically decreased in frequency, but the number of emails that circulate through one’s inbox is continuing to increase. Yet, our understanding of this new medium and how it is being used is limited. Some scholars argue that email has many of the characteristics of speech; some argue that it has the same characteristics as writing, while others argue that it is a completely new genre of communication.

Abolrous, Sally. University of Washington-Seattle (2002). Articles>Communication>Online>Email