The world is changing and so is our language. New words are being created, especially in the area of technology. We aren’t in school anymore, so it can be challenging to figure out how to use new words correctly. Following are the proper uses of some technology terms according to the AP Stylebook, the handbook used by most publications.
Web site – It should be written as two words with a capital W.
e-mail – It should only be capitalized if it begins a sentence and should have a hyphen after the e.
Internet - Internet is always capitalized. Why? According to the AP Stylebook, “Internet is capitalized as the proper name for the worldwide system of computers that can communicate with each other.” Intranet, on the other hand, is lowercase unless it starts the sentence.
Twitter - A message is a tweet. To send a message is to Twitter or tweet.
blog – Blog is lowercase unless it is part of a formal name of a blog. If you are referring to a specific name of a blog, the name of the blog should be in quotes.
As always, if your organization has its own style guide or you are writing a college paper, please follow those guides as they sometimes differ from AP guidelines.
Are there any other technology terms you are struggling with? Please comment, and I will be happy to provide some insight.
Arizona Society of CPAs
J. Michael Stolp
mhstpt
Robert K Minniti, CPA, CFE, Cr.FA, CFF, MBA
Ed Zollars, CPA
Jason Washo, CPA, PFS
dsscpa
cguerriero
Cindie Hubiak, CPA
Jose Herrera
Heidi Frei
Heidi, your research is fascinating . . . very fascinating. I for one would like for you to make this a continuing discussion.
As with language in general, I suspect that we will see usage and spellings evolve.
Capitalizing “Internet” was new to me, but very interesting.
I will lay dollars to donuts that web site and e-mail will become accepted as website and email over time due to common usage.
Thanks for the interesting article!
Mike
Thank you, Michael. I just added a new category to the blog called “Writing Tips” and will post grammar and business writing refreshers for CPAs.
Heidi, nice to know for sure. What is Poke on Facebook?
Is it like poking someone on the arm to get their attention?
That sounds right to me, Cathy, but I think there are better ways to get someone’s attention on Facebook. You can always send them a quick e-mail or write on their wall. I think that would get their attention more quickly, and you could be more specific as to why you want their attention.
Wow! Great article. Thanks a lot! It sounds interesting. e-mail is a recognized means of communication. I preferably work with Outlook as my email client and with the help of Email Sorter Wizard, an Outlook add-in, I get all my e-mail sorted. I am sure people will get great information from your blog.
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