Re: Formality is going bye-bye?

[arroxaneullman -at- aol -dot- com]

Western and especially American culture has a history of informality. 
This informality combines with terse clarity to leave less room for 
misunderstanding.

Compare:

"Superbigcompany kindly requests that the user carefully examine 
Superbigcompany's Widgetwonder in order to become familiar with the 
various parts and functions prior to conducting the instructional steps 
enclosed in the packaging."

Versus...

"Look over the Widgetwonder before you use it."

The latter is less likely to confuse native speakers, let alone 
non-natives. It translates easier. It's directed at the reader. It 
sounds more natural. It gets to the point. These are all elements of 
good technical communication.

So, yes, Google is one of many companies moving to a less formal style. 
But it also has to do with the company "image." Big Blue may want to 
seem more conservative, old-fashion, and so forth, so they generally 
use a more formal tone.

It all goes back to knowing your audience. Google probably expects 
their audience to be Gen Xers, Millenials, etc. They would have a hard 
time connecting to these groups if they sounded old and schoolmongerish.

My two-point-five cents worth.

:)
Arroxane, whose tone is horribly old-fashioned for a  GenXer
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