If you have not heard, Yahoo has just put together a style guide for writing online that is a fair competitor to the classic AP Stylebook. Who would have thought, right? What people often forget is that Yahoo is one of the largest, and most important, content destinations online ever. They know their stuff.
The guide is an excellent foundation to writing for the internet if you are not familiar with its style. If you are accustomed to writing for offline publications or just for work, the Yahoo guide is a god send. If you are thinking about starting to blog, this is a must read.
Not sure if it is 3-D or 3D? Yahoo knows which is correct. Need to know how to write a catchy headline? Yahoo knows how. In a world that Droid does, Yahoo knows. That content is all available online for free, but Yahoo has grander plans.
The online version that we have been discussing so far is only part of the story. Yahoo is releasing a larger compendium of data in book form. The formal, complete Yahoo Style Guide will be out in print and digital book formats this July 6th. You will be able to read it on your favorite e-reader, or pick it up from your local book store.
The website does have one feature that the book does not, an ask an editor section where Yahoo will answer selected questions that are flummoxing writers. Rather nice of Yahoo to do so, it must be said
This is a important step forward for writing online. With such a guide in place, writing rules will become stricter, making the online world of words less casual and loose. The AP guide was designed for decades past, this is the age of words-on-screens. We now have the rules to write by. Hats off to Yahoo for putting the effort in.
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