Punchkick house style guide

This style guide is a living document, and will be amended as the industry and Punchkick evolve. The guidelines are also searchable—all punctuation and rules are tagged with their appropriate names. This version of the document is current as of October 11, 2015, and is considered version 1.0.

Introduction

There are many correct answers to common style questions. What matters is consistency. For this reason, although many editors choose from a few prominent style guides, nearly all major news organizations also maintain an in-house style guide that includes their customizations and unique preferences.

This document serves as the House Style Guide for Punchkick Interactive. These guidelines will inform writing for web content, social media content, sales decks, emails, and point-of-view documents. (In short, if it leaves the walls of Punchkick, it should be compliant with these guidelines.)

Punchkick will mostly adhere to the Associated Press Stylebook, which is standard practice for news organizations and businesses. These guidelines as they relate to Punchkick are summarized in this document. In addition, decisions that differ from or fall outside of the AP Stylebook are also outlined here.

The Punchkick Voice

For use in contexts like blog posts, social media posts, job descriptions, marketing copy, and more, these are the elements of the Punchkick tone that should provide direction. Note, these attributes of the tone are intended to imply direction, but are not prescriptive. There are many voices within the Punchkick tone, but these are the qualities they all share.

Punchkick is authoritative, but not condescending.

Punchkick is trustworthy due to our years of mobile industry experience, and speaks confidently and clearly about complex technologies. However, Punchkick is approachable, never patronizing, and even when dealing with sophisticated technical jargon, never deliberately speaks over the audience’s head.

Punchkick doesn’t dumb down its content to appeal to the widest possible audience, but seeks opportunities to explain uncommon terms or complex ideas with context. For example:

Before	The new A9 integrates the M9 right on the chip.
After	The iPhone 6s’s A9 integrates the M9, the third-generation motion co-processor that aggregates step and motion data, directly onto the system-on-a-chip.

Before	iPhone 6s has 2GB RAM.
After	iPhone 6s increases the amount of on-board RAM from 1GB to 2GB, greatly enhancing the speed and capability of iOS apps. While the new iPhone still lags behind some Android devices, many of which have 4GB or more, Apple’s optimizations with iOS help make up the difference.

In this example, a reader might not understand first what RAM is, or second how the spec bump relates to other devices. This section defines RAM by the impact it has on user experience, and also provides context around the specifications of competing phones.

One best practice is to define technical jargon by what it does, not by what it is. Many non-technical people would not understand a technical definition of Optical Image Stabilization, but would understand that it helps prevent blurry pictures while in motion.

Punchkick offers context, but is not a textbook. A hallmark of the Punchkick voice, particularly in blog content, is that it is always placing industry news and innovations within historical context. When companies release new products or iterate their software platforms, they are not doing so in a vacuum—there is a wider narrative of historical and competitive context that can help the reader understand the significance of recent events.

Punchkick is opinionated, but not divisive.

Punchkick does not favor any one company or platform. Every product, operating system, company, or technology has its merits and benefits for certain users or solutions. While Punchkickers themselves, and even more broadly, Punchkick as an organization, might prefer certain technological solutions over others, it’s important to maintain a neutrality so as not to alienate our potential clients and fans. For example:

Before	Write-once-deploy-anywhere platforms are a bad solution for enterprise apps.
After	While write-once-deploy-anywhere platforms can make sense for enterprise apps under certain circumstances, there are some important long-term concerns to be aware of before deciding on any one technology.

In this example, the writer does not dismiss write-once platforms as a bad solution in every circumstance. This is in part because to do so would be untrue—these platforms exist because they solve business problems for many companies, and in some cases can offer a cost-effective solution for companies looking to build apps for iOS and Android.

Further, such an opinion is polarizing, and can limit Punchkick’s ability to start conversations with prospects. Many of Punchkick’s current and prospective clients have used or explored these platforms, and to dismiss them as universally inferior to native code would be to alienate certain readers.

