Web Online Content Assignment
09/28/08
The Pragmatic Foodie
REVISED: Added point of differentiation (USP), information on competition
I will create content for The Pragmatic Foodie, a new website that is designed for people who are passionate about food and cooking, but who must balance their passion with constraints on time, money and other resources.
The goals of this site are:
1) To provide information, direction and support on cooking and eating well in the context of limited time and budget
2) To enable and encourage creation of a community of like-minded ‘pragmatic foodies,’ thus expanding the scope and reach of the site
3) To provide a platform for writing on food-related issues from a unique point of view from other ‘foodie’ sites, perhaps best summarized as ‘fun, passionate, but not obsessive.’ Or, ‘a real food site for people with real lives.’
4) To give back to the community through fund-raising efforts that are consistent with the tone and voice of the site
My role in this assignment is create initial content for launch of the site, including:
- The Pragmatic Foodie Manifesto: a statement of the goals and philosophy of the site
- “Weekday Special”: A blog featuring recipes and techniques for weekday cooking, with an emphasis on quality, convenience and and cost
- “A Grass-Fed Odyssey:” A feature article on grass-fed beef and the author’s struggle to come to terms with its shortcomings. NOTE: Replaced this with pressure cooker piece, which seemed more pragmatic and in keeping with the site's mission.
The site will conform to AP style, and will be hosted by In Poor Taste, Inc., a non-profit corporation dedicated to fund-raising for childhood food education through its sponsorship of events such as the Fat Ass 5K road race.
This site's point of differentiation is its emphasis on good food, economically prepared in terms of both time and complexity and cost. Most other cooking blogs (Serious Eats, Chowhound) pay little or no mind to the resources required to prepare the recipes, while others focus on convenience at the expense of quality. TPF will find a middle ground by helping its community learn to prepare truly good food that fits the time and budget constraints faced by most interactors.
Sunday, September 28, 2008
Sunday, September 21, 2008
Chapter 4 Assignments: 09/21/08
Headline revision exercise
Original headline 1:
Drug Label, Maimed Patient and Crucial Test for Justices
Issues:
Unclear, awkward construction, no verb
Revised headline:
Amputee Challenge to Drug Company Focus of Court Case
Source:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/19/us/19scotus.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
Original headline 2:
SEC Spurs `Mother of All Squeezes' With Short Ban: Chart of Day
Issues:
Unclear, clichéd
Revised headline:
SEC Ban on Short-Selling Pressures Traders
Source:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=auIOzkxys10U&refer=exclusive
Original headline 3:
John McCain Hopes You're Stupid
Issues:
Over the top (even for dailykos.com) tone, lacks context
Revised headline:
McCain Counts on Voter Confusion Over Stem Cell Issue
Source:
DarkSyde
http://www.dailykos.com/
Headline writing exercise
China Bans Import of U.S. Chicken, Pork
Retaliation Suspected in Chinese Ban on U.S. Pork, Chicken
China Strikes Back, Bans U.S. Meat Imports
Writing sample head rewrite
A Vacation Surprise: Green Energy Grows in Indiana
Article rewrite with list exercise
Original article
Weight-Loss Surgery Requires Discipline
By JANE E. BRODY
Proper Maintenance
Her method? Discipline and determination.
“None of this is rocket science,” she said. “I keep a food diary every day and hand it in to a nutritionist I see once a month. I don’t go crazy weighing and measuring everything, but I eat child-size portions — a 6-year-old child, not a 10-year-old. I eat slowly and chew my food thoroughly.
“I eat pretty much a whole variety of foods and drink wine occasionally. But I don’t eat high-sugar foods like ice cream and candy except once in a while, and I can’t tolerate fried foods at all. I carry cereal bars and small baggies of cashews for snacks. When I eat out, I take home most of the meal and repackage it into proper portion sizes.”
And she exercises. “They do tell you to walk a lot, at least 15 minutes three times a week, which is not adequate exercise for anyone,” she said. “I swim laps five days a week, lift weights a couple of times a week and walk a tremendous amount. I don’t own a car.”
Revised version:
Proper Maintenance
Her method? Discipline and determination.
“None of this is rocket science,” she said. Following are some of her key tools to stay on track.
Keep a food diary.
“I keep a food diary every day and hand it in to a nutritionist I see once a month.
Eat child-size portions.
“I don’t go crazy weighing and measuring everything, but I eat child-size portions — a 6-year-old child, not a 10-year-old,” she said.
Eat slowly.
“I eat slowly and chew my food thoroughly,” Sloan said.
Eat a wide variety of healthy foods.
Nearly everything, including an occasional glass of wine, is on Sloan’s menu – except fried foods. She also goes easy on ice cream, candy and other high-sugar foods.
Carry snacks, and ‘repackage’ restaurant meals.
