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Web content
Online writing and editing is a dynamic field right now. Luckily, I enjoy learning and I crave variety, so I'm in the right place. I have produced two intranet sites at an international company. I also have taught a class on Writing for the Web to employees with web publishing responsibilities in their divisions. Nowadays I manage sites or provide content for clients. Some examples:
Flower City Habitat for Humanity
www.rochesterhabitat.org
I wrote the content for the relaunch of this web site. Design and content underwent a complete overhaul.
Citizens Communications -- Business Products and Services
www.citizenscommunications.com/your_business.cfm
Take a look at pages I wrote by selecting a product or service in the drop-down menu.
www.marthamatildaharper.com
Martha Matilda Harper was an international business visionary who defied her destiny as a servant girl to launch America's first business format franchising system in 1891. Author Jane Plitt wrote her biography and launched this site amid renewed interest in Harper's story.
Past web clients include:
www.nycitizens.org
This site covers public affairs in New York. I did daily updates on news and polls for a year and monitored the bulletin board during election season.
Read on for more on the unique demands of online writing.
The audience rules
Writing (and editing) for an online audience requires a new way of thinking about communication and the art of writing. Information has to be easy to find and easy to follow, no matter where a user jumps in.
In other words, the linear style of print (straight line from beginning of article to end) doesn't work here. Information is "chunked up" in small pieces and linked together. Why? So that people can search for information in a whole lot of ways. It needs to be written and laid out in a way that accounts for many different reading and research styles.
Finding our way
This brings us to navigation. Combined with the words themselves, the information layout of the web site is crucial to clear communication (and one of my favorite parts). Readers should be able to tunnel through in a way that makes the most sense to them.
Say, for instance, that you're creating a web site for your bed and breakfast. Some of your site visitors will look to register for a night's stay by clicking on a button labeled "Registration." Others will look under "Room Rates." Still others might think clicking on "Contact Us" will get them there. It's your job to anticipate these things and make your online registration form accessible from all three links.
The New Writing
To me, web writing is the New Writing. It links writing, science and research tools to create a tailored, personalized information source. And we're learning more every day about how to do it well.
A note to skeptics: Just because something is written in chunks doesn't mean it's fluff, hype, PR or other meaningless drivel. On the contrary, it must be anything but. Nobody will stick around to read a sales pitch when truly useful information is just a click away.