Online Editorial Style Guide

Online Editorial Style Guide Last updated June 14, 2013

CREATED BY:

Table of Contents Introduction .............................................................................................................................................................. 3 Our Style ...................................................................................................................................................................... 4 Brand Voice ................................................................................................................................................................ 5 Brand Voice: Global ................................................................................................................................................. 6 Brand Voice: Learn .................................................................................................................................................. 9 Brand Voice: Upsell ................................................................................................................................................. 10 Brand Voice: Checkout .......................................................................................................................................... 11 Brand Voice: MyTWC™........................................................................................................................................... 12 Brand Voice: Support ............................................................................................................................................. 13 Current Campaign ................................................................................................................................................. 14 Brand Platform: Enjoy Better .............................................................................................................................. 15 TWC Style .................................................................................................................................................................... 16 Components: Capitalization and Punctuation .......................................................................................... 17 Products and Features .......................................................................................................................................... 18 TWC-approved Terms ........................................................................................................................................... 20 Style Preferences ..................................................................................................................................................... 22 Word Usage ............................................................................................................................................................... 24 General Style and Usage ................................................................................................................................... 25 Style Rules .................................................................................................................................................................... 26 Punctuation ................................................................................................................................................................ 29 Titles of Works ............................................................................................................................................................ 32 Word Usage ................................................................................................................................................................ 33 Grammar ...................................................................................................................................................................... 34

Time Warner Cable Online Editorial Style Guide

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Introduction This Editorial Style Guide serves as an informational guide for anyone writing or evaluating digital content for the Time Warner Cable brand. These guidelines are intended to promote clarity and consistency in all brand communications.

Time Warner Cable Online Editorial Style Guide

Introduction

Our Style When creating work for Time Warner Cable, keep in mind that our brand message must be communicated as one consistent message, across all media.

There’s a certain way to communicate with our customers—speaking with them, not at them. When it comes to writing for the online or digital space, we don’t try to reinvent the wheel: •

If something can be stated in a shorter, more concise way, that’s the way it’s presented.

•

The copy should be easy to read and scannable.

•

Puns, clichés, old sayings or jargon are not used.

•

The copy is never sales-y, overly technical or corporate sounding—it’s friendly, smart, encouraging and clear.

Time Warner Cable Online Editorial Style Guide

For up-to-date product disclaimer content Please review the Legal Disclaimer Document. Contact the TWC Marketing Legal Team for the latest version.

For messaging strategy and copy guidance for TV, Internet and Phone Please review the TWC Messaging Playbook. Contact the TWC Brand Team for the latest version.

For additional guidance on style Look to the “AP Stylebook” or “The Yahoo! Style Guide: The Ultimate Sourcebook for Writing, Editing, and Creating Content for the Digital World.”

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Brand Voice As a writer, you should keep the following brand attributes, tone and style guidelines in mind when creating copy for Time Warner Cable.

Bear in mind that Time Warner Cable communicates with customers through multiple channels. While all take their cues from the global brand voice, each channel has a unique goal and focus, which will require you to adjust your style and tonality. In this chapter, you will also find additional tone and voice guidelines for each channel in the TWC portfolio.

Time Warner Cable Online Editorial Style Guide

Brand Voice

Global Brand Attributes Approachable, not corporate

Always slightly ahead of the curve, not techy

Speak person-to-person, and address the user as “you� when appropriate.

Be smart and forward-looking without resorting to chest thumping.

Encouraging, not self-congratulatory

Human and personable, not wacky or sarcastic

Be positive about technology and what it can do for people.

Have a sense of humor where appropriate, without being overly clever.

Straightforward, not sales-y or convoluted Use clear, real language that does not lapse into hype or tech-speak.

Tone

Style

Clear and concise

Active voice

Conveys simplicity and ease

Second person

Put the customer first

Descriptive

Conversational

Short

Approachable Sincere

translating tech-heavy language into easy-to-understand language

Inclusive

No industry or TWC jargon No buzzwords Plain language Complete thoughts

Time Warner Cable Online Editorial Style Guide

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Brand Voice

Guidelines and Examples Use simple headlines and benefit-driven subheads.

Headlines should speak to, not at, the customer and “begin a conversation.”

DO:

DON’T:

Get music faster than ever—download up to 55 songs in less than 10.5 seconds.

Our Internet service is faster than fast, it’s blazing fast.

Use language that emphasizes the benefits to the consumer, not the technical “wow” factor or chest-thumping from TWC. DO: DON’T:

One package. One bill. One less headache.

We’ve got the best deals on everything you want!

DO:

DON’T:

Manage your Home Phone calls when you’re on-the-go with Voicemail and Voicemail to Text.

Get the latest, most advanced phone features anywhere!

Use the active voice whenever possible.

DO: DON’T:

Modify your settings.

Settings can be modified.

DO: DON’T:

Program your remote.

Your remote can be programmed in many ways.

DO: DON’T:

View online TV listings.

Online TV listings can be viewed here.

Use the second person (“You” and “Your”) when addressing customers.

DO: DON’T:

Access your Voicemail.

Access Voicemail.

DO: DON’T:

Watch what you want, when you want.

Watch a variety of programs, anytime.

DO: DON’T:

Customize your experience.

We offer many viewing options.

