#25450
Assuming a Wiki is a weblog-like system that allows anyone to edit anything (I know some don't) then a Wiki represents an interesting amalgam of many voices, not the unedited voice of a single person.
Winer, Dave. Harvard University (2003). Articles>Web Design>Writing>Blogging
#25560
Every day it seems another article about weblogs appears in the press. At first, most of these stories seemed content to cover the personal nature of blogging. But more and more I'm seeing articles that attempt to examine the journalistic and punditry aspects of weblogs prominent in many of the so-called 'warblogs,' or sites that began in response to the events of September 11th
Hourihan, Meg. O'Reilly and Associates (2002). Articles>Web Design>Writing>Blogging
#25489
What's Really Going On With the Blogosphere? 
Explores the notion of the blogosphere by using recent studies to soberly refocus the actual size of the blogosphere and the extent of the blogging phenomenon.
Vieta, Marcelo. Digest (2003). Articles>Web Design>Writing>Blogging
#26135
When is a Long Document Not a Long Document?
Change is upon us, whether we like it or not. HTML is the default technology for accessible documents online according to the W3C and most government standards. That means goodbye to the easy solution of flinging scores of long documents on to a web site as Word or PDF files.
McAlpine, Rachel. Quality Web Content (2005). Articles>Web Design>Writing>Standards
#28837
When You Write a Site Build It Web Page, Give It The "Help a Friend Test"
Acting in your capacity as a friend, as well as an expert, you would probably ask a few questions first, just to be sure you really understand the problem. And when you did start offering some advice, you would want to be helpful. You would want to offer some genuine guidance. And if you did have some services you could offer, you would recommend only those services that were directly relevant to the problem.
Usborne, Nick. Excess Voice (2007). Articles>Web Design>Writing
#28820
A designer formats and places text. Technically, the job ends there. But some designers go further, sharpening their clients' content to grab and focus user attention. In so doing, they create more effective sites--and gain an advantage over other designers. Drawing on decades of copywriter lore, Shaun Crowley discusses seduction by headline and other principles of writing that sells.
Crowley, Shaun. List Apart, A (2007). Articles>Web Design>Writing
#25552
There are, I'm sure, as many reasons to keep weblogs as there are weblogs authors, however, some common threads surely exist between them. What could motivate someone to keep a public journal of their innermost thoughts? What possible reasons would someone have?
Indiana State University (2002). Articles>Web Design>Writing>Blogging
#31605
Winning Content Persuades, Not Manipulates
Elements of persuasion are important to creating winning content. To help safeguard content from becoming manipulation, we need to understand its distinction from persuasion. As a step toward that understanding, this article: provides basic definitions of persuasion and manipulation; explores the key differences between them; and describes some consequences for UX content.
Jones, Colleen. UXmatters (2008). Articles>Web Design>Writing>Rhetoric
#26147
Some main points submitted by readers about writing for intranets, in quotation marks or paraphrased.
McAlpine, Rachel. Quality Web Content (2004). Articles>Web Design>Intranets>Writing
#25589
Women and Children Last: The Discursive Construction of Weblogs
As yet there has been little empirical examination of the claim that blogs are 'democratic,' or that blog authors represent diverse demographic groups.
Herring, Susan C., Inna Kouper, Lois Ann Scheidt and Elijah L. Wright. Into the Blogosphere (2004). Articles>Web Design>Writing>Blogging
#24140
Words: The Last, Best Way to Differentiate Yourself Online
Writing is a subject that doesn't crop up too often at conferences. Why not? ecause writing is not one of the sexy things that happens online. Programming is sexy. Online design is sexy. The technology behind e-mail and e-commerce is sexy.
Usborne, Nick. ClickZ (2001). Articles>Writing>Diction>Web Design
#28974
Write Articles, Not Blog Postings
To demonstrate world-class expertise, avoid quickly written, shallow postings. Instead, invest your time in thorough, value-added content that attracts paying customers.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2007). Articles>Web Design>Writing
#24141
Write Copy that Directs the Site Visitor Forward
The copy or content on a page often comes to an end without having communicated the need to move forward now.
Usborne, Nick. Excess Voice (2001). Articles>Web Design>Writing
#19020
Periodic sentences are long, complex sentences, often with several introductory clauses, in which the main point is delayed for dramatic effect. They're like gourmet meals that build to a flaming dessert: extravagant, delicious, climactic. But they don't belong on Web sites, because they can't be scanned -- and 79 percent of readers on the Web scan.
