Writing for Online Tim Currie tim.currie@ukings.ca @ tscurrie

1. Writingfor OnlineTim Currietim.currie@ukings.ca@tscurrie

2. Online Writing • Structure • Subheads and captions • Links

3. Jakob Nielsen: • He is an expert in how people consume content online • He used to work for Sun Microsystems, investigating how people dealt with text on their computer screens • He authored a 1997 landmark study on Web usability (and also the 2000 book Designing Web Usability) NIELSEN NORMAN GROUP

4. Nielsen’s Research Reading online is different from reading on paper(1997): • Most people don’t read online — they scan • Only 16% read a page word for word • 79% of readers scan a page first • Reading online is 25% slower than reading on paper

5. Research By Nielsen’s Peers Stanford University/Poynter Institute EyeTracker studies(2000 & 2004): • Eyes go to text first • Briefs/teasers are popular • A headline has less than 1 sec. of a site visitor's attention STANFORD UNIVERSITY

6. Nielsen’s Research • People don’t want to read a lot online. Why? • Body position • Eyestrain • Many web pages are authored for print • It’s difficult to judge the end of the story • The web is action-driven. People love to click

7. Nielsen’s Recommendations for Web Pages Text should be scannable: Highlighted keywords

8. Quartz:Why Nest will be bigger for Google than Android

9. Nielsen’s Recommendations for Web Pages Text should be scannable: At least two levels of headlines

10. Toronto Star:Costa Concordia: Italian agency gives final OK to right cruise ship after checking weather conditions

12. Nielsen’s Recommendations for Web Pages • Text should be scannable: • Bulleted lists

13. Globe and Mail:Unemployment, grim public housing fueling riots in Stockholm

15. Toronto Star:10 fees you should avoid

16. Buzzfeed:44 Classic French Meals You Need To Try Before You Die • 13 Reasons The Ocean Might Never Be The Same • The Day Lehman Died

18. Nielsen’s Recommendations for Web Pages • One idea per paragraph; no more than three sentences in each • Inverted pyramid style • Write 50% less than you would in printon each page

19. Clang! Creak! Tink, tink, tink tink. TING! In days past the sounds of a blacksmith’s shop were among the most distinctive noises found in towns and villages across North America. The sounds of village smithy pounding, bending and twisting metal were commonplace in the 18th and 19th centuries. Today, however, with commercial hardware stores in many malls, the sounds of an operating blacksmith’s shop are pretty much relegated to the past. Or, maybe not, thanks to a new course offered at the Nova Scotia Community College. Most Nova Scotians under 60 have never heard the “clang! tink, tink, tink!” of a blacksmith at work. But a new course offered at the Nova Scotia Community College promises to introduce a new generation to the piercing, but once-familiar, sound.

20. Nielsen’s Recommendations for Web Pages • Graphical elements — tables, charts, photos, maps — help people absorb information • Casual language, sentence fragments work fine • Hypertext links aid credibility

21. A Newspaper Story

22. An Online Story

23. Nielsen’s Research(Mobile Devices, 2009) “Observing user suffering during our sessions reminded us of the very first usability studies we did with traditional websites in 1994. It was that bad."

24. Nielsen’s Research(Mobile Phones, 2009) Poor experience because: • Small screens • Awkward input • Slow download • Sites not designed formobile APPLE

25. Nielsen’s Research(Tablets, 2011) • Read–tap asymmetry for websites • Touchable areas were too small in many apps • Accidental activation a big problem • Low discoverability • Users disliked typing APPLE

33. Nielsen’s Recommendations for Headlines • The Issue: They are often displayed on their own, out of context

34. Nielsen’s Recommendations for Headlines On the eve of a new show at the Museum of Modern Art that celebrates his seminal works, legendary multimedia artist Michael Snow talks to Sarah Milroy about his heady, experimental days in New York.

37. Nielsen’s Recommendations for Headlines (& Subheads) • Make it short & clear • No teasers • Write in plain language: no puns, no "cute" or "clever" headlines.

38. Exercise • goo.gl/75XKI0

39. Writing Hypertext Links • They are recommendations • By nature they signify importance • They build trust with readers by making the reporting transparent • They allow readers to further their own interest

40. Writing Hypertext Links

41. Writing Hypertext Links • Chronicle Herald:Liberals vow to cut wait times, add family doctors

42. Writing Hypertext Links

43. Writing Hypertext Links

44. Writing Hypertext Links

45. Writing Hypertext Links

46. Writing Hypertext Links

47. Writing Hypertext Links

48. Writing Hypertext Links

49. Writing Hypertext Links • Three to five words Link to: • Official websites: products or organizations • Announcements(news release or report) • Related stories • Facts: statistics or comments

50. Writing Hypertext Links • Indicate if content is other than a web page (Eg. PDF, video)