There is virtue in maintaining the approach Bernstein takes on links and complexities of content structuring by relating to park/garden layouts.
Bernstein’s analogies give clues to the limits of structure and a place from which to critique the sheen that appears on the printed page in Hot Text! by Jonathon and Lisa Price. The couple seems to have sterilized the creative aspects of web writing. The full title goes on with Web Writing that Works. Whereas work might imply function it seems to focus on capitalizing on the $$$ of work than the content entailed therein.
Thinking about formatting content in a similar way as park layout design addresses the issue of appropriate inclusion. Price focuses on the economy or efficiency of web content. He assumes that less is more and that by distilling information into its most finely tuned, read concise, incarnation transparancy is achieved. There is more than just the ‘AHA’ moment that nuggets of information give us. A running news feed on the bottom screen of a major news channel may give the basic facts of a situation but not the whole impact of implications that a larger article in the New York Times might.
Price argues in Chapter 7 “put the most important item last” when embedding links into a text (139). This rule could be thrown out. Sequences function by inserting emphasis in the beginning like an exclamation or near the middle like the substance of a sandwich. It is stated “in an English sentence, we habitually stress the last phrase” yet effective novels can contain walloping opening prepositions and sub par sentence content.
Price speaks about ‘targets’ within online content. When readers scroll through and click on a targeted area, it should be easily apparant that they’ve succeeded in navigating. Organization of content should also seem natural and coherent. LinkText titles should also clearly indicate where it is they will take the reader and also be concise. Instead of having links that say 1)Help 2)Information and so on >>>>>> 1)Help Getting Started 2)Information about the Process…. Why is it that readers should seek to explore beyond the homepage? They should already be engaging in further content by reading what links are available. Reader’s should feel rewarded anytime they are redirected. I appreciate it when websites indicate which links lead away from the website and distinguish them from links that stay on the same website. It gives readers a reason to return. Price seems to think that links are necessary and this would seem to run the risk of inserting links where none is needed or for the sake of inclusion as a sort of qualifier and nothing else.
Example showing effective addition of a link
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Integrated steps will cue readers with links that actually redirect them similar to the example of ‘pay/donate’ buttons often seen. Price states that Ideas + Links = Experience. Again it seems that putting ourselves in the shoes of readers helps to creat a better experience. Frequency of visits and what content is being viewed the most should factor into how links are used to achieve the desired experience. An issue like this came up on the website for Red Cloud Indian School. Over half of their money to keep the doors open and lights on come from donations outside of Jesuit churches. Most of the money being spent collecting gifts went to billboards on the Loop in Chicago, catered auction events, appointed individuals in gift teams and much letter writing to secure donations. Their website has always stated that their need was great and any donations were appreciated. Up until 3 years ago, there were no places for people to donate directly. Readers may have shown an interest but short of writing a check and mailing it without any sense of it reaching its destination would not know where to go. Immediately next to the search bar on top is a button that states ‘Donate Now’. Within the 3 years of it being operational, they have received 5x the amount of small donations and gifts that they were seeing before. Many people who showed interest and read information involving need and history of the institution were willing to give financial support but had no place to do it. One well placed button can make the difference.
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Similar tactics work with email subscriptions for bands or authors. Promotions such as free downloads or limited release of writing/music/information before the general website establishes a lasting connection between reader and content. There is a fine line between extending a reader’s interest into a profit and looking at that interest as a commodity in its own way.
Thinking of the pop song structure is always advantageous to critique Price. It seems like Price is looking to exploit the 3 minute Hook > Verse > Chorus > Hook > Verse > Chorus > Bridge > Chorus mantality. Whether it be the easily consumed Monkees or today’s One Direction, in both cases record labels (or Simon Cowell) hand pick for ease of consumption. Visually appealing, around 3 minute formulaic songs that are in tune to trends enough to have mass appeal. Price cheapens not only the complexity of what web writers address but the depth readers are willing to explore. Some content is not meant to be formulaic and demands its own formulations. Zeppelin’s “Stairway to Heaven” was groundbreaking when AM/FM stations would play the song in its 7+ minute original format that still holds true to this day. Listeners/Readers were able to show that there are no rules for appropriate length and attention span to the critics and publishing powers. The very basis of Price’s arguments hold to this idea of formulaic packaging without going in depth potential complexities. While conciseness and organization are important elements, they should not go before the driving content in terms of inclusion in web writing. NY Times articles on line are not condensed from their print versions and instead are connected through links to entire sections of other articles pertaining to the same topic. There is substantive coverage without ever leaving the original website.
