Author Dwayne Melancon is always on the lookout for new things to learn. An ecclectic collection of postings on personal productivity, travel, good books, gadgets, leadership & management, and many other things.
I'm in the UK this week, and here are my favorite signs spotted so far.
And here's where to find out more about this lovely pub.
Read MoreLast week, I asked whether you prefer to see introductory "snippets" or full text in the blogs you read. I also opened a survey to allow you to vote on it. Here are my findings:
High-level findings:
More color on these findings:
From the comments, I classified people as "Clickers," "Scrollers," and "Straddlers" - here are some observations on each.
Clickers...
- like to be able to quickly scan lots of article introductions
- tend to cite the cleaner look of the [Read More...] approach as a key factor in their enjoyment
- were more likely to read blogs and feeds while online
- Eric Mack offers some thoughts on why he uses the [Read More...] approach in the comments to the original item
Note: a couple of Clickers gave a use case in which they scan a page, then tell Firefox to open the links in a new tab, effectively queuing up all the [Read More...] articles they're interested in for later review. Great idea.Scrollers...
- want to see information all in one place
- often find the [Read More...] approach as something that breaks their concentration / continuity
- don't like being left hanging (or just don't like to click)
- complained that they are sometimes forced to click a [Read More...] link, only to find 3 lines of additional text that could've been on the home page anyway
- are more likely to use offline readers to read blogs and feeds.
Straddlers...
- like to see a flexible approach based on article length - if the article is very long, break it so the page isn't quite so busy
- like the cosmetic benefits of links, but don't mind having medium-length posts in their entirety on the home page
- a couple liked snippets on the home page but full text in RSS feeds (I'm not sure I know how to do this, though)
- Bert Webb and John Richardson have some good comments (in the comments to the original item) about their philosophy on when [Read More...] links are better.
What I'm going to do about all of this
I think Bert and John are right on with their "length matters" philosophy. So, I'll continue to post full text on my pages unless I have a really lengthy post - in which case, I'll break it and continue on another page. I've even done that recently on the Never Work Alone blog.
A final note to all you people who break your posts and continue on another page
If you're a blogger, and you use the [Read More...] technique, a few user requests have come through loud and clear in this survey:
Thanks to everyone who participated in this little study. I appreciate all your participation and input on this topic! I can rest easy knowing I've made an informed decision.
Read More
Interim update
Poll results are showing 70% in favor of full text. I'll be summarizing the conclusions and the comments later this week, but there is still time to chime in on this one.
Get your opinion in - see the link below! Polls closed - thanks for your participation!
From November 2, 2005:
I have a question for you, as a blog reader. On the blogs you read, which do you prefer:
Unless I have a very long post, I tend to take the "full text" approach on my site. I do this due to my own preference: I use SharpReader to suck down my blog feeds so I can read them offline on planes, etc. I am annoyed when I am reading an article where I must click to [continue reading] but have no internet connectivity.
Seems like there are a couple of reasons to break a story to another page:
What do you think? Click here to take a survey about this (it's a free SurveyMonkey account, so only the first 100 people will be allowed to take the survey).
And if anyone knows of a better (and free) way to do surveys with TypePad, please drop me a line!
I'm in the loop now. The FilmLoop, that is. I heard about this from Guy Kawasaki (ironic because FilmLoop doesn't run on the Macintosh yet). It is a photo broadcasting ("photocasting") system--enabling you to push pictures to people (as opposed to pushing people to pictures). It's like photo sharing on steroids, and it's very cool - and it's free to consumers.
You probably don't have FilmLoop already, so the first thing that will happen is a one-click download and installation of the FilmLoop player. This will take less than a minute, and it is the first and last time you'll do it. Then the first loop will load.
You can go to the FilmLoop home page (http://www.filmloop.com/) to download the player. Or, if you prefer, I created a little filmloop with some pictures I took in New York (including one of me, Guy, and a friend of ours having dinner a couple of years ago). You can both download FilmLoop and subscribe to my New York loop by clicking here.
Once you're up and running, I'd love it if you'd also subscribe to another loop called "Faces of Genuine Curiosity" and add your photo to the loop. Just drag and drop onto the loop while it's showing on the screen, then click on your picture and add a comment telling me who you are. This will be a cool way to show some of the folks who hang out at this bus stop.
You can also click on the button in the right navigation bar of my site, under the "Feeds" section
Other FilmLoops for you to check out:
By the way - Mac users can sign up to be notified when the Mac version is available.
Are you facing a daunting task, a difficult challenge, or a project where you really want to (or have to) achieve wild success? If so, here's a technique that may help you achieve the kind of breakthough thinking you'll need to succeed.
In the past, I've written about the technique of "trying on beliefs" (see related posts below). With this technique, you pretend that something is true and act as though it is true. If you go with the spirit of the technique, you'll find you'll make different decisions, interact with people in different ways, etc. This approach can have a powerful influence on the outcomes you achieve.
With that in mind, try on the following belief about your project:
You will die if your project is not successful in 6 months.
- What will you do to ensure your don't die?
- What things are you doing that put your project at risk? What are you going to do to stop those things?
- What actions will you take to increase the odds that you'll be around in 6 months?
- Who will you ask for help to increase the chance you'll make it?
Adjust the time frame above to fit your needs, but the concept holds no matter what. Basically, this approach is a good way to help you think about what you'd do if your life depended on it.
Try it on - you might like it. It works for me.