Wrapping Up

Until taking this course, I never gave it much thought as to how writing for digital media was different than writing for other media. From my first posting to my reporting piece to my blog and web site content piece, I evolved as a more precise, focused writer.

Writing for digital media is more precise and focused. It must be, because, unlike other media, on the web you only have a few seconds to get and maintain someone’s attention.

For me, I witnessed a series of small improvements and tweaks that resulted in a huge turnaround in quality without losing my personal style and orientation. Below are some examples

1) I learned the importance of maintaining parallel structure and verb tenses throughout a sentence.

2) I pared down my sentences, eliminating unnecessary words and punctuation.

3) I realized the importance of headlines and lists.

4) I discovered the value and importance of hyperlinks.

5) Through the study of page design, organization and navigation, I learned what works best for the web.

6) I was reminded of the importance of knowing and addressing the audience.

There are nuggets of key information about the web and writing for it that will be extremely useful going forward because they increased my understanding of what truly differentiates the web from other media.

Module by module, here are some of the nuggets that created my field of gold mined from this class:

1 & 2 – Simple Rules

Be brief, precise, active, imaginative, deliberate and consistent. Simple rules to keep it simple!

A quote I love: “If it is possible to cut a word out, always cut it out.”

3 – The Elements of Writing

Writing my first piece for this course was a revelation. The comments of Brian and my classmate brought me down to this reality: being impartial is key to being credible.

4 – How New Media is Different

“Blog readers are seeking out information to support their views and are likely to consider information they receive from blogs as highly credible,” said Johnson and Kaye.
“The value of bias, or perspective, rather than its absence…..strongly suggests a new paradigm for credibility of information in blogs….” That certainly helps differentiate web writing from traditional media.

Tips about layering using headlines, visuals, links and the like, clarified what I’d noticed but never given much thought.

Another revelation: web users do not read; they scan. This simple fact defines virtually all web content that is of any quality.

The introduction to HTML is a primer I will re-visit. Somewhere in these readings someone said you can learn the basics in three days. Soon I’ll have those three days.

5 – Online Style and Techniques

“Web users read about 25% more slowly.”
“Readers no longer need labels such as ‘click here,’ or ‘enter.’ “Create a clear visual hierarchy on each page.”
“Have no dead-end pages.”
“No clown pants.”
“Only 10% of Web surfers ever scroll the page vertically.”

6 – Reporting

The reporting module made me appreciate the very respectable profession of reporting once again. As a journalism major, I’d known it before, but I’d forgotten. That was a lot of work.

7 – Headlines and Links

“Links should help create some sense of what the page is about.” “Broken links….chip away at a page’s credibility, and they are a sign of age.”
I never knew that fonts were created especially for certain applications. Now I know.
“Simplicity always wins over complexity.”

8 – Knowing Your Audience and Finding a Style

 

“A site is never fully complete or finally finished.”

“Think about gender and class” and geography and demography and everything else that defines your audience.

“What browsers and operating systems do audience members likely use?” Wow. Do I have to consider that? Yes, I do.

9 – Editing and Publishing

 

“Online publishing is not at all like print in terms of job responsibilities….”

“Web newsrooms are filled with content producers.” When copyediting, “check pages in different browsers, using different monitors and connection speeds.”
“The perception of the symbolism and meaning is as important as the intended communication.”

10 – E-mail and Discussion Groups

“Certain messages, like bad news, should never be conveyed via e-mail.”
“Don’t write when you’re angry.”
“Sending abusive or insulting e-mail, called flaming, almost always is a mistake.”

11 – Blogging

“Bloggers became reporters of a kind.”
“Blogging’s priority is to publish, then to begin filtering. Journalism’s priority is to
filter and only then to publish.”
“Blogs are not necessarily replacing other forms of journalism, but they are adding a
new, unique layer of coverage.”
“Never delete anything.”
“Publish as fact only that which you believe to be true. If a statement is merely
speculation, it should be so stated.”

12 -PR and Publicity

According to one source, when writing an internet news release use no more than six words to describe what the company does.
Web sites should minimize the Internet’s negatives. These limitations include:
• The amount of clutter and volume
• Rapid aging of information
• The learning curve in terms of using sites….
• Privacy and other legal concerns
• Similar names.

When dealing with a hoax or threat:
“Utilize the communication methods used to attack the company.”

13 – Online Advertising

“Print and television are used for brand-building and image projection. The Web site….is often used to close the sale….”

“Word of mouse – still works best for a lot of products, companies and consumers, spread most commonly via e-mail.”

14 – Business Communications

“Intranets are 10 to 100 times the size of the same companies’ external Web sites.”
“Extranets are designed to serve and connect privileged third-party or external sites.”
“Most intranets capture what leaders in the company think is important: They reflect
a top-down view of what’s happening in the organization.”

Summary

In the short term, awareness of the highlights above improve my daily communication at work through e-mails, client letters and proposals. In the long term, this knowledge opens up opportunities for career growth and development in the ever-expanding and increasingly influential world of online publishing.

Unanswered Questions

The key unanswered question for me is “what is the future of newspapers and magazines?” We had some discussion with valuable input from experts, but no one really knows the future. A big part of my current career path depends on the future of traditional print media.

Another question: What will future successful online advertising models look like? Will it consist of banner ads, in-stream videos, or something else?

Still another related question: Will books transition to more digital delivery systems?

My key questions are not about what I learned, but about what the future holds. Like much of what we learned in this class, we’ll all learn this together eventually as well.

 

 

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