White papers provide unbiased information on problems that particular companies might be experiencing in the business, industrial, and governmental world. You can think of a white paper as a “beefed” up brochure type paper that goes into much more detail than your typical brochure. White papers often deal with a technical situation that needs to be explained in a very detailed manner. These documents generally follow a certain format that includes a title page with an executive summary, a body broken into “chunks”, and a conclusion to sum it all up. A white paper discussing a certain product can help people make a more educated decision on whether they want to buy that product or not. Companies can also use white papers to get people into their system by making these people register with the company in order to see the company’s white papers. You can also use white papers to call out to a large audience by posting them in a third party location such as a website. White papers are largely used to educate employees about their company.
Governments use white papers to “stake out a position on an issue by presenting information as if it were unambiguous or inarguable.”(THB) The types of whitepapers used by the government tend to be geared towards laws or some type of proposed action. Governments as well as other organizations include information on these white papers that aren’t 100% true and can be misleading. They do this to try and fool people into believe what they are saying even if it isn’t entirely true. This scheme can also be used to make people think that they have the only solution to a given problem so you should use/buy their solution/product and no one else’s. White papers are often objected in the marketing world for many reasons. Marketing people seem to not like them because they take a lot more time to write and people in this sector want to get information out there as fast as possible.
Truth R12
I think what you said about how “Governments as well as other organizations include information on these white papers that aren’t 100% true” is interesting. It reminds me of the first project and the relationship between the applicant and the reviewer. A person can apply for a job and falsify all of their history and credentials so it’s up to the reviewer to follow-up and check the background thoroughly to make sure it is correct. I think in this situation the applicant would be the “Government/other organizations” and the reviewer would be their audience. It’s up to the reader to confirm what they are reading instead of believing it blindly. Either way, if the lie is bad enough in either situation it will come out later in a bad way.
Shane
Trying to draw you in..!
I feel the same way. That’s why we should not always believe everything we hear or read. I think that things like these white papers do have a lot of useful, factual information about a certain subject but you must remember that most of the time a company is trying to draw you in to get you to use their product or service. That is why one should further research a subject and use a few different sources before sticking with a certain product or service. As far as the government goes, it’s getting hard to believe any of what they say anymore. They say one thing to get you to vote for them or whatever and a little ways down the road they do something totally different.
Think Smart
That is what I was thinking when reading the sections as well. The reviewer has to check up on the facts presented in these “beefed up brochures.” These papers are marketing devices and just like all marketing there are ways to stretch the truth. One could also use the bandwagon approach and say that everyone else is using this technology so why are these businesses. There are plenty of techniques out there, we just have to use our heads and try to see through them. I know it can be cynical to think everyone out there just wants your money but sometimes it is better to be safe than lose millions in a failed device.