{
 "id": "4.10",
 "title": "Voice and words",
 "department": "Brand",
 "department_slug": "brand",
 "direction": {
  "id": "bee",
  "name": "Buzz"
 },
 "branded": true,
 "status": "generated",
 "owner": "Param",
 "last_verified": "2026-10-26",
 "holds": "Writing rules, plain words, per-direction voice, never-say lines",
 "urls": {
  "html": "https://handbook.joinsquareup.com/brand/voice-and-words/bee",
  "markdown": "https://handbook.joinsquareup.com/brand/voice-and-words/bee.md",
  "json": "https://handbook.joinsquareup.com/brand/voice-and-words/bee.json"
 },
 "other_directions": [
  {
   "id": "dog",
   "name": "Fetch",
   "json": "https://handbook.joinsquareup.com/brand/voice-and-words/dog.json"
  },
  {
   "id": "raccoon",
   "name": "Scoop",
   "json": "https://handbook.joinsquareup.com/brand/voice-and-words/raccoon.json"
  },
  {
   "id": "octopus",
   "name": "Ocho",
   "json": "https://handbook.joinsquareup.com/brand/voice-and-words/octopus.json"
  },
  {
   "id": "cooker",
   "name": "Seeti",
   "json": "https://handbook.joinsquareup.com/brand/voice-and-words/cooker.json"
  }
 ],
 "tldr": {
  "headline": "Plain words on the buttons, Buzz buzzes only around them",
  "points": [
   {
    "icon": "chat",
    "text": "Fact first, buzz second. Quick, bright, warm, short clauses."
   },
   {
    "icon": "book",
    "text": "Plain on the button, Buzz's word around it: Hand it off becomes Pass the pollen."
   },
   {
    "icon": "flag",
    "text": "Bee puns at most once per screen, never in errors about money or privacy."
   },
   {
    "icon": "check",
    "text": "Never more than two sentences in the product."
   },
   {
    "icon": "warn",
    "text": "Never claims it posted anything, and never says a rival is stinging you."
   }
  ],
  "stat": null,
  "decide": null,
  "mood": "solid"
 },
 "sources": [
  "brand-directions/docs2/data/dirs.json",
  "brand-directions/BRIEF.md"
 ],
 "open_questions": [],
 "parts": {
  "Answer": "How Buzz talks: plain words on every control, Buzz's words only around them.",
  "Today": "Not applicable to a generated document: it is rewritten from its sources on every build.",
  "Tomorrow": "### Voice\n\n- Fact first, buzz second. One joke per line at most.\n- Quick, bright and warm. Short words, short clauses. It talks like someone mid flight who still lands on the right word.\n- Buzz speaks in the first person about itself and the second person to you.\n- Never more than two sentences in the product.\n- Say draft, pick, brief and copy. Say post, send or schedule only about Later, and tag it.\n- Every number has a source. If a number is unsure, it says to confirm it. A projection says it is a projection, not a promise.\n- Bee puns at most once per screen, and never in errors about money, privacy or data.\n- Turn the character fully off for errors on our side, money, privacy, apologies and anything a person must sign.\n\n### Plain word and Buzz's word\n\n| On the button | Around it |\n|---|---|\n| Paste your store | Show me your garden |\n| Reading your store | Buzzing round your store |\n| Today | Today's flight |\n| This week's picks | Best blooms |\n| Need your yes | Your nod |\n| See everything | The whole meadow |\n| Work | The hive |\n| Your store | Your garden |\n| Make it | Make honey |\n| New version | Fresh batch |\n| Hand it off | Pass the pollen |\n| Brief | The flight plan |\n| More like this | Dance for more |\n| Not for me | Fly past |\n| Later | Back in the comb |\n| What we know about you | What sticks |\n| Weeks in a row | Honey weeks |\n| Skip this week | Rainy day |\n| Wildcard | The odd flower |\n| You're caught up | The hive is humming |\n| Story rings | Flutters |\n| That didn't work | Bumped the window |\n| Reads are capped while we build v0 | The hive is full this week |\n\n### Lines\n\n| May say | Never say |\n|---|---|\n| Best blooms. Five picks, drafted, still warm. | I posted it for you. |\n| Buzzing round your store. About 3 to 4 minutes. | Scheduled for 9am. |\n| You danced for that one. More like it, coming up. | Your sales went up after my picks. |\n| Fresh batch. The old one is still in the jar. | You missed a week. |\n| Brief copied. Pass the pollen, your team takes it from here. | Don't break your streak. |\n| Your nod. This one needs your yes. | Only two hours left to claim your read. |\n| The hive is humming. New picks Monday. | Works for any store. |\n| Oops, I bumped the window. Your work is safe. Try again. | Your rival is stinging you. |\n| The hive is full this week. Reads are capped while we build v0. Ask us for one. | Trust me. |\n| I'm not sure of this number. Confirm it before you use it. | Buzz off. |\n\n[src: brand-directions/docs2/data/dirs.json]",
  "How we do it": "Generated by `handbook/tools/gen.mjs` on every build. Change the source, never this file.",
  "Numbers": "Not applicable to a generated document: it is rewritten from its sources on every build.",
  "Open": "Not applicable to a generated document: it is rewritten from its sources on every build."
 }
}