Florida Competition Winner Explains Principle of Success: Brevity
March 20th, 2007 | Posted in blog 6 Comments »
Today I became convinced of something I’d always known: shorter is better. While driving to our Florida Tech. Comm. Competition showcase event, I listened to a South by Southwest podcast on “How to Add Video to Your Blog.” (I actually had my videocamera with me to take footage at the event.) The vloggers explained that 3 minutes is the max length you want. At that point, the reader gets the point.
I was also looking at Copyblogger’s posts — all nicely chunked material, with short paragraphs, subheads, and lists, just as any tech writer would organize help. And I looked at Nielsen’s heatmap results from an eye-tracking survey. Readers scan the first three paragraphs and then wander elsewhere.
But it was Amy Weiss’s acceptance remarks for winning Best of Show that cemented the principle of brevity for me. Her Motorola quick guide, a manual you can fit in your pocket, delivered exactly what users want: a short, easy-to-consume guide. Weiss explained that selecting the topics required intense deliberation and thought. Which leads to another irony: shorter is harder. But this time I’m taking the advice to heart. My posts are too long. I’m going to be more brief.
If I have to write more, I’ll use subheads. I think long blog posts are symptomatic of unclear thoughts. But that is one reason we write: to figure out what we think.
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“I think long blog posts are symptomatic of unclear thoughts.”
Doesn’t that depend on whether you’re blogging about American Airlines or just the honey roasted peanuts?
You’re right. Long blog posts can be indicative of a full mind and richness of thought. But it can go both ways. At times I’ll write and write until I clarify what I’m trying to say. But there’s a difference between rambling and expounding. As long as we bloggers remember the same principles of chunking, subheads, lists, graphics, and white space as we do with our technical writing, we should be in good shape despite lengthy posts.
Hey! Can you tell I wrote my 10 blogging questions before I caught up on your blog?
Great post. I love the balance between “long blog posts are symptomatic of unclear thoughts.” …and… “But that is one reason we write: to figure out what we think.”
I think good blogs fall somewhere between “rambling personal journal” and “feature article.” Readers get to see more of the writer’s discovery process than we would in a crafted article, but preferably without the stream-of-thought nonsense that’s best left for private journals.
I thing this blog is full of richness of thought. But it can go both ways. At times I’ll write and write until I clarify what I’m trying to say. But there’s a difference between rambling and expounding. I think good blog fall somewhere between “rambling personal journal” and “feature article”. I think long blog posts are symptomatic of clear thoughts.
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marry05
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Yes,you are right always blogs small or big doesn’t matter but it must contain clear information about our article.
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