Ever wonder if your PC is keeping secrets from you? Wonder no more. The utility ‘What’s Running’ reveals all your system’s active processes, services, drivers, and connections.

It’s like Windows Task Manager, except far more informative. The cramped multipane interface is a bit hard to read, but even it has its good points: it lists processes in a parent-child hierarchy, not a bad way to accidentally spot malware. It also lets you choose which columns of information to
display, and it makes stopping or prioritizing processes as simple as a mouse click. It even lets you control which programs launch at start-up, and includes information on active DLLs, EXEs, and drivers.

Lacking only the ability to replace the Task Manager outright, What’s Running tells you things you didn’t know you needed to know.

Yesterday, I was explaining my new content writer Shaila about the writing style that we ( I mean most of the online community) prefer to get the key
information online. I’m sharing my thoughts here so as in turn I can get a few more insights on the style of writing on the web.

How Web Writing is Unique and how can we modify our writing style that suits to web audiences?

Skim-and-Scan Style of Web Readers: Web readers are hungry for instant gratification.

They search for most appealing segments of each page instead of spending time on a single page.

Reading Online is Difficult: Reading speeds are 25% slower on a monitor than on a paper.

1. Text is not easy to read On-Screen : reading on-screen is tiring on the eyes.

2.
Monitor Screen Settings/ Quality vary, for example – Monitor displaying
graphics at 640 x 480 pixels, 800 x 600 and 1024 x 768 pixels.

Monitor Screens are typically in Landscape orientation, however traditional documents are in portrait orientation.

Web is Three-Dimensional: In the online world there is no beginning, middle or end.

• Content gathering

(CONTENT = RELEVANT TEXT + IMAGERY)

Process: Content gathering –> Compilation –> Analysis – >Development –> Authentication -> Implementation

Plan Navigation First

• Think about who your readers are and what path they will follow to get the key information

•
It will help you decide how much information you will actually write
and how much readers will access via links to other pages/sites.

Modify your Message Style and Format

Once a Navigational Structure is established, start with composing the gathered content in a style and format suitable for web.

Style

• Be very concise: aim to reduce text by at least 50%

• Use plain English.

• Frontload headlines, paragraphs, links and lists.

• Use short sentences

• Use short paragraphs

• Use “you” and “we” whenever appropriate.

Adopt Inverted Pyramid Style

• Start every page with a unique, precise, explanatory headline.

• Follow with summary, description or key message of the page.

• Use frequent subheadings; write them like headlines.

• Limit page size to the equivalent of 5 A4 pages.

• On long pages, list subheadings at the top and bookmark them.

• On long pages, provide frequent links to the top.

• Restrict every page to a single topic and purpose.

Break Information into theme-related small Chunks

Break Information into independent chunks and connect them with hyperlinks.

USE Lists

Useful Device for presenting key points on a web page

They

• Slow down roving eyes

• Simplify Complex Subjects

• Highlight the Main Point

• Breakup the page Visually

• List items in the logical order for user.

• Limit number of items on a list to 7-10 maximum.

• Subdivide long lists into short lists of related items.

• Provide descriptive headings.

Use Links

Links can be words, graphics, phrases or even complete sentences like Navtej Kohli and Navtej Kohli

They

Help readers easily navigate the web document.

• Make link-text self-explanatory, so people know exactly what they will find when they click.

• Provide Context for the links

• If a link is to a page on another web site, say so.

• If a link opens a different type of file, state the type and size (e.g. PDF, 54 mb,).

• Place the links strategically

Images

• Restrict image size.

• Provide alt-text for all images.

• Provide a long description for all complex images (e.g. charts and graphs).

Navtej Kohli

Navtej Kohli

If you’ve been online as long as I have, you’ll remember the days of Web 1.0. The days when the internet was as controlled and inaccessible to the public as television still is today. The days when getting your
content published necessitated that you were a media mogul, a mainstream media employee or very good with HTML.

Thank God those days are over. We all complain about how easy it is for the populous at large to get online: have you ever clicked through to someone’s MySpace or Bebo account and been assaulted
by moving images, loud music and slow-loading videos? It’s terribly annoying. However, I’m of the opinion that, despite the annoyances of Web 2.0, the fact that the web is now largely controlled and influened
by the public is a great thing.

I’m not talking about awful networking sites here; I’m talking about sites like Associated Content,
which bills itself as “The people’s media company.” There, users can create and publish content in a responsible, user-friendly, well designed context. This content isn’t produced and censored by CNN,
Reuters or the like. It’s created by “real people.”

Now, you may say that everyone can now create a blog, which is essentially a website where you can post your thoughts and opinions. However, a small
Blogspot or Wordpress blog is difficult to advertise and build a readership for. Publishing your content on a site like Associated press, while it’s not on your own domain, exposes your writing to so
many people without you having to market your own website or maintain it, fix its bugs, pay for it, etc.

When the net was dominated by those with money, power and knowledge, we were living in a far more closed climate than we are today. The example of the massive Digg
revolt of a few weeks ago highlights the power that we users now have online. I’ll put up with dreadful MySpace atrocities in order to feel the sense of democracy and user-control that we now have on the
internet. Contributing to sites like Associated Content only ensures that we maintain the control we now have.

Navtej kohli