Online communications

How people read on tablets

Insights from Poynter’s EyeTrack study

Call it the bailout point.

People reading news on an iPad spent an average of 78.3 seconds on stories that they didn’t finish.… Read the full article

World technology literacy skills: bad and getting worse

16% of adults are technologically illiterate

Just 8% of adults around the world can manage conflicting requests to reserve a meeting room using a reservation system, then email people to let them know whether they got the room they requested.… Read the full article

What’s the best link format?

5 ways to draw eyes, fingers

Your most important links are calls to action, writes HubSpot’s Kyle James. So how can you increase the chances that they’ll get clicked?… Read the full article

How to write a link that’s the right length

Give visitors enough information to decide to click

Think of links as the Goldilocks of microcontent: Some links are too long. Some links are too short.… Read the full article

Choose a writing structure that’s more likely to get shared

Features go viral more often, says Reuters Institute

While news stories make up the bulk of the content on three European news sites, most of the most-shared stories are features.… Read the full article

Google Poetics captures a refrain

Anaphora turns search phrases into verse

I’m a huge fan of found poetry.

Create poetry from the speeches of Donald Rumsfeld, the baseball play calls of Phil Rizzuto or the etiquette advice of Emily Post, and I’m a happy camper.… Read the full article

Your brain on the web

We’re clicking instead of concentrating

This is your brain on the web: Constant problem solving (To click or not to click?) and divided attention (You’ve got mail) lead to cognitive overload.… Read the full article