The document discusses considerations for writing engaging content for the web. It notes that web audiences scan content quickly, so writers must use headlines, formatting, and an inverted pyramid structure to prioritize important information. References and sources should be hyperlinked to improve credibility. Legal issues like defamation can arise, so writers need to be careful about opinions. Overall, web writing requires understanding a new type of audience.

1. © Eamonn P. O’Raghallaigh 2010
Considerations When Writing for the Web: Engaging a new type of Audience
Eamonn O’Raghallaigh, WebScience Ltd, Dublin, Ireland
Introduction
The rise of the Blog is a recent phenomenon, with Jorn Barger coining the term
“weblog” on Dec 17th, 1997 to describe his collection of links logged from the
internet. This was further cropped to the term “blog” and in the 12 years since the
first blog was published, the blog phenomenon has mutated from a geek niche to a
world-dominating online publishing medium (Wortham, 2007). Some one hundred
and thirty three million (133,000,000) blogs have been indexed by Technorati since
2002 (McLean, 2009), however there is uncertainty regarding the actual number of
real active blogs online; how many of these are maintained regularly and how many
were just sporadic flights of fancy for the online hobbyist? According to research
conducted by Technorati in 2009 (McLean, 2009), four distinct sub-groups of
bloggers exist:
(a) Hobbyists (72%) – by far the largest cohort in the study, hobbyist’s blog for
fun and the majority do not want their blogging activities to be commercial.
(b) Part-Timers (15%) – blog to supplement their income, but don’t consider it to
be a full-time job. They blog to share their expertise and to attract her
business to their company.
(c) Self-Employed (9%) – blog full time for their own company or organisation.
They value page views as opposed to personal satisfaction as a success
metric. 70% report that they own a company.
(d) Corporate (4%) – blog full time for a company or organisation. Again, they
place emphasis on page views as a success metric.
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General Considerations when Writing for the Web
Writing for the web has evolved into a distinct style when compared to traditional
media, such as books, magazines and newspapers. According to Nielsen, users
behave and read differently online, with only 16% of users reading an article word-
for-word (Nielsen, 1997). Users have a tendency to rapidly ‘scan’ online material.
Nielsen’s famous 2006 eye-tracking study found that the dominant scanning pattern
is an ‘F-shaped pattern, with users initially scanning horizontally across the page,
then moving down slightly followed by a second shorter horizontal scan, finishing
with a vertical scan down through the rest of the content (Nielsen, 2006). This
scanning behaviour means that a number of factors need to be considered when
writing online to facilitate this reading style.
Figure 1: Heat Maps showing User Scanning Behaviour
Figure 1 shows heat maps from Nielsen’s eye-tracking study (Nielsen, 2006). Users
scan the content on the page in a characteristic ‘F-shaped’ pattern, with red areas
showing the most scanned areas, while blue showing the least.
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Constructing the Headline
The headline should be carefully considered, short and snappy. The purpose of the
title is to draw readers into the rest of the blog post. Most users will come across a
blog post via RSS, a search engine listing or through links from other bloggers –
hence the requirement for the snappy headline to captivate and draw them in
(Rowse, 2008a). A number of different techniques have been put forward to achieve
captivation of the reader through a headline including (a) Communicating a Benefit,
(b) Creating Controversy or Debate, (c) Personalising Titles (using words like ‘You’
and ‘Your’), (d) Asking a Question, (e) Using Power Words such as ‘Free’ and
‘Secrets’ and (f) Humour (Rowse, 2008b).
Constructing and Formatting Content
To retain the interest of readers, content should be relevant, timely and scannable.