For snacking, Sloan carries small packs of cashews and cereal bars. And to avoid overeating at restaurants, she takes home most of the meal and repackages it into smaller portion sizes.
Exercise, exercise, exercise.
Sloan noted that post-surgery, ‘they do tell you to walk a lot, at least 15 minutes three times a week, which is not adequate exercise for anyone,” she said. “I swim laps five days a week, lift weights a couple of times a week and walk a tremendous amount. I don’t own a car.”
Original headline 1:
Drug Label, Maimed Patient and Crucial Test for Justices
Issues:
Unclear, awkward construction, no verb
Revised headline:
Amputee Challenge to Drug Company Focus of Court Case
Source:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/09/19/us/19scotus.html?partner=rssnyt&emc=rss
Original headline 2:
SEC Spurs `Mother of All Squeezes' With Short Ban: Chart of Day
Issues:
Unclear, clichéd
Revised headline:
SEC Ban on Short-Selling Pressures Traders
Source:
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=auIOzkxys10U&refer=exclusive
Original headline 3:
John McCain Hopes You're Stupid
Issues:
Over the top (even for dailykos.com) tone, lacks context
Revised headline:
McCain Counts on Voter Confusion Over Stem Cell Issue
Source:
DarkSyde
http://www.dailykos.com/
Headline writing exercise
China Bans Import of U.S. Chicken, Pork
Retaliation Suspected in Chinese Ban on U.S. Pork, Chicken
China Strikes Back, Bans U.S. Meat Imports
Writing sample head rewrite
A Vacation Surprise: Green Energy Grows in Indiana
Article rewrite with list exercise
Original article
Weight-Loss Surgery Requires Discipline
By JANE E. BRODY
Proper Maintenance
Her method? Discipline and determination.
“None of this is rocket science,” she said. “I keep a food diary every day and hand it in to a nutritionist I see once a month. I don’t go crazy weighing and measuring everything, but I eat child-size portions — a 6-year-old child, not a 10-year-old. I eat slowly and chew my food thoroughly.
“I eat pretty much a whole variety of foods and drink wine occasionally. But I don’t eat high-sugar foods like ice cream and candy except once in a while, and I can’t tolerate fried foods at all. I carry cereal bars and small baggies of cashews for snacks. When I eat out, I take home most of the meal and repackage it into proper portion sizes.”
And she exercises. “They do tell you to walk a lot, at least 15 minutes three times a week, which is not adequate exercise for anyone,” she said. “I swim laps five days a week, lift weights a couple of times a week and walk a tremendous amount. I don’t own a car.”
Revised version:
Proper Maintenance
Her method? Discipline and determination.
“None of this is rocket science,” she said. Following are some of her key tools to stay on track.
Keep a food diary.
“I keep a food diary every day and hand it in to a nutritionist I see once a month.
Eat child-size portions.
“I don’t go crazy weighing and measuring everything, but I eat child-size portions — a 6-year-old child, not a 10-year-old,” she said.
Eat slowly.
“I eat slowly and chew my food thoroughly,” Sloan said.
Eat a wide variety of healthy foods.
Nearly everything, including an occasional glass of wine, is on Sloan’s menu – except fried foods. She also goes easy on ice cream, candy and other high-sugar foods.
Carry snacks, and ‘repackage’ restaurant meals.
For snacking, Sloan carries small packs of cashews and cereal bars. And to avoid overeating at restaurants, she takes home most of the meal and repackages it into smaller portion sizes.
Exercise, exercise, exercise.
Sloan noted that post-surgery, ‘they do tell you to walk a lot, at least 15 minutes three times a week, which is not adequate exercise for anyone,” she said. “I swim laps five days a week, lift weights a couple of times a week and walk a tremendous amount. I don’t own a car.”
Sunday, September 14, 2008
Southern culture on the web:
An evaluation of the Oxford American website
‘Southern culture.’ Now there’s a loaded phrase. It instantly brings to mind everything from Faulkner to Falwell, from King to The King to the KKK. In other words, say the words and stand back. Heck, put just about any noun after ‘Southern’ and you’ll get a response like a high school kid gets by pithing a frog on the dissection table. It may not be pretty, but it it’s guaranteed to be visceral.
REVISED: Deleted excess metaphors
For this adopted son of the South, the Oxford American (OA) magazine and its website, www.oxfordamericanmag.com, bring to life one of the most salient and seminal aspects of Southern culture: writing.
Entering its 10th year, the Oxford American endeavors to provide its readers with the best writers whose voice is distinctly Southern. For these reasons alone it is a publication worthy of plaudits, but its commitment to promoting literacy and literature across the South makes it even more admirable.
While the magazine (a four-color glossy, laden with regional photography and art) is worthy of the organization’s goals and its presumably highly literate readership, the OA website falls woefully short. Today’s OA site is a time capsule from 1999, an era when many magazines’ idea of a website was simply online posting of content.
