Yahoo! Managing Editor Chris Barr offers advice for Internet writers

Yahoo! Managing Editor Chris Barr spoke to a class of mine today about writing for web, presenting several key points about the ways in which designing journalistic story packages for web publication differs from designing them for publication in print.  I found the things below to be particularly resonant:

1. A writer has about 3-5 seconds to hook a reader's attention.

It is important to front-load information in a news story and to use clear, concise language in one's headline, lede and nutgraf to get the most necessary information to readers quickly. Bulleted lists and short paragraphs also help with this.

In addition, it is necessary for a design team to create multiple points of entry in any given story; consider visuals - both photos and charts - and possible links when designing a story for web.

2. Consider search terms when creating headlines for a story.

Many Internet users use Google as their homepage interface. As a result of this, they search for stories by typing key words into the search bar. A headline packed with descriptive words is great, but non-essential words can cause a story to not show up in a web search. Once a writer has identified key words and themes, those words should be repeated several times throughout the story to bolster web recognition.

3. It is important to evaluate one's successes and failures each week, and to learn from them.

The Yahoo! staff assess the site's top 10 and bottom 10 stories each week in an effort to deepen its knowledge of what its audience wants and needs. The process of self-evaluation and reflection is vital in any process; it is not unique to journalism. It is therefore important to have some form of measurement or feedback in any creative process.