E-What? A Guide to the Quirks of New Media Style and Usage

Rating:
Summary: Little book, big help.
Review: All of us seem to be rushing to get a brochure, annual report, marketing material and general content up on a website, but until now there has been little help in making sure that the information is readable, grammatically correct, or consistent. Grab this book as you are rushing. It belongs right next to the computer--every computer. The editors of EEI Press seem to know just what's confusing and baffling writers, and are quick to help us out without the usual pedantic rant of style books. There is help for making sense of e-words, e-mail, and e-sources. The book is well organized and gives sound advice to those who want to create their own style guide.The sidebars on address formats and FAQs are worth the price of the book, which may seem to be a bit steep. But considering how often I've turned to it for advice, answers and guidance, and found a way out of some e-mess, it's money well spent. If you write, if you own a computer, if you want to represent yourself well to e-others, get the book today.

Rating:
Summary: The book I've been waiting for...
Review: Although no one book can declare the correct grammar and style for online communication, this book offers valuable guidelines and standards for writers. The Quick Reference List of Troublesome Terms provides spellings and definitions for the numerous Internet words and phrases. Some of the guidelines are a little obvious, such as advising not to use emoticons in emails or not to be cute or unprofessional in memos, web site content, and such. But I suppose it needed to be said. There's an interesting section on citing electronic references that was helpful to me. The book also discusses the trends and patterns of words and their evolution from two words, to a hyphenated term, to one word--for example, voicemail and email. As a technical writer, I found this book very helpful. I highly recommend it to technical writers and anyone who is concerned with grammar and style as they relate to computers and the Internet.