Grandiose Parlor

There are sharp differences between writing for the web and print (paper). I stumbled upon one of my old references on web writing and scanned through. I realized I haven’t taken to heart what I read despite reading the guide severally.

I love online pundits that can succinctly and concisely present their thoughts. Akin and Chippla are two chaps I admire a lot. While the former is full of old English wit and fond of using complex sentences, the latter is a straight-shooting PhD-holder who writes simple sentences a ten year old can understand without developing a toothache. I respect them both, and I’m envious that I lack their dexterity.

After seeing a writer managed to convey his message via an 18-page, 7,000 worded essay, I realized I have to give myself some credit. I need to add that this writer adds some 31 references to his essay! He is an Harvard/Yale- trained medical practitioner that shares the same last name as one of Nigerian literary luminaries - Chinua Achebe, maybe this explains why he writes so profusely. This article in my opinion, is what I think a web essay shouldn’t.

What happened to the first commandment of web writing - the use of inverted pyramid - which calls for stating the conclusion first before delving into the substance of essay?

“On the Web, the inverted pyramid becomes even more important since we know from several user studies that users don’t scroll,(*) so they will very frequently be left to read only the top part of an article.

How about the use of hyperlinks - the colored lines you click on every now-and-then on the Internet? In fact, blogs will lose their appeal without hyperlinks.

The Web is a linking medium … In fact, George Landow, a Professor of English literature, coined the phrases rhetoric of departure and rhetoric of arrival to indicate the need for both ends of the link to give users some understanding of where they can go as well as why the arrival page is of relevance to them.

The remaining portion of my old guide is obvious: write short, crisp and clear sentences/headlines; use the white spaces, write tight and use good grammar; understand your audience etc.

Going by my writing style on this blog, it’s obvious I still have some work to do… the good thing is none involve condensing lengthy essays into easily readable pieces. This piece is 413 414 words long.