aMMusing

I used to be a fan of Contentious, Amy Gahran’s Web-based newsletter on online content. She and I share the view that content is what ultimately matters most online. So imagine my delight when I found out that she is resurrecting Contentious as a blog, which I’m adding among “aMMusing Blog Friends.”

As a Web developer, I do care about programming techniques that are efficient and websites that are aesthetically pleasing. But ever since I’ve been creating websites, I have held the view that clear, purposeful writing and a reader-focussed information architecture are key to creating successful websites. Hence I still listen to what “usability guru” Jakob Nielsen has to say, and I continue to bear in mind the Cluetrain Manifesto‘s claim (albeit a bit dated already) that readers see right through bloated, fluffy marketing gimmicks. Therefore, the wares I develop focus on managing content, and when I shepherd my clients through the development of their website, I drive home the notion that their site has to focus on the relationship online readers want with their organization, not the other way around.

Of course, I’m not always successful at getting that point across. Though to a lesser extent than a few years ago, some people still think that a website should be eye candy similar to print or broadcast advertising. They don’t grasp how the audience on the Web is much less captive than it is with television. They fail to see how the idea of “Just in time” should be adapted for online media. They tend to assume that the audience is expected and is even dying to know all about their organizational structure, which of course it is not.

Anyone involved in online content development who believes that “technology” and “writing well” are not mutually exclusive concepts is bound to enjoy what Amy Gahran and her business partner, Steve Outing, have to say.