White Paper World 48: September 27, 2024
- Quick tip: Think outside the list
- This just in: The enshittification of everything
- What I’m reading: The Canceling of the American Mind
6.5-minute read. 11-minute listen:
Quick tip: Think outside the list
2-minute read.
In an earlier tip, I described how to write better lists.
But sometimes a list isn’t the best approach.
Sometimes recasting a disorganized list into full sentences makes it work better.
I admit, this doesn’t happen every day.
But here’s an example from the real world to show you what I mean.
One of my B2B clients listed their customers like this:
Princeton University, U.S. Army, IBM, Red Cross, Random House, A-AArdvark Auto Insurance, Cape Seville Wines, Gargoyle Restoration
But what was this list saying? How was it organized?
- By the importance of the client?
- By the date of the contract?
- By the size of the contract?
This list was thrown together by different people at different times without much thought… and that showed.
Here’s how I fixed it
My client wanted me to paste this list into their white paper under About the Company. But I wanted to make it more sensible first.
So I tried listing these clients in alphabetical order:
A-AArdvark Auto Insurance, Cape Seville Wines, Gargoyle Restoration, IBM, Princeton University, Random House, Red Cross, U.S. Army
Hmmmm. An obvious problem: The names at the start were local companies no one else knew. The names at the end were the most impressive.
And the alphabetical list started with the silliest name of all.
I mean, I like aardvarks as much as the next guy.
But A-AAdvark Auto Insurance was obviously named to get to the top of any alphabetical listing.
In fact, the aardvark is a popular mascot. Many cities have two or three companies named after him!
In the days before Google, when the Yellow Pages ruled supreme, aardvarks got their companies to the very front of the book and helped bring in customers.
Anyway, I had to work a little more to finalize that list.
So I cut the unknowns, showcased the big names, and mentioned the vertical niches in a second part of the sentence:
Our clients include Princeton University, Red Cross, U.S. Army, and enterprises such as IBM and Random House… plus many other firms in everything from architecture to wine-making.
That impressive list covered both the public and private sectors. And it specifically touched on architecture, education, the military, publishing, social services, tech, and wine-making.
If I were a prospect for that company, I would find this list pretty reassuring. Wouldn’t you?
Yet this list is not based on any ordering principle; it’s a creative sequence arranged according to its own logic.
See how you sometimes have to think outside the list?
Writer Cory Doctorow explains why online platforms are getting worse
This just in: The enshittification of everything
3-minute read.
Have you noticed how bad Google search is these days?
Or how many fees are tacked on to any Airbnb rental?
Writer Cory Doctorow knows why. And he coined the term “enshittification” to describe how every online platform tends to devolve from helpful to crappy.
In a recent article in The Financial Times, Doctorow argues that all online platforms and services follow a predictable pattern:
- They’re good to users.
- Then they abuse users to enrich advertisers.
- Then they abuse advertisers to enrich shareholders.
- Then they die.
Airbnb, Facebook, Google, LinkedIn, Twitter, Uber, YouTube, and so on: We’re not just imagining it. All these platforms are getting worse.
They show more ads, charge higher fees, sponsor more content that’s fake or garbage, and provide next-to-no tech support.
“The services that matter to us, that we rely on, are turning into giant piles of shit,” complains Doctorow. “It’s frustrating. It’s demoralizing. It’s even terrifying.”
Enshittification theory explains why this happens
It all comes down to who has the power.
Platforms start off being useful, fun, and free. But once millions of users and advertisers are locked in, a platform doesn’t need to keep its customers happy anymore.
So they start clawing back all the profits for themselves. And they cut back on support and safety.
It’s a rotten pattern. But Doctorow says there’s hope.
He believes we can strengthen competition so that new platforms arise to challenge the old ones.
We can regulate Big Tech companies more and fine them for misbehavior.
We can encourage people not to rely on the platforms for everything.
For example, learn to drive around without using Google Maps. That’s actually good for your mind. Recent research shows that relying on GPS apps all the time can damage our physical brains.
All those efforts can help to create a better, more resilient digital ecosystem that serves human beings, not fat-cat owners.
What writers can do
Writers should be aware of this cycle and how it affects the platforms we use.
This might mean:
- Looking for alternatives to crappy online platforms
- Pressing for fair pay for online sweatshop workers
- Demanding compensation for AI that uses our work
And what about AI?
According to this pattern, AI will get worse yet the platforms will charge more.
I think we’re already seeing this in bundled products like Microsoft CoPilot, which provides rather underwhelming results yet costs $30 a month.
Let’s not allow AI to be the next service we all adopt and then regret later, once it starts getting shittier.
Here’s what we can do:
- Don’t get locked into the industry-leading ChatGPT
- Play around with different AI tools
- Support legal and governmental limits to Big Tech
- Support lawsuits by creators and publishers
The good news is that the excesses of Big Tech have only been with us for 20 years or so. And they can’t last forever.
People and governments around the world are standing up to Big Tech and pushing back against the billionaires.
Let’s support that pushback and get to a more balanced place where technology makes our lives, our kids, and our world better over the long haul… not worse.
What I’m reading: The Canceling of the American Mind
1.5-minute read.
What a great title: It’s got shock value plus a built-in pun.
I grabbed this book the instant I saw it in a bookstore.
It highlights some terrible examples of people who were canceled for their unpopular opinions.
Among them are hardworking teachers, journalists, and scientists.
The authors don’t blame one brand of politics. They take both right- and left-wingers to task, saying both have set up fortresses to protect their ideas.
Hiding in their fortresses, these people don’t have to engage with anyone who doesn’t already agree with them.
And their ideas never have to evolve based on new thoughts or information.
“Cancel culture is just one symptom of a much larger problem: the use of cheap rhetorical tactics to ‘win’ arguments without actually winning arguments,” say authors George Lukianoff and Rikki Schlott.
“Why bother refuting your opponents when you can just take away their platform or career? Nobody else will dare to tread the same ground once you make an example of them.” (p.9)
Not just an academic exercise
Can you see why I think this book is important for B2B writers and marketers?
In a world that’s becoming more and more close-minded, we must keep building white papers based on careful research and principled rhetoric.
Let’s keep learning how to argue properly, using facts and logic, instead of simply smearing anyone who doesn’t agree with us.
Let’s stay curious and encourage others to do the same.
Let’s examine our belief systems and admit it when some of our views get outdated.
Let’s move beyond Cancel Culture to become more open-minded, more tolerant, and ultimately more humble.
Nobody has a monopoly on the truth. As writers and marketers, listening is one of our superpowers. Let’s remember to use it.
That’s all for now
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And good luck with all your writing projects!
Gordon Graham
That White Paper Guy
