This week’s reading served as an introduction to white papers. This makes perfect sense, as we will be devoting the rest of the semester to creating our own set of white papers. This week’s readings were very good for me since I had never read through an entire white paper. In the past, I would only skim through them in order to find certain information that I was looking for. The majority of the white papers that I have skimmed through in the past were more like the Motorola white papers. They consisted of technical information that would bore the average audience.
Speaking of audiences, just like all of our other projects, it is clear that it is imperative to tailor white papers towards certain audiences. In order to do this successfully, it is very important to analyze all of your audiences. For instance, a government white paper might describe certain environmental standards. This white paper should consist of information explaining the reasoning behind the standard. It would also need to be thorough because companies against the environmental standard would put it up against great scrutiny. A marketing white paper should consist of information about the product. It should then go into detail about how the features work and why they are important. These types of white papers will help aid potential customers in deciding whether or not to choose a product. According to “The Steak Behind the Sizzle”, these marketing white papers are becoming more and more popular. This makes sense, especially for technical applications, because the customer will almost always want to know how a complicated products works when deciding as to whether or not to purchase a product.
After reading through my first white papers it has become clear that white papers have a variety of uses. Just like the other projects in this class, these documents should be tailored to their desire audience. Doing so, helps set the purpose of the white paper.
Great Points!
I think you make a few great points about white papers here. First, I think it's important to recognize that you're speaking as a user of white papers, and that even though you've used them many times, this is the first time you've ever read all the way through one! I think we should realize that this is often how white papers get used (to locate specific information), and be aware of this when writing & designing our documents. It says to me that we should be sure to organize it carefully and intuitively, as well as be sure the different sections are easily identifiable and easy to locate. You also make a good point about audience, and remind us again that it's central to most everything we do!
Kristin
good design
I think Kristin makes a good point about how important your design and organization is to a white paper. Knowing your audience and how they are most likely to use your white paper is also very important to deciding how you are going to organize your white paper. For example, is your white paper one that you think audiences will need to read through from start to finish, ( like a white paper meant to inform a government official) or something that can be skimmed through to find the information your reader needs ( like an IT technician searching for a solution to a problem). Knowing your audience seems to be the most important thing about white papers, since it seems like everything else about a white paper is built around who your target audience is.
Patrick Griffin
pgriffin@purdue.edu