The upside is that the content of this site is stellar. For anyone passionate, interested, or just slightly curious about Southern writing, it is a mother lode of content. And since even this online world content still counts more than anything else, OA could quite easily rework its site to join the ranks of the best literary magazine sites.
Page layout and design solid
At first glance, OA appears to have a solid, consistent design. The traditional three-column format, with navigation links to the left, is vanilla but effective. Links to functions such as ‘subscribe’ and ‘donate’ are clean and clear. Advertising is limited to the right-hand column, and is generally unobtrusive. As a non-profit that has teetered on the brink of bankruptcy in the past, OA almost certainly lacks deep pockets, but is to be commended for not over-commercializing the site.
Type size and color a problem
The key issues with site design reside in the center column. Type of the genus Muscari minisculus (tiny gray mouse) crowds the column like Pentecostals at a Palin rally, and renders the copy nearly as unpalatable.
Violations of good design are especially egregious on the home page, where each issue is previewed in massive paragraphs nearly devoid of subheads, links or any other graphic relief. They loom gray and somber like digital monuments to bureaucracy gone bad.
Scrolling down reveals less monotony, but no more clarity. Articles for the current issue are linked with a graphic (usually quite striking and well-executed), headline and a short graph of body copy. Unfortunately, clicking on these elements links not to the article, as the user would expect, but to the ‘purchase current issue’ page.
Navigation: beware dead ends
Clicking to an unexpected and unwelcome page is just the start of OA’s navigational shortcomings. The essay-length articles that make up the bulk of each issue’s content are neither directly accessible from the home page nor from each other (though there are typically only four or five articles per issue). Instead, the user has to click back to the ‘current issue’ page to move from one article to the next. Further, there is no printer-friendly function (a real drawback, given the length of most articles).
Article view. To quote Scott Turow, reading this is like stirring concrete with your eyelashes.
Site organization: in a word, adequate
A small site like OAmag.com shouldn’t face organizational challenges, and this one doesn’t. Its flat structure (no section goes deeper than five pages) and clean navigational aids help in this regard.
Writing quality, tone and voice are strengths
This is an area where OA shines. Writers from the famous (John Grisham) to the somewhat-obscure-but-talented (Ellen Ann Fentress) to the lesser-known-but-promising (David Ramsey, a former OA editorial assistant turned schoolteacher) have all been published here. Every issue seems to contain a mix of writers who, no matter what the subject is, capture and distill a discrete essence of the South that’s as evocative of ‘place’ as the smell of a favorite grandmother’s home.
The site’s editors, as in the print counterpart, maintain a consistent tone and a unique voice. There’s no mistaking their agenda: to promote a more literate, better-educated region. But unlike some other sites, that agenda never comes across as shrill or overtly politicized. Instead, the editors ‘let the writing do the talking’ by selecting writers and topics whose unique viewpoints and styles stand strong individually, but meld beautifully into a coherent whole.
The consistent tone of the site is aided, too, by the practice of having each quarterly release focus on a single issue, such as the place of sports in Southern culture, or hurricane Katrina, three years on. (One downside of the quarterly nature of the site content is that online, a quarter might as well be a quarter-century).
Three steps to a better site
1. Revamp copy design.
Incorporating subheads and shorter paragraphs will make the articles more readable without unduly affecting literary content. A larger type size and even more important, black type, will improve reader comfort.
2. Improve navigation and linking tools.
Adding more intuitive linking from the home page to the issue content will improve access and readership. A pdf option for longer articles to allow them to be saved locally would likely be popular with users who prefer to do long-form reading offline, and links to tagging/sharing tools such as digg and reddit will help enhance the site’s visibility.
3. Make the site more a community, less of an undergraduate lecture.
OA.com has the advantage of truly unique, thoughtful and thought-provoking content with a regional accent. But as the site now exists, the content delivery is almost entirely one-way. As a result, there’s little sense of community on the site.
The passion and interest of OA readers could be harnessed through creation of an online community. Other online publications, most notably www.Slate.com, have been successful in creating vibrant gathering places where like-minded individuals share and rate blogs, post comments on articles, and engage in informal give-and-take with site editors. OA could easily accomplish this, albeit on a smaller scale.
An evaluation of the Oxford American website
‘Southern culture.’ Now there’s a loaded phrase. It instantly brings to mind everything from Faulkner to Falwell, from King to The King to the KKK. In other words, say the words and stand back. Heck, put just about any noun after ‘Southern’ and you’ll get a response like a high school kid gets by pithing a frog on the dissection table. It may not be pretty, but it it’s guaranteed to be visceral.
REVISED: Deleted excess metaphors
For this adopted son of the South, the Oxford American (OA) magazine and its website, www.oxfordamericanmag.com, bring to life one of the most salient and seminal aspects of Southern culture: writing.
