I’ve got writer’s block, and it sucks.

That’s the first thing that came to my mind when I decided that I wanted to write a new blog post, but had no idea what to write about. I felt very, very stuck in a rut of no ideas. What I had, and what I felt were both a bleeding wound to my creativity.

When facing the nearly-insurmountable wall of doubt that writer’s block creates, it’s easy to presume that the problem of coming up with something new is entirely about “the topic”. For example, I’ve felt a little empty on coming up with article ideas for quite awhile now. As common as it is, I’ll bet that a few of you understand how I feel.

I’ve decided to challenge this frustration by simply digging straight through until I come out the other side. Having the urge to write something, I tried to answer the first question that came to my mind: “what is my topic?”. Unsurprisingly, the answer didn’t just pop right out and tap me on the shoulder. Nor will it with you.

I’m reminded of days past, when I’ve had the opportunity to go somewhere with a friend or loved one. We would end up sitting there looking at each other with a blank stare, neither of us knowing where to go.

Road Trip

Person 1: “Where do you want to go?”

Person 2: “I dunno… where do you want to go?”

Person 1: “I asked you first”

Person 2: “Screw it. Let’s just get in the car and drive. We’ll figure it out on the way.”

Person 1: “Awesome idea. Let’s just ride.”

Now, I’m certain that I’m not the only one who has lived the above conversation in some context. The result of which has varied anywhere from a trip down to the corner store for snacks, to a spontaneous two-day journey to Niagara Falls, NY (true story).

The point is, that sometimes the destination is never truly clear until the journey has already begun. Quite like how you might not know what you want to write about until you start typing.

You should just start writing something. Anything.

Here is my advice, if you ever get stuck: Start with a single thought. Just that, nothing more. It could be anything random, as if you are about to tell it to the person nearest you. A single sentence that will simply get you in the vehicle and on a journey to somewhere new.

A Parting Gift

To help you get started, I’m offering a small collection of sentences that you can take with you:

• His too-worn shoes gave away something that was hidden beneath the new clothing.
• My Uncle’s internet starts with a big blue ”E”.
• I [love/hate] glossy business cards!
• Why do those shoes smell like pickles?
• It’s been raining outside, again.
• Bacon is the greatest meat in the world.

The intense writing that you launch from these words is your own responsibility. Please keep your hands and feet inside the vehicle at all times, and most of all… enjoy the ride.

Past all the usability, aesthetics, architecture, and other details of creating a website, there's the element of the people who visit that reminds us all that beyond the numbers and paperwork, we are all still flesh and blood.

I strive to create work for humans, and I invite you to join me on the adventure.

So feel free to lend me your voice. Let me know that you're more than just an IP address.

Although I’m unable to bring myself (and others who aren't there) to Austin, perhaps there's a tiny (and fun) way I can bring Austin here…

As of right now, I’m publicly giving out my Google GrandCentral number to everyone here. This is a number that I don't have forwarded to any of my phones, and am just using it as a way to collect messages, so why not take advantage of it?

Here’s the number (linked for iPhone users):

+1-309-822-4089

UPDATE

I've started keeping an archive of all the messages on my Huffduffer account. They're sorted as starting from the bottom.

The Challenge

If you're in Austin right now, here's what I'd like you to do:

Call this number (309-822-4089) whenever you want. Seriously, anytime you feel like it. Want to rant, tell a story, confess something, talk about a cool panel you just saw, share a kick-ass band that you're listening to, or even drunk dial some strange noises… anything goes!

The message that you leave is then saved for me on GrandCentral. I'm the only person who has access to the account where they can be reviewed and/or downloaded as mp3 files.

Fame and Glory

When I listen to your message (I will listen to every message), I may post it here. Throughout the week, I’ll end up with a small collection of the messages that amuse me the most, to share with the world and all my readers. Granted, I probably won’t post any that are too vulgar or profane, even if they make me laugh hard enough to pee a little. But I will post the ones that I think need to be shared.

When it’s all said and done, I may even send some prizes (in the form of artwork) to the best call. So what are you waiting for?

