Writing for the Wired World

1
Writing for the Wired World
Julie Poroznuk, ABC, CEBS JP Communication HR
Solutions for Employee Engagement Calgary,
Alberta www.jpcommunication.ca

• Part 1
• Theoretical Review of Why to Write Differently
  Online

2
Characteristics of the Online World

• linear vs. non-linear
• three-dimensional vs. non-three dimensional
• non-Interactive vs. interactive
• single medium vs. multimedia

3
Characteristics of the Online World

• writing differently for interactivity
• multimedia - audio, video, animation, 3D
• marriage of multimedia and interactivity

4
The Physiological Effects of Reading Light

• reduced blink rate
• scrolling-induced nausea
• lack of control over text size

5
A Startling Conclusion

• People Dont Read Online
• Make your material easy to scan to that it is
  easy for the reader to extract the information.

6
Roles of the Online Writer

• The Words
• The Context
• The Design
• The Audience
• Related Information
• Multimedia and Interactivity
• Navigation

7
Roles of the Online Writer

• The Words
• Good writing is essential, no matter what the
  medium.

8
Roles of the Online Writer

• The context
• write from the perspective of the reader
• online has no beginning, middle, or end
• storyboarding helps make each page stand on its
  own
• ensure each page has its own context

9
Roles of the Online Writer

• The design
• serves to help the reader establish the context
• provides navigation
• doubles as hyperlinks to related material
• replaces text as a means of displaying information

10
Roles of the Online Writer

• The audience
• you can craft paths that different audiences will
  follow

11
Roles of the Online Writer

• Related information
• print exists in a vacuum
• online, information is only a few clicks away
• know what information is available to (1) avoid
  duplicating what is already there and (2)
  position your words to accommodate the existing
  information

12
Roles of the Online Writer

• Multimedia and interactivity
• if the most effective means of communicating
  means using a database or audio clip, you need to
  know that before you decide what to write

13
Roles of the Online Writer

• Navigation
• links that readers follow determine the path that
  will or will not satisfy their information needs
• without the right navigation tools, a reader can
  get lost, confused, frustrated
• navigation is used to assist the reader

14
Implications of New Communication Models

• from one- or few-to-many to many-to-many
• from sender-driven to receiver-driven
• from media-driven to access-driven
• from demographically-driven to a market sample
  of one

15
Many-to-Many Communication

• think beyond the page
• writing is an ongoing response to feedback
• incorporate links

16
Receiver-driven

• writing must be non-linear
• write in chunks
• use hyperlinks plan them as part of the process
• know when not to use online tools (when push
  communication is needed)

17
Access-driven communication

• be sure the medium is available
• understand your audience
• prepare text for multi-media
• determine the primary vehicle and adapt for others

18
Market Sample of One

• find your audience
• help them know they are in the right place

19
Knowledge vs. Information

• know what not to write for the online medium
• information is online, knowledge is print
• exceptions
• integration of media
• knowledge online

20
Give People What They Need

• Navigation and Customization search engines,
  eyes, recommendations
• Dominant messages

21
Cyberspace

• is not linear
• is not three-dimensional
• is interactive
• integrates multimedia
• has produced a many-to-many, everyones a
  publisher environment

22
Cyberspace

• lets people demand what they want when they want
  it
• requires information providers to consider the
  media audiences are using
• is best targeted at individuals instead of
  demographic audiences
• leads most people to scan instead of read

23
Cyberspace

• spawns impatience among readers
• is integrated into other media
• requires that authors provide direction while
  giving readers control

24

• You have to think differently about the content
  you are going to produce before you even sit down
  to write.
• Next how to apply the tactics of writing for the
  wired world.

25
Writing for the Wired World

• Part II
• Tactics for Writing for the Wired World

26
General Guidelines

• Length
• Online text should be at least 50 shorter.
• Maximum of three screens of full text.
• Style - determine your goal
• Scanning style
• Reading style

27
Scanning Style

• Use lists
• Keep sentences short
• Limit use of text-based emphasis
• Limit italics they are harder to read
• Use bold specifically to draw emphasis
• Short sub headings

28
Scanning Style

• Single bold-faced words introducing paragraphs or
  sentences
• Limit the use of hyperlinks in narrative
• Edit twice - the second time for unnecessary words

29
Reading Style

• How do you get the reader to stop scanning and
  start reading word by word?
• must be worth reading
• style needs to compel attention
• write more like you talk
• inject yourself and your voice into what you
  write for the screen

30
Reading Style

• Degrees to which your voice can play a part in
  your writing
• Adopting persona
• (see www.ragu.com - Mamas Cucina)
• First-person
• Injecting attitude
• Writing like you talk
• Most appropriate for feature writing

31
Navigation

• Incorporate as a component of the writing, not an
  afterthought or element left to the designer
• Helps find important elements and bypass those of
  no interest (e.g. headings at the top are links
  to sections below)

32
Navigation

• Include
• link to the beginning of the section
• link to the home page or highest level
• indexes, table of contents, search engines -
  should be accessible from any page
• linear elements to make it easy to move forward
  and backward
• readers should never get lost

33
Structuring Your Document

• Preparing a map - think about the users
• what paths will they follow to key info
• will those paths be intuitive or frustrating
• will each step make sense and lead naturally to a
  next step
• let the readers create paths to the information
  you want to impart

34
Structuring Your Document

• Determine your audiences
• Provide different paths for each audience
• Determine which paths are unique to each audience
  and which will be shared in common with all
  readers
• Plan the main links from the home page and then
  map the various elements to each element and the
  intersections between them

35
The Written Word Length

• Maximum of 4 screens of text per page
• Limit each chunk (page) to a single concept
• Each chunk should be however long it takes to
  deliver that concept
• If it is more than 4 screens, consider breaking
  it down further
• Print text in vertical columns

36
Reusable Chunks

• Hyperlinks
• JavaScript uses a database to create text on the
  fly
• Avoid the need for any single block of text to be
  used more than once on the system

37
Write About Your Subject

• References to the medium interfere with key
  messages. This happens in three ways
• 1. Writing about web actions
• Click here we may presume that our readers
  know that a hyperlink is to be clicked on, and
  that doing so will take them to related material.

