Writing in the Digital Environment

For our fourth blog post, we are to think a little more concretely about the differences between writing in the digital environment as opposed to print.  Obviously, there are many things to consider when writing in these two very different situations.  For example, when writing in print, one can probably get away with putting forth a little more information, making the piece that is being written a little longer.  Let me clarify.  Say you are writing for a newspaper or magazine, you may have more opportunity to really take your time to explain, provide examples, etc.  When people read newspapers or magazines they are generally sitting down, maybe relaxing or having coffee.  But when writing for the digital audience, the author may have to be more succinct because people are generally  on the go when they are reading digital media.  We read our smartphones or tablets while grabbing a quick bite to eat or walking down the sidewalk.  We don't have time to sit down, prop up our feet and open the newspaper anymore.  Life is changing.


Recently the class had an assignment where we were to create an infographic.  Now, this sounds easier than it actually is.  The purpose of an infographic is to convey a message by using words, pictures, etc.  The point is to try to get your message across quickly and accurately without a lot of unnecessary. . .junk.  I found that this was difficult for me because I tend to want to explain things fully as opposed to using one or two words, or even a sentence, to sum up an idea.  I admire people who can do something like an infographic, or a Prezi, to communicate information.  It actually takes a lot more creativity than I originally expected. 


I also think the choice of design (color, font, images) when writing for print and digital media is extremely important.  One has to consider the audience, purpose and the context among many other things.  I think that when creating a piece that will be read in the digital environment, we must present the reader with something that they can read quickly and grasp fully.  Like I stated earlier, people just don't have time anymore, and information needs to be given to us at lightning speed or we lose interest.  If you are writing for print, I think it's less important to communicate the message quickly.  This brings me back to the infographics.  They are designed to be digested at a fast pace.


I suppose I'd never really considered the differences in writing in these two environments prior to this class.  Since I had never even created a blog post before this semester, I am now better able to appreciate what goes into writing in the digital world.  I prefer to pick up a pencil and write a rough draft but that is kind of hard to do with a keyboard, although I guess one could still hammer out a website on paper first. . .


I think ultimately I prefer digital media as opposed to print. I am just so busy with school, work, home that it's just easier and makes more sense for me to get information from a digital source. But I do still love to prop up my feet and read a good (paper!) book.