Web 2.0 Blog

I came across Feedreader the other day and was very impressed by the service it offered. It is basically what I expect the immediate future of RSS to offer in terms of Web 2.0/3.0 technologies. Instead of having the feed stored on a website, social bookmarking site or in your web browser, the content gets automatically delivered in an exceptionally user-friendly desktop new aggregator. I was staggered with how easy it was to use and how useful it is to have the web delivered to you in the most direct of circumstances.

Furthermore, the application is free and features two more features:

• Feedreader OEM - A fully customizable feed service including modifications to information collected and teh visual appearance of the software.
• Feedreader Connect - Allowing you to retrieve information articles from remote locations, including mobile phones. This information can even then be published throughout your local Intranet.

This type of simple and efficient information sharing is what will become standardized in future Web 2.0 devices in my opinion. When feeds were first introduced, they were pretty much as static as the website they were subscribing to. New ways of expanding and manipulating these feeds are becoming available and it should result in a much simpler service. Let’s face it, most Internet users wouldn’t be able to tell you what a feed is. By having information come straight to the desktop it detatches itself from association with website publishing and becomes merely a customized news service.

I happy to announce that this blog is now free of any nofollow comands that used to prevent Google and other search engines from influencing the link target’s ranking in the search engine’s index. This meant every comment prior to this was effected and potentially worthless as a link. This won’t encourage spam though as I’ll still remove anything which I don’t like.

You can find out more about the DoFollow plugin for your blog or download it directly here:

sem-dofollow (zip)

Although syndication is most notably recalled for its powerful impact on the success of blogging technologies during the web 2.0 boom, it’s ability to inform users of new content on otherwise stand-alone sites is what is giving supporting sites a significant advantage. A content management system is useless if users are unaware that new content has been added, and often users won’t go looking for the information you’ve added. In my opinion, the days of static websites with non-interactive content are numbered.

Web 2.0 is changing the way websites are being created. A website I created recently called Mystical Art, was developed completely using blogging technologies, however it assumes the appearance of a normal website. Further styling of the sidebar of this site would make it indistinguishable from a traditionally built website. In addition to this it has an RSS feed so that potential users can stay automatically updated every time a new piece of art is added.

This shows that even non-blogs should be syndicating their content. Newspapers in the real world are published daily with new content. In order for this to be realized in web technology, they have made their corresponding websites rich with RSS feeds of the latest headlines. For example, check out The Independent or The Times. In most cases, the feeds can be published elsewhere meaning users needn’t even visit the company’s website. All top web browsers and next-gen operating systems are driving support for RSS, meaning it’s even easier for users to subscribe to feeds.

I fully expect RSS or a similar content delivery platform to become a standard feature of websites in the future as users become more accustomed to syndication feeds. But how soon will it happen, or will another technology be developed that can perform better functionality than RSS?

As someone who has studied usability analysis, I’ve come up with 10 usability guideline which all new bloggers should abide by to help generate subscribers and interest in their site.

1. Clean, simple design - With the hundreds of widgets and scripts now available, a lot of bloggers clutter up their sidebar with numerous bits of functionality, which is fine as long as you don’t go over the top. The user is most likely reading your blog to find information which is written in the posts - not the sidebar.
2. Linking - You should insert many links across your posts to encourage users to go and see what you’re talking about. For example, if I mention Techcrunch, the link will allow users who don’t know what I’m referring to, to go and find out. Links should also be blue and underlined as this is generally regarded as the default way of linking text. Users who see blue, underlined text will most likely assume it is anchored.
3. Descriptive titles - Blog post titles are also page titles, so make your page title descriptive but not too long. Imagine you want to search for the content of your post in Google, what type of words would you search for? Try to get them in, but don’t turn it into a SERP.
4. Use readable text - Using poor text is a usability problem that many bloggers get wrong. You should use a clear font like Arial or Verdana (which was designed for optimum Internet readability) and it should be at least size 11px. I’d recommend size 12px, which is what this blog uses. Make headings large and clear, even differ the font slightly from the main text if you want to, as this causes a greater division of content.
5. Make content clear to users - When making a post you should use short paragraphs of about 5-6 sentences so that it is more readable.You shouldn’t be writing a thesis within a blog post, keep them short but relevant. Try to use black text against a white background to make it stand out more, and break up paragraphs by adding bulleted lists or pictures to demonstrate your points. Put wide enough margins around your posts so the text doesn’t run into the sidebar, and the general text area width shouldn’t exceed about 2/3 of the width of the page.
6. Post finding & navigation - On sites with hundreds of posts it can take a long time to find what you’re looking for. You need to have a navigation of your posts preferably separated into categories, this way people can find your posts by looking in the right place. You should also include a search bar in case your users want to find something specific. Finally including an archives page on your site allows your users to browse your entire back catalogue. Some people include archive dates on their sidebar, but I think this uses up unnecessary space. Having a list of between 5-10 of your latest and most popular posts is a much more useful solution as it should stay automatically up-to-date.
7. Frequent usage - A successful blogger would look to add at least one post per day to their blog to keep interest and activity in the blog going. However it is also easy to post too many in posts in one day, some of which will be irrelevant to the context of your blog, which will begin to deter users from reading your posts. Keep on=topic, relevant and try to be unique as duplicate or copied content can work against you in Google’s rankings.
8. Author biography - You needn’t tell your life story, but a brief overview of who you are, what you do and why you are qualified to write your blog will go a long way towards validating your opinions and comments in the eyes of the user. Providing users with your credentials and experience will give them reason to trust what you say, and this will result in more users linking to and visiting your site.
9. Clear blog title & purpose - To make sure you and your users know what you’re writing about you should aim to make it very clear what topic areas your blog. Keep the subject range quite narrow as users want to be reading about a particular subject. I used to have a blog about Science, Technology and Multimedia which was too broad so I narrowed it down to Web 2.0 & Usability, which I can focus more clearly on. Come up with a good title for your blog and make a nice clear heading so people can tell instantly where they are. Add this title to your <title> tag and make sure this is written into any links coming into your blog.
10. Clear RSS feed - If you want more subscribers, there should be a prominent and explanatory RSS button, ideally situated in your header or near the top of your sidebar. Some users will not realize that there’s an RSS feed in the address bar, so you must make it easy for them to subscribe. You can create multiple RSS feeds by using applications such as MultiRSS, Feedburner, RSS Mixer, Yahoo! Pipes and many more.

I hope these blog usability guidelines were useful and appropriate to you. If I’ve missed anything out or you have an comments on the guidelines I’ve written, please leave a comment. I guess encouraging users to leave a comment as I’m doing now should also be a usability guideline. Well, I’ve done it now anyway…

by Adam Moss