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Subject:Re: Human Interest From:Sella Rush <SellaR -at- APPTECHSYS -dot- COM> Date:Fri, 20 Jun 1997 13:17:03 -0700
My first reaction was to ask--who's the audience? yeah, yeah, a cliche,
but part of the problem is that you might not (due to vagueness in the
assignment) have identified who you're trying to reach. I find, when I
fail to do this, that I try writing for too large a group (i.e.,
everyone) and invariably end up with bland material. Can you pinpoint
your audience with existing info or can you contact them again for more
information (maybe present it as the type of interview you would do on
the job to get this info)?
My second reaction was, hey, I like the sound of this company! First, I
like that they're obviously thinking about their users (or market).
Second, although I do like my current situation, it's sometimes
frustrating because the programmer I usually deal with has an incredibly
sensitive hype detector. Anything hinting of "human interest" sets off
cries that users will either be turned off by hype or be insulted by an
apparent condescension. While in this situation, I agree with him most
of the time, the dryness of the subject sometimes gets stifling. It
would be nice to be able to break out a bit creatively.
Mike--if you do contact the company for more info, I'd be very
interested in hearing how it goes--not sure I'd have the courage to do
it.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Sella Rush
sellar -at- apptechsys -dot- com
Applied Technical Systems, Inc. (ATS)
Bremerton, Washington USA
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