the 'books word play
by Hailee Dudzik
The human race likes things that are easy; it is a basic fact. Items or situations that confuse us are typically pushed onto the back burner to sit there until we can figure out if it's at a broil, or until we forget and they char. As an intelligent species, we sometimes don't appreciate using the full extent of our knowledge and like things laid out nice and neatly before us. Why, in the big picture, would someone waste their time deciphering the meaning of a title or message when if can be put simply? Certain essays, articles, and magazines fail in this element of their written pieces. Who wants to take the time to first decipher a ten word title, before mustering what brain power you have left to figure out what the actual piece is about? Those who write for the public adhere to this sense of natural laziness in the human race in various different ways. By doing so, they created something that was visually intriguing, easy to understand, and provided simple interface.
First, have you ever experienced a double take? You thought you say something that piqued your interest, and without hesitation shot your eyes directing back to their target. Did you see a name you recognized? Perhaps a movie or book title? Or, maybe something that you find great interest in happened to marquee across your vision. Regardless, something that was simple and easily affiliated to your own personal interests caught your eye in mere seconds. Facebook tends to use such methods of advertising with the links along the side of one's homepage, and dare I go further as to say that even papers, news sources, and organizations do the same thing with their own Facebook pages. If the New York Times published an engaging article about a potential cure for cancer, they wouldn't beat around the bush with a fancy title, but rather give it to you straight forward. Editors and writers for the Little Blue Books did the same thing. For example, a highly renowned contributor of essays, Clarence Darrow, had extremely simple and catchy titles for his pieces, such as "Realism in Art and Literature" and "Of Socialists". It doesn't take much further brain power to grasp the point of the essays or articles after the titles so graciously provide you with the generalization of its contents.
Now that they've captured our attention, they'll have to keep it. This isn't always an easy task for those of who write for the public. Facebook and the Little Blue Books now need to retain the audience's attention. Big fancy words and migraine-amount of statistics deter readers from investigating further into essays and articles. So, why not try and keep everything fairly simple? Of course, certain topics will need some of the more engaging elements to create a successful piece, but we still don't appreciate being drowned in them. Furthermore, the modern day Facebook provides short synopses under or near their titles as to continue to educate readers on the topics.
Look at this! They've really got the attention of the audience now, and the final step to their ploy is to make an everlasting impression so that you'll desire more pieces from them. To do this, both the Blue Books and Facebook create a simple interface, so once you've come across your topics and begin reading, you're not bombarded by jumbled pieces of information. Now, a Blue Book is very straight forward, seeing as these small paperbacks were pocket size (at least, the "Little" ones were) and simply read like a book. Facebook, however, had the challenge of coding and styling an entire website. Despite this feat, their designers, editors, and coders successfully created something simple and user friendly: everything you need in one list, your timeline to it's right, then a small section given to advertisements and article links. How much simpler could you get?
Next time you log into Facebook, and absentmindedly surf page to page, following links to something that sparks your interest, keep this essay in mind, and take a step back. Do you see where these two "books" used visual inquiry, easy understanding, and simple interfaces to reel you in? These things were taking place right before your eyes, perhaps without you even noticing until now.
The human race likes things that are easy; it is a basic fact. Items or situations that confuse us are typically pushed onto the back burner to sit there until we can figure out if it's at a broil, or until we forget and they char. As an intelligent species, we sometimes don't appreciate using the full extent of our knowledge and like things laid out nice and neatly before us. Why, in the big picture, would someone waste their time deciphering the meaning of a title or message when if can be put simply? Certain essays, articles, and magazines fail in this element of their written pieces. Who wants to take the time to first decipher a ten word title, before mustering what brain power you have left to figure out what the actual piece is about? Those who write for the public adhere to this sense of natural laziness in the human race in various different ways. By doing so, they created something that was visually intriguing, easy to understand, and provided simple interface.
First, have you ever experienced a double take? You thought you say something that piqued your interest, and without hesitation shot your eyes directing back to their target. Did you see a name you recognized? Perhaps a movie or book title? Or, maybe something that you find great interest in happened to marquee across your vision. Regardless, something that was simple and easily affiliated to your own personal interests caught your eye in mere seconds. Facebook tends to use such methods of advertising with the links along the side of one's homepage, and dare I go further as to say that even papers, news sources, and organizations do the same thing with their own Facebook pages. If the New York Times published an engaging article about a potential cure for cancer, they wouldn't beat around the bush with a fancy title, but rather give it to you straight forward. Editors and writers for the Little Blue Books did the same thing. For example, a highly renowned contributor of essays, Clarence Darrow, had extremely simple and catchy titles for his pieces, such as "Realism in Art and Literature" and "Of Socialists". It doesn't take much further brain power to grasp the point of the essays or articles after the titles so graciously provide you with the generalization of its contents.
Now that they've captured our attention, they'll have to keep it. This isn't always an easy task for those of who write for the public. Facebook and the Little Blue Books now need to retain the audience's attention. Big fancy words and migraine-amount of statistics deter readers from investigating further into essays and articles. So, why not try and keep everything fairly simple? Of course, certain topics will need some of the more engaging elements to create a successful piece, but we still don't appreciate being drowned in them. Furthermore, the modern day Facebook provides short synopses under or near their titles as to continue to educate readers on the topics.
Look at this! They've really got the attention of the audience now, and the final step to their ploy is to make an everlasting impression so that you'll desire more pieces from them. To do this, both the Blue Books and Facebook create a simple interface, so once you've come across your topics and begin reading, you're not bombarded by jumbled pieces of information. Now, a Blue Book is very straight forward, seeing as these small paperbacks were pocket size (at least, the "Little" ones were) and simply read like a book. Facebook, however, had the challenge of coding and styling an entire website. Despite this feat, their designers, editors, and coders successfully created something simple and user friendly: everything you need in one list, your timeline to it's right, then a small section given to advertisements and article links. How much simpler could you get?
Next time you log into Facebook, and absentmindedly surf page to page, following links to something that sparks your interest, keep this essay in mind, and take a step back. Do you see where these two "books" used visual inquiry, easy understanding, and simple interfaces to reel you in? These things were taking place right before your eyes, perhaps without you even noticing until now.