BriefsHigh-impact alternative to white papers?

by Jay Cross

April 3, 2005BETA

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NAVIGATION

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OTHER CONTROLS

FlashPaper 2 allows anyone to convert printable files into Flash documents or Adobe PDF files with one click. Instantly generate Flash documents that can be accessed by over half a billion web users. Or transform files into secure, compact PDFs for e-mailing, archiving, and printing. FlashPaper 2 is an affordable solution to create web-ready documents easily that can be shared on any website.

ABOUT FLASH PAPER

PROBLEMS WITH TYPICAL WHITE PAPERS

Typical white papers

…are primarily text

…look dowdy

…lack color

…don’t fit the monitor

…take too long to load

…require you to leave your browser to read

…are confusing to navigate

…have no pizzazz

…lack the zeitgeist of the web

Typical White Paper

Context

Content

Container

BIRTH OF THE BRIEF

I am an author.

I write compelling stuff. I use graphics as well as words.

I want a container that’s on a par with the quality of my content.

I call this format a “Brief.”

SIDEWAYS

Most pdf documents are up and down, “portrait” style. Most computer displays are left to right, horizontal. Briefs flip 8 ½ x 11 documents on their side.

LandscapeBasic design rule: make the best use of the real estate you are given.

BRIEFS ARE FOR INDIVIDUALS

Briefs are a livelier way to publish information than white papers or books. Presentation software has its place: in front of a group. A PowerPoint printout reads like a large-type book printed for the visually impaired. Four-word bullet points never convey as much punch as a real, live sentence.

White papers often provide in-depth coverage, but because they are ugly, few people read them.

Articles can be a great read but getting an article published takes time.

Briefs are designed to be read or scanned by an individual. Rapidly. On screen or printed out.

Why are we doing this? I write. For fun and for money. I think the Brief format will increase my readership. ChangeThis, the group that invented the manifesto format, refuses to share its templates. That’s okay. I decided to develop my own.

White Paper

Brief

PresentationPresentation

One- PagerOne- Pager

Article

Source of the brilliant Gettysburg Address parody:http://www.norvig.com/Gettysburg/

POWERPOINT IS FOR LISTENING

PowerPoint without narration is not worth a damn. People get as much meaning from a collection of inkblots or an essay in Urdu.

Briefs can include live narration.

ORIGINS

ChangeThis created the manifesto format last year.

You can read their story in, natch, the ChangeThis Manifesto. Their interest is political; mine is marketing.

This is what got me thinking about changing the rules of the game.

Seth Godin had a hand in setting up ChangeThis. It does feel sort of viral, doesn’t it? http://www.changethis.com/

FAQ

This alternative format for the traditional white paper (which looks dull) or PowerPoint presentation (which is for groups, not individuals) is known as a “Brief.”

This is a PowerPoint presentation converted to FlashPaper2. Note that inserted hyperlinks and slide transitions are not supported. (Use “Action Settings” for links.)

Macromedia charges $79 for a single-user license to FlashPaper. http://www.macromedia.com/software/flashpaper/

A thirty-day free trialis available.

FlashPaper appears to contain a bug that keeps Action Settings on the Master Template from transferring to individual pages. I am taking this up with Macromedia.

SIZE OF THIS FILE

PowerPoint: 2,065 KB

Adobe pdf: 447 KB

FlashPaper: 365 KB

INFORMATION PAGE

Jay Cross is a thought leader in informal learning, results measurement, corporate culture, and training. A veteran of the software industry and the training business, he coined the term "eLearning" in 1998. He is CEO of Emergent Learning Forum, an 1800-member advocacy group, and founder of Internet Time Group. The Group helps organizations learn and perform on Internet time. Carpe momentum.

See www.jaycross.com

Internet Time Group helps organizations improve the performance of their people by speeding up their learning. We develop action plans, training programs, sales presentations, white papers, marketing campaigns, and development teams -- whatever it takes. Because we enjoy a vast array of relationships with experts in change management, conceptual graphics, eLearning, instructional design, marketing, collaboration, software development, knowledge management, and enterprise applications, we can assemble best-of-breed project teams at a moment's notice.

1.510.528.3105 www.internettime.com

Jay Cross