CONTENT IS...

HOW PEOPLE READ EDITORIAL WEB CONTENT

While traditional print media is in narrative format (eg: headline, lead-in, intro para, body copy, conclusion), web editorial content is based on the format of hyperlinks, multimedia and 3D Information.

For most commercial and consumer-oriented sites, web writers reach web users most successfully when they break down content into digestible info-bits that can connect in multi-linear sequence, like game pieces in 3D Tic Tac Toe. Hyperlinks make information bits dynamic and interconnected. A writer can try to guide the reader into a sequenced experience but the reader will venture freely through information, or ignore it, as they wish. Clear, concise communications best catches the attention of meandering eyes.

According to web usability guru Jakob Nielsen, only a small number of web users are likely to make significant use of all the tools a site provides. While some sites with particular demographics, such as MySpace and Facebook, have large involved communities of users, "Most people just want to get in, get it and get out," said Mr Nielsen. "For them the web is not a goal in itself. It is a tool.”

For long-form writing on the web, turn to Salon, The New Yorker, The Morning News and other literary-minded online publications.

Resources:
BBC, for rich content
Useit, for usability research about how users read the web
Content Critical book by Gerry McGovern
American Society of Magazine Editors best practices for digital media

TRENDS FOR EDITORIAL FORMATS

BLOGS:
A “blog” is a Web-log. It’s a time-stamped format for first person narrative content, typically on one niche topic or area of interest or expertise. “Tags” on blogs are like keywords, signifying the most popular topics on the blog. A blog may contain text, images, video and audio content.

Crackdowns On Bloggers Increasing, Survey Finds, By Nora Boustany, Washington Post Foreign Service, Wednesday, October 17, 2007; Page A14. Government repression in some countries has shifted from journalists to bloggers, with the vitality of the Internet triggering a more focused crackdown as blogs increasingly take the place of mainstream news media, according to Lucie Morillon, Washington director of the advocacy group Reporters Without Borders.

Blogs to check out:
Gawker;
BuzzMachine;
NYTimesCityRoom
Technorati, blog aggregator
Regret the Error, about errors in the media
How to start your own free blog:
WordPress is the leading blog authoring tool, free. Also see Google-owned Blogger.


WIKI’S:
A wiki is a website than can be edited by anyone visiting the site. Everyone can enter, edit or delete content. See Wikipedia, the giant cooperative, self-censuring encyclopedia. Wiki’s are also used by any dispersed group of people working together, for eg. work teams, classrooms or special interest groups.


CONTENT FEEDS / RSS (Real Simple Syndication): RSS is a family of Web feed formats used to publish frequently updated content such as blog entries, news headlines or podcasts. An RSS "feed” is either a summary of content from an associated web site or the full text. RSS makes it possible for people to keep up with their favorite web sites in an automated manner that's easier than checking them manually. The user subscribes to a feed by entering the feed's link into an RSS reader, or by clicking an RSS icon in a browser that initiates the subscription process.

CONTENT MANAGEMENT SYSTEMS:
Template-based input screens for text headlines, articles, photo labels, etc. that output on site in a pre-structured manner, with no technical knowledge required.

PODCASTS:
Podcasts may be scripted by writers for inclusion on web sites from iTunes to corporate sites to niche-interest blogs.

WEB VIDEO AND THE WRITER

Check out the New York Times' new coverage, The Medium With television and the Internet converging at last, who's going to watch all this here-goes-nothing online video? Everything from political propaganda videos to pseudo-candid celebrity rants seems to expect an audience. "The Medium" will find, review and make sense of all those senseless new images: web video, viral video, user-driven video, custom interactive video, embedded video ads, web-based VOD, broadband television, diavlogs, vcasts, vlogs, video podcasts, mobisodes, webisodes, mashups and more.

Web video is an increasingly viable venue for professional writers. Writers can create voiceover scripts for web video produced by media companies, corporations or institutions. Or aggregate user-generated video and add editorial commentary. Or buy a videocamera and produce your own vlog or video podcast or webisodes...

Resources:
Slatev – new “online video magazine” from the ezine slate.com
web video conference info
Wine Library TV
Mario Unclogged A blog by chef Mario Batalli with serial video spots
Sample Real estate company using online video to enhance customer connection

Enjoy this music video about Writer's Block.

WEB VENUES FOR PROFESSIONAL WRITERS (vs. User-Generated Content Sites)

- Television media sites
- Magazine websites
- Online content
- B2B product & service sites
- B2C product & service sites
- Corporate communications (internal and external sites)
- Advertising and PR agencies
- Blogs
- Newspaper sites
- Reviews
- Online news sites
- Political organizations online
- Not for profit organization sites
- Arts organization sites
- Educational Flash tutorials
- Web video scripts
….. and more!!

October 12, 2007 ABC Reshapes the Evening News for the Web By BRIAN STELTER Executives at the broadcast networks know they have opportunities online that they do not have on television — namely, to take chances by testing new forms of news delivery and new types of storytelling. They are also mindful that making their content relevant online is a good way to attract the younger audiences who are less likely to tune in to the evening news on television.

Check out Mediabistro classes in Soho and online