p. Another Fast Company “(extlink)article”:http://blog.fastcompany.com/archives/2003/11/14/languishing_language.html talks about the need to modify your writing style, particularly when dealing with the web. I couldn’t agree more. I can’t count the number of problems caused when someone “didn’t read the entire email” or “missed the details at the bottom.” Particularly with so much communication now coming in the form of remote
p. A phrase used by the article’s author that I particularly enjoy is the “attention economy.” It seems to me that at the root is a valid concern, a growing feeling that email and IM’s aren’t important enough to take time to craft thoughts, or even to apply proper spelling and grammar. Instant Messaging in particular as a medium seems to have spawned an attitude that communications need to be sent in real time, without preparation, thought, or proofreading.
p. Considering the number of problems with wrong dates or details given, instructions that are not clear and need an endless stream of corrections, retractions, and updates. This loss of time, energy, and productivity can be combined with the image of professionalism that you convey, to someone who may not even have ever met you in person.
p. Increased usage of the inverted pyramid style would seem to address both these points rather handily.
# Because the pyramid is structured by importance and relevance, it forces evaluation of the content you’re producing
# Since the most important details are up front, the odds of people missing important items is significantly decreased.
Some sites referenced in the article that discuss the inverted pyramid writing style in more depth.
* “(extlink)http://mtsu32.mtsu.edu:11178/171/pyramid.htm”:http://mtsu32.mtsu.edu:11178/171/pyramid.htm
* “(extlink)http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9606.html”:http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9606.html
* “(extlink)http://www.ultimate-affiliate.com/4.%20site%20design/4.5.6theinvertedpyramidstyle.htm”:http://www.ultimate-affiliate.com/4.%20site%20design/4.5.6theinvertedpyramidstyle.htm
Inverted Pyramid Style for the Web
Tags: about · age · ANT · blog · ci · cle · communication · email · HTML · it · NJ · problem · ui · web
p. Another Fast Company “(extlink)article”:http://blog.fastcompany.com/archives/2003/11/14/languishing_language.html talks about the need to modify your writing style, particularly when dealing with the web. I couldn’t agree more. I can’t count the number of problems caused when someone “didn’t read the entire email” or “missed the details at the bottom.” Particularly with so much communication now coming in the form of remote
p. A phrase used by the article’s author that I particularly enjoy is the “attention economy.” It seems to me that at the root is a valid concern, a growing feeling that email and IM’s aren’t important enough to take time to craft thoughts, or even to apply proper spelling and grammar. Instant Messaging in particular as a medium seems to have spawned an attitude that communications need to be sent in real time, without preparation, thought, or proofreading.
p. Considering the number of problems with wrong dates or details given, instructions that are not clear and need an endless stream of corrections, retractions, and updates. This loss of time, energy, and productivity can be combined with the image of professionalism that you convey, to someone who may not even have ever met you in person.
p. Increased usage of the inverted pyramid style would seem to address both these points rather handily.
# Because the pyramid is structured by importance and relevance, it forces evaluation of the content you’re producing
# Since the most important details are up front, the odds of people missing important items is significantly decreased.
Some sites referenced in the article that discuss the inverted pyramid writing style in more depth.
* “(extlink)http://mtsu32.mtsu.edu:11178/171/pyramid.htm”:http://mtsu32.mtsu.edu:11178/171/pyramid.htm
* “(extlink)http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9606.html”:http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9606.html
* “(extlink)http://www.ultimate-affiliate.com/4.%20site%20design/4.5.6theinvertedpyramidstyle.htm”:http://www.ultimate-affiliate.com/4.%20site%20design/4.5.6theinvertedpyramidstyle.htm