According to New York Times reporter Charles Duhigg, almost 40 percent of our daily behavior isn't intentional. We don't think about it. We get up, have breakfast, go to work, attend meetings, write email, surf the web, make plans, all without being particularly aware of we are doing. It's just … [Read more...] about Audience Development, Weight-Loss, and ‘The Power of Habit’
The Atlantic’s One Sentence Traffic Growth Secret
With one sentence, The Atlantic Wire changed their editorial direction and, in the last six months, their traffic has exploded. According to digital director, Bob Cohn, this is the secret: "No More Stories That No One Will Read." Simple. Bob Cohn via MediaBistro … [Read more...] about The Atlantic’s One Sentence Traffic Growth Secret
How to Write for Gawker
Stumbled across an old but interesting memo from Gawker Media writer Paul Boutin to managing editor Noah Robischon (which was immediately leaked to New York Magazine's Vulture site). Valleywag (a Gawker sister site) then reported on the leak, linking to NYMag and running the piece themselves. Here … [Read more...] about How to Write for Gawker
The Coming Revolution in Web Readability — WOFF
Richard Fink, of ReadableWeb.com, has written a couple of really interesting posts over the summer (on his site and on AListApart.com) regarding online readability. At the moment, most sites play it safe using the three or four fonts that are universal on the web -- Courier, Verdana, Times Roman. … [Read more...] about The Coming Revolution in Web Readability — WOFF
The Coming Revolution: HTML5
It's tough for a layman to get excited about a change in browser-code specifications, but what the switchover to HTML5 means is few plugins, more audio and video, better graphics, crisper text, and faster-loading pages. This is what the Apple website says: These web standards are open, reliable, … [Read more...] about The Coming Revolution: HTML5
Digital Writing: Jacob Nielsen on Usable Writing
The study of how people interact with websites has several branches. The inventor of one branch, called "usability," is Jacob Nielsen. I've been reading his column since the mid-nineties. In general, his advice is the same as any first-year journalism class, only intensified for the internet … [Read more...] about Digital Writing: Jacob Nielsen on Usable Writing
Beware the “Game-Changer” Technology
In "The Lake View: This World and the Universe" Steven Weinberg uses military history to show how elites become enraptured with the most dramatic technology, not necessarily the best. From the knight on horseback, who frequently lost to peasant archers and foot soldiers; to the dreadnought … [Read more...] about Beware the “Game-Changer” Technology