Keeping It Short and Simple

Brian Carroll’s chapter, “Digital Media Versus Analog Media” details the novel transformation our society has experienced from print media to digital media.  Our new digital media allows for interaction with the media, not merely a reading of it.  Readers can participate in digital media, comment, and contribute their own ideas into the digital public sphere.  However, Carroll considers good writing as the key to a successful Web.  Good writing from reliable sources enables readers to trust the source.  In digital media, and particularly news sites, credibility and trustworthiness are the most important factors in the source’s success.  Without credibility, what edge does the source offer its audience?  This being true, how does a news source establish credibility to their readers?  For example, what characteristics make CNN a reliable news source?

An expression coined by Marshall McLuhan, “The Medium is the Message” relays the belief that often the characteristics of the medium in which information is transmitted is more important that the information itself.  As it relates to Carroll, timeliness and brevity are two crucial characteristics within the medium that really matter.  For news sites such as Fox News and CNN, often it is the source that gets a breaking news story out first that receives the most credit, proving that when readers receive said news as an important factor.  Additionally, brevity matters to readers as well.  Jakob Nielsen reported, “Web users read about 25 percent more slowly on screen than on paper.”  This data encourages the use of concise, clear statements on digital media including tweets, headlines, and breaking news alerts.  Mantras such as “WWGD: What Would Google Do?” further promote digital media creators to write concisely on the Web.  Keeping within the constraints of how Google operates on a daily basis, Carroll suggests using key words as starting points for headlines, sub-headlines, and hyperlinks in order to grasp attention of readers.

 

Carroll devotes an entire chapter to creating an effective website through the use of screen writing tips.  One central suggestion is to write in plain English.  Since websites are often translated around the global world, it is crucial that the wording be straightforward and simply understood.  Keeping in line with the simplistic mentality, Carroll advocates for minimalistic websites in which less is more.  Since websites are created as a vehicle for information, it is important that a reader can quickly establish an identity and mission of the website, as well as provide shortcuts that quickly convey the big picture of the website creator’s ambition.  I agree with Carroll’s major points in this chapter as I imagine the websites I frequently explore.  As a reader, I enjoy simply designed and colorful websites that are easy to navigate.  Shortcuts further endorse quick and reliable Web surfing.  As an ordinary person with limited technological knowledge, I appreciate website designs that aim to make my information search quick, successful, and painless.