Simultaneously, Punchkick is authentic in that the writer is sure to mention possible limitations of such an approach. Punchkick is an agency, not an op-ed column. Clients trust us because of our strategic thinking and informed recommendations, but, in some cases, our writing needs to appeal to a broader audience. In these cases, be sure to present every side to an argument, and gently suggest possible directions that Punchkick would recommend.

Punchkick is friendly, but not eager.

By providing context and explanation, Punchkick’s voice can be perceived as approachable and welcoming to readers of any technology background or experience. However, writers should be mindful not to stray into the realm of overt eagerness or overly casual attitude. The Punchkick voice maintains a level of professional distance from readers that might be closer than many companies, but further than many consumer companies. For example:

Before	When you build an affinity app, you’re giving your customers a minimally branded experience. We think this is a great way to build trust and reach a new audience!
After	Affinity apps offer consumer brands a way to reach new audiences through minimally branded mobile experiences, which can help to build trust among their customers.

In this example, the writer omits any instances of second-person pronouns (you, your) and replaces them with third-person pronouns of increased distance (they, their). In addition, they remove instances of first-person pronouns (I, we) used to refer to Punchkick. Here are some strategies to avoid these pronouns.

• Second-person pronouns directly address the audience, which is not something Punchkick writers should do—this implies a knowledge of the audience and their context, which if inaccurate would be easy to dismiss. Keeping advice or assertions objective by speaking to exterior reality help to make Punchkick’s statements more authoritative and trustworthy. Don’t worry about explicitly tying content back to the target audience of readers with second-person pronouns—if the content is relevant, they’ll make the connection for themselves. (Also be mindful of imperative sentences—like this one. They have an implied “you” that can also be off-putting to readers.)
• First-person pronouns expressly identify Punchkick or the Punchkick writer as the author of the piece. Ideally, any piece of Punchkick writing could have equally been authored by any one Punchkicker, because appealing to individual knowledge or experience devalues the rest of the team and implies a lack of knowledge sharing. Further, using words like “we” or “our” not only imply that Punchkick is a small team, but also imply a defensiveness of a stance that should be perceived as being grounded in objectivity.

As for exclamation points, they should never be used. Exclamation points and interjections imply a casual or jovial tone that can undermine the effectiveness of an otherwise brilliant, authoritative piece. They should be avoided at every turn, except within direct quotations.

When Punchkick writes, it is ostensibly speaking about the truth. Not Punchkick’s version of the truth, not the author’s interpretation of the truth. The truth. This level of certainty gives a confident and authoritative tone that helps Punchkick content come across effectively and convincingly to readers.

Punctuation

What follows are best practices related to grammar and punctuation. In terms of the English language, there are many equally correct answers to many punctuation questions. However, in the interest of consistency, Punchkick subscribes to a handful of stylistic punctuation choices related to each of the following topics.

Apostrophes

Apostrophes are used for possession and to indicate omitted numbers and letters.

Note: Computers do not always intelligently create apostrophes (’), which are slightly curved or angled, in place of prime symbols (′), which are closer to vertical lines. Most modern word processors will use apostrophes automatically. On a Mac, the correct glyph can be manually inserted using Option Shift ].

Possessive Singular Nouns

To indicate possession of singular nouns and names, add an apostrophe and an s.

• the company’s product
• Zak’s computer

To indicate possession of singular nouns that end in s, add an apostrophe and an s.

• the boss’s computer
• the hostess’s job

However, if the word following the possessive singular noun begins with an s, only add an apostrophe. This is to prevent consecutive s sounds from piling up.

• the boss’ smartphone
• the hostess’ station

To indicate possession of proper nouns (like names and places) that end in s, add an apostrophe and an s.

• James’s computer
• Jess’s cell phone

If the proper noun ends in a silent s—for example, Descartes or Illinois—add only an apostrophe.

• Descartes’ teachings
• Illinois’ law

Possessive Plural Nouns

To indicate possession of plural nouns, add an apostrophe.

• the companies’ products
• the employees’ project

To indicate possession of plural nouns that do not end in s, add an apostrophe and an s.

• the children’s game
• the women’s ideas
• the data’s impact

Possessive Family Names

To indicate possession of proper nouns like family names, adhere to standard rules for singular and plural proper nouns.