No one will bother to spend time reading a blog which is nonsense, out-dated
(except if it contains relevant or instructional information) or presented in a bland
fashion with no sub-headings, links or formatting. According to Nielsen a number of
strategies can be used to increase the scannability of a page, which can increase the
likelihood of a post being assimilated (Nielsen, 1997). These include:
(a) The use of highlighted keywords, either using typeface variations
(b) The use of hypertext links to reference sources, to explain unusual words or
concepts, to refer to further reading or to interlink to other content
(c) Sub-Headings which are relevant and meaningful, not cryptic or clever
(d) Bulleted lists, which order the information in an easily scannable format
(e) The ‘Inverted Pyramid’ writing style, where the most important information or
conclusion is at the beginning of the post, lesser information towards the end.
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(f) One idea or concept per paragraph
(g) Try to keep the content concise and short; a general rule is half the word
count or less than conventional writing.
Sources & References
It is good practice to reference sources in a blog post with both a mention and a
hyperlink (Sullivan, 2006). Sometimes it is good practice to include a complete
bibliography of sources at the end of the post for clarity – this will add creditability to
the post as readers can see at a glance the research that has gone into creating it.
From a usability standpoint, include hyperlinks to references so readers can easily
navigate to the source for confirmation or further reading; however ensure this
hyperlink has a ‘_blank’ attribute and opens a new tab or users may permanently
navigate away.
Spelling & Grammar
Spelling and grammatical errors in a blog post can detract from the creditability of the
site. In a study of 4500 web users by Fogg (2002) of Stanford University, correct
spelling was identified as one of the top 10 factors affecting the perceived
creditability of a website (Fogg, 2002). It is straightforward and highly advisable to
perform a spelling a grammar check prior to publishing online; most blogging
platforms now have built-in plugins to automatically spell check posts.
Universal Audience
When writing for the web it is important to remember that not all readers are at your
level of language comprehension or intelligence. Unless the post is highly technical
or for a specific niche, it is best practice not to use sophisticated or highly technical
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5. © Eamonn P. O’Raghallaigh 2010
language (Sullivan, 2006). Some readers may only have English as a second
language and will navigate away if comprehension is too challenging. Some readers
may be novices at a particular subject and will get bored if the language is too
technical.
Corporate and Business Blogging
Blogging and social media for business are fast becoming a revolution in the online
world, with company blogs and Facebook pages consistently moving toward
mainstream adoption (Weil, 2009). There are many benefits to having a corporate
blog or social media footprint, however a note of caution for the inexperienced user
must be noted – as positive as they can be for business, they can be equally as
damaging if not used correctly (O’Raghallaigh, 2010).
Corporate blogs offer a unique level of interaction with the customer – they can
communicate information rapidly and receive feedback in the form of user
comments. This creates a personal or social touch to a company, increasing trust
and communication. Social Media for business, such as Facebook, Twitter and
LinkedIn also have a similar effect, with the added benefit of access to niche and
targeted groups, which can increase marketing effectiveness.
However, there are also a number of dangers associated with corporate blogs and
social media for business if these tools are not used correctly. The nominated
blogger or bloggers for a company must be in a position of trust, as their comments
must represent the company’s message, not their own opinion. Horror stories of
‘loose-cannon’ corporate bloggers, who communicated their opinion rather that the
company’s stance, has ended up in numerous libel cases in the US and lost
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6. © Eamonn P. O’Raghallaigh 2010
business and reputation due to loose comments regarding other companies or
customers in general (Broache, 2008). Twitter is especially dangerous as sometimes
the language can be colloquial and company representatives can forget their context
and tweet something rash. Once a comment is tweeted, there is a permanent record
of it online, even if it is deleted from the users account.
A number of special considerations should be taken into account when blogging for
business in addition to the general considerations outlined above (O’Raghallaigh,
2010).
1. Think before you blog or tweet – is this a message the company would post on its
website? if you said this to your manager would he/she agree with it and post it
via mail to your clients / customers? Would you see this on a memo from the
CEO of the company for distribution to the media?
2. Keep opinions to a minimum as an opinion is subjective and there is bound to be
at least one or two people that disagree with it; and the people that disagree
with it could have been your next customer.
3. Keep it factual, but relevant – facts will enhance your reputation as a
knowledgeable and intelligent corporate entity.
