Blogging is publishing? Naww~

Print design versus online design
Yes, blogging is publishing. However, not everything about designing documents online and for print are the same. It is important to consider the strengths and weaknesses of either option to achieve optimum readability. Let's compare!

Example of online document.
(Source: Yahoo! Finance)

People read roughly 25% slower online. It is harder to read documents online thus; many people opt to scan the documents instead of reading it verbatim (Nielsen 1996). When scanning, Nielsen (2006) found that most readers follow an F-shaped pattern, resulting in more websites obeying this now-basic rule in online document design.

Online layouts often employ graphic aids to assist readers in grasping the topic quickly. It is also important to have balance of white space between proses so reading paths can be formed without straining their eyes (Reep 2006).

Example of print document.
(Source: The Journal)

While both documents maintains the same principles (white space, balance, margins), there are differences. Both print and online documents practice multimodality, incorporating more than one type of text, but writing remains dominant in print publishing (Kress & van Leeuwen 1998). This is because it is easier to read tangible documents.

Youtube? Wasn't it iPod?
Youtube is arguably one of the most popular websites on the web. It hosts videos posted by millions of users and can be about anything. Youtube, along with moblogs and online newspapers, are some of the newest trends in the publishing industry.

Youtube's main page.
(Source: Youtube)

Youtube allows for more information to be 'published' online. Its influence on web users is undeniably strong. This is why movie houses and even politicians use Youtube to spread their message to the public.

Screenshots of John McCain and Barack Obama's youtube page.
(Source: Youtube, Youtube)

A good example would be the recent USA presidential elections. Both candidates utilised the website's popularity to secure voters.

Videos are more engaging than text and pictures yet they still need each other to create a balance in presenting information (Reep 2006). Youtube, and other video hosting sites, practices multimodality - just like print and web layouts except these sites place more emphasis on audio and visual texts.

Despite being a revolutionary progress in the publishing world, it still has to maintain basic design features like typographic devices and written cues to help readers find information faster and easier (Reep 2006).

References:
Kress, G & van Leeuwen 1998, ‘Front pages: (the critical) analysis of newspaper layout’ in Approaches to Media Discourse, Blackwell, Oxford, pp. 186-219.

Nielsen, J 1996, In Defense of Print, viewed 12 October 2008, [http://www.useit.com/alertbox/9602.html].

Nielsen, J 2006, F-Shaped Pattern for Reading Web Content, viewed 11 October 2008, [http://www.useit.com/alertbox/reading_pattern.html].

Reep, D 2006, ‘Chapter 6 - Document Design’, Technical Writing, Pearson/Longman, New York, pp. 133-172.