Henning, Kathy. ClickZ (2001). Articles>Writing>Web Design
#18929
Writing for the Web is different than writing for other media. But, it can be a very cost-effective way of making sure people know about your services and products.
#24163
Writing for the Web Versus Writing for Print: Are They Really So Different? 
Writing for the Web is often presented as being fundamentally different from writing for print. However, a review of the literature relating to Web writing and print writing shows that many of the guidelines proposed for the Web have a long history in print. For example, key Web writing guidelines such as 'write for scannability,' 'write for restless readers,' and 'write in coherent chunks' can be found in the literature about print. The guidelines for writing on the Web are extensions of the guidelines for print writing, rather than new ideas. Instead of comparing writing at the level of communication medium by contrasting the Web and print, it may be more helpful for writers to use genre to compare writing styles. This would involve using communication purpose and form as the basis of any comparison, with the communication medium being secondary.
Gregory, Judy. Technical Communication Online (2004). Articles>Web Design>Writing
#19621
Writing for the Web: Illustration of the Need
Many on-line web tutorials give practical, useful technical advice on everything from non-clashing color combinations to effective uses of animated GIFs, but barely mention writing at all. There seems to be an unspoken assumption that the content will be supplied by the marketing and PR people, by the technoweenies, or worse, the pointy-haired bosses (of 'Dilbert' fame).
Jerz, Dennis G. Seton Hill University (1998). Articles>Writing>Web Design
#20111
Writing for the Web: Keeping Them Coming Back
The number of people who visit your Web site is not as critical to its success as the number who return. How do you write and design pages to bring them back?
Yeo, Sarah C. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Web Design>Writing
#20110
Writing for the Web: What is It All About?
What is an internet? What is the Web? Why do I care? How will this affect my job in the immediate future? This session is an introduction to the Web for “Newbies” - those who are just starting out, or haven’t started yet. We will discuss the impact of this new technology on our jobs and on our writing.
Yeo, Sarah C. STC Proceedings (1996). Articles>Web Design>Writing
#13051
Writing for the Web: Why is the Advice so Scant?
Be careful when you go online searching for advice about writing for the Internet. The literature and composition teachers of the world -- the traditional arbiters of 'good' writing -- have been slow to adapt to the special requirements of electronic text. Turning the pages of a book is still (and will probably always be) the best way to read a novel; after all, the novel was designed for the book -- which was then a 'novel' device. But the Internet has spawned new writing genres (email, instant messages, FAQ pages, annotated lists of links, weblogs, personal home pages) which demand a different writing mode.
Jerz, Dennis G. University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire (2000). Articles>Web Design>Writing
#15234
Writing for Your Web Site: What Works, and What Doesn't
Offers tips for constructing Web sites that cater to users' needs.
Fugate, Alice E. Intercom (2001). Articles>Writing>Web Design
#25318
Writing Online In Two Syllables or Less
It's often tempting to write with long, complex words. Perhaps it has to do with how we were taught at school. And sometimes we use long words simply to sound clever.
Usborne, Nick. Excess Voice (2003). Articles>Web Design>Writing
#31906
Writing Style for Print vs. Web
Linear vs. non-linear. Author-driven vs. reader-driven. Storytelling vs. ruthless pursuit of actionable content. Anecdotal examples vs. comprehensive data. Sentences vs. fragments.
Nielsen, Jakob. Alertbox (2008). Articles>Web Design>Writing>Usability
#18238
Writing the Web: A Step-by-Step Guide, with Resources
This guide is designed for writers who want to design and code Web sites. Originally written for Mike Palmquist's seminar, Writing the Web, offered in Spring 1999, it was last updated in spring 2001.
Palmquist, Mike. Colorado State University (2001). Articles>Web Design>Writing
#28341
Content is the most important part of a Web site. If the content does not provide the information needed by users, the Web site will provide little value no matter how easy it is to use the site. When preparing prose content for a Web site, use familiar words and avoid the use of jargon. If acronyms and abbreviations must be used, ensure that they are clearly understood by typical users and defined on the page. Minimize the number of words in a sentence and sentences in a paragraph. Make the first sentence (the topic sentence) of each paragraph descriptive of the remainder of the paragraph. Clearly state the temporal sequence of instructions. Also, use upper- and lowercase letters appropriately, write in an affirmative, active voice, and limit prose text on navigation pages.
Usability.gov (2006). Articles>Web Design>Writing