4. Avoid destructive criticism – no one likes people that put other people down or
who lavishes in others misery.
5. Avoid giving away too much personal information – it’s a business blog, use your
personal blog for this
6. Avoid giving away too much company information – competitors read your
company blog too
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7. © Eamonn P. O’Raghallaigh 2010
Legal Considerations
As discussed briefly in the preceding section, there is the potential for legal
consequences if any material published online constitutes an infringement of the law.
This area is a legal minefield as the issue of jurisdiction becomes important – if an
Irish resident publishes an inflammatory article on their blog that does not break libel
or defamation laws in Ireland, but does constitute an infringement in the USA, there
seems to be little if any recourse for the subject of the defamation from the USA. To
this end, most of the case law surrounding defamation and libel by bloggers has
come from America. The first recorded successful libel verdict against a blogger in
the United States occurred on the 16th June 2004 (Bayard, 2007). In Banks v.
Milum, the defendant David Milum, upset with his lawyer Rafe Banks over the
handling of a prior case posted defamatory comments on a local political forum. He
accused Banks of delivering bribes to judges on behalf of drug dealers. After
deliberating for two days, the jury found Milum liable for defamation and awarded
Banks $50,000 in general damages, but no punitive damages (Bayard, 2007).
Although blogs appear to be an informal method of dissemination of information,
bloggers should still be aware that there could be consequences if the posted
material is potentially defamatory or libellous.
Conclusions
Writing for the web involves becoming familiar with a new type of audience; a reader
who scans information rapidly, expects relevant information to be presented
immediately and who will navigate away from the page at the slightest suggestion of
incredibility. Headlines with capture attention, content which is presented in a
formatted and scannable fashion with the most relevant information presented at the
start will give the post the greatest chance of captivating an audience.
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References
Bayard, S (2007). "Banks v. Milum” | www.citmedialaw.org | Retrieved online: 04.04.2010 |
http://www.citmedialaw.org/threats/banks-v-milum
Broache, A (2008). "Corporate employee blogs: Lawsuits waiting to happen?” | www.cnet.com |
Retrieved online: 05.04.2010 | http://news.cnet.com/8301-10784_3-9903070-7.html
Fogg, B.J. (2002). "Stanford Guidelines for Web Credibility." A Research Summary from the Stanford
Persuasive Technology Lab. | Stanford University | Retrieved online: 04.04.2010 |
http://credibility.stanford.edu/guidelines/index.html
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05.04.2010 | http://technorati.com/blogging/article/state-of-the-blogosphere-2009-introduction/
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O’Raghallaigh, E. (2010) “Blogging and Social Media for Business – Powerful yet Dangerous Tools” |
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and-social-media-for-business-powerful-yet-dangerous-tools/
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http://blogoscoped.com/archive/2006-10-11-n47.html
Rowse, D (2005) “Writing Blog Content – Make it Scannable” | www.problogger.net | Retrieved online:
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scannable/
Rowse, D. (2008a) “How to Craft a Blog Post – 10 Crucial Points to Pause” | www.problogger.net |
Retrieved online: 04.04.2010 | http://www.problogger.net/archives/2008/08/12/how-to-craft-a-
blog-post-10-crucial-points-to-pause/
Rowse, D. (2008b) “How to Craft Post Titles that Draw Readers into Your Blog” | www.problogger.net
| Retrieved online: 04.04.2010 | http://www.problogger.net/archives/2008/08/20/how-to-craft-
post-titles-that-draw-readers-into-your-blog/
Weil, D. (2009) “Corporate Blogging Inches up Gartner’s Slope of Mainstream Adoption” |
www.debbieweil.com | Retrieved online: 05.04.2010 |
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adoption/
Wortham, J. (2007) “After 10 Years of Blogging, the Future’s Brighter Than Ever” | www.wired.com |
Retrieved online: 05.04.2010 |
http://www.wired.com/entertainment/theweb/news/2007/12/blog_anniversary
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