Week #2 Readings

I really enjoyed reading Gerry McGovern's "Seven Deadly Sins of Web Writing". McGovern defined the sins as follows:

1) I think I'm God
2) I go on and on and on...
3) I can't spell and I've awful grammar
4) I'm locked in a print view of the world
5) I'm not very good at writing headings
6) Actually, I don't think content is very important
7) Don't have seven points if there are only six...

I believe there are several other "sins" not featured on this list, including as pop-up ads and spyware within a website. In addition, BROKEN LINKS annoy the hell out of me. This might be partially because I have to fix so many of them at work (I work systems maintenance at the Turfgrass Information Center in MSU's main library), but hey. You shouldn't have links within your site that lead nowhere.

In Constance J. Petersen's article, she offers ten tips for successful web writing:

1) Punch up headlines
2) Emphasize key concepts
3) Harness the power of lists
4) Create meaningful captions
5) Simplify for understanding
6) Invert the pyramid
7) Write one idea per paragraph
8) Make each page stand alone
9) Link wisely
10) Be current, accurate, and credible

I believe these are all very good suggestions, mostly because the internet world tends to scan websites and other web content rather than reading them through in their entirety. I think McGovern and Petersen would get along quite well in regards to their views on web content.

Cameron Moll describes "pulling" and "pushing" technology. He states that, "pull technology refers to technology that allows users to pro-actively seek out information, whereas push technology refers to technology that delivers information to users, usually at regular intervals and without the user actively seeking the information".

The final reading assignment, from the third chapter of the Web Style Guide, presents the idea of "voice" as "an important stylistic consideration for web authors". To me, having "voice" means that the author's personality comes through in their work.

examples of sites with voice:
zefrank.com: ze's site is, for lack of a better word, kickass. his personality is blatantly evident in both the content and design of the site.

burtsbees.com: basically, someone at this company really enjoys the color yellow.

iowa.gov: very professionally designed site. i don't know if it has much "voice" in the sense of how i defined it, but it certainly has an air of professionalism.