After reading some of the instructor posts and the Thomson Handbook it is apparent to me that white papers are not often used in too many different instances, but they can be used by almost any organization or company in the world that offers a product or service and by really any kind of government. The main goal of a white paper for a company is basically to explain to a potential customer all of the technical specs of their product/service in a way that the decision maker will understand how and why their offering will improve their business.
In my eyes, white papers are pretty much just glorified brochures about products or services. Instead of just being an advertisement or commercial, they actually give the technical specs and detailed descriptions of the product/service itself. Because of their uniqueness, white papers can be used in many different contexts.
For example, a marketing white paper is very different from a government white paper. A marketing white paper is basically trying to tell an organization/company that their service or product is the best one for them by giving them facts and the most accurate information on the subject. A government white papers goal is to basically try to figure out how the people in a certain area feel about a certain issue by presenting information as if it were unambiguous and was one hundred percent clear. A marketing white paper lends validity to a product or service’s claims by giving potential customers and decision makers the information that they are looking for to solve a problem they have. Basically a marketing white paper states all of the technical information of a product/service in a way that anyone who wants or needs it will understand and a government white paper tries to figure out a person’s or a group of people’s stand on a certain position or issue.
An old wooden ship R12
I agree with you when you say that white papers “…can be used by almost any organization or company in the world that offers a product or service and by really any kind of government.” White papers seem so open and diverse that they could be used with almost any subject. They are very open which makes for a good beginning stage in regard to our situation where we actually get to pick our topic. I think the hard part is not going to be finding a good subject to write about but rather how to speak to our audience or, for that matter, defining who our audience is. I think this will be harder since it seems like the audience for this project is going to be larger than the previous ones in most cases.
Shane
About audiences
I agree with secolema’s post. A big challenge in this project is defining who our audience is. The nature of a white paper leaves the door open for many potential audiences, and trying to find the proper tone and approach to best serve all of these audiences will not be easy. On top of that, we need to keep in mind the secondary and tertiary readers and find ways to address their needs in the presentation of our white papers. A good approach might be to figure out who your subject serves best, and do some research to find other white papers that have been written to serve this similar audience, paying attention to things like level of technicality, level of conciseness or detail, visual elements, etc.
Government White Papers
I'm not so sure that I agree with the statement "a government white paper tries to figure out a person’s or a group of people’s stand on a certain position or issue." That may be part of the research, but I think that the ultimate goal of a government white paper is to inform a group of people about a certain topic. By adding information about people or countries around the world that already use the product or service, you can further reassure the reader that the decision to act has already been taken by others, thus giving them more confidence in a particular solution. So, I don't think that the purpose of this project is to figure out what people already know about a technical subject, but to inform others who need to make a decision about that subject.
Possible confused meanings?
I totally agree with you about the purpose of our project is not to figure out what people already know about a technical subject, that is a given. But, the way I took the sentence from the Thomson Handbook, “including governments, use white papers to stake out a position on an issue by presenting information as if it were unambiguous or inarguable,” is that a government will present information to the public to try to figure out what people think about a certain subject and how they react to it. Nowhere in that sentence do I get the impression that they are trying to inform the people about a certain subject, but I can see how you would think that after knowing the types of white papers that we are supposed to produce. Maybe I am wrong and just interpreting the phrase “stake out a position” incorrectly, that might be the case.
After reading your response, I do see what you mean about a governmental white paper informing an audience about a certain position or law. It makes more sense for their white paper to try to inform the reader about a certain subject. But, from reading the sentence in the book, that is not what I got from it.
Marketing
I thought that your explanation of the government vs. marketing white paper was the best out of everyone’s. It is maybe better than the reading. I think that white papers can be useful for products because they can provide all the information about the product in one location. Kind of like a brochure on a product but without the intent of selling the product right away. With a table of contents, a white paper can be very useful for researchers actually. It actually seems like there an endless number of things that white papers can be used for. It is interesting learning about what they are used for.
Brochures for the Savvy
I think it's interesting how you stated that white papers, in your opinion, are "glorified brochures about products or services". I think you are on to something here, and that this really stresses the importance of understanding the audience when constructing such a white paper. I think that you can really think of these white papers as being very similar to brochures, in that they are attempting in many senses, at least ultimately, to sell a certain product or service. As mentioned, the only real discrepency here is the audience. With a white paper, you are writing to a typically more technical, demanding audience that wants to see specific specs and statistics. These individuals want to see "under the hood", in a manner of speaking, and want to see you demonstrate solid validity to your brochure's claims.
Brochures vs. White Papers
I understand what you are saying when you say white papers are 'glorified brochures'. They give information plus more technical specs and data. However, to me brochures seem to be very biased and persuasive. I thought that, after reading the instructor posts and the Thomson Handbook, that white papers are supposed to be unbiased and give all the facts, including the good ones. While brochures try to lure you in with only the best data and facts, white papers attract the reader because they are honest and give all the facts, whether some might be bad. I would rather be lured in by a white paper with some cons about the service or product, because then I would know the whole truth of what I am getting.