Entering its 10th year, the Oxford American endeavors to provide its readers with the best writers whose voice is distinctly Southern. For these reasons alone it is a publication worthy of plaudits, but its commitment to promoting literacy and literature across the South makes it even more admirable.
While the magazine (a four-color glossy, laden with regional photography and art) is worthy of the organization’s goals and its presumably highly literate readership, the OA website falls woefully short. Today’s OA site is a time capsule from 1999, an era when many magazines’ idea of a website was simply online posting of content.
The upside is that the content of this site is stellar. For anyone passionate, interested, or just slightly curious about Southern writing, it is a mother lode of content. And since even this online world content still counts more than anything else, OA could quite easily rework its site to join the ranks of the best literary magazine sites.
Page layout and design solid
At first glance, OA appears to have a solid, consistent design. The traditional three-column format, with navigation links to the left, is vanilla but effective. Links to functions such as ‘subscribe’ and ‘donate’ are clean and clear. Advertising is limited to the right-hand column, and is generally unobtrusive. As a non-profit that has teetered on the brink of bankruptcy in the past, OA almost certainly lacks deep pockets, but is to be commended for not over-commercializing the site.
Type size and color a problem
The key issues with site design reside in the center column. Type of the genus Muscari minisculus (tiny gray mouse) crowds the column like Pentecostals at a Palin rally, and renders the copy nearly as unpalatable.
Violations of good design are especially egregious on the home page, where each issue is previewed in massive paragraphs nearly devoid of subheads, links or any other graphic relief. They loom gray and somber like digital monuments to bureaucracy gone bad.
Scrolling down reveals less monotony, but no more clarity. Articles for the current issue are linked with a graphic (usually quite striking and well-executed), headline and a short graph of body copy. Unfortunately, clicking on these elements links not to the article, as the user would expect, but to the ‘purchase current issue’ page.
Home page
Navigation: beware dead ends
Clicking to an unexpected and unwelcome page is just the start of OA’s navigational shortcomings. The essay-length articles that make up the bulk of each issue’s content are neither directly accessible from the home page nor from each other (though there are typically only four or five articles per issue). Instead, the user has to click back to the ‘current issue’ page to move from one article to the next. Further, there is no printer-friendly function (a real drawback, given the length of most articles).
Article view. To quote Scott Turow, reading this is like stirring concrete with your eyelashes.
Site organization: in a word, adequate
A small site like OAmag.com shouldn’t face organizational challenges, and this one doesn’t. Its flat structure (no section goes deeper than five pages) and clean navigational aids help in this regard.
Writing quality, tone and voice are strengths
This is an area where OA shines. Writers from the famous (John Grisham) to the somewhat-obscure-but-talented (Ellen Ann Fentress) to the lesser-known-but-promising (David Ramsey, a former OA editorial assistant turned schoolteacher) have all been published here. Every issue seems to contain a mix of writers who, no matter what the subject is, capture and distill a discrete essence of the South that’s as evocative of ‘place’ as the smell of a favorite grandmother’s home.
The site’s editors, as in the print counterpart, maintain a consistent tone and a unique voice. There’s no mistaking their agenda: to promote a more literate, better-educated region. But unlike some other sites, that agenda never comes across as shrill or overtly politicized. Instead, the editors ‘let the writing do the talking’ by selecting writers and topics whose unique viewpoints and styles stand strong individually, but meld beautifully into a coherent whole.
The consistent tone of the site is aided, too, by the practice of having each quarterly release focus on a single issue, such as the place of sports in Southern culture, or hurricane Katrina, three years on. (One downside of the quarterly nature of the site content is that online, a quarter might as well be a quarter-century).
Three steps to a better site
1. Revamp copy design.
Incorporating subheads and shorter paragraphs will make the articles more readable without unduly affecting literary content. A larger type size and even more important, black type, will improve reader comfort.
2. Improve navigation and linking tools.
Adding more intuitive linking from the home page to the issue content will improve access and readership. A pdf option for longer articles to allow them to be saved locally would likely be popular with users who prefer to do long-form reading offline, and links to tagging/sharing tools such as digg and reddit will help enhance the site’s visibility.
3. Make the site more a community, less of an undergraduate lecture.
OA.com has the advantage of truly unique, thoughtful and thought-provoking content with a regional accent. But as the site now exists, the content delivery is almost entirely one-way. As a result, there’s little sense of community on the site.
The passion and interest of OA readers could be harnessed through creation of an online community. Other online publications, most notably www.Slate.com, have been successful in creating vibrant gathering places where like-minded individuals share and rate blogs, post comments on articles, and engage in informal give-and-take with site editors. OA could easily accomplish this, albeit on a smaller scale.
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