• the Baers’ house
• the Ungers’ neighborhood
• I met the Dabbases.
• I met the Dabbases’ dog.

Possessive Pronouns

Possessive pronouns like it, his, her, and their never need apostrophes. (Its refers to something that belongs to it, whereas it’s is a contraction of it is.)

• He read its manual.
• He read the manual, and it’s easy.

Shared and Independent Possessives

Example	When
Zak and Ryan’s company	Possession shared between two nouns: only the last noun requires an apostrophe and an s. (The two nouns share the company.)
Zak’s and Ryan’s computers	Each of the two nouns possesses something independently: both nouns require an apostrophe and an s. (The two nouns each possess a computer.)

Contractions and Omitted Characters

To form contractions of common phrases, such as do not or is not, an apostrophe is used to stand in for the omitted character. (In these cases, don’t and isn’t.) To shorten years or refer to decades, apostrophes are used.

Note: These are apostrophes (’), not leading single quotation marks (‘). In some word processors, they will need to be manually inserted using Option Shift ].

• the music of the ’80s
• an ’09 Mustang

Plural Letters and Numbers

Occasionally, apostrophes are used when pluralizing letters or other irregular nouns to avoid confusion. (They are not used to pluralize numbers, however.)

• He got all A’s and B’s.
• Apple sold 1 million iPhone 5’s.¹
• mind your p’s and q’s
• He was born in the 1990s. (No apostrophe necessary.)

Note: To pluralize an acronym, add an s without an apostrophe. (For example, several new APIs or two different URLs.)

Apostrophes with Other Punctuation

Apostrophes can be confusing when they appear next to other punctuation. In practice, apostrophes should be treated as part of the word.

• The number I called was the Ungers’.
• He said, “I’m going to the Dabbases’.”

Commas

Commas are commonly used to separate things or indicate a pause.

Items in a Series

To separate items in a series, use commas. Also, Punchkick uses serial commas (also known as “the Oxford comma”) to precede the final item in the series and its conjunction. This is to avoid confusion when items in a series may also include conjunctions (for example, turkey, peanut butter and jelly, or roast beef).

• the iPhone, iPad, and iPod
• The Apple Watch is used for checking the time, listening to music, and reading notifications.

When a series ends with an ampersand (&), as in a title, the serial comma is not included.

• Read about the iPhone 6, Apple Watch & iPad Air 2

Repeated Adverbs or Adjectives

To separate repeated adverbs or adjectives, use commas.

• very, very, very large
• thin, light, and powerful phone

Separating Clauses

To separate two independent clauses—that is, two clauses that could each stand alone as full sentences with independent subjects and verbs—use a comma.

• Apple released a new iPhone, and it changes the game.
• Punchkick was a small company, but we’re growing.

To separate a dependent clause before a main clause, use a comma. However, commas are not required if the dependent clause follows the main clause.

Dependent clause first	Main clause first
In order to sell more units, Samsung lowered the price.	Samsung lowered the price in order to sell more units.
If rumors are correct, Apple will announce a new device.	Apple will announce a new device if rumors are correct.

Parenthetical Phrases

To set off a parenthetical phrase or an appositive, which add additional information and does not change the meaning of the sentence, use commas.

• The iPhone 6, which was announced last month, has a larger screen.
• Samsung, a South Korean company, held an event yesterday.
• Tim Cook, CEO of Apple, made a rousing speech.

Periods

Periods are used at the conclusion of sentences.

Note: Periods are always followed by one space, never two.

Acronyms and Initialisms

Punchkick does not use periods for initialisms or acronyms. This applies to company names, government agencies, and initialisms for common products or technical terms.

• call the FBI
• an HTC phone
• throughout the US
• burn a DVD and CD

Initials in Names

For names that contain initials, use periods without spaces.

• H.L. Mencken
• W.E.B. Dubois

Colons

The colon most commonly introduces a phrase that illustrates or underscores the sentence. It can also be used to introduce a list or certain quotations.

Note: Do not capitalize the first word after a colon.

