I think white papers are my second favorite kind of technical document, mostly because of the lack of what we so dubiously call 'fluff'. As such, the audience profile should be quite a bit different from the previous projects. The primary readers, at least, for the employment and instructions projects were more or less laity, but now (finally) we move on to technical primary readers. As noted by the Steak Behind the Sizzle white paper on white papers, they seem to be generally bimodal and function as both as a technical information source and they have a significant marketing angle.
Which brings us to the blog prompt: government white papers layout new policy or legislation in detail with the intention to implement the contents of the paper as law or something to this effect. They seem to be more action driven and have a clear solution, in detail. Marketing white papers seem to be more information oriented, in a general sense such that the people reading them are enticed to start a sales contract with the supplier of this white paper. They can outline solutions, but in a more genera sense than government white papers. The prompt also asked, why, but I think that it is irrelevant-it is simply a matter of semantics: you could just as easily call the government documents "Tye-dye papers" and the other "Colorless papers". (perhaps I missed the essence of that question...)
For this project, I am anticipating some difficulty in finding a common ground with the other members of the group in terms of topic for our paper. Of course, as the readings indicated, different people of various esteems will play different roles in drafting a white paper. I think it would be more challenging-at least in this environment-if everyone had different backgrounds since the nature of white papers is much more technical.
Different Backgrounds
The nature of white papers can be much more technical, but as a writing major, I have to disagree with you that it makes the project more challenging to have varied backgrounds. I think this will only help our final product to be a much stronger on. I mean, this is the model that most companies in the real world rely on. The person who has the technical knowledge serves as the subject matter expert, while the technical writer brings their writing expertise to the table. Combined, they can create a much stronger project than either one could alone. And you don't underestimate people's capability to grapple with technical information even if they don't have a technical background!
Kristin
Diversity
I agree with Kristin that having a diverse group with many types of knowledge can only help the group create a better finished product. The reading's this week including the one on groups show that if group synergy occurs, the whole will be greater than the sum of its parts. I haven't met or talked with all of my group yet, and haven't researched their backgrounds, but I would be very optimistic about the project if we all had different backgrounds (engineering, technology, writing, etc.), as this leads to different perspectives, and more creative solutions in term of the project topic and creating the project itself.
Governmental White Papers
I have to disagree in a way with your opinion on the difference between marketing and government white papers. While I do agree that there are some government white papers that lay out policies, after reading more examples online it seems more and more politicians are using white papers to sell policies that they want enacted. It feels like they have just found one more outlet to push their agenda in some ways.
I would rather see white papers of just company products and other technical topics rather than campaign commercial type white papers.
Colorless or Green
I think that you are right about the government white papers. It does seem like their white papers are sort of “colorless” or dimensionless because they have to be careful on what they put in document. Also they have to be careful not to step on people’s feet in their documents. On the other hand if you are writing a marketing white paper then you can pretty much put anything you want or what you think is relevant in helping someone make a decision. Along with this project, I think that everyone is going to pick this “green” solutions topic and I do not blame everyone. We are in the “green” era where everything has to be green like wood floors or light bulbs, and everyone’s decisions are becoming more subjective.
"I dunno, it sells itself"
I agree with you for liking white papers due to their lack of fluff. It’s nice to read something technical or informational that is direct and has all the details. The reader can actually focus on the content rather than reading a sales pitch. The reading explains how bias should be avoided to have a good white paper and I agree. For a company selling a product, I think a white paper that is unbiased but presents all the facts in a manner that the consumer can understand is just as beneficial as an advertisement. It shows the customer that the company knows what they are doing and the consumer will pick up on that.
agree
I agree DigitalSHU with that the white paper should be able to basically sell itself. It's a very unique marketing tool that allows the customer to make the decision based on unbiased information. A company knows who they are tailoring towards in it's audience in order to grab their attention to make it profitable. Isn't that the whole point of writing a white paper to maximize profit? Being able to present this information to the customer without bias does built creditably for the company and potential customer will pick up on that as suggested. They are selling a solution without really technically saying, “buy our product.”