Disclaimer

Please note: I am not responsible for any charges (long distance or otherwise) that may be incurred during this event. Insults, threats, and anything I deem inappropriate will be deleted. Additionally, I probably can't prove that every call is coming from Austin, so I'll just take them as they come in. Please be somewhat responsible (we’re all adults here).

Also, the outgoing message is just a default response. I’ll add something special just for you kids shortly.

Today‘s question that I‘d like to address is: “Should vertical/rotated type be used in web design?”

My quick-draw gut-reaction answer is: “No. I don‘t believe it should.” Read on, to find out why.

Vertical what?

First, lets go over what I mean by vertical typography: Vertical (or rotated) typography is when you have the letters of a word (in a traditionally horizontal language, specifically English for the limit of this article) stacked one on top of the other, in such a way that the word area appears very tall and narrow. To achieve this, the three methods to this are: the letters can be straight-stacked/unrotated (as shown in Example A), they can be rotated clockwise (Example B), or they can be rotated counter-clockwise (Example C).

In print form, the most typical use of this is for page tabs (and simulated tabs) for the paper edges of reference publications and binders. Many video game guidebooks currently use this to allow thumbing through sections easier to manage.

In some cases, there‘s even a clever design system that forms the text together to support the meaning behind the words. An example of this is when “SAVES” is connected to the first “S” in “JESUS”, seen on buildings and churches in many cities. The vertical type supports the shape of the cross. There‘s also signs that use vertical text to direct attention in a specific way, such as signs used to bring attention to an entrance. Simple, yet effective.

This technique has also been around for a long time to create signs for buildings that stand tall. These usually serve multiple purposes: To draw a passer-by‘s eye to the entrance, to maximize the available space between the side of the building and the street, and (in large applications) to strengthen the physical mounting against the wear of gravity.

To have a solution, you must start with a problem.

On the web, there are little, if no, physical or practical issues that necessitate the use of vertical text. The problems that this technique solves in the real-world no longer exist, so the so-called solutions become nearly moot. It then becomes a pure aesthetics dilemma that comes down to the question: “What problem is vertical text going to be solving here that doesn‘t cause more problems?”

One of the first advantages you‘ll find when using vertical text is how well it catches the eye. You can easily draw and direct attention in your layout when you apply this effect. The horizontal real-estate is narrow enough to also warrant usage. The downside however, is that it can (depending on your choice of typography/fonts and general rendering abilities) be more difficult for your audience to read. Currently CSS support for vertical text is so broken that a rasterized graphic is the only feasible way to create vertical text.

With graphic text, you‘ll need to consider how accessible the image needs to be. Will there be a portion of your audience that just won‘t see the label at all? This is especially true if you decide to use vertical text as a way of displaying navigation. You‘ll want to make sure that users can continue to browse through the site, as well as keeping it crawl-able for search engines like Google.

One Example.

After a few days of searching, I found just one website that used vertical text in a visually effective way that I really liked.

macrabbit is the little company that creates the great CSS-Authoring tool for the Mac: CSSEdit. Their use of vertical text on the homepage link is well-placed. It‘s set outside of the page design‘s vertical grid, is minimal, space-conserving, easy-to-read, and supports the navigation bar nicely. The only concern I have is that the homepage link isn‘t as accessible as it could be. They‘re using an image replacement technique that fails at accessibility (a topic too deep to go into here), even though the usability of the graphic works fine.

So, where does that leave you?

What do you think? Are you up for the challenge of attempting vertical text on your site? Is it worth the trouble you‘ll have to go through to make it work? Will it solve your specific problems? I certainly don‘t want to be the one to discourage you from being creative, but I do want you to think very carefully about what you‘re getting into when trying to transform real-world solutions into digital metaphors. Because very often, these so-called “good ideas” turn out to be design nightmares, unmanageable, and awkward to work around. As risk-taking as I tend to be with my own design work, I still don‘t encourage exploring the vertical type idea unless there‘s a darn good reason to (and usually there‘s not).

Here‘s my advice: consider your options very carefully, seek the honest advice of your peers, and keep an eye on possible alternate solutions that could serve you better.

I began to make up stories as I pondered their conflict in my head. Perhaps they were running late to some appointment; or maybe it was an issue regarding money (a common point of argument among many couples). Could it be that one of them was caught cheating on the other; or maybe it was just something as random as saying the wrong thing at the wrong time. I didn’t know. And to be completely honest, I didn’t care.

