Blog Fodder

David Riordan says, "Infinite choice equals a database. Just because you can make a choice doesn't mean it's an interesting one."

Have you ever been to a website that just didn't make sense? Here is one that is a good example of a choice that isn't interesting. Go ahead, I'll pause while you take a look. Yeah, I heard your confused minds wondering just what it was you were looking at. Some of you may have recognized the songs, some may have wondered why you could move the thumb around the dial like you can on a regular iPod. The graphics were cool, but what were you supposed to see or experience when you made your choice?

When I write in this blog, in the Staff Council Newsletter that I write and edit, or on the websites I manage for my job, I need to be mindful of the audience I am trying to reach. I need to be sure that the articles I write or accept for publication are relevant, interesting, and provide something appealing to the eye. Usually this includes a piece of multimedia; some kind of link that takes the reader to another location for more information. Is the link interesting to me or interesting to all?

To answer that question, I need to again look at who I am writing for. Since I don't have a following in my blog at this time (...and will I ever?), I'm pretty much writing for myself and linking for my own pleasure. But in the back of my mind, I'm still wanting the links to be relevant. I don't want to link for linked sake! To be effective in my writing, I have some control over what I write, how I display it, and how busy the multimedia will be.

Let's think about going to The Cheesecake Factory. When I look at the menu, I see chaos or clutter. The same thing goes with their website.When you click on the "menu" tab at the top, you are taken to the same menu selections you see in the menu at the restaurant. Click on appetizers and you see a whole slew of them! I don't know about you, but there are just too many selections on the menu! I don't want my readers to be overwhelmed with writing or multimedia choices. I want them to be engaged but not overwhelmed!

My own opinion on this is that I don't like my life cluttered with too much choice. Therefore, my multimedia in my writing assignments won't be cluttered as well (never mind the length of this posting!).