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Brand Voice

Guidelines and Examples Use descriptive calls to action For buttons, links and other calls to action, use active verbs that describe what you can do once you click. For example, when linking to outside apps, such as VoiceZone™, use a phrase like Manage your Voicemail as opposed to Visit VoiceZone, etc.

All calls to action (in page links and button links) should be in title case.

DO: DON’T:

Get the Facts Get Into the Action

DO: DON’T:

Pay Your Bill Online Access PayXpress

DO: DON’T:

Get HDTV Get Clear

DO: DON’T:

Enter Sweepstakes on Facebook Go to Facebook

DO: DON’T:

Get the Schedule Turn It On

DO: DON’T:

Start Shopping Get It Now

Time Warner Cable Online Editorial Style Guide

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Brand Voice

Learn A customer perusing the Learn section of the website has specific goals in mind, such as learning about our various products.

Copy needs to be engaging, informative and inspiring in order to convince her that our services and products are the best choice.

Brand Attributes

Content Goals

Tone

Style

Needs-focused

Inspire

Promotional

Short form

Inspiring

Engage

To-the-point

Attention-grabbing

Down-to-Earth

Inform

Compelling

Idea language

Proud of our products

Drive purchase

Conveys urgency

Time Warner Cable Online Editorial Style Guide

abstract, conceptual, risk-taking

Page 9

Brand Voice

Upsell When we try to sell or upsell products or services, the copy should be short, attention-grabbing and it should drive purchase.

Brand Attributes

Content Goals

Tone

Style

Benefit-focused

Inspire

Promotional

Short form

Inspiring

Drive purchase

To-the-point

Attention-grabbing

Informative

Compelling

Idea language

Educational

Conveys urgency

Time Warner Cable Online Editorial Style Guide

abstract, conceptual, risk-taking

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Brand Voice

Checkout Once a customer has entered the Checkout flow, the copy should facilitate the process, guiding the customer through each step as quickly and clearly as possible.

Brand Attributes

Content Goals

Tone

Style

Goal-focused

Guide

Instructional

Short form

Streamlined

Facilitate

Straightforward

Practical language

Informative

Educate

Inviting

Not robotic

Educational

Reinforce the decision

efficient

Time Warner Cable Online Editorial Style Guide

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Brand Voice

My TWC™ MyTWC™ is where our customer comes to take control of her account and get the most out of her Time Warner Cable Services. Here, we must provide her with clear, personable copy that thoroughly explains our various services, and guides her through the process of managing her account and preferences.

Brand Attributes

Content Goals

Tone

Style

Customer-focused

Facilitate

Personal

Short form

Familiar

Explain

Straightforward

Utilitarian language

Guide action

Informative

Efficient

to-the-point concrete answers

Simple Conversational

Time Warner Cable Online Editorial Style Guide

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Brand Voice

Support When a customer is in the Support section of the website, we need to provide her with the answers she is seeking. The copy should reflect this need by being straightforward, consultative and easy-to-understand.

Brand Attributes

Content Goals

Tone

Style

Service-focused

Explain

That of a friend who is an expert

Medium form

Empathetic

Help

Helpful

Consultative language

Proud of our product

Answer questions

Straightforward

Clear and simple

Support

Easy to understand

Time Warner Cable Online Editorial Style Guide

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Current Campaign This chapter will introduce you to campaign elements from the current Enjoy Better campaign, and explain how and when to use them online.

Time Warner Cable Online Editorial Style Guide

Current Campaign

Enjoy Better With Time Warner Cable, whatever you’re passionate about, we invent better ways to share it, get lost in it and love it even more.

The Enjoy Better brand campaign, developed by Ogilvy & Mather, promotes the promise that Time Warner Cable’s products and services can make whatever you love even better.

The campaign is currently carried out in print, TV, digital, mobile, CRM and public relations.

In keeping with the new Time Warner Cable brand platform, the online tone should strive to be clear and concise, convey simplicity and ease, and put the customer first.

Use the Enjoy Better-TWC Logo Lock Up properly •

DO use the Enjoy Better-TWC Logo Lock Up on assets created for email, newsletters and online banners for other websites.

•

DO NOT use the Enjoy Better-TWC Logo Lock Up on TWC.com—it already appears on every page on our website.

Using Enjoy Better Language As a general rule, we try not to use Enjoy Better extensively throughout the site, but instead rely on television and other advertising channels to execute the campaign. If you must use the campaign language, keep these rules in mind.

Use Enjoy Better messaging sparingly in promotional spaces.

Promotional spaces are defined as the Heroes, Section Header Banners and Small Banners. In the digital world, these spaces tend to turn over more quickly.

Avoid using Enjoy Better messaging in non-promotional areas.

Non-promotional areas include in-page headlines, subheads, body copy and support content. These spaces are generally longer lived and should have content that is trend proof.

Time Warner Cable Online Editorial Style Guide

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TWC Style Time Warner Cable has certain stylistic and language preferences that it uses to set itself apart and create a consistent tone and image across media. On the following pages, you’ll find word-usage and spelling preferences, component guidelines and product names and features unique to the Time Warner Cable brand.

Time Warner Cable Online Editorial Style Guide

TWC Style

Components: Capitalization and Punctuation This section explains the style guidelines for commonly used components on twc.com.

Consistent style treatment of these components helps guide our users through the site.

Time Warner Cable uses two distinct styles of capitalization: Title case: Governor Signs the Virginia School Tax Bill Sentence case: Governor signs the Virginia school tax bill.