Naturally, I wondered what they would think if they knew that I was there, casually observant through the circumstance of traffic, curious to what my own imagination could make of the vehicle immediately in front of my own. However, I was there as a scientist to creativity, a researcher bent on finding a diamond of life placed right in front of me, and looking deep into its jeweled surface for something more.

I’m glad I couldn’t hear what they were saying. I didn’t want to know. Those words were not meant for my own or anyone else’s ears. My amusement was strictly limited to what could be seen publicly at that moment in time. The chance to observe a random moment and take from it what fate had given me: the chance to imagine other people in other places, fictional stories like a movie, played out in my head. I could narrate the driver as a spy defending why he’d been caught on tape. Perhaps they were both aliens, disagreeing on how best to destroy all of the humans.

Fuel for creativity is just this: take what life gives you and become inspired from it. Spending five minutes with two random people on a road, who never even knew I was there, gave me enough ideas to write at least three books. The catalyst for something more than reality.

It happened on Sunday, February 1st (the same day that the Steelers won the Super Bowl).

Approaching this age has not been very easy for me (nor was it very difficult). The event creeped up on me like a fog, surrounding me with a deep sense of introspection. I deeply pondered the things I’ve done with my life, and the things I’ve still yet to do.

Along that journey, I began thinking of specific points where I took very acute changes in my direction. The strange road that has brought me to this very point in time. Those acute changes I can see in my mind as plotted points along a graph, with names attached to them – names of the people who have actually had a direct effect on my life’s travels.

These names are not just everyday influences. I get those all the time. I find influence in everything around me (I do have the eyes of an artist, after all). I have tons of friends that I’d love to add to this list. No, I’m directing your attention to the people who have been the catalyst to epiphanic moments that are forever frozen within my mould.

My Mother. Who, in her early 20s when I was very little, drove the two of us nearly 2,000 miles from California to Illinois – forever changing my life. I’ve no idea what things would’ve been like had that not happened, nor does it matter. I’m very happy with who I am right now, and changing this detail would mean to change my entire being.

My Cousin, Zeno Kidd Gamble. I had various levels of friendship growing up as a child, but I think that Zeno was the only one who actually saw the real me. He was unafraid of many things and was a perfect compliment to my insecurities. Plus, he was the DM when we played DnD. In many ways, he brought me out of my shell. Although we don’t talk nearly as often as we should, I still love him as both friend and family.

Charles (Chuck) Flagg. Mr. Flagg was my art teacher in High School (he was brilliant with pottery). I still have (and use) a set of coffee cups that he made for my wife and I. His was the influence that showed me that art was more than just drawings in a notebook.

Christie Cirone. She was my Graphic Design instructor during community college. I remember a few students not liking her, but I think she saw something in how I approached my ideas that really clicked with us. During that time, I was introduced to things like typesetting (on a real letterpress), rubylith, darkroom film developing, and scanning on an old Macintosh. Yes, those were the days.

Julie Peck. My friend. My love. My wife. She is everything I need, and more. Marrying her was the smartest thing I ever did.

Ray Lonsdale. Co-founder of the Dynamic Graphics New Media Studio, and the man who gave me my first job in the interactive industry. To this day, that’s the best job I ever held – I learned more there than any other position to date. I still hope of landing in an equally dynamic studio with with the knowledge and experience that I have now. Ray and I may have had our share of ups and downs, but I think its because we dream from the same palette.

Jeffrey Zeldman. In 2000, I had no idea who this man was, or what he was to become. It was at a Thunderlizard event (Web Design World) when I first saw him speak. Doug Bowman was there as well, but it was Jeffrey’s words that started turning the gears (Happy Cogs?) in my head right at a point when I was finally transitioning from CD-Rom development to begin my career in Web Design. We’re not friends (not even acquaintences), nor am I sure he could even put a face to my name, but the direct influence his words had at that single event cannot be denied on how strongly it impacted my life. I believe he began his talk with (as close as I can remember) “I shot a man during a card game last night…”

Connie Persampieri, Darla Ecklund, and Grand Gould. These three were the most powerfully direct influences on my creativity during a time when I was dealing with some internal demons. I was able to pour my emotions into what likely still the best work I’ve ever done because of the friendship I had with them. I still love them all, and miss the silly chatting we did that only art geeks could appreciate.

