How Do You Transition or Repurpose Content for the Web?
Filed Under Comments, Marketing, Successful Blog, Writing | 11 Comments
Don’t Endow Me
Anyone who has had to give a demonstration, deliver a report, or teach a class knows the importance of tuning the information to the audience. Anyone who been to a class that involves learning software knows that students is likely to include folks new to the subject and the most savvy experts who want to refine their skills.
Sharing information with people is easier, more efficient, and more meaningful …
- when we’re speaking one-to-one and can tailor the information to that individual.
- when the people receiving the information offer feedback about the information they’re receiving.
- when we know the experience of the people who are receiving the information.
- when all of the people who are receiving the information are from the same culture, speak the same first language, are at the same functional level, have the same skills, and relate to the topic the same way we do.
It’s hard to do these when we’re working with a group that is all in the same room. This problem becomes even more difficult on the web. Here, we’re tasked to share information meaningfully when we’re in a new genre and blind to the audience. We’re writing for an unknown number of people who could be from anywhere and know absolutely nothing on our subject or have significantly more experience than we do.
How Do We Write Meaningful Content for People We Can’t See?
Writing for the web gets easier when we realize the words carry a different load than words in print. Words online are lit and hit the eye differently. People access them with a different intent. It’s a different experience to read a device than to read a book. It’s different experience to read and respond to a blog than to read a newspaper and write an email back.
I’ve been repurposing content and publishing online and offline since the 20th century. Here are some tips about transitioning and writing content for the web.
- Titles Are Invitations. The title of this post tells you exactly what you get by reading it. Had I more metaphorically called this Snapshots of Web Writing, you might have thought this would feature pictures and writing samples. Use a title to attract people who want exactly the content that will be under it.
- Brevity is Beautiful. Fifty-one word sentences and half-page paragraphs don’t work with the backlighted, fast-paced format of the web. Attention in harder to keep in this visual venue. Long sentences lose their meaning before we get to the end of them. Long paragraphs have the same effect. Easy to read can still be intelligent … To be or not to be. is possibly the most easily read graduate level sentence ever written. Short words are powerful tool.
- Subheads Are Relevancy Signposts that Show Respect. When we break up content with subheads, we give people a chance to know what’s coming next. Readers have so little time. When we offer a simple subject that telegraphs the idea in the next section, we allow them an option to choose whether to skip ahead. Who wouldn’t appreciate that to having to crawl through unwanted information searching for what we really need?
- Everyone likes to learn. No one likes to be taught. Often we take our responsibility to share information so seriously that we undercut our own effectiveness. We stand at the podium hoping it will give us expertise so that our words will be heard. If we step away from being the “sage on the stage,” and instead take on the role of the “guide at the side,” we can share what we’ve learned rather than tell what we know.
- Write for one person who wants to know what you know. It’s easy to get overwhelmed by writing to a diverse group. Think individuals and include yourself. It’s WE — the audience and me — not me and them. We write more effectively when we consider what we’d want to learn. Write for someone intelligent and savvy as yourself, who wants to know or be reminded of what you know.
Great titles, short paragraphs, small words, subheads for navigation, a learner’s voice, and content leveled and chosen by you as a partner with the audience <-- that's a formula for transitioning content to the web.
Have you repurposed content for the web? What have you found works best?
--ME "Liz" Strauss
Liz can help with a problem you're having with your writing, check out the Work with Liz!! page in the sidebar.
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From PlanetOZH — A Comment Counter Named LIZ!!!
Filed Under Comments, Successful Blog, Tools | 12 Comments
The WordPress Liz Comment Counter Plugin
If you haven’t heard about it . . . a very nice man by the name of Ozh did something even nicer — he made a plugin named after me. How beautiful is that?!! As Ozh says
Liz Strauss Comment Counter is a highly configurable “internet badge†that shows the number of comments your WordPress blog has. Use it either to show off how social your blog is, as an incentive for commenters to be part of it, or just because it’s fun
See for yourself!!
The dashboard is cool.
The colorwheel is fun!
Of course, presets come with.
I’ve got to get me one!
Find out all you need to know from Ozh!! Go check it out and do tell Ozh hello from me!
Thank you, Ozh! It’s almost too cool for comment!
–ME “Liz” Strauss
The Mic is On: It’s About Weird Dreams and Nightmares
Filed Under Comments, SOB Business, Successful Blog | 395 Comments
It’s Like Open Mic Only Different
Here’s how it works.
It’s like any rambling conversation. Don’t try to read it all. Jump in whenever you get here. Just go to the end and start talking. EVERYONE is WELCOME.
The rules are simple — be nice.
There are always first timers and new things to talk about. It’s sort of half “Cheers” part “Friends” and part video game. You don’t know how much fun it is until you try it.
Do you have sleeping dreams that you remember? Weird ones, scary ones, ones that could be made into a movie? Ever had a recurring dream that came back over and over, or dreamed about the first person you loved years ago?
Tonight it’s about weird dreams and nightmares:
- dreams that stick with you after you wake up
- dreams that move you to action
- dreams that you knew you were sleeping while you dreamed them
- dreams that came true or told the future
- ahem . . .
And, we’ll talk about whatever else comes up, including THE EVER POPULAR, Basil the code-writing donkey . . . and flamenco dancing (because we always get off topic, anyway.)
Oh, and bring links about weird dreams and nightmares to share!
–ME “Liz” Strauss
Related article
What is Tuesday Open Comment Night?
Image source: sxc.hu - standard restrictions
Open Mic 7pm Chgo Time: Let’s Talk About Weird Dreams …
Filed Under Comments, SOB Business, Successful Blog | 3 Comments
… and Nightmares
Weird ones, scary ones, ones that could be made into a movie. Ever had a recurring dream that came back over and over, or dreamed about the first person you loved years ago? We might talk about sleeping dreams that we remember, and whatever else comes up, even flamenco dancing.
Oh, and bring links to share — about weird dreams and nightmares.
The rules are simple — be nice.
Do be nice.
–ME “Liz” Strauss
Related article
What is Tuesday Open Comment Night?
blog_promotion, discussion, letting_off_steam, living-social-media, Open_Comment_Night
JS-Kit Acquires HaloScan: Commenting Goes Multi-Media
Filed Under Comments, Successful Blog, Tools | 3 Comments
Check Out that Profile
At noon CST, widget maker, JS-Kit, announced that they’ve acquire HaloScan — the largest hosted comment service on the web — and they’re building out some enticing new features to make the new product a full-service commenting engine. Key traits are that it allows embedding of YouTube and audio in comments and is completely removable — you won’t lose your comments should you decide to opt out at a later date.
Last night JS-Kit CEO, Khris Loux explained that his team is working feverishly on a build out that will offer commenters ever-increasing ways deepen their profiles and manage their information. He strongly emphasized his core beliefs that content belongs to the producer and that great customer relationships will be forged by serving that idea.
New features include:
Portable Visitor Profile
The new profile feature gives users access to their comments made across JS-Kit 550,000 publisher sites and encourages cross-domain traffic. When you mouseover a comment by a JS-Kit commenter you’ll see a profile that looks like this:
Synchronization
You can add or remove JS-Kit Comments without risk of losing comment data. Import and update existing comments from Blogger or WordPress. The integration panel looks like this:
100% SEO Support for Comment Data
I haven’t tried it yet, but it sure sounds promising. Khris encourages feedback so that the product offers you the most useful features and usability. You can find out more at JS-Kit Comments.
-ME “Liz” Strauss
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