Today, considering twitter, flash fiction, and sound/word bytes, people tend to get to the point as quickly as possible.
When you are reading an item on line, the longer it is, the less you read. In fact, if it is too long, you stop reading.
Many studies have been done to prove that a person would do a search on a topic, go to a site, and as soon as encountering the long ‘blah blah’ with it’s introductions and explanations, the person presses the back arrow to go to some other site which gets to the point as quickly as possible.
OLD DAYS
There was a time specific sites demanded two thousand five hundred words, (2,500) Others, one thousand, (1,000).
Now some topics require the long introduction, the long explanation and lots and lots of information or else the reader might not comprehend the topic.
These kinds of articles are not popular save when writing about the most convoluted and difficult scientific subjects or particularly intricate political/historical events.
Firstly, most topics an on line writer would select can be fully explained within two hundred and fifty words. These are the common but popular topics. The ones that turn up on ‘what’s trending’.
Secondly, most reading is more skim then study, so being able to pick up the facts quickly makes an item popular. Having to dig through the mud to get the point has the item unread.
Due to this, most of the on line publishing sites which demanded long items have disappeared. This is because persons who wrote for these sites have had to stuff their item with ‘blah blah’.
Blah Blah can be repetition, blobs of metaphors, similes, and other trite expressions, and dragging out a point which could be sharply made in one short sentence into a paragraph.
Sites such as Hubpages became ‘Content Farms’ because those who had to find one thousand five hundred words, (1,500) on a topic that could be fully and neatly discussed with four hundred (400) words, was stuffed to the brim with adverbs, adjective, repetition, meaningless sentences.
Once torturing a discussion of four hundred words into one thousand five hundred, the ‘writers’ (term used loosely) decided to stop wasting brain cells writing, and use the ‘blah blah’ template. Their only labour would be in finding and replacing the present Keywords with others.
Creating a big bloated post with very little information became the hallmark of Hubpages, which is why they were marked a Content Farm. And why they went from 12 Million views a month to less than 1 Million today.
Modern on line writing sites often do away with word limits as different topics require different lengths. For the writer having to go back over an item and pop in more words, just adding and adding until reaching the limit, cheapens an article.
Imagine writing a sharp piece on a current American political situation and being bumped because your item isn’t long enough. As you want to publish, you go back over it. You start stuffing in a few more words, then to more quickly meet the requirement, start to add ‘blah blah’ to drag it to the limit. The article is now far less valuable than it had been.
Eventually, one develops a ‘template’ of blah blah. And the site becomes a Content Farm, because people complain to Google.
What is the Main Cause of a Heart Attack? What is its Solution? A heart attack is the blockage of… Read More
In the vast economic arena, one term that often takes center stage, inciting extensive debates and discussions, is the "debt… Read More
De-Dollarization: The Changing Face of Global Finance The financial landscape is in a state of flux, with an intriguing economic… Read More
The curtains closed on a dramatic Bundesliga season with Bayern Munich standing tall once again, clinching their 11th straight title.… Read More
The Unfolding Story of Celine Dion's Health In recent news that has left fans across the globe stunned, iconic singer… Read More
As the echoes of the recent NBA season start to fade, the attention of enthusiasts is firmly glued to one… Read More
View Comments
Sites such as this benefit with long posts as the Ads linger on.
That is a myth. That is why so many sites demanded 2k words. They thought the longer item would prove the site was 'serious'. What happens, and you know it for yourself, is that you write an article, it is 'too short' you go back and start stuffing words. You've said everything you need to in 287 words. But you have to stuff in more. And unless you actually can find another clause that is necessary... blah blah
I think it is understandable that in an online earning site, we are there to earn. Thus, we are in a hurry to be able to post and earn more by the comment it would get.
Thus, we know that our time to read is limited, so we also try to make our posts shorter, to also give way for us to be able to read and comment to friend's posts.
However, in a writing site such as here, there is a minimum number of words for a post to be approved to be published. Thus, I see a lot who are sometimes just beating around the bush just to meet the minimum number of words. I hate to say it, but they are rubbish posts.
Although, some would really go detail by detail, so much so that one would think, is this copied from anywhere and would be checked by Admin if they really are.
So here, you can sense if a post is just being made just to conform to having the minimum number of words. You have just read a few paragraphs but you already know what is being pointed out, because sometimes as go on reading , the writer seems to be already drifting.
Funny, but this is true to some posts here. Can we not just post shorter but substantive posts. If a post needs explanation , then a long post will do.
We are on the exact same page... that is how I feel. I write and try to get to the point. The best writers do that... so if you want to know what monophobia is and do a search you DON'T WANT TO READ...
"People all over the world suffer from Monophobia. You probably know people who suffer from Monophobia. Yet, Monophobia is nothing to be afraid or ashamed of.... (blah blah blah)
You want to Read:
Monophobia is the fear of being alone and can make a person feel insecure, anxious and depressed.
I think it is good to write as short as possible.The only good fact is that the message and reason of the write up should be made as clear as possible.There is no crime in writing more words.This may either be for more clearance or emphasis.
The modern style is to be as quick as possible. Get to the point as sharp as one can and avoid the 'very' and other wasteful modifiers. Although 300 words here is not inordinately long, the fact is that when one finishes their sharp article and has to add 30 or 40 words... they rarely contribute.