Bryan Veloso, Dan Rubin, and Jonathan Snook. My web geek peeps. These three probably have no idea how important they are to me as friends and role models. They are the bar that I constantly aspire to reach.

My children: Jesse and Sabrina. I learn the greatest lessons from these two tiny versions of myself. Patience, understanding, discipline, how to relax, and how to deal with crisis when they happen. I have become who I am because of my love for them.

These people aren't meant to be compared with each other, they are permanent bookmarks in the history of who I am. I thank them all because it’s how I acknowledge where I’m at right now. What I’m doing right now. A sense of perspective. These epicenters of change in my life. I only hope that I can somehow pay it forward and be as strong a turning point for someone else’s life (in a positive way, hopefully).

Having been guilty of not self-moderating my own lifestream at times, I have often regretted some of the things that I’ve posted online. At 140 characters, what can be typed may not always be an accurate reflection of what was thought or felt at the time. But I’ve found that the internet usually forgives quickly, everyone moves on, and time always heals. Although, each infraction does seem to create a tiny and permanent chip in the perception people have of who you are as a person. Inevitably, your contacts will respect you just a tiny-bit less than they did before.

In the past, I had a rebel attitude about things - feeling that I could just say what I want, when I want, and let that be that. If people felt the need to judge me on those criteria, then they could just go burn up in the atmosphere, for all I cared. However, not only does time heal, it also has the power of enlightenment. I came to realize that the perception of myself through these services is quite often nothing at all like what I though other people were seeing of me. That if I had the same point-of-view as one of my own friends, and saw how callous I approached social media, I might be surprised at the results. Which is pretty much what happened, over time. Because I care more now about representing myself as a professional than I did before, I need to be more cautious about when and where I express particular opinions. From this, I no longer publicly speak about things such as religion and politics unless it’s in an appropriate context, and I’ve also cut down on the swearing.

With that said, I’ve approached a group of other professionals on this topic, to see what they think about how we represent ourselves online, the things we say, and how we can balance the thin line between audience-pandering and our freedom of speech. Let’s see what they have to say about the subject, shall we?

Dave McNally [http://davemcnally.net/]:

I have thought about this in the past but haven’t acted on my thoughts much.

There are most definitely repercussions of what you post in these streams, how severe these are though would naturally depend on the content you post and if it is taken in the correct context. For example, if I were to post something in a joking manner, I would expect people would see it that but each persons perception is different and it could always be taken the wrong way. Even if we were to see such content that gave out a certain perception of others and thought nothing much of it or were able to understand the way it was meant, that feeling is always there – even if only subconsciously.

A minimal amount of controversial posts may not have a huge impact on your image. I think it’s more of an overall image people form about you based on the average content of your posts and so the content you post most often is more likely to be remembered. Even then, if the occasional post that falls into a controversial category is that extreme, it may stand out above the more meaningful content you post and so people would always remember that about before anything else. We are all constantly forming our own opinions of others depending on what they say, whether these opinions are good or bad can not only depend on the person posting the content but those interpreting it.

On the other hand, I think there should be a kind of exception or expressive freedom given to content posted to the likes of Twitter. It may be talked about as a marketing and networking tool but above all, it’s an informal diary of what we’re doing and thinking day to day. Or at least it’s supposed to be. For this reason, I don’t monitor too much what I say there. I do however, make sure I’m not writing anything too offensive and hope anything I do write isn’t taken too seriously. If I had something to say that was of any major importance, it’s most likely that I couldn’t sum up those thoughts in 140 characters anyway and so I would end up writing a blog post about it instead. In those situations, you are not only given much more space to correctly get your opinions across but you are giving others a lot more information to think about before they form their own thoughts about the content and you. If you are posting something to Twitter, a lot of the time that can be impulsive and once posted, people have read it and formed opinions. Writing a blog post allows you that time to think about the image you are putting across from the overall content.

