writing/production for the web - basic principles

Paul BradshawSenior Lecturer, Online Journalism, Magazines and New Media, School of Media, Birmingham City University, UK (mediacourses.com)Blogger, Online Journalism Blog

Writing/producing for the web: BASIC principles

BASIC principles

Brevity

People read…

25% slower

Source: Jakob Nielsen: http://bit.ly/G4auC

less than 28% of words

Jakob Nielsen: http://bit.ly/ZYni

One. idea. per. par.

Jakob Nielsen: http://bit.ly/ZYni

Adaptability

The journalistThe

information

What does the story suit?

What might the user want to do with the information?

Scannability

Users are task-

oriented

Headlines need to be

literal

Get to the point quick

SEO

Subheadings

Bullet lists

Blockquotes

Interactivity

Link

Link

Link

Think

Think blog

Think blog

Q&A

Think

wiki

blogQ&A

Think

wiki

blogQ&A

live chat

Think

wiki

blogQ&A

live chat

webcast

Think

wiki

blogQ&A

live chat

webcastquiz

Think

wiki

blogQ&A

live chat

webcastquiz

image map

Think

wiki

blogQ&A

live chat

webcastquiz

image map

poll

Think

wiki

blogQ&A

live chat

webcastquiz

image map

gallerypoll

Think

wiki

blogQ&A

live chat

webcastquiz

image map

gallerypoll

user video

Think

wiki

blogQ&A

live chat

webcastquiz

image map

gallerypoll

forumuser video

Think

wiki

blogQ&A

live chat

webcastquiz

image map

gallerypoll

forumuser video

database

mashup

Community&

Conversation

They are not the

audience

Users as co-

creators of news

Distributed acts of

journalism

Engage: invite and respond

Create social

value off your site

Journalism acts of

distribution

The story is bigger than the

site

Leave your site

Conversation =

Distribution

5 things you can do now

1. Type up a story – make sure you: Have a literal headline

2. Get to the point in the first par

3. Include as many links as possible

4. Break it up with subheads

5. Split pars so they are as simple as possible.

5 things you can do next

1. Think about the story/issue – what media would it suit?

2. What platforms could it use – i.e. live chats, wikis, forums, maps, quiz, etc?

3. How can you involve users as co-creators before, during and after production?

4. How can you make the raw information adaptable by users?

5. Where might those users be online, and how can you gather/produce the story on those platforms?

paul@onlinejournalismblog.com