How people read online

Some of our class reading material reminded me of a Slate article from earlier this year that succinctly explains that writers and journalists should adapt to how people read online. The piece, "Lazy Eyes," even cites our good friend Jakob Nielsen, usability expert and apparent sage. In a nutshell, writers should use:

• Bulleted list
• Occasional use of bold to prevent skimming
• Short sentence fragments
• Explanatory subheads
• No puns
• One idea per paragraph
• Half the word count of "conventional writing"

It basically says we hunt for information on the Web and look elsewhere if we don't quickly find what we need. As such, writers should keep it short and simple but use links for the few who are going to read something in its entirety. Many of these insights go along with what Matt Greenberg was sharing with us in class Saturday. I'll end it there to follow their expert advice.