Jason Unger

What's Keeping Me Busy: 12/27/07

Posted by junger - 12/27/07 at 10:12:21 pm

Career vs Love: Which Would You Pick? – Well, ideally you could have both.

But there's a reason the song isn't called "All You Need is a Job."

Video Of The Day: Comcast TiVo DVR – I'm hoping that TiVo as software becomes prominent in 2008, and that Comcast here in DC will start to offer the TiVo guide for their boxes.

It's a great middle ground for me and the wife — she likes the Comcast experience and I like the TiVo interface. This rollout looks like it could suit both of us.

Have Your Baby Before New Year's Day, Save Thousands – An interesting look at why December 28th is the "most popular birth date of the year."

Bad Headline of the Day: Jessica Alba Edition

Posted by junger - 12/27/07 at 06:12:43 pm

"Jessica Alba Cashes in on Engagement"

So, what could this mean?

- Jessica Alba wins the lottery
- Jessica Alba gets a lot of money for getting engaged
- Something about Jessica Alba, money, and getting engaged

What's the problem with this headline? It isn't clear.

The author is trying to be funny by using the name of Alba's fiancé, Cash Warren, in the headline. But unless you know the details, the headline doesn't tell you what the story is about.

In fact, I was mislead into thinking it had something to do with money. It doesn't.

Next time, try this headline: Jessica Alba Gets Engaged to Cash Warren.

Don't forget that your bad headlines are good for me.

Mitt Romney is Now My Friend on Digg

Posted by junger - 12/27/07 at 05:12:53 pm

I got this email today:

Your friend, Mitt Romney, has also added you to his list of friends. You are now mutual friends! Check out his profile here:

http://digg.com/users/govmittromney

Cheers,

The Digg Team

It's a good thing he doesn't know I'm also friends with Ron Paul.

If he does, as my friend and co-worker Gordon opined, "don't worry, he'll change his mind."

Won't you be my friend on digg?

(Image via Marylanders For Mitt)

PS – Big Love.

Audio: Benazir Bhutto, the Media, and 24

Posted by junger - 12/27/07 at 04:12:33 pm

Presenting the first Jason Unger podcast!

(RSS readers, you should be able to download the mp3 using the link below)

[audio:071227.mp3]

I'll try and post these thoughts of the day when I can. It's a lot easier to record a bit of audio and discuss what's going on than try and type it out clearly and concisely!

Does Your Content Look Good?

Posted by junger - 12/27/07 at 11:12:57 am

You might have great content, an engaging angle on a topic and a well-thought out story, but if your content doesn't look good, it may not matter.

So how do you make sure that your content looks good?

The background here is that Web users do not read — they scan.

This is why it is important to break up the text with bullet points, write short paragraphs, and be clear and concise.

If your content doesn't look easily digestible, your visitors won't read it.

I don't like when a paragraph goes longer than 4 full lines — normally 3 lines are my max. If it looks like it will take too long to read, I won't read it.

The next time you post a story online, take a look at in in draft mode and imagine yourself as a reader.

Would you want to "sit through" that story?