Jonathan Snook [http://snook.ca/]:

I’ve always self-censored – on the blog, on Twitter, and on any service where I present a public face. Sometimes it’s constraining. Most of the time, though, it’s not an issue. A derogatory joke is best left with close friends. Troubling thoughts might be best left with a therapist.

On my blog, I’ve always tried to keep it professional. I’ve only blogged about personal stuff a few times. Twitter is weird, though, because it feels more personal. More one-on-one. But even there, I’m very self-conscious about what I write. I have this unspoken ratio in my head that I try to maintain between useful tweets, joke tweets, insightful tweets, and @ replies. I’ll even make sure that an @-reply has enough context to stand alone.

I don’t think this is audience pandering. It’s about maintaining an image that you think is more reflective of who you really are. People aren’t inside your head 24 hours a day. They only see these glimpses of you that you put out there and people try and build this image from that. It’s why we’re always so surprised to discover what people really think of us.

With that said, we should be forgiving of those who may appear to step over that unseen line once in awhile.

And I almost never talk about religion or politics unless other people bring it up first. Mostly because I’m too ignorant of either to really have much of an opinion to begin with.

Lea Alcantara [http://www.lealea.net/]:

I’ve written about this subject before on my own blog, after Freelance Switch posted something about taking care of your internet persona:

http://www.lealea.net/blog/comments/internet-personas-and-self-branding/

I take a more professional tone with explaining myself. You can quote from that regarding this subject at length.

Now to add a personal twist, I want to say that people should never be afraid to actually say what’s on their mind if they feel it’s important. However, there needs to be a level of awareness of environment and context. In short: A time and place for all things. On Facebook, with high privacy settings, I can be as bawdy and amusing as I want. However, I do warn my sisters to take down photos of me that aren’t exactly the most flattering, keeping in mind I have clients and potential clients on my Facebook anyway. Flickr I use the same way as Facebook – more for personal, really succinct glimpses of my life. Twitter, it is pretty stream-of-consciousness and definitely feels like a micro personal blog; I don’t censor myself there as much as on Lealea.net. Lealea.net is my professional space and I keep it that way.

It feels awkward for me to even use the word “censor” because I don’t feel like I’m being dishonest or hiding a part of myself, as opposed to just picking and choosing which avenues I can show genuine parts of myself. I also am not always consciously thinking about it, and I don’t believe people should. There are overlaps over where I think I am more open vs more cautious. The danger lies when people start to micromanage their own image and then come off as inconsistent or worse, dishonest.

I think it’s important to be yourself, but you don’t have to blurt out everything that comes to your mind when it happens. I think restraint is good in all aspects of social interaction, not just online. However, when it’s time to fight for what you think is right – discrimination, injustice, etc – I think it’s time to let yourself be heard. Otherwise we’re just becoming an echo chamber. The worst crime of all may just be apathy. If you feel online is the best avenue for being heard, I don’t want to discourage that.

I am friends with people of varying races, faiths, politics, and beliefs… some of which I strongly disagree with. I think, however, that conversations that touch on those subjects are better broached in person, especially to acquaintances and strangers, if you decide to broach them at all. Friends and family are already different. You can broach a lot of taboo subjects to them online and in-person, but because they understand the context of your character, and you them, that it blurs the need to be as aware of time and place. I suppose then, that people need to realize that not everyone is your friend online.

Paul Armstrong [http://paularmstrongdesigns.com/]:

Let’s face it: we all need to vent sometimes, and these social network streams have made it really easy to quickly vent and be done with it. So many of us have been guilty of this at some point in time, but not everyone has learned from their mistakes or let time heal the scars they’ve left, as Anton said.

For me, my Facebook and Flickr accounts are private. “Unflattering” photos of me and crass remarks are only shared with people who know me well enough to be able to separate them from professional settings.

When it comes to LinkedIn, Twitter, my Blog and a few other social spaces, my attitude benchmark is to never say anything that I wouldn’t say in front of a client, but still let my personality come through. It’s a battlefield, this social media Internet that we participate in. In order to stand out in a crowd, we need to let our personalities fly; in order to stay professional, we need to be reserved.

Sean O’Dwyer [http://www.designicu.com/]:

I agree with much of what’s been written so far: it’s sensible to manage what’s out there floating in the cloud. But too much self-censoring leads to blandness. I don’t