Use	Example
Illustrating or underscoring a statement, with an example of the previous statement or its significance	Apple prioritizes one thing: the user experience. Punchkick loves its hometown: Chicago.
Introducing a list	The iPhone includes a number of sensors: an NFC chip, a barometer, and a gyroscope.
Titles, separating a main title from a subtitle or indicating an article’s inclusion in a series	Facebook forever: how Facebook aims to take over the internet iOS 8 in Context: CloudKit makes sense of the cloud

Semicolons

The semicolon can connect closely related independent clauses or separate unwieldy lists that contain several commas. In most cases, the use of a semicolon is not recommended, as using em dashes or rewriting the sentence are preferable options. (No matter how you use a semicolon, someone will think it’s wrong.)

Separating Clauses

Semicolons can be used to connect closely related clauses, or to separate clauses that already contain complex punctuation, contain words like therefore or however, or contain lists.

• Apple built a new iPhone; it was the first of its kind.²
• Samsung marketed its product aggressively; therefore, it sold millions of units.²
• Microsoft has tried building tablets, redesigning its software, and repositioning its cloud services; but, despite its best efforts, and millions of dollars, it has had difficulty landing a hit product.³

Complex Items in a Series

When items in a series already contain commas, semicolons can help with clarity.

• Google has offices in Chicago, Illinois; Mountain View, California; and New York, New York.

Quotation Marks

Quotation marks always operate in pairs, and are used to indicate direct quotations, highlight unusual or new terms, or indicate movie titles.

Note: Computers do not always intelligently create quotation marks, or “smart quotes,” which are slightly curved or angled, in place of double prime symbols, which are closer to vertical lines. Many modern word processors will use smart quotes automatically, but the correct glyphs can be manually inserted using Option [ and Option ] on a Mac.

Direct Quotations

Use quotation marks to indicate direct quotations within the rest of a sentence. Quotation marks contain punctuation of their own, and most punctuation (like periods, question marks, or exclamation points) live inside the quotation marks.

• Tim Cook said, “Apple Watch is our most personal device.”
• “Apple Watch is our most personal device,” said Tim Cook.
• “Who wants a stylus?” asked Steve Jobs.
• Steve Jobs asked, “Who wants a stylus?”
• “No!” Darth Vader said.

When the inclusion of a direct quotation occurs within a sentence, punctuation does not necessarily occur within quotation marks.

• Steve Jobs called the iPhone a “revolutionary device” when he first introduced it.
• Steve Jobs called the iPhone a “revolutionary device.”
• Why did Steve Jobs call the iPhone a “revolutionary device”? (In this example, the question mark appears outside the quotation marks because it was not part of the original quotation’s intent.)

Highlighting Terms

Quotation marks should be used to call out industry terminology, jargon, or slang.

• a process called “resolution scaling”
• the “superphone” category

Quotation marks should also be used when directly discussing a word or term.

• the word “phablet” has fallen out of favor
• the term “Retina display” is marketing mumbo-jumbo

Single Quotation Marks

Single quotation marks are nested within ordinary quotation marks to indicate quotations within quotations, and adhere to the same rules.

• “And they said, ‘Apple can’t innovate anymore,’” Phil Schiller explained.
• Phil Schiller said, “They say, ‘Apple can’t innovate anymore,’ and it annoys me.”
• “I don’t think the word ‘phablet’ applies to the iPhone,” said Tim Cook.

Hyphens

Hyphens are among the most commonly used punctuation marks, but have complex and conditional rules defining their use. In most cases, three overarching rules apply (which are explained in greater detail below).

1. Hyphenate compound adjectives that would cause confusion without hyphenation.
2. For prefixes and suffixes, there are too many possible forms to succinctly include in this style guide. Consult a dictionary.
3. For nouns and verbs, there are too many possible forms to succinctly include in this style guide. Consult a dictionary.

Hyphens are not used to connect phrases, and are never preceded or followed by a space. Hyphens are only used to combine words.

Compound Modifiers

A compound modifier is a unit of two or more words working together to modify another word. If two consecutive adjectives don’t make sense each modifying a word independently, hyphenation is necessary to preserve meaning.

