Musings and things that amuse us

Anna Quindlen in a recent Newsweek column, March 19, 2007 points to Ann Coulter’s recent anti-gay slur against John Edwards, and talks of how

The landscape of American discourse has grown lousy with agents provocateurs whose careers are built around delivering verbal depth charges, not information.

And she hits it on the head. So many people out there, desperate to be read, seen, heard–especially online.

The information age has offered journalists another place to write; and citizen journalists the opportunity to be published. But with so many fighting for the same audience, who will win?

Interestingly, both can. It’s just a matter of style and time. Those who work on it can succeed, those who don’t, wont.

Journalists need to embrace the new medium and fit it into their needs. They have the writing skills; it’s just a matter of opening their mind to the possibilities of the new technology, and understanding it on a base level.

Citizen journalists and bloggers also have a great shot at success. Most are already tech savvy, aware of the do’s and don’ts on the Web, now it’s a matter of polishing up their grammar skills and getting the words right.

Only then, when both groups develop a unique online style, get over the distrust they have for one another, and begin helping one another, will the original intent and true power of the Internet be seen.

Sharing useful and reliable information will also help the search engines do what they are meant to do: manage the worlds information more effectively. There will be no reason for them to run around madly, constantly changing algorithms to sort the good stuff from the crap.

In this information age where time is limited and information is plentiful, people on the lookout for a particular piece of information don’t read – they scan. You have roughly three seconds to get their attention before they decide whether to read on, or click elsewhere.

Interesting note: Scan is a verb, meaning both to scrutinize, and, to glance over.

Have a great title

This is your only shot to grab the readers’ attention. If you fail here, there are plenty of other sites your reader can, and will, choose from. So, don’t fail.

Consider these things when you next write a title:

- Is it fun, or boring?
- Do you use jargon or English?
- What’s in it for the reader?
- Is it intriguing?
- Is it a hard sell?

A really cool experiment at copyblogger has readers sending in their titles, and Brian Clark rewriting them for optimum effect. This is a perfect opportunity for you to understand the power of titles in a fun, lateral, way—invest the time.

Brevity: Keep it short

Which do you prefer?

“I aspire to write like Walt Mossberg.”

or

“I was twelve and in grade eight when I discovered a love for writing. Steve, my English teacher let me rollerskate into class, for this, I adored him. I would sit and listen to his wise words, write furiously and constantly, and return to him for comment. His suggestions were always abstract and this encouraged my thinking. Suddenly, another idea would pop into my head and off I would go, running for my pencil. By the end of the year I knew I wanted to write; my love for information and words was set. Over time, I discovered the Internet and suddenly there was my topic: information. But, how to write about technology without it sounding like uber geek tech speak? This is what I wanted to do. When I first read Walt Mossberg’s column, I realized this is how everyone should write; this is how I wish to write”

Me? I’m a little over the second paragraph by about the word “Steve”

Imagine if

Think different, be unique. No one else can say it better than Seth Godin.

Basic grammar

Google won’t penalize you for spelling mistakes; their goal is to help the user find the most relevant information, so, they ‘fix’ spelling mistakes for you.

Readers, on the other hand, are not as accommodating, and will penalize you in a way that hurts most; they don’t come back.

Who wants to read something that’s difficult to understand? Why should they trust you if you can’t even get the basics right?

Think about this…

Basic grammar was taught to you in grade school. If you need a refresher, check out the Purdue University Online Writing Lab (OWL)

Understand the medium; what you can do and what you can’t

The Internet and the Web have been around for some time now, as has search. Understand the basics before you start; otherwise you might just miss some great opportunities the information age is giving you.

While you’re at it, why not check out copyright, fair use, online etiquette and standards.

aahhh… welcome to the information age