Friday, October 3, 2008

TMZ: Following All the Rules

We've been talking about how to optimize text online. Writers need to use bullets, bolded words, and subheads. The actual page needs to be:

  • Reader-friendly. People should be able to get the gist of all the stories you're advertising just from glancing at the page. They should know what stories are being advertised.
  • Easy to navigate. That quality can ensure readers stay on the page for a long time because they can find everything they want.
One website that follows the rules that make for a good online page...TMZ. Say what you want about its content, but TMZ rocks.

It's easy to navigate
There's a tab on the top of the page, detailing all the different categories available for viewing. You can see videos and photos, learn the hot celebs, and figure out what's been shown on TMZ the TV show.


The stories are short
They rarely have more than 10 sentences, and the sentences are also short. This makes it really easy to digest and doesn't take very long to read. People who want to the latest in entertainment news can learn everything that's been going on in a short period of time since the stories are so short.


Lots of pictures and videos
Interactivity makes a website more fun. You can click to play a video, go through a slide show, even both. Because there are a ton of pictures and videos, those who love celebrity news will get their full share of gossip.


It's easy on the eyes
TMZ.com doesn't bombard you with information all at once. Some websites want to put so many stories on their homepage that it's gets too cluttered. Others have so many ads, flying or grounded, that you can't figure out what's the main focus. Both can annoy readers.

It's like other news sites
Just because TMZ covers entertainment news, that doesn't mean its website is totally unlike that of hard news organizations. It has some of the same features:
  • the most recent _______
  • top rated _______
  • most popular _______
  • hot ______
  • the "search" tool
  • links to other stories and categories
In summary, TMZ is a good blog website. It follows the most important rules of online journalism, making it interesting, easy to digest, and one that can keep its audience's attention.

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