Nowadays, actually no, we must watch for examples of opinion masquerading as fact, in newspapers and magazines. Sometimes even in high school textbooks! There is nothing wrong with mixing opinions and fact together in an argument, of course ... it's done all the time. What is important is that the reader be able to distinguish the fact from the opinion, in order to make a sound judgment about the information they are receiving!

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Mike:

The blog comments from different sources has brilliant ideas.
I encourage everyone to continue like that by contributing more to white paper whenever needed be. That will allow everyone of you meet more experts you knows how to plan for their business success rather meeting bad mouth who doesn't contribute anything to our business success.

Ntarugera François

In dealing with opinion the reader has to trust who makes the opinion. Is it from an expert, someone they know, or a total stranger? This all factors how they will weigh the value of the opinion.

With a fact the reader does not need the expert opinion to "seal the deal". A fact is true, no matter who says it. Therefore a fact is probably stronger, but does not mean opinions (from the right sources) are not valuable.

Well usually facts have much value over opinion. But when it comes to a very social issue, then opinions may render more value than facts.

From my point of view facts possess more significance than opinion

continuing the thought that was stopped by a computer glitch....

the thought leaders of the time. This does it not follow that opinion by the thought leadership is the equivilent of "so called" fact;-)

Regards,
Owen

I continue to be reminded over my 69 year lifespan of the facts which eroded into fiction as our world evolved. Thus I would consider that a fact is merely a proponderance of current thinking proffered by

Hi Jasmine (and everyone);

I'm not knocking facts. Heck, I think they are very important and use them often.

However, I think too many people pass over the value of an opinion.

Remember that the underlying goal of most white papers is to persuade.

Yes, the facts are very helpful in making your case. But opinions are equally important.

For what it's worth, nearly ALL of the comments posted here are "opinions" and you can see they are very rich.

BTW, check out Jasmine's blog by clicking on her name.

Mike

Hi Mike, thank you for giving me the thumbs up on my blog. :)

As a B2B technology marketer (and as I'm looking through my archives of white papers), I do agree with you that a strong “opinion” from a reputable source goes a very long way. Most of our white papers do include predictions from analysts or thought leaders on current and future technology trends.

However, 80% of content is still based on facts. 20% on opinions. If the % is reversed, we write it as opinion pieces rather than white papers.

Perhaps it varies depending on industry, I am not sure. Like what Stephan said, you use the tool demanded by the situation. The most important thing is to understand your market and target audience, and write accordingly.

It's a very interesting question. Rightfully or wrongfully, I always thought this was preciesely the difference between whitepapers and articles. Whitepapers convey an opinion and articles tend to rely more on facts. That said, the line between the two is often blurry and I totally agree with Owen, the best whitepapers I ever read were almost always opinions.

You could also argue that facts are not always exact and is there such a thing as "pure facts"? It's like saying there is only one truth. Truths are often a matter of perception, not to mention facts can be quoted out of context or based on some flawed research. I don't think that people argue less about facts - look at any political debate!

In my view, it doesn't really matter as long as the writer clearly differentitates facts from opinions in his/her whitepaper whith words like "in my view", "I", etc. and of courses quotes the sources of the facts.

Dear Readers:

I should say that the more important you have to consider between facts&opinion while writing a white paper besides maquette is focus more on whow you are writing for because more people doesn't time to figure out what is right or wrong. Therefore, I will concetrate more on opinion rather than facts. But if I'm writing something related to investigation , I will definately write basing on facts. There you are out of handcuff from the judicial system if needed be!

Lastly as a journalist, so many people think that opinions do not have a reference. In any story that you have to tell it has always the backing as a biography.

Ntarugera François

Hey Ben - It was a really good question you asked, and it is sparking some good discussion here. - Mike

I am the guy who asked that question. I asked it because it was beginning to sound as if the reason to write a white paper was to create a legalistic argument. I was trained in the technical community and my principal adviser was a founder of one of the major fields of scientific endeavor. At one student meeting I was asked how I knew a certain thing was true. My reply was that he came out of a book by Jefferies and Jeffries the acknowledged experts in the field. My advisor told me "Ben, always quote facts never authorities!)
While this is a different question, it arises from the same issue: it is possible to back up facts but really hard to back up opinions. If you doubt that, then reviewed the current national debate on global warming.
I don't want you to think I'm knocking lawyers because I have worked with them for many years as an expert witness in defense of people or corporation that were being sued. However, never in my testimony was it necessary to resort to opinion in order to convince a jury that my arguments on behalf of defendants were valid.

Michael please accept my thanks for the excellent programs you put on as part of your annual subscription service. I continually benefit from what you teach there.

I would also agree that facts are more important. However, I think the reader often looks for guidance from those with experience. In the case of a whitepaper, the opinion of others often comes through when we quote experts, present examples or summarize common observable trends.

I think facts are important when you need to support an existing situation or trend. Opinions are important when you want to support or persuade your reader about something that may occur in the near future. How's that for sitting on the fence? Basically, I think you use the tool demanded by the situation.

It is my thought that facts are accessible to all who want to put some effort into mining the information. But we as white paper writers are involved in providing that which is not easily mined unless we are writing solely fact based pieces.

Thus, I would say that opinion is of equal if not more value from a career and revenue building standpoint than writing fact based material.

With opinion we are showcasing our ability to assess and parse issues that readers need to form opinions about but can't do so easily on their own. This assistance process builds value in a readers mind and extends our reputation for readership, building a client list based on reader feedback to the client who requests further opinion based white papers.

As I see it, this is a step by step process in building our capabilities in forming meaningful opinions and our credentials as a reliable and valid source of opinion that clients and readers can rely on.

In this day and age of "so called" news reporting it seems that a fact is no more that which is based on a proponderance of opinion;-)

Owen
mentor-one@usa.net

Hey Eveyone;

I'm gonna buck things a bit here.

I actually think opinion is as important, if not more important.

For example, an analyst that predicts that 90 percent of the world will be using social networks by 2011 is more powerful than a study that shows 10 percent are using it today.

A strong "opinion" from a reputable source goes a VERY long way in a white paper.

Mike

I agree with Shane and Jasmine - I think it should be fact.

I think of a white paper as a professional report, as compared to an e-book, "special report", etc.

Since they're mostly meant for businesses and offer advice, I think they should be fact.

Jeremy Reeves
www.controlbeatingcopy.com

For white papers, it should be factual, no/little dispute on it's content.

An opinion based paper should be written as an OPINION PIECE rather than a white paper.

I would say fact. Fact is objective but opinion is subjective. When we talking about opinion, we cannot expect all readers will agree with us. But when we talking about fact, there is nothing able to deny a fact. A fact based white paper will convince reader better than an opinion based white paper.