by eubie

Professor makes Wikipedia a class assignment

Wikipedia is a frequent discussion in schools about whether it’s an acceptable resource for students. Many teachers are wary of students using it. They view it as unreliable because anyone can write anything in it. But another way to look at it is quality checking and contribution. But this professor in Washington state has decided that students should add or edit entries in Wikipedia. AP: Wikipedia Becomes a Class Assignment.

by eubie

Apoligizing can pay

Interesting survey found that people earning more than $100,000 are more likely to apologize for mistakes than those earning less than $25,000. The reasons suggested: higher-income people are less defensive about mistakes, it’s easier to apologize than ask permission, and the fact they earn more indicates they have stronger people skills and can be successful in organizations. CNNMoney.com: Want a higher paycheck? Say you’re sorry

by eubie

Facebook is now the 5th most valuable internet property

Following the news that Microsoft was investing $240 million for a 1.6 percent stake in Facebook, the total value of Facebook can be determined. TechCrunch found that its current valuation, Facebook is the 5th most valuable U.S. internet company, below Amazon, and ahead of Barry Diller’s IAC and Salesforce and Monster. Facebook is extremely hot right now, but I wonder if the WSJ wasn’t right with Is Facebook the Geocities of today?

Facebook grew up on college campuses, but will users still find it as valuable when they move into their 30s with family and career demands. That’s the risk of the investment Microsoft is making.

by eubie

Headlines in passive voice = SEO success?

Jakob Nielsen wrote in 1998 essay Microcontent: How to Write Headlines, Page Titles, and Subject Lines that headlines on web pieces need to be different than on print pieces because they are read out of context with the print article and because there is no supporting data, such as photos, logos, etc, around the headline to help readers understand the headline.

Because of these differences, the headline text has to stand on its own and make sense when the rest of the content is not available. Sure, users can click on the headline to get the full article, but they are too busy to do so for every single headline they see on the Web.

Revisiting this topic this month, Nielsen says while active voice is better there are some occasions where passive voice might work better.

Simple sentence structure, active voice, and positive statements have been key Web-writing guidelines for more than a decade. I don’t want you to abandon these good ideas. They do improve content usability in most cases, particularly for body text.

However, recent findings from our eyetracking research emphasized the overwhelming importance of getting the first 2 words right, since that’s often all users see when they scan Web pages. Given this, we have to bend the writing guidelines a bit, especially for elements that users fixate on when they scan — that is, headlines, subheads, summaries, captions, hypertext links, and bulleted lists.

On Boing Boing the article has generated a discussion about Nielsen and his views.

by eubie

Linux so easy, even a grandmother can use it

Following up on Linux visibility now reaching NY Times, WSJ. Steven Yelvington has switched his grandmother and his mother-in-law to Ubuntu’s Linux.

Grandma can use it. Kids can use it. Installation is not a problem. In many dimensions, especially performance, security and nagware-free user experience, it’s superior.

It can have problems, though:

If you don’t collide with hardware that the manufacturer won’t support on Linux, you’re set.

If you do, you’re stuck, at least until the Linux developers guess their way to success.