38
Example

• Technical support costs will be increasing,
  according to Walter Smith, vice president of
  customer relations. Click here to learn more
  about the increases.
• Technical support costs will be increasing,
  according to Walter Smith, vice president of
  customer relations.

39
Example

• Click here to visit our new car loan calculator.
• Visit our new car loan calculator.

40
Write About Your Subject

• 2. Writing about the web
• Here on your Web site, we provide internet
  access to ...
• Imagine
• Here in this 12-page 8x10 publication, printed
  on glossy...

41
Write About Your Subject

• Avoid references to files, servers, directories,
  subdirectories, the Web, the Internet, the
  intranet.
• Example
• We have provided a link to new-hire orientation
  material from the companys home page.
• New-hire orientation material is available.

42
Write About Your Subject

• New-hire orientation material includes salary and
  benefits information, company back-ground, and a
  new-hire discussion group.
• New-hire orientation material includes
• salary and benefits information
• company back-ground
• a new-hire discussion group.

43
Write About Your Subject

• Dont write about your writing.
• Following is a list of items
• Items you will need include
• The fewer words you add to a page that have
  nothing to do with the key message, the more
  likely the readers eyes will land on a key
  message.
• Key Information First

44
The Second Edit

• Read the document out loud and listen for
• 1. Hyperlinks
• Do they draw attention to the words you want?
• Do they distract from the key message?
• Once per screen per hyperlink is plenty.

45
The Second Edit

• 2. The Document itself
• Does the page deliver on the promise made on the
  page from which it is linked?
• Does the information flow smoothly from one page
  to the next?
• Users should find the info they expect along a
  path that is intuitive to follow.
• 3. Edit the text twice - eliminate extraneous
  words.

46
Write for Print, Too

• If desirable, allow users to print a text only
  version of the document.

47
Document Elements

• Title
• Appears in the bar at the very top of any Windows
  program you can specify the name of your
  document in the HTML
• The title is important for two reasons
• This is what the search engine displays
• This is what the bookmark reference displays

48
Document Elements

• Headlines
• Keep the headlines short dont use all caps
• Leave your context and creative writing for
  subheads, which are easier to read.
• Other elements
• Search engines, indexes, table of contents, site
  maps

49
Hyperlinks

• Links to a New Page
• Use images as links instead of text make the
  entire image a hyperlink create an image map
  on a part of the image.
• Separate your links from the body of the copy
  make sure you use only relevant links.
• Create pages of links, if appropriate.

50
Internal Links

• Common uses for internal links
• Linking to a new thread of narrative
• Footnotes
• Internal anchors list of information found
  further down the page, links back to top

51
Links

• Jinx Links hang by themselves without any
  context or clue as to what youll find once you
  click on it.
• Linking to Context
• All links (internal and external) should be clear
  and explicit.
• Previous, Back, Next, Forward may not be in
  context.

52
Feedback

• You can use feedback effectively to accomplish
  the following objectives
• Involve your audience (discussion groups, invite
  contributions, etc)
• Instant analysis I understand and support
  the.... or This still confuses me, and I cannot
  support it.

53
Feedback

• Mini-Surveys
• Short, regular, immediate gratification.
• May lead to development of interesting data and
  ideas for feature articles.
• Soliciting Input for Revisions and Corrections
• Making corrections is fast and free.
• Provide a unique link that invites corrections
  and suggested revisions.

54
Feedback Methods

• a separate button or link submit feedback
• a mailto hyperlink
• an online form
• simple surveys
• complex surveys (require some programming)

55
Feedback Issues

• Responding to input if someone sends something
  to you, he will expect a reply.
• You can set up an auto-responder.
• Problem queries bad stuff bomb and death
  threats, protests, unhappy customers. Establish a
  process for dealing with them. (This goes to
  legal, this goes to trash, etc.)
• Use feedback to help you identify tends, issues,
  etc.

56
Integrating Design and Writing

• Graphics of an online document should
• help the reader identify key info by making it
  stand out, reinforce key points, or represent the
  key info without the need for associated text.
• provide navigation through the document by
  serving as links
• be utilitarian

57
Planning Graphics

• The online design process is not a linear one.
  As you plan the chunks of information, how they
  will interconnect, what pathways readers may be
  able to discern among the hyperlinks, think about
  the part the design will play in these
  considerations.
• Plan your design before you write so youll know
  what to write (and what to leave to the design),
  and how to cast those words in tandem with the
  design.

58
Content Transfer

• HTML
• Dreamweaver
• Word Processor - saved as HTML
• Storyboards, wireframes

59
Some Final Thoughts

• Test your document
• Proofread on screen and on paper
• View in multiple browsers
• Validate your document - test for errors in HTML
• Solicit input
• Dont use Under Construction signs