I found great bands and articles by links that were clustered together. If you went to a restaurant for the chicken but came home with amazing beef tips you would know this: connections can make/break an experience and good things can very often be very close in proximity. When web writing contains links that lead nowhere, the inclusion is not warranted. If a link is not worth the time it takes to leave the homepage leave it out. Links are clues into other issues, topics and mindsets. Or they could simply be trying to sell you something.
Price uses the same links at the end of every chapter. Lazy stylistic response or shameless promotion? Either way the formula stinks. The links under <post> are a major problem when considering his advice on links.
Links are the signposts that allow us to explore depth and context. The virtue of approaching structuring as architecture (Bernstein) is not only advantageous but integral. Readers expect not only rapid fire information and quick consumption of content but also want to be rewarded in the process that takes us there. That is where thinking about content as exploring a physical space is helpful.
In hypertexts, embedded and irregular links suggest the wildness of nature, where thumb tabs, lists, and menus all suggest the order of planning. Order, too, is suggested by links that explain themselves — either through explicit annotation, or through pop-ups, mouseover messages, or balloon titles.
— Gates & Signposts, Bernstein
It is important that links be clear. Neon colors and swirling texts can function to draw in attention, but it needs to be formatted in a way that it is clearly a link and where it will take readers.
Not only should their experience be valued but updates should be made that reflect an attention to their attention span. If there are sections of information that have been moved around and in sequence yet still there are no readers, scrap it. Information that may seem integral in writing can become trivial very quickly and unread if it comes to be that headings and titles do not indicate content. The above pastiche shows hand scrawled bolding of the major who, where and for what and seems like it could be put together in a library in a matter of minutes with scissors and glue. Yet its effectiveness lies in the political references and adherence to DIY mentality of the Reagan-era punk posters.
Price seems to have made a career culling commonplaces and putting online literacy 101 into an academic format more fit for publishers than students. The satirical photos of himself that start out each chapter seem to be stretching towards something elementary school teachers would do to make their kids get into Robinson Crusue.
Price gives himself over to the fact that leaner is meaner and slender is better. More is less and vice versa. The intricacies of experiencing content and the process/content we see has many different purposes. Individuals now approach web content as they would a novel, sometimes skimming but looking for deeper insight in a topic. If writing is to be easily consumed it may be said that it also can be easily discarded. Frequency of visits may increase with streamlined content but complexity can also lead to furthered interest and renewed excitement for future posting. If you only fish the first few inches of a body of water, guppies and minnows are the only thing to be found. Inserting prescriptive rules into formatting links downplays the complex differences of one piece of writing from another.
- Overly-efficient traversal may benefit neither the author nor the reader. A hypertext catalog, for example, is not merely a reference database; merchants want to give readers opportunities to discover things they need or want, including items the reader has never seen. Shoppers learn of new and useful things and find unexpected ways to meet their needs. Supermarkets and museums, similarly, serve both customers and proprietors by offering more than visitors expect. Efficient traversal provides the information readers think they want, but may hide information readers need.
-Gates & Signposts, Mark Bernstein
Readers are not guranteed to scroll down to the bottom of a page to see its contents, so pack the top of it with content and the most pertinent links. When you look at Red Cloud’s website, immediately at mid screen level are clearly stated heading that seek to answer any questions and curiosities about the School. As the website is navigated, the Donate button is always near the top of the page. Readers may not make it to the bottom of the homepage, but they might be on the site long enough to Donate. Thus securing a future relationship between individual and the operating site via email and newsletter options tied in with donation. I use the example because of the importance of using scruple over space efficiency. Give your readers and students the credit they deserve and both parties will benefit and the consumability of content is greatly improved. Price’s folley is prepackaging content by first folding the box and then putting the content in after that point.