• all-new device⁴
• Chinese-made smartphone
• jaw-droppingly gorgeous screen⁵

Adverbs ending in -ly do not require hyphenation.

• the poorly made phone
• the rarely seen bug

Suspensive Hyphenation

When two or more hyphenated terms share a word, the word does not need to be repeated, but the hyphens are retained.

• a Grammy- and Emmy-nominated actor
• a scratch- and shatter-resistant display
• a scratch-, sweat-, and shatter-resistant display
• a family-owned and -operated business

En Dashes

En dashes are used for numbers, ranges, and in special compound modifier forms. On a Mac, use Option Hyphen to type an en dash.

Use	Example
Meaning to, through, or until, to indicate ranges or durations with numbers	The Browns won 21–7. The meeting goes 12–1:30. The Chicago–Dallas flight is boarding. Steve Jobs (1955–2011)
Unwieldy compound modifiers: when compound modifiers are made up of other multiword compounds, like two-word terms or hyphenated terms, an en dash can be used to connect them	pre–Civil War a semi-public–semi-private entity a Steve Jobs–inspired wardrobe

Em Dashes

Em dashes are twice as long as hyphens, and are used to indicate breaks in a sentence. Punchkick frequently uses em dashes in place of parentheses and commas to offset parenthetical phrases, in place of commas to connect independent clauses, and in place of colons to add emphasis. On a Mac, use Option Shift Hyphen to type an em dash.

• Android is the world’s most popular operating system—but it’s only getting started.
• iOS is Apple’s most popular platform—and the one seeing the most active third-party development—but it’s also the youngest.

Note: Punchkick does not use spaces before and after an em dash.

Parentheses

Parentheses are used to add explanatory information to a sentence. In practice, the information included within parentheses should not change the meaning of the sentence, and the sentence should make sense even if the parenthetical phrase were omitted. Punchkick usually makes use of em dashes for parenthetical phrases, but parentheses can still be used.

Additional or Explanatory Information

Parentheses appear within sentences to offer additional information, just as parenthetical phrases would appear offset by commas or em dashes. Parentheses can contain dependent clauses like these:

• The iPhone 6 Plus (Apple’s newest smartphone) features a 5.5-inch display.
• Android allows users to modify their lock screens (or not).
• The near-field communication (NFC) technology allows users to make payments.⁶

Parentheses can also contain independent clauses. These appear outside of the sentence’s punctuation.

• iOS is immune to many mobile security concerns. (This is because of the platform’s locked-down nature.)

Brackets within Parentheses

In rare instances when parenthetical phrases appear within parentheses, brackets should be used.

• (Apple is known for [among other things] developing the iPhone.)
• (Please call [614] 555-1234.)

Lists

Within pitch decks and other written content, lists can be used to provide clearer and more digestible information. Lists should adhere to one of a few styles, and should at the very least be internally consistent.

Style	Example
Lists of phrases that are part of the preceding sentence. These lists can, but do not necessarily, include punctuation throughout.	The features will include • social sharing; • data backup; • account creation.
Lists of fragments that are not part of the preceding sentence. These lists do not include punctuation.	The features will include: • social sharing • data backup • account creation
Lists of complete sentences. Each item in the list requires appropriate punctuation.	Punchkick will complete the following user stories: • Users can sign into their social accounts. • Users can back up their data. • Users can create accounts.

Numbers, Dates, and Times

Numbers	Example
Spell out numbers less than and including ten.	five products
Use numerals for numbers greater than ten.	15 different cameras
Exception: when using a mix of numbers less than and greater than ten, use numerals.	between 8 and 23 different options
Exception: spell out numbers at the beginning of a sentence.	Eight years ago, Punchkick was founded.
Exception: use numerals for ages.	Her son is 6 years old.

