27 October, 2003 8:04 AM
Most people read online by scanning the page for individual words or phrases, headings and other visual cues. Studies have shown that reading from a screen is more tiring and therefore about 25% slower than reading from paper — hense scanning becomes a technique that most employ....
This post has been moved to Pro Blogger - Writing Blog Content - Make it Scannable
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Another thing to keep in mind is that a lot of us bloggers use aggregators. It would be a great asset to your site if you include a link to your RSS feeds. I didn't see one outright on this site but my aggregator tells me that there is one here, and of course, I added you to my list of sites I scan. If there is a link, I didn't see it and forgive me.
Tony S. » 28 October, 2003 1:04 AM
And of course, soon as I click post, I see your link. ;-)
Tony S. » 28 October, 2003 1:06 AM
I'm having some second thoughts about this "scanning thing" as it applies to blogs. In general, I agree - as I said above.
But - take a look at www.reallivepreacher.com. The man is a story teller, and not a typical blogger. He does not post everyday nor about ordinary everyday events.
Preacher's blog you read "word for word."
Doug
Doug » 28 October, 2003 12:49 PM
I totally agree with you.
I probably should add to every 'blog tip' that ''there are no rules' :-)
Darren Rowse » 28 October, 2003 4:02 PM
It is so hard to practice what I preach. I go on and on about how stupid most corporate web sites are, how they are full of "we" oriented fluff, no benefits to users...but it is hard to turn your own words on yourself and your own web site.
Scannable, yes, use bulleted or numbered lists, shorter copy, bold, etc.
vaspers the grate » 3 June, 2004 2:27 AM
oh...one more thing.
Forget that crap about "being a storyteller". No offense to the one who posted that comment, but telling a story is no excuse for long sentences, dense paragraphs, etc.
Even in blog comments, like this one, break up paragraphs. Use short sentences, with a few long ones mixed in for variety. See?
I don't like long dense blog comments that go on and on with no relief, no paragraph breaks.
A pet peeve of mine.
vaspers the grate » 3 June, 2004 2:31 AM
Thanx for the tips. I teach faculty members at universities how to teach their courses on the web - and they all want to write a textbook. Of course, none of them quite believe me when I suggest they use the KISS method, but Neilson is a respected source. I like the comparison to writing manuscripts and shifting to print.
Cheers - - Doug
Doug » 27 October, 2003 2:03 PM