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Writing Samples (excerpts from full-length articles)
Content
Essentials for Every Webmaster
Online
content is more than just copying text to a Web page and uploading the results.
The increasing importance of online content has spawned a new breed of Internet
worker; these are Online Content Professionals who emphasize that this diverse
field also includes new forms of creative writing. Understanding Web content
means being acutely aware of the medium in which you are working and the
special demands and possibilities of online and Web content. In terms of
writing content, being aware of the special environment of the Internet
is imperative - which is a very different ball game in many ways to the
printed page and traditional media. The role of online content has gradually
changed over the last few years. Content is becoming an increasingly important
element of Web creation and development, with users becoming more selective
as they expect up-to-the-minute value-rich information. Simply put, content
has to be essential, informative and entertaining. Web sites that are dated
and display content lacking in creativity are simply being left behind.
The increase in online content consciousness can be seen in the way that
more print newspapers are taking to the Web, while those already established
on the Web are radically increasing their presence. The reason for this
interest in content is a natural development of the Web, where well-written
information that is effectively displayed is replacing flashy and ineffective
sites of the first Internet boom days. While design expertise is still essential,
it is no longer enough; users are also looking for rich content that is
specifically created for the online environment. Content runs the gamut
from downloads to images and libraries, but it is text and database information
that is assuming a much greater importance on the Web today.
Content
Essentials for Every Webmaster: Writing - The Most Powerful Web
User Interface
Writing
for the Web means taking time to research who your readers are and to analyze
what their expectations may be. The Web surfer is searching for information
which may be difficult to find in the ocean of online data. While searching,
the user is in need of concision, or data that is concisely presented, so
that he or she can make a choice about exploring a specific Web site or
not. On the Web, unlike printed media, the average reader scans the content
on a site within seconds to determine if there's anything of value to justify
an extended visit. In other words, there is a continual fight to attract
and then retain a user's attention - and this is where the art of writing
for the Web comes into play. Web usability guru Jakob Neilsen puts it in
a nutshell when he states that Web users don't read at all - they scan the
Web searching for indications of useful, and credible, information in the
data maelstrom. This is what the webmaster must be aware of when preparing
Web site content. Neilson adds another dimension to Web writing, by describing
Web content and writing as a user interface in itself. He states that in
spite of technological advances on the Web, writing is "the most powerful
interface the medium has." (www.contentious.com) One
of the often repeated statements about Web writing is probably the most
important: a Web site should be structured and compiled so that it is suitable
for rapid consumption. In other words, the Web requires condensed text and
a style designed for short user attention-spans. A Web site is not a book
or magazine, and the user is looking for rapid and easy access to knowledge
- immediately. When preparing Web copy there are various methods to capture
the short attention span of the Web user.
How
to Produce Your Own Online Movie
It's
easy to create, produce and distribute your own movie, providing you are
equipped with the right tools of the trade, and the necessary technical
know-how. Online
Movies What was previously only the domain of Hollywood movie producers
and those with high-end and very expensive equipment is now within reach
of the masses. There are a number of reasons for this. Firstly, there has
been a drastic decrease in the prices of digital video cameras, as well
as the introduction of very affordable and user-friendly computer editing
software for both PC and MAC. Secondly, there have been increases in download
speeds and broadband capability on the Internet. All of these developments
mean the perfect playing ground for experimenting with a whole new medium
of artistic creation and entertainment. The Internet has spawned an entirely
new breed of creative artist and has allowed amateurs and semi-professionals
to dabble in multimedia, and in combinations of video, audio, text and image
as never before. Things
to Consider: While many articles and books on the subject of online video
wax lyrical about the ease and affordability of making one's own video production,
there are still a few things to bear in mind. While the enthusiasm for the
creation of online video is definitely warranted, one should also remember
that video creation, capturing, and editing have, if anything, become even
more complex and technologically dense than before. A vast range of products
and components must be studied, and new formats need to be understood, before
one can claim to know about video. While it is certainly true that creating
an online movie is today relatively easier in comparison to a few years
ago, one also has to be aware of issues pertaining to the quality and professionalism
of the finished product. Of course anyone can edit and upload a video of
their family vacation, but there are many aspects that have to be taken
into account before a really worthwhile product can be produced. Aspects
including the size of video clips that one uploads for viewing; streaming
options and so on, need to be taken into account. Large video files are
essentially useless on the Internet, because the normal user is still attempting
to download video files using a 56K modem. Besides, there are many other
technical issues that the incipient movie maker should be aware of when
distributing their creations online.
What
is XML? - The Basics & Beyond
XML Markup Extensible
Markup Language, or XML, is quite literally changing the face of the Web
as it gains in popularity among Webmasters and other online specialists,
who require greater functionality in their Web pages. While most documents
on the Web are stored in HTML (Hypertext Mark-up Language), this trend is
changing as more developers begin to realize the numerous advantages of
XML. According
to the authors of The XML Files (www.aicpa.org/pubs/jofa/may1999/), XML's
beauty lies in that it can perform even the most sophisticated data-management
tasks: "Imagine that you could give each electronic record or each
unit of information in your office a tag that explains what the data means,
whether to a person or a computer programmer. For example, Jane Doe would
no longer be just the name of a person but rather identified as a corporate
client in Kansas; similarly, $322.28 would be labeled as an accounts payable
item to Acme Office Supplies. Even if the tags were in plain English, your
computer system would understand them." XML makes this possible. Another
expert has stated that one should think of XML as HTML 'without the training
wheels.' XML is
newer than HTML, but its design is based on SGML or the Standardized Generalized
Mark-up Language. According to Connolly, Khare and Rifkin in their article
The Evolution of Web Documents (www.xml.com/pub/a/w3j), SGML predates both
HTML and the Web, and was designed to give information managers the flexibility
to say exactly what they mean - no more and no less. XML brings this flexibility
to the Web and because it allows you to develop your own custom tag-sets.
In other words, XML is used to define tags and the structural relationships
between them. This also means that as there are no predefined tag sets,
all the semantics of an XML document will be defined by processing applications
or style sheets.