Dates and times	Example
Use the American order when using dates.	January 24, 1984
Commas follow years in dates.	The Macintosh was released on January 24, 1984, to millions of people.
Ordinal numbers are not used with dates.	The conference is on January 24. (Not January 24th.)
Months can be abbreviated—but not March, April, May, June, or July.	Jan., Feb., Aug., Sept., Oct., Nov., Dec.
For times, use a.m. and p.m., not AM, A.M., PM, or P.M., with a space between the numeral time and the a.m. or p.m.	8 a.m. meeting 1:30 p.m. meeting

Best Practices

Guidelines for Punchkick

When referring to Punchkick in a pitch deck, tweet, email, or otherwise, the following names are acceptable, and the others are never acceptable.

Acceptable	Never acceptable
Punchkick	PKI
Punchkick Interactive	PK
Punchkick Interactive Inc.	PunchKick
	Punchkick Inc.

Email Correspondence

When communicating with clients, vendors, applicants, or colleagues via email, the following guidelines are essential to project professionalism and confidence.

Salutations

Recommended	Acceptable, but not recommended	Not acceptable
Hi there,	Hello there,	Hey,
Hi [name],	Hello [name],	Hey [name],
		[name],

Links

When inserting URLs into an email message, use descriptive words that make it clear to the recipient what they’re clicking through to. Do not simply paste the URL into the body of the email. Instead, use Command K to add a link to ordinary body copy.

• You can download the PDF here.
• Download the PDF version or Keynote version.

Technical and Industry Terms

The following are guidelines for consistently referring to technologies, trademarked products, and other industry terms. This list is fully searchable, and offers alternative spellings or common mistakes where applicable.

Brand Names and Trademarks

Term	Usage
Android
Android Cupcake	Alternatively Cupcake, Android 1.5, or Android 1.5 Cupcake
Android Donut	Alternatively Donut, Android 1.6, or Android 1.6 Donut
Android Eclair	Alternatively Eclair, Android 2.0, or Android 2.0 Eclair
Android Froyo	Alternatively Froyo, Android 2.2, or Android 2.2 Froyo
Android Gingerbread	Alternatively Gingerbread, Android 2.3, or Android 2.3 Gingerbread
Android Honeycomb	Alternatively Honeycomb, Android 3.0, or Android 3.0 Honeycomb
Android Ice Cream Sandwich	Alternatively Ice Cream Sandwich, Android 4.0, or Android 4.0 Ice Cream Sandwich
Android Jelly Bean	Alternatively Jelly Bean, Android 4.1, or Android 4.1 Jelly Bean
Android KitKat	Alternatively KitKat, Android 4.4, or Android 4.4 KitKat
Android Lollipop	Alternatively Lollipop, Android 5.0, or Android 5.0 Lollipop
Android Auto
Android TV
Android Wear
Apple Pay	Not Pay or ApplePay
Apple TV	Not tv or AppleTV
Apple Watch	Not Watch or iWatch
Apple Watch Sport
Apple Watch Edition
Chromebook	Not ChromeBook
CloudKit	Not Cloudkit or Cloud Kit
FaceTime	Not Facetime
Gmail	Not GMail
Google Chrome
Google Hangouts
Google Play Store
HealthKit	Not Healthkit or Health Kit
HomeKit	Not Homekit or Home Kit
HTC
HTC One (M8)
iCloud
iCloud Drive
iCloud Photo Library
iOS	Not ios or IOS
iOS 8	Not iOS8
iOS 9	Not iOS9
iPad	Not IPad, even at the beginning of a sentence
iPad Air	Not iPad air
iPad Air 2
iPad mini	Not iPad Mini
iPad mini 2	Not iPad mini with Retina Display
iPad mini 3
iPhone	Not IPhone, even at the beginning of a sentence
iPhone 2G	Alternatively, original iPhone or first-generation iPhone
iPhone 3G	Not iPhone 3g
iPhone 3Gs	Not iPhone 3GS or iPhone 3gs
iPhone 4
iPhone 4s	Not iPhone 4S
iPhone 5
iPhone 5c	Not iPhone 5C
iPhone 5s	Not iPhone 5S
iPhone 6
iPhone 6 Plus	Not iPhone 6+
iPhone 6s	Not iPhone 6S
iPhone 6s Plus	Not iPhone 6S Plus, 6S+, or 6s+
iPod	Not IPod, even at the beginning of a sentence
iPod classic	Not iPod Classic
iPod mini	Not iPod Mini
iPod nano	Not iPod Nano
iPod touch	Not iPod Touch or iTouch
M8	Alternatively, M8 motion coprocessor
Mac	Not Macintosh, unless referring to the original Macintosh 128K
Mac OS X	Only when referring to a version before 10.8, otherwise use OS X
MacBook	Not Macbook
MacBook Pro with Retina display	Not Retina Display
iMac with Retina 5K display	Not Retina Display
Motorola
Moto 360	Not MOTO 360
Moto Hint	Not MOTO Hint
Moto X	Not MOTO X
OS X	Not OSX; only Mac OS X when referring to a version before 10.8
PhotoKit	Not Photokit or Photo Kit
Samsung
Samsung Gear	Not Galaxy Gear
Samsung Gear VR
Samsung Galaxy Note	Alternatively, Galaxy Note
Samsung Galaxy S	Alternatively, Galaxy S
Samsung Galaxy S5	Not S 5
Samsung Galaxy Tab	With screen size
Samsung Tizen
Touch ID	Not TouchID
UIKit	Not UIkit or UI Kit
Watch app	Referring to an app on Apple Watch
watchOS	Not Watch OS, unless referring to the nomenclature change since version 1.0
Xcode	Not XCode or xCode
Yahoo	Not Yahoo!

