Sincerely Yours

The pomp and formality that once punctuated intelligent discourse has been replaced in the Internet age by a more informal stream of communications that is broader and more frequent.

The shift toward informalism might well be represented by a tag cloud of common phrases featuring lumbering standards of yesteryear (Yours truly, To whom it may concern and Dearest Sally) alongside snappy contemporary acronyms like OMG (Oh my God) and GTG (got to go).  Indeed, new online technologies have made us terse, frequent and conversational as communicators. Yesterday, we appreciated the favor of a reply.  Today, we are unabashedly LOL (laughing out loud).  Understanding how we got from grammatically correct to clipped and cool helps explain the impact and value of these shifts for organizations as they cultivate key relationships to meet their missions.

The reduction in the cost and increase in the speed of interaction, offered by key technologies of our generation (e.g., email, web sites), have enabled organizations and indivduals more frequent, varied and informal opportunities to communicate with others.  More recent innovations in social media (e.g., blogs, Facebook, Twitter, Flickr, del.icio.us) have accelerated the trend.  For those who depend upon relationship-building as a strategy for growing their organizations, the new informality offers new opportunities to develop richer and deeper relationships built upon more frequent, broader and terse interactions.

Frequency

Repeated interaction leads to greater familiarity and credibility, says a traditional marketing adage. Up to seven touches, it has been said, are required to make a friend. 

In bygone days, multiple touches could be an expensive proposition.  Production, paper and postage kept newsletters and correspondence relatively constrained. The cost of distributing audio and video were simply out of reach for many organizations.  Whoever said that "talk is cheap," may never have tried to reach an audience of any size before the advent of web sites and social media.  Organizations had to be very selective about what information they shared and how.

More recently, pervasive text-messaging, web sites, and social networking tools have released organizations from the limitations and cost of old fashioned media.  The frequent, brief and informal touches of a tweet, text message or status update on a social network have emerged as easy ways to reinforce connections among casual acquaintances, long-time friends and prospective supporters.  Regular communication has become both savvy and achievable for private sector business, associations and social enterprise.

Breadth

The rise of frequent communication has brought an opportunity for organizations and individuals to connect with followers and friends on multiple levels -- mission critical, professional and personal.  They can now explore the range of shared interests and values as a building block to stronger relationships.  For example, when targeted audiences know that a representative of your organization values both clean air, and cool automobiles, they may discover new ways to relate and connect on a personal level.

Terseness

As text messaging, social networks, micro-blogs and similar tools have emphasized terseness, they have encouraged a shift toward more informal communications.  Because tools like Twitter limit messages to 140 characters, formalities like Dear Mr. Smith, long winded dialogue and the traditional elements of proper writing style style are fading away. Loss of punctuation, growth of abbreviations and an ease for posting ad-hoc updates have created a more conversational and informal environment for communication on the web.

Overall, the frequency, breadth and terseness of communication enabled by social media, has bred a more natural and humanizing manner of interaction.  As a result, online communicators are finding it easier to develop a rapport with target audiences.  A tweet about my weekend trip to the shore, followed later with a link to a snippet about a new tool or trend, and then an update about my latest blog post, creates not one, but a series of opportunities to find common ground, build credibility and communicate the value of my organization.  So, what are you up to this week?