1

Headlines Use sentence case, and capitalize and punctuate the text as if it were a sentence.

Capitalize the first word and all other words normally capitalized, such as proper nouns.

2

Subheads and Body Copy Use sentence case, and capitalize and punctuate the text as if it were a sentence.

Capitalize the first word and all other words normally capitalized, such as proper nouns.

3

Page Headers Use title case, and omit punctuation at the end. Always lowercase the articles the, a and an. Prepositions of four or more letters should be capitalized.

8 1 2

Example: through in “A River Runs Through It.�

Always lowercase and, but, for, or, nor, to, and as. In print, the line should break naturally and the start of the second line should be capitalized, but do not end the first line with a preposition or a conjunction.

4

Module Titles Use title case, and omit punctuation at the end.

5

CTA Buttons Just like page headers, buttons should be written in title case and not contain punctuation. Again, question marks are the exception and should be included where appropriate.

6

Page Links Use sentence case, and capitalize and punctuate the text as if it were a sentence.

Capitalize the first word and all other words normally capitalized, such as proper nouns.

7

Disclaimer Text Use sentence case and proper punctuation.

8

Navigation and Header/Footer Links Use title case, and omit punctuation at the end.

7

4

3

6 5

Time Warner Cable Online Editorial Style Guide

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TWC Style

Products and Features Branded product category and service names should always appear in title case. The examples below list the product or feature name (after the 2012 naming update) in bold and include more details as available.

DVR Manager

Look Back®

What it is: An app that enables customers to manage their DVRs from their computers, smartphones and tablets.

What it is: A TV feature that customers can use to watch Primetime shows up to 72 hours after they have aired.

Updates: No longer use the word “remote” to describe the product because it is implied in the experience (on iPad, mobile, etc.).

MyTWC™

Easy Connect Kit What it is: A self-installation kit that enables customers to install home phone service, digital cable boxes and Internet modems from Time Warner Cable. Each kit includes an installation guide and all equipment needed to install service.

Updates: Formerly Self-Install Kit.

the Guide What it is: An interactive programming guide that helps customers find TV shows, mark channels as favorites, use Parental Controls and pause live TV, accessible on their remote controls.

Updates: Formerly Navigator.

Home WiFi What it is: A wireless Internet connection that enables multiple computers or devices in customers’ homes to access the Internet at the same time.

Updates: Formerly TWC WiFi at Home. Replace all materials still using that term.

What it is: An app that enables customers to manage their TWC products and services online.

Updates: Formerly MyServices; will soon be renamed to MyTWC™.

Phone What it is: Our digital telephone services.

Updates: Formerly Digital Home Phone or Voice; replace all materials still using those terms. Use Home Phone in copy for contextual purposes.

Price Lock Guarantee® What it is: An offer that locks a customer into a price for a certain time period, often from 18 to 24 months. Program varies by market.

Updates: No longer use the logo for this program.

Primetime On Demand What it is: A service that offers free Primetime shows in one location from key programmers.

Updates: Primetime is always capitalized and one word (see also TWC-approved

IntelligentHome

Terms on page 20).

What it is: Home management system with security, lighting and temperature control service, which customers can manage with their computers, smartphones or IntelligentHome touchscreens.

SignatureHome™

Updates: Formerly Home Management; no longer preceded by Time Warner Cable.

Internet

What it is: TWC’s first product + customer care offering; includes TV, Internet and Phone with priority customer care.

Updates: Always write as one word, even if not using trademark symbol in subsequent instances within same asset.

What it is: Our high-speed broadband Internet services.

Updates: Formerly High Speed Online. Capitalize whether referring to the line of business or the Internet in general.

Time Warner Cable Online Editorial Style Guide

SignatureHome™ Premium View What it is: Pay tier add-on to SignatureHome™ offering.

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TWC Style

Products and Features SignatureService®

TV

What it is: Service that goes with SignatureHome™ product offering.

What it is: Our digital TV services.

Updates: Always write as one word, even if not using the registered trademark symbol in subsequent instances within same asset.

Updates: Formerly Digital Cable or Digital TV. In copy, use the term digital TV for contextual purposes, and write digital in lowercase for legal purposes.

Start Over®

TWC WiFi™

What it is: A feature that enables customers to restart shows already in progress without a DVR.

What it is: Our home WiFi and hotspot services.

Time Warner Cable 3D Pass What it is: Our 3D offering is ESPN’s 3D sports package add-on.

Updates: Can be referred to as 3D Pass or ESPN 3D Pass for billing statements and printed channel lineups only.

Time Warner Cable HD Pass What it is: Premium HD programming package with MGM, Smithsonian Channel, RFD TV, Mav TV, Universal and Hallmark Movie Channel.

Updates: Formerly HD Tiers. Can be shortened to TWC HD Pass for billing statements and printed channel lineups only.

Time Warner Cable Movie Pass What it is: Movie channel package with Fox Movie Channel, Encore, Vutopia, Sundance Channel, IFC, FEARnet and others.

Updates: Formerly Movie Tier. Can be shortened to TWC Movie Pass for billing statements and printed channel lineups only.

Time Warner Cable Sports Pass What it is: Sports channel package with more than a dozen channels including NFL RedZone, FOX Soccer Plus, Fuel TV, CBS Sports Network and Tennis Channel.

Updates: Formerly Sports Tier. Can be shortened to TWC Sports Pass for billing statements and printed channel lineups only.

