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Links – distraction or help

Tuesday, June 1st, 2010

Nick Carr thinks that hyperlinks are getting in the way. Hat tip to Mathew Ingram to pointing out this post (via Mathew’s singular way of directing attention).

It’s a pretty simple question: should you include inline links (embedded within the text of your article or blog post) or should you save the links to the end of your post, like a set of footnotes?

I think Carr brings up a good point: links can be distracting and lead to tangential, unproductive Web browsing. Some of the cognitive science that Carr alludes to echoes what I’ve been reading elsewhere: the frontal cortex of the brain, which processes a lot of stimuli, including distinguishing what links are, gets tired and overwhelmed relatively easily. Maybe it hurts our ability to read, comprehend, and think to have links embedded within the text of a web page.

On the other hand… I think it’s extremely valuable to use inline text links. People are accustomed to them being there and clicking on them. They can add a lot to a post by providing context and letting the post be crisper, tighter, and more concise.

Maybe the problem isn’t putting breadcrumbs in our content, but instead teaching us how to read more effectively?

One other thought: don’t diagrams and images break up the flow of content, exercising the frontal lobe as well? Moving links to the end wouldn’t solve the entire problem of taxing critical parts of the brain.

Tags: Cognitive science, Frontal lobe, Hyperlink, hyperlinks, links, mathew ingram, nick carr
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Guest posting and more

Monday, April 12th, 2010

Hello world. I’d like to point you toward a couple of links today:

7 Steps To Find Lost Objects After Panic Sets In – this is my second guest post at Pick The Brain and yes, the title describes the article perfectly.

Thoughtwrestling interview – JC Hutchins – podcaster and author JC Hutchins answers ten questions for Thoughtwrestling‘s readers. We’ve been doing a lot of Monday interviews here at Broadcasting Brain, but I felt this one was better suited for Thoughtwrestling. I wrote a post about JC’s decision to stop podcasting that you might want to check out as well.

Tags: J. C. Hutchins, Pick The Brain
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Two amazing websites and stories to share

Friday, April 9th, 2010

We had two great entries in yesterday’s contests where readers could share their amazing stories.

Mel Gallant shared the Algonquin College Community Relations Project, where some of the students are doing some impressive awareness building and fundraising for a good cause.

Lucy Thorpe shared a fascinating story about her own mother, who became a renowned UK expert at entering and winning contests. It’s a great story about starting at the bottom (or beginning) and following a process to be successful.

Please check out these great links.

And finally, the winner of the free book is: Mel Gallant! Mel, please send your mailing address to markdykeman@gmail.com so I can mail you your book!

Posted in links | 1 Comment »

Reader Recommendation Friday

Friday, March 12th, 2010

Just for a change of pace, I want to turn the podium over to you (in the Comments section, of course). What’s out there that YOU would recommend to the readers of Broadcasting Brain?

This isn’t about Foursquare (despite the photo included in this post) or #FollowFriday or anything like that.

I would really like to see you all recommend a good blog post, website, or other online content that you think would be valuable to all Brainiacs who read this blog. Maybe it could be something light hearted. Or, it could be something more substantial or meatier that we might want to read over the weekend.

Have at it, mighty ones! Give us some good stuff to read, watch or listen to. BIG HINT: it can be something that you created.

EDIT: ok, I’ll kick things off with one recommendation: Blogging Fears and How to Overcome Them – Part 2 by Remarkablogger (Michael Martine). For example, Michael makes a great point about the following: things that we write about that might seem to be too obvious and simple to us might not be too simple or too obvious to our readers. Check it out.

Image by y2bk

Tags: broadcasting brain, Foursquare, twitter
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Speedlinking – February 12 2010

Friday, February 12th, 2010

: Image by Eric Rice via Flickr

Here are some of the blog posts and websites that caught my attention this week; I think they are worth sharing with you:

Disambiguation: Behind the 8-Ball – Ian M Rountree writes about the phrases that we use in Western civilization, where they come from, and how they require context to be understood. He links to a recent post of mine about the phrase inside baseball.

How to write about your life – Penelope Trunk, founder of Brazen Careerist, talks about a few things in this post, including what’s boring and what’s interesting, plus her own experiences with writing a memoir. The post ends with three good pieces of advice about writing. Bonus: she also wrote a great post called Twitter can save your life, which made a lot of sense to me despite the link-bating title.

in which the impact of twitter on my life is examined, and thanks is given to @ev and @biz – writer/actor Wil Wheaton also weighed in on Twitter this week, talking about his experiences with writing, publishing, and communication. Here’s a snippet to give you an idea of what this one is about: Just being an entertaining author or filmmaker or performer isn’t enough; you need to get your work in front of an audience, especially if you hope to make a living from your art. There is a whole lot of reality at the root of the old cliché about who you know and networking. I didn’t expect it, and it’s not even my primary reason for using it, but Twitter has ended up filling that gap in my professional life, and the results have been nothing short of astounding. Well written, @wil.

Why French Fries are Like Marketing – this short post by Matt Blumberg is over five years old, but it’s a goodie. Just click through and read it; it makes a lot of sense.

Going too far? Penelope Trunk’s miscarriage tweet divides social media types (inquisitr.com)
Geek Heroes Sing ‘We Love Xkcd’ (wired.com)
Wil Wheaton means record ratings (tvsquad.com)
Wil Wheaton’s love letter to twitter (tobiasbuckell.com)
Net Noise (rebecca-rosenblum.blogspot.com)

Tags: behind the 8-ball, brazen careerist, french fries, ianmrountree, inside baseball, marketing, matt blumberg, penelope trunk, twitter, wil wheaton
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Speedlinking – February 5 2010

Friday, February 5th, 2010

Here’s some link goodness from the past week:

Random rules for ideas worth spreading – the man behind Unleashing the Ideavirus, Seth Godin, provides a list of ideas about… how to work with ideas.

The Dowager Shadow – Ian M Rountree and Leila Evans have started to publish a new web novel, in installments. Looks like it’ll be full of mages, adventures, and other fine things. This link takes you to a teaser page leading up to the start of the novel. Keep clicking through to read the prologues, Chapter 1, and more as it’s published. Worth checking out if you’re a fan of swords and sorcery, fantasy fiction, and all that magical stuff.

How To Break A Social Network – on his own blog, Ian M Rountree provides some interesting insights about his use of social networks, including an encounter which makes you wonder about how some people use them.

Would You Sacrifice Love For Greatness – Tara Hunt writes another moving personal anecdote about pursuing not just career success, but a life purpose and the sacrifices that you make when you do that. Read the comments section, too – Kathy Sierra weighs in with some great thoughts.

How To Write a Blog That Matters – Justin Kownacki gives five reasons why your work probably sucks and three reasons why your blog should matter. Plus, five ways to ensure that your blog matters. Check it out, bloggers!

gapingvoid’s thoughts on blogging, 2010 – Hugh MacLeod serves up a dish of analysis with ten observations about blogging (he’s been doing this for years). Bonus: you might also want to check out Remember Who You Are. (By the way, we’ve got ten thoughts from Hugh coming up here on Monday, so please check that out!)

Tell me, what have you found that made good reading this week?

Tags: gaping void, horsepigcow, hugh macleodin kownacki, ian m rountree, ideavirus, justin kownacki, kathy sierra, leila evans, seth godin, tara hunt, the dowager shadow
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