Structure in Tweets and beyond
Shortform
In a tweet by @adampayne26, he highlighted Nicola Sturgeon’s jab at Thersea May’s Conservative party conference speech.
Structure is limited in a shortform piece, especially when constricted by Twitter’s 140 characters. The ‘Martini Glass’ is the best description of the structure.
Despite being just 2 sentences, the key facts and events are held in the first sentence, along with the photo included. However the ‘kicker’ comes in the form of Sturgeon’s quote. This confirms to the reader her jab at May’s speech earlier in the month.
This sort of structure works well for shortform pieces and on platforms that are fast-paced. It helps shows the personality of an account/individual, which means a gaining a dedicated following online is easier.
The Tweet itself could have included a link to an article or live blog of the SNP conference to keep users interested in this topic.
Longform
A BBC Magazine article from 8th October shows a longer and more casual article of the personal experience of a BBC journalist.
This article shows features of the ‘Hour Glass’ structure. The ‘main news’ is that a BBC journalist ‘did something stupid’ and got a permanent tattoo rather than a temporary one. However, the ‘something stupid’ is not revealed until past the digital fold.
Most of the article plays as a story with narrative — with a beginning, middle and end.
This article makes me cringe. Not just because I have tattoos and the idea of being tattooed on the roadside makes me want to run away. But also because of a new invention called common sense.
Rowlatt, in his article, mentions a conversation with a local doctor who explains that hepatitis B and C, as well as HIV are a common result of these tattoos.
This article is on the verge on ‘Dog Bites Man’ territory. However, made into a ‘Kebab’ structure, where Rowaltt’s anecdote begins the story, and goes onto discuss the risk of infection and culture of roadside tattoos, this would make into a much more interesting and important article.