Technologies, Units, and Industry Terms

Term	Usage
2G	Alternatively, EDGE
3G
4G LTE	Alternatively, LTE
AMOLED
app	Not application when referring to mobile
bit
gigabit	Not Gb
gigabits per second	Not Gbps
megabit	Not Mb, e.g. 25 megabits per second
megabits per second	Not Mbps
Bluetooth	Not BlueTooth or bluetooth
byte
gigabyte	Not GB, e.g. 16-gigabyte hard drive
megabyte	Not MB
petabyte	Not PB
terabyte	Not TB
CDMA
CSS3	Not CSS 3
DisplayPort
ebook	Not e-book or eBook
e-commerce	Not eCommerce
email	Not e-mail or Email
gigahertz	Not GHz, e.g. 2-gigahertz processor
GUI	First instance: graphical user interface
GSM
HTML5	Not HTML 5
iBeacon	Not beacon
IM	First instance: instant messaging
JavaScript	Not Javascript
LAN	First instance: local area network
LCD
LED
NFC	First instance: near-field communication
P2P	First instance: peer-to-peer
PDF
RAM	First instance: random-access memory
SEO	First instance: search engine optimization
SIM card
mini SIM	When modifying a noun, like mini-SIM card, hyphenate
micro SIM	When modifying a noun, like micro-SIM card, hyphenate
nano SIM	When modifying a noun, like nano-SIM card, hyphenate
Thunderbolt
tweet	Not Tweet
UI	First instance: user interface
USB
micro USB	When modifying a noun, like micro-USB port, hyphenate
mini USB	When modifying a noun, like mini-USB port, hyphenate
UX	First instance: user experience
VoIP	First instance: voice over IP
watt	Not W, e.g. 5-watt charger
Wi-Fi	Not wifi or wi-fi
802.11n Wi-Fi
802.11ac Wi-Fi

Title Case and Sentence Case

For title case, all words are capitalized except:

• articles like a and the
• prepositions like in, of, for, or to
• conjunctions like and or but
• forms of the verb to be like are and is

Some examples of title case sentences include:

• How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days
• Android is Apple’s Biggest Threat
• Punchkick Interactive Capabilities and Experience

For sentence case, words are capitalized normally. An example of a sentence in sentence case is this one. Punchkick uses sentence case for blog post titles, and customarily uses title case for slides within pitch decks.

Citation

For sources of images, Punchkick links back to the original source with the following format.

• Source: <a href="http://www.example.com/image.jpg">Source Name</a>

For quotations of actual people, Punchkick identifies the source by first and last name in the first instance. Afterwards, Punchkick refers to sources by last name only.

• “iOS is better than Android,” Punchkick co-founder Zak Dabbas said.
• “I still think iOS is better,” Dabbas said.