When in doubt bring a dog I brought
When in doubt, bring a dog. I brought two…
Who is Lisa, anyway? THEN • • • Literature/Anthropology Major Print Journalist – Ithaca Times – College Rag Freelance Journalist – Marketing Tools – American Demographics – Engineering – Various publications in the Healthcare Industry NOW • • • Office of Web Communications – Program Manager, Developer Relations – De Facto Blogger Resident Recusant Guest Speaker (apparently)
“… 79% of our test users always scanned any new page they came across; only 16% read it word by word. ” -Jakob Nielson Web Usability Expert, 1997
cornell. edu statistics suggest that the average length of time users spend on the site is 4 minutes and 37 seconds.
My father would argue that this is not writing, but he reads the shampoo bottles in the shower… Nielsen says your text should be: • • broken up by headings shaped into lots of punchy, single idea paragraphs put key phrases in bold face bullet key points avoid jargon and rhetoric straightforward short Are you ready for your manacles?
It’s not really THAT bad. • Write tight(ly) • Audience matters even more • Less formal is fine (sometimes) • Be ruthless • Do not get attached to your words (30% rule) • Think in terms of word-count (ask your designers) • Sometimes, even charactercount! • Pithy (I hate that word) • Be creative and be smart…short does not equal dumb
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