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Are Words Important On The Web?

© Christopher Cummings

I work in the electronic games industry so I hear people dis words all the time.

"Nobody reads the game rules," they moan. "People just jump in and play, then email Customer Support with basic questions that are already answered on the site."

This is not endemic to game sites like mine. Ask any Customer Service person for any large scale website and they'll tell you the same thing: "The answers are on the site — but nobody reads them, so I spend 90% of my time answering questions that customers can answer for themselves."

Heck, even Web guru Jakob Nielsen has said people rarely read online.

Of course, that's only half the story — but it's the half the techno sophisticates glom onto. Well, guess what?

• Words work — if you know how to use them.

Common sense should indicate there's room for words online because otherwise, there wouldn't be any. This column wouldn't exist. Certainly Suite101 wouldn't exist, at least not in its current form. The word-less Suite101 would feature ... I don't know ... 101 recordings of the works of Bela Bartók, or 101 pictures of Peter L. Bradshaw's various retainers and attendants.^*

• Words work — if you know how to use them.

Of course, this begs the question: If the Web is littered with words, but people aren't reading them ... what are they doing with them?

They're scanning them.

People don't have the time or the inclination to pore over every single word that appears on the screen — so they skim, hunting for things which engage their interests or imagination.

Note: This isn't just a Web phenomenon. Newspapers and magazines keep stories short because they know the general public doesn't have the time or patience for depth.

So how do you get your point across?

• Say the right thing, in the right way, at the right time.

The "how" of that will vary depending on your subject matter and audience. Here are some guiding principles to remember:

• As a writer, you organize information for the reader. It's important that you understand your audience's point of view, then write to that.
• As a writer, you deliver a clear, concise message. Don't beat around the bush, don't be cute, don't waste people's time. Get to the point, fast.
• As a writer, make your text easy to scan. Use:
  · Highlighted keywords (links, colors, bold, etc.)
  · Significant titles and subtitles — not cute or clever ones
  · Bulleted lists (like this one)

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