Updates: Formerly WiFi Home Network, Wireless Home Networking, Community WiFi and Time Warner Cable WiFi™. Encompasses all WiFi offerings, in and out of the home. Use “at home” or ”around town” as descriptors to further clarify.

TWC TV™ What it is: App that provides a platform for all TV capabilities not on a traditional TV, enabling customers to watch TV and On Demand programs on computers, tablets, smartphones and Roku devices anywhere in their homes.

Updates: Formerly TWCable TV™. First instance should be written (e.g., on iPad) as TWC TV™ app for iPad®.

Universal Address Book What it is: Online feature with Internet services that includes contact management, import/export, sync and other capabilities.

Updates: Formerly Shared Family Address Book.

Voicemail What it is: Service available through MyServices that enables customers to manage and retrieve voicemails from any phone, on email or online.

VoiceZone™ What it is: Service available through MyServices that enables customers to manage their Home Phone features and Voicemail.

Whole House HD-DVR

What it is: Package targeted to those hit hard by the recession, particularly our Value Shoppers segment.

What it is: HD DVR that, with multiple boxes and service subscription, enables customers to record TV programming in one room and watch and manage recordings from other rooms on the multi-room network.

Updates: Do not write as “TV Essentials” on its own; must be preceded by “Time Warner Cable”.

Updates: Internally called Multi Room DVR; receiver names are Primary DVR and Playback DVR. Released with SignatureHome® but also sold separately.

Time Warner Cable TV Essentials

Time Warner Cable Online Editorial Style Guide

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TWC Style

TWC-approved Terms The following are specific terms in the preferred style as used across TWC.com.

TWC-approved Terms

Approved

Unapproved Terms and Details

3DTV

3D TV

antivirus and spyware

Anti-virus, AntiVirus unless this is part of other company branding, e.g., McAfee AntiVirus

app or apps

application, applications

drop down and dropdown

drop-down (Use “drop down” for verbs; use “dropdown” for nouns and adjectives)

email

E-mail, e-mail (“email” ok to use when referring to generic term; RoadRunner Email is simply ”Email” now)

Home Page

Homepage

HD-DVR

HDDVR, hd-dvr

HDTV

HD TV

hotspots

hot spots

Internet

internet

Movies On Demand

Movies on Demand, Movies on demand

On Demand

on-demand, on demand, OnDemand

On Demand library (online)

Use this term when referring to On Demand programming.

online

On-line

Online Bill Pay

PayXpress (this name is being phased out) When writing about bill payment, use “pay your bill online” or “view and pay your bill”.

Pay-Per-View

pay-per-view, Pay Per View, pay per view

Primetime

Prime Time, prime time, primetime

PIN

Pin, pin, PIN number

Parental Controls

Always capitalized, always plural

rr.com

RoadRunner.com, roadrunner.com, Road Runner Portal

sign in

log-on, log-in, log in, sign-up. All CTA buttons for signing in to customer accounts should read “Sign In”.

Time Warner Cable Online Editorial Style Guide

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TWC Style

TWC-approved Terms The following are specific terms in the preferred style as used across TWC.com.

TWC-approved Terms

Approved

Unapproved Terms and Details

Sign Out

log-out, log-off, log out, sign off. All CTA buttons for signing out of customer accounts should read “Sign Out�.

Smartphone

Smartphone, smart phone, Smart Phone

TWC ID

The term TWC ID should be used place of username and password. Both terms are now implied within TWC ID. Not approved: MyServices Username and Password; Time Warner Cable ID and Password; TWC username and password, TWC ID and password

Voicemail

Voice-mail, voicemail, Voice Mail

webmail

Web Mail, web-mail

website

web site, Website

WiFi

Wi-Fi, Wifi, wifi, wi-fi

ZIP Code or ZIP

Zip, zip

Time Warner Cable Online Editorial Style Guide

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TWC Style

Style Preferences Pricing Styles for Price Points

Prices Over $999

Use these styles for various prices depending where they are used on TWC.com and their format, as follows.

Use a comma in dollar amounts over $999, as follows.

Use superscript to display cents after the decimal, without a period (the style will be defined in the CSS).

Example:

$169.96 per Month Use title case, but do not capitalize small words.

Example:

$89.99 per Month for 12 Months Spell out Monthly, Yearly, Weekly and capitalize them.

Example:

• $1,500 per year value • Win a Grand Prize valued at $5,000.

Prices Under a Dollar Use the word cents with the price numeral.

Example:

Order now at .99 cents per movie.

Do not include the dollar sign and the leading zero unless they make sense in the context or provide consistency.

Example:

A cup of coffee costs $0.99 for a small, $1.50 for a medium and $2.00 for a large.

Pay Only $49.99 Monthly for 6 Months Do not use superscript in line type, but do use a period. Example: $199.99 (line type) Avoid using a slash as an abbreviation for per with money amounts except in subject lines and other places where space is at a premium.

Prices of a Dollar or More Use numerals and the $ symbol for prices of a dollar or more.

• A $16 Value • A $250 Savings per Year

Whole Dollar Amounts It is not necessary to include the decimal and two zeros for whole dollar amounts appearing in a sentence, a headline or an email subject line. However, do include the zeros if: • they make sense in a context like spreadsheets/accounting, a price list or an online shopping cart.

• they provide consistency within a series, table or list. For example, a cup of coffee costs $0.99 for a small, $1.50 for a medium and $2.00 for a large.

Time Warner Cable Online Editorial Style Guide

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TWC Style

Style Preferences Numbered and Bulleted Lists If possible, the lead-in sentence for the list should end with a colon. The list items should be in the same verb tense and parallel grammatical structure.

DO: With MyServices, you can manage: • your Home Phone features including Voicemail • your TV service including TWC TV™ on your devices • your Internet service including email addresses

DON’T: With MyServices, you can manage: • your Home Phone features including Voicemail • your TV service including TWC TV™ on your devices • set up email addresses for your Internet service

If the list items are complete sentences, start each with a capital letter and use punctuation at the end of each item.

Here’s how to set your Parental Controls PIN: 1.

Press the Settings button, then arrow right/left to the Parental Controls category.

2. Arrow up/down to the Content Block category and press Select.

3. Arrow up/down to the content that you wish to block and press Select.

The content category to be blocked will display in the list with a lock icon.

4.

Enter a 4-digit PIN.

5.

Press the C button to save your options.

If the list items are incomplete sentences (i.e., continuations of the lead-in sentence), do not use punctuation. Do not capitalize the first word unless it is a product or proper name. Example with capitalized product names (see first example in this section for noncapitalized list items): To watch 3DTV programs, you must have one of the following set-top boxes: • Whole House HD-DVR and service • HD-DVR and service • HD Box

Time Warner Cable Online Editorial Style Guide

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TWC Style

Word Usage Choose vs. Select Use choose, not select, for menu items. In general, the user selects something (such as a disk icon, a graphic image or a section of text) and then chooses a command to act on the selection.

Examples: • Choose File > New > Mail Message.

• Choose QuickTime from the popup menu.

• Choose Make Alias from the shortcut menu.

Current vs. Existing Use current, not existing, to describe the services, features, settings and preferences that a customer already has.

Enable, Enabled/Disable, Disabled Use turn on, turned on/turn off, turned off.

Exception: use enable to describe a task that makes other actions possible Examples: “To use this website, you must enable cookies.”

Time Warner Cable Online Editorial Style Guide

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General Style and Usage Our recommendations for general editorial style, punctuation, usage and grammar come from two widely used sources: the “AP Stylebook” and “The Yahoo! Style Guide.”

We have chosen to list typically problematic issues to help copywriters avoid the most common errors and produce the clearest, most understandable copy for our users.

Time Warner Cable Online Editorial Style Guide

General Style and Usage

Style Rules Abbreviations Because readers may be unfamiliar with certain abbreviations, it’s best to spell out the full form on its first appearance. If the abbreviation is better known than its spelled-out form, use the shortened form.

Technical Abbreviations

Plural forms of abbreviations

In longer-form descriptions, such as Support FAQs, consider spelling out these technical abbreviations the first time they are used in a particular body of text or on a webpage because readers may be unfamiliar with them. For example, people often confuse bits and bytes and their abbreviations, so write:

To form the plural of abbreviations and acronyms, add a lowercase s. Do not include an apostrophe unless it could prevent confusion, such as if adding an S by itself forms a different word.

Example:

Examples:

Download files at speeds starting at 50 megabits per second (Mbps). Upload files at speeds starting at 15Mbps.

• URLs • FAQs • OSes (es is an exception)

Exception In charts or tables, always use the abbreviation.

Exceptions

Networking speeds

Display-quality measurements

Optical drive speeds (CD, DVD)

• • • •

• Resolution: 1,024 x 768 pixels (px) • Dots per inch: 72 dpi

• 2x, 4x, 6x

400Mbps 56Kbps 4Gbps gigabits per second: 2Gbps

Common storage, memory and processor speed measurements When using a series of numbers with their measurements, repeat the measurement in the series.

Example: Get a 2GB, 3GB or 4GB external hard drive for extra storage.

Otherwise, use the abbreviations below: KB (kilobyte) MB (megabyte) GB (gigabyte) TB (terabyte)

• Oakland A’s (single-letter abbreviations, like A for Athletics here, almost always need an apostrophe and an s to prevent confusion. Without the apostrophe, this baseball team’s name could be mistaken for the word as.)

Do not add an s to abbreviations of units of measurement.

Examples: • 2 in.

• 5 oz.

• 10 lb.

When describing storage or memory requirements, do not put a space between the number and the abbreviation for the unit, and never add an s after an abbreviation to form a plural.

Examples: •

2GB, 3MB

KHz (kilohertz) MHz (megahertz) GHz (gigahertz)

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General Style and Usage

Style Rules Numbers

Dates and Times

TWC favors using numerals instead of spelling out numbers whenever possible. Try to reword sentences that begin with numbers to avoid having to spell them out. Hyphenate twenty-one through ninety-nine. Ordinal numbers should be spelled out (first, second, third, etc.).

In general, days of the week and month are not abbreviated.

Examples: • 8 channels • 17 channels • Twenty-one award nominations (this would only be used to begin a sentence; othewise use “21”) • First (not 1st), April 20 (not twentieth) • 24 hours a day, 7 days a week

Exception If space is tight or you need to emphasize a figure or a fact, use numerals for cardinal and ordinal numbers below 10, particularly in headlines, email subject lines and HTML page titles.

U.S. Phone Numbers The correct format for U.S. phone numbers is 1-XXX-XXX-XXXX. We must continue to include the “1” before the area code because omitting it when calling from a cell phone can result in a wrong number. The correct format for phone numbers that require extensions is 1-XXX-XXX-XXXX ext. XX. Examples: • Call 1-800-TWCABLE. • In Manhattan, call 1-212-358-0900 ext. 29.

Separate phone numbers using a hyphen, not an en dash. For more specifics regarding hyphens and en/em dashes, see the Punctuation section on page 30.

Time Warner Cable Online Editorial Style Guide

Examples: • November 9, 2012 • “Mad Men” airs March 25.

• HBO’s “Game of Thrones” premieres on April 1.

For date and time ranges, use to instead of a hyphen or en dash.

Examples: • April 21 to April 25 • 7:30 to 9:00 PM EST/EDT

AM/PM Always use capital AM or PM with a space but without periods following a clock time. The time should be followed by the appropriate time zone abbreviations without periods. Do not separate using commas.

Example: Chat Hours of Operation: Monday to Friday 8:30 AM to 6:00 PM EST/EDT Use conventional form for time, except noon and midnight. To avoid redundancy, don’t use the number 12 with the word noon or midnight.

Examples: • Write “noon” and “midnight,” instead of 12 o’clock, 12 PM, or 12 AM • Use “noon” instead of “12 noon”.

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General Style and Usage

Style Rules Age

Trademarks

When referring to the age of a person or an animal, use numerals. When referring to the age of an object, spell out numbers one through nine; use numerals for 10 or more.

When making a decade reference to a person’s age, use numerals and an “s” without an apostrophe.

Use the trademark symbol in page headers, module titles, on first reference or most

Examples:

downloaded individually, such as a graphic. For the integrity of our trademarks, whenever

• Play fun games and online activities with your 6-year-old child on NickJr.com.

• The Company is 40 years old and for the past nine years has been focusing on its legacy TV business.

• Kate Hudson is in her 30s.

possible, avoid making our trademarked product names possessive.

prominent instance, if it’s not the first instance on pages, graphics and charts, and always in legal disclaimers.

For websites, use the trademark symbol in first reference for any object that can be

Symbols Use the percent symbol (%) in text, not the word percent. Never use an ampersand (&) in any copy. Instead, spell out and.

Examples: • In 2008, 14% of U.S. TV owners owned an HDTV. Traditional TV owners accounted for 86%.

• Select and Customize

Superscript Letters Avoid writing ordinals with superscript letters, because ordinals with superscript formatted in a word processor may not display correctly in some places, such as email and various browsers. Keep the text on the same baseline.

Examples: • A 5th grader won 1st place in the spelling bee.

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General Style and Usage

Punctuation Apostrophes The apostrophe has two main functions: to indicate the omission of letters or numerals and to form a possessive.

It is occasionally, but rarely, used to make a plural.

Forming Possessives

Indicating Omitted Letters or Numerals

With a few exceptions, form possessives as in the following examples: • For most singular nouns, add an apostrophe and an s (’s) to the end of the word.

• For plural nouns that don’t already end in s, add an apostrophe and an s (’s) to the end of the word.

• For plural nouns that already end in s, just add an apostrophe.

Apostrophes can signal the omission of one or more letters in a word, or one or more digits in a number. The most common use is in forming contractions of verbs (I’m, it’s, they’re). Common contractions sound friendlier and less formal than the spelled-out verb and are generally preferable as long as they don’t confuse the reader.

Examples:

Two caveats:

• Singular nouns: your plan’s features, the set-top box’s storage space • Plural nouns that don’t end in s: children’s programming, alumni’s contributions • Plural nouns that already end in s: the players’ scores, Girls’ Night Out

Exceptions to the general rules: For names that end with an eez sound, use an apostrophe alone to form the possessive.

Examples:

• Spelling out a verb phrase (like cannot, do not and must not) can be useful: do not can add emphasis to warning messages, for example. And cannot, does not and other negative forms can be clearer and appear more formal and authoritative than their contractions.

• Do not use less common contractions such as would’ve and that’d because they are too informal for TWC’s tone and voice. They also may be less immediately understandable, especially for readers who aren’t native English speakers.

• Ramses’ wife • Hercules’ muscles • According to Jones’s review, the computer’s graphics card is its Achilles’ heel.

Apostrophes can also indicate omitted numerals. When you cite a decade of years, use an apostrophe to indicate the omitted century.

For singular proper nouns that are formed from a plural word (such as United Nations), use an apostrophe alone to form the possessive: United Nations’. (But use an apostrophe and an s to form the possessive of their abbreviations: U.N.’s.)

Forming Plurals

Examples: • • • •

the New York Dolls’ back catalog the United States’ foreign policy but the U.S.’s foreign policy General Motors’ CEO but GM’s CEO Don’t use an apostrophe when forming any possessive pronoun, including its, yours, hers, ours and theirs.

Time Warner Cable Online Editorial Style Guide

Example: “The first baby boomers were born in the late ’40s.”

Usually, plurals should not have an apostrophe, even if they are abbreviations or numbers.

DVRs, Drs., and 1990s are all correct. See the Style Rules section on page 26 for more details.

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General Style and Usage

Punctuation Hyphens

En and Em Dashes

Use hyphens, instead of en dashes, with numerals (see also the Numbers section on page 27):

Use one hyphen to indicate an en dash if the symbol is not available. Use two hyphens to indicate an em dash if the symbol is not available. The en dash is wider than the hyphen but not as wide as the em dash. Do not insert spaces before or after en or em dashes.

