A collection of language commonly used in the civic tech world. Assembled from attending dozens of pitches and talks, many for very cool projects, that excelled or failed at communicating their ideas by using relatable, concrete words or vauge, confusing platitudes.
These are words and phrases in frequent use that should be avoided or amended to better convey information.
Who, specifically? What factors link them together to make them a community? Give your audience the context they need to understand how the people or organziations fit together.
Do you mean "get information from the website"? Or do you mean "Have an in-person discussion"? Instead, pick a more precise verb like "meet with" or "click on".
Often seen as "We tell the story of [local businesses, stop and frisk, potholes...]" Storytelling online is an involved process that usually requires prose. On data-heavy sites, you haven't done the storytelling work -- the readers tell themselves stories using your data.
"Tell your story", a cousin of Tell the story, is a vague and unappealing call to action. Instead, give more direct prompts that also tell your respondents why they are contributing: "Tell us about a time when ... so that we can ...."
If you are adding local context by using stories, photos, video, audio, data and more to build a deeper undersetanding of a place, use this phrase.
This phrase is often used in situations where bulk data is filtered down to a small geography. For example, "We use property inspection data to add local context." Avoid this phrasing because machine processed data is rarely presented in a way that actually connects and illuminates the situation. What it may do is add hard-to-find facts; surface previously hidden details, or otherwise increase the convenience of access.
See also Tell the story.
AKA Mary Sue, the Hypothetical Person is your ideal user, somone who mysteriously wants the information or service you want and knows exactly how to find it. In reality, nearly no products or projects are magic bullets (even if you get that huge grant you're pitching), and using Mary Sue leaves aduience members with feelings like, "I guess it's possible that someone would want that," rather than a real undesrstanding of who uses the product.
Instead, use a real person. If a real person isn't avaiable, either re-evaluate if you are ready to present, or use your own story. In any case, pick a concrete person who the audience can understand.
Often seen in context as "A tool that community organizers can use...." Who are these mysterious organizers? Will anyone with a job title of community organizer actually use your tool? If yes, tell us who they are. Who do they work for, and how does it make their life beeter in a concrete way. Or, do you mean someone who naturally fills an organizing role in a group? In that case, you could use their name and role. For example, "Janelle, who started the bird watchers group and moderates the mailing list, can quickly spot troublemakers using our TroubleSpotter."
See also: Hypothetical Person.
... no one will.
I think that's the coffee talking.
At this point, we can assume that you're building easy-to-use, online tools instead of difficult-to-use, phone-only bureaucracies. Instead, tell us (or ideally show us) what makes your new thing better.
This is a model that can be used...
If you're sharing something you know is a model other people should follow, make sure you include the basics: who, what, where, why, when, and how:
- people and skills required
- timeline
- budget
- inputs
- outcomes
All models need to be adapted to the context you're using them in. It's helpful to note which elements of the model are fixed, and what are expected to change (and by how much)
A great call to action because it (a) shares information that is often hidden and (b) gives people who want to get in touch an avenue -- if they're invested enough to write a couple sentences.
I'm not yet sure if or how these words and phrases fit in the pattern directory.
I’m building a community OS with #blockchain technology!
Mhmmmm.
Feels like this is often used without conveying information. What does the tool let you do? Is it actually multiple tools? (Maybe multi-tool is a good alternative?) People know what to do with tools like hammers, saws, and screwdrivers. It's less clear with software. You usually own a tool, but in the software context, it's often applied to a subscription services.