If you’ve been blogging for a while, chances are you know what a ‘scanner’ is.
If you’re not familiar with the term, here is a quick definition to give you an idea:
‘Scanners’ are readers who quickly ‘scan’ an article/post to pick out things of interest, and essentially skim, or ‘scan’, over the content.
These scanners look for things such as bullet points, quotes, bold sentence, and other, easily recognizable formats. As a result of this habit among readers, writers have begun to change their writing styles to conform to the culture of online reading.
While I don’t think it’s bad to adapt to the changing environments in which writing is presented, I do think that this growing trend among writers to post shorter, scanner-minded content can become detrimental to excellent writing.
As John Saddington adequately put it, it’s starting to look a lot like ‘a circle of death‘.
Why Scanners Scan
It’s important to realize that the dynamic of online reading is completely different from that of , let’s say, reading a book. For most people, reading an article online is merely to fulfill something they need such as information.
So, I can’t really criticize ‘scanners’ for scanning because they are naturally doing what anyone would do who was approaching your blog as a database of information.
The problem may very well lie with us; the writers.
A Good Technique Gone Wrong
The technique to write your blog post in easy-to-read formats is without a doubt the most effective way to attract (and keep) readers. From what I hear, even scientific tests have been performed to support this theory, so the technique itself is not in question here.
What is in question, is whether or not this technique is universal.
For example, would you shorten up and condense your writing into bullet points for a book about the Civil War in the same way you would for your ‘5 strategies for success’ post?
Of course not.
And yet, there are countless blogs our there with writers who are trying to convey their personal, God-given conviction through a series of lists! There is no heart behind the content; just databases of information that lack emotion and changing-power.
The reason, of course, is because many Christian bloggers look to the most popular blogs on the net for information on how to get more traffic and comments.
What’s the number one advice handed out by the most successful blogs? Write short paragraphs; use bullet points; keep your posts short; use lists.
The ‘list’ goes on.
It’s my belief that only certain types of blogs can use this technique effectively without sacrificing amazing content and writing etiquette. For Christian writers, the reason to write well and effectively is even more important, since our writing reflects the God we serve.
How Do You Exit the Circle?
Obviously, the question now pressing upon us is, “How do we fix this?”
Before you think I am all about ditching the blog-style writing method, I think I should clarify that for you, getting out of the circle may not be your solution. For some, writing blog-style is exactly what you should do.
It just depends.
My advice would be to seriously consider your content and message, and then lay out a plan of how your content and message can best be portrayed–it may look a lot more like an online novel than you think, but it may also still look like short paragraphs.
This issue is bigger than I alone can correct, and that’s why a comment section is the greatest gift to man–well, almost.
What do you guys think can help?
[HT: Tentblogger]
Laurinda says
I think you have to do what makes sense for what you are writing. I agree with you. All the gimmicks, like lists, work great. But I’ve seen some stupid stuff: 5 Leadership Secrets from Lady Gaga. Ok, I made that up, but I’ve seen the like. There’s nothing worse than pulling up a catchy title only to find the title was the deepest thing to read.
2 of my favorite blogs: Seth Godin’s and The Art of Manliness. Seth is the King of concise, but writes longer pieces if necessary. The Art of Manliness is one of the deepest blogs I’ve read. Their posts are rarely concise, but each word is necessary. I don’t see lot’s of lists on this site. From these two sites and their overwhelming success, I feel liberated from lists when it just doesn’t make sense.
Good writing prevails in the end regardless.
Calvin Koepke says
I haven’t checked out Seth Godin’s blog, but I’ve heard tons of things about it. Maybe I should.
And yes, you’re spot on: Good writing triumphs over format (though you could probably debate this point).
Thanks for the input!
Laurinda says
Seth’s blog is an interesting study. He doesn’t have comments and he really is concise (most of the time). Yet, by the time I read his post at 6 am PST his posts are retweeted/liked hundreds (sometime thousands) of times.
Calvin Koepke says
Woah, no comments? That’s crazy. I gotta check him out. Thanks for the referral!
Eric Dye says
Seriously, you do. Follow him on Twitter, too. You’ll be smarter for it.
Calvin Koepke says
I checked his site out. Aesthetically, I think it’s kinda boring (but that’s just me). Either way, good content also triumphs design! 🙂
Following…
Kyle Reed says
I agree, I scan a lot.
And honestly the reason for this is I read a lot of blogs each day and most of them do not hold my attention. So I look for the stuff I want and then move on.
I think that is why list is helpful, but in some ways you are right they hurt a bit because it can be a bit shallow.
Calvin Koepke says
I think that for the most part, lists aren’t bad. The style of blog-writing is bad either, it’s just that in certain contexts, it’s harmful to the reader and the writer.
Thanks for commenting Kyle!