Voice and Tone in the Rhetoric of Technology Marketing. (Under the Direction of Dr
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ABSTRACT MORAIN, MATTHEW EDWARD. Out of the Shadows, Into the Blue: Voice and Tone in the Rhetoric of Technology Marketing. (Under the direction of Dr. Andrew R. Binder). This dissertation explores the corporate voice and tone of Red Hat, a large technology company with a unique and passionate company culture, during a period of rapid growth and evolution that threatened its core identity. The company’s ethos is firmly grounded on the principles of open source software, like collaboration and meritocracy, which heavily influence the way decisions are made about what the company’s voice should sound like. Over the course of three studies with varying methodological approaches, this research looks at how Red Hat’s different audiences try to determine what is and is not authentic to its corporate voice and tone. It concludes that the Red Hat voice is not a solo but a chorus, developed and refined through a sometimes-challenging process of collaboration. The studies show how that chorus, once harmonious, is in the process of potential change that threatens cacophony as the company grows far beyond its roots as a plucky, disruptive startup. This dissertation offers a bridge between the disciplines of rhetoric and communication to the professional writing environments of technology marketing, with lessons and insights that can benefit each community. © Copyright 2020 by Matthew Edward Morain All Rights Reserved Out of the Shadows, into the Blue: Voice and Tone in the Rhetoric of Technology Marketing by Matthew Edward Morain A dissertation submitted to the Graduate Faculty of North Carolina State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy Communication, Rhetoric, and Digital Media Raleigh, North Carolina 2020 APPROVED BY: _______________________________ _______________________________ Dr. Andrew R. Binder Dr. Chris Anson Committee Chair _______________________________ _______________________________ Dr. Jason Swarts Dr. Stacey Pigg ii DEDICATION To my parents, Rick and Kathy, who taught me to be curious and kind, who showed me that it’s possible to finish your education goals a little bit later than you intended to, and without whom I never would have made it this far. Or…anywhere at all, really. iii BIOGRAPHY A native Iowan, Matt Morain came to the Communication, Rhetoric, and Digital Media PhD program at North Carolina State University in 2008. He is currently an Associate Creative Director of Copywriting at Red Hat in Raleigh, NC. The Owl Street Journal once called his writing, “A real hoot!” iv ACKNOWLEDGMENTS First and foremost, I am grateful to my advisor, Dr. Andrew Binder, for his guidance, support, and patience he has shown me as I labored to finally complete this dissertation after nearly a decade of thinking about it. This research would not have been possible without him. The other members of my committee—Drs. Chris Anson, Jason Swarts, and Stacey Pigg—were gracious enough to take a chance on me, and I sincerely appreciate their insights and flexibility. I am so very thankful for my team at Red Hat for their assistance throughout this process, and for tolerating my constant questions. I want to acknowledge in particular Laura Hamlyn, who supported this work as part of Red Hat’s broader marketing interests, Ashleigh Brothers, for her masterful editing assistance, and Dr. Shannon Schorey for her persistent support and encouragement. I am thankful as well to Dr. Shannon Madden for her feedback and encouragement, and to Jeff Parkin, who showed me how to format pivot tables correctly (they’re the worst) and provided endless encouragement. I am grateful for my partner, Sara, whose continuing patience and support mean the world to me, and who makes for the other half of a great dingdang quaranteam. And finally, to my dog, Kairos, for his 11 years of stalwart companionship: Briff briff, briff bark bark (*barely audible whine*) grrrrrruff briff briff. Woof woof, woof briff briff woof, bark bark grrrr—briff. v TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................. viii LIST OF FIGURES ................................................................................................................. ix CHAPTER 1: The voice of Shadowman .................................................................................. 1 Literature review: audience as common ground ....................................................................... 3 Classic canons for a digital world ........................................................................................... 6 Community........................................................................................................................... 10 Kairos and the rhetorical situation ........................................................................................ 11 Defining voice and tone ........................................................................................................ 14 Research questions ................................................................................................................ 19 Case study overview: Red Hat and open source ..................................................................... 20 How Red Hat describes itself ................................................................................................ 23 About open source ................................................................................................................ 30 Red Hat’s corporate marketing organization ......................................................................... 33 Corporate marketing initiatives: a sample of the Red Hat voice............................................. 35 Ethical considerations ........................................................................................................... 38 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 40 CHAPTER 2: The voice is coming from inside the house ..................................................... 42 The Shibboleths of Shadowman ............................................................................................ 44 Meritocracy and ‘dumb ideas’ .............................................................................................. 46 Methods of the interviews ..................................................................................................... 49 Team roles and backgrounds ................................................................................................. 54 Learning to write in the Red Hat voice .................................................................................. 57 Available resources and tools................................................................................................ 57 Mentoring, peer review, and Word Nerds ............................................................................. 60 Low-stakes, hands-on, and the content editing board ............................................................ 62 Evaluating the voice .............................................................................................................. 65 The challenges of writing in a voice that isn’t your own ....................................................... 65 The 5Cs of the brand voice guidelines .................................................................................. 69 What would you ask your audience? ..................................................................................... 76 Quality of the writing and uniqueness in the industry ............................................................ 79 Working with others.............................................................................................................. 84 Do writers get to choose how collaborative their work is? ..................................................... 85 Power, trust, and authority .................................................................................................... 86 Conclusion ............................................................................................................................ 92 CHAPTER 3: What do other Red Hatters think of the corporate voice and tone? ............. 94 A $34-billion surprise ........................................................................................................... 94 vi Is Shadowman losing his voice? ............................................................................................ 98 Research questions ............................................................................................................. 100 Initial assumptions about Red Hatters ................................................................................. 101 Methods for this study ......................................................................................................... 102 Demographics .................................................................................................................... 103 Survey sections ................................................................................................................... 105 Distribution ........................................................................................................................ 106 Results and discussion........................................................................................................