• Use a hyphen without spaces around it for a range of numbers. Example: 8-10 people.

• Use a hyphen for scores or votes. The hyphen in the following constrution stands for to just as it does in a range. Example: Greece takes the title in a 2-1 upset over Spain.

Use hyphens in compound modifiers before the noun they modify, but not after.

Use en dashes sparingly, not for ranges of numbers (see Hyphens below and the Numbers section on page 27). An em dash is used to indicate a sudden interruption or break in thought in a sentence and open ranges of numbers, such as a date range with no end date.

Examples: • • • •

The easy-to-use Guide makes finding your favorite shows faster than ever.

The new Guide is easy to use.

Find up-to-date account information on MyServices.

Make sure your virus definitions are up to date.

Exclamation Points Use exclamation points sparingly, for example, only if part of a proper name (e.g., Yahoo!) or for emphatic expression only if absolutely relevant to what you are writing.

Do not use hyphens with the adverb very or adverbs ending in ly.

Examples: wholly owned network, remotely recorded program.

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General Style and Usage

Punctuation Quotation Marks

Serial Comma

Defining words

The serial comma should not be used unless it is necessary to clarify a series.

When defining or introducing an unfamiliar word or phrase in online copy, put the word or phrase in quotation marks on first reference only.

Example: The browser will accept a “cookie” and open a new window. A cookie is a small amount of website data that is stored on your computer.

Setting off the titles of some works In general, use double quotation marks for the titles of books, lectures, movies, operas, plays, podcasts, poems, songs, speeches, television programs, videos and works of art. In some cases, such as within headlines and other display type (for example, captions and pull quotes), titles can be enclosed in single quotation marks to save space.

Examples: • • • •

Examples: • No serial comma: Time Warner Cable offers TV, Internet and Phone.

• Serial comma for clarification: MyServices enables you to manage your account, including your services, account and billing, and equipment status

Spaces After end punctuation Use only one space after any sentence-ending punctuation, such as periods, question marks and exclamation points.

Around slashes Never use spaces around slashes. Examples: East/West, Republican/Democrat.

“Miami Vice” starred Don Johnson and Philip Michael Thomas.

The movie version of “Miami Vice” was released in 2006 and starred Colin Farrell and Jamie Foxx.

TV’s “MacGyver” starred Richard Dean Anderson, and “Magnum, P.I.” starred Tom Selleck.

‘MacGyver,’ ‘Magnum, P.I.’ movie rumors fly (headline with limited space)

For more information, including a list of titles that should be in quotation marks, see the Titles of Works section on page 32.

With other punctuation • In general, commas and periods are placed inside quotation marks.

• If quotation marks are used to indicate a character or a string of characters that the user must type exactly, put any punctuation mark outside the closing quotation mark. You can also reword the instruction so that the punctuation isn’t near the quotation marks, or use italics for the string.

Examples: • For traffic conditions, type the city name, the street name, and the word “traffic”.

• For traffic conditions, type the city name, the street name, and the word “traffic” in the box.

• For traffic conditions, type the city name, the street name, and the word traffic.

• Question marks and exclamation points should be placed inside quotation marks, pare theses or brackets only when they are part of (i.e., apply to) the quoted or parenthetical matter.

• Colons, semicolons, question marks and exclamation points are placed outside quotation marks.

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General Style and Usage

Titles of Works Titles of Works

Titles that do need quotation marks

When citing the title of a movie, TV program or other composition, consider two things:

For all other titles of works—works of art; books; chapters, headings and other parts of books; CDs; record albums; songs; DVDs; lectures; magazine articles; movies; newspaper articles; operas; plays; podcasts and podcast episodes; poems; speeches that the speaker has titled or that use a speech line as a title; TV and radio programs; TV and radio episodes; Web shows, series, and episodes; and Web videos—follow these guidelines:

• Visual treatment. Some titles take quotation marks; some titles don’t require any special treatment.

• Capitalization style. Titles are usually set in title case.

Visual Treatment of Titles of Works The visual treatment of titles—whether to enclose them in quotation marks—depends on the type of work and the location of the title on the page.

Titles that don’t need quotation marks The following titles require no special visual treatment.

• • • • • •

Broadcast networks and channels Software Games including computer games, video games and board games Magazines (titles of magazine articles should be in quotation marks) Newspapers (titles of newspaper articles should be in quotation marks) Speech names that aren’t actual titles, for example, the State of the Union address, Nixon’s Checkers speech • Blogs (titles of individual blog posts should be in quotation marks unless the posts are titled with dates only) • Names of websites Examples: • Nickelodeon, Nick at Nite and Nick Jr. are all owned by MTV Networks.

• “Mythbusters” is one of the most popular shows on the Discovery Channel.

• “The Dukes of Hazzard” garnered tepid reviews from the New York Times and Time magazine.

• Kevin Sites hosted the popular blog Kevin Sites in the Hot Zone.

• Her book was featured in the Parsemouth blog post “Diagramming for Fun.”

In most cases, enclose titles in double quotation marks.

Examples: • “Silver Linings Playbook” starred Bradley Cooper and Jennifer Lawrence.

• HBO’s “Game of Thrones” stars Emilia Clarke, and “Girls” stars Lena Dunham.

• “It’s About Time,” the season two premiere episode of Girls, was the most watched episode of the series.

In some cases, such as within headlines and other display type (in captions and pull quotes, for example), titles can be enclosed in single quotation marks or indicated with italics to save space. Note that italics may not appear in a newsreader.

Examples: • ‘MacGyver,’ ‘Magnum, P.I.’ movie rumors fly.

• Original Great Gatsby manuscript found.

Titles in Lists When including titles in a list, determine whether they are titles in a list of like items or titles in a list of unlike items. In a bulleted or numbered list made up entirely of titles, the titles don’t need to be enclosed in quotation marks because they don’t need to be set off from any surrounding text.

Examples: He listed his favorite shows as “South Park,” “Law and Order,” and “The Honeymooners.”

He listed his favorite shows as: • South Park • Law and Order • The Honeymooners When including a title in a list of unlike items, however, use double quotation marks around titles that require them.

Example: Your word-of-the-day hint is: • “Green Acres”

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General Style and Usage

Word Usage Affect vs. Effect

Its vs. It’s

Most of the time, affect with an a is a verb and effect with an e is a noun. Affect with an a means “to influence.”

Use its as a possessive pronoun. Say or write your sentence using “it is” or “it has” instead of its. If it sounds wrong, its is probably correct.

Example:

Example:

Unlike satellite TV service, our cable TV services aren’t affected by bad weather.

With Whole House Service, you need to order additional HD-DVRs to take advantage of its features.

Effect with an e means “a result.”

Use it’s as a contraction of the subject it and the verbs is or has.

Example:

Example:

It may take up to one (1) billing cycle before the newly requested bill statement delivery format of Paperless or Paper goes into effect.

It’s easy to manage all your TWC services online with MyServices.

Can, Might, May Use can to express the capacity to do something. Use might or may to suggest the possibility of doing something. Use may to express permission.

Examples: • • •

You can log in to your account from another computer.

You might be able to connect to the Internet at a nearby hotspot.

You may sign in to MyServices to manage your account.

I.e. vs. E.g.

Use i.e. to mean “that is” when providing a complete list. Use e.g. to mean “for example” when providing one or a few examples. Use a comma after each term.

Use vs. Utilize Always write use instead of “utilize” in keeping with our brand voice and tone of being concise, clear and friendly.

Which vs. That Use that as a restrictive pronoun; It is vital to the noun it refers to. In the following example, that is referring to the noun offer and is essential to the meaning of the sentence.

Example: The offer that you selected is not available in your area.

Use which to introduce a relative clause because It allows qualifiers that may not be essential to the meaning of the sentence. In this example, the clause enclosed in commas is not essential to the meaning of the sentence.

Examples:

Example:

• If the list items are incomplete sentences (i.e., continuations of the lead-in sentence), do not use punctuation.

Your account and billing information, which is available when you sign in to your MyServices account, can be managed online

• Use exclamation points sparingly, for example, only if part of a proper name (e.g., Yahoo!) or if it is absolutely relevant to what you are writing.

Your vs. You’re Use your as a possessive adjective to show that something belongs to “you.”

Example: With the right equipment, your TV can entertain in amazing ways.

Use you’re as a contraction of “you are”—it has no other uses. Say or write your sentence with “you are” instead of “you’re” to see whether your usage is wrong.

See the section on good usage versus common usage in The Chicago Manual of Style for guidance on commonly misused words and phrases (5.220 in the 16th edition).

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General Style and Usage

Grammar Misplaced Modifiers

Subject / Verb Agreement

To communicate your ideas clearly, you must place a modifier directly next to the word it is supposed to modify. The modifier should clearly refer to a specific word in the sentence.

A verb must agree with its subject in person and number. When a verb has two or more subjects connected by and, it agrees with them jointly and is plural.

Example:

Example:

DO: Because you are a current subscriber, the offer you selected is not available.

DON’T: As a current subscriber, the offer you selected is not available.

HBO and Showtime are $9.95 per month when purchased together.

When a verb has two or more singular subjects connected by or or nor, it is singular.

Run-on Sentence or Comma Splice

Example:

A run-on sentence contains multiple independent clauses without punctuation or the appropriate conjunction. A comma splice is similar to a run-on sentence, but it uses a comma to join two clauses that have no appropriate conjunction.

Either TV or Home Phone is available at your location.

Avoid run-on sentences and comma splices by: • • • •

separating the clauses into two sentences replacing the comma with a semi-colon replacing the comma with a coordinating conjunction: and, but, for, yet, nor, so replacing the comma with a subordinating conjunction: after, although, before, unless, as, because, even though, if, since, until, when, while

A product with a plural noun in its name takes a plural verb.

Examples: Movies On Demand, Premiums On Demand DO: How much do Movies On Demand cost?

DON’T: How much does Movies On Demand cost?

DO: Premiums On Demand offer Parental Control features.

DON’T: Premiums On Demand offers Parental Control features.

Examples: DON’T: Keep in touch with family and friends, make unlimited calls with our affordable

calling plans.

DO:

Keep in touch with family and friends. Make unlimited calls with our affordable calling plans.

DO:

Keep in touch with family and friends; make unlimited calls with our affordable calling plans.

DO:

Keep in touch with family and friends, and make unlimited calls with our affordable calling plans.

DO: Because our calling plans are affordable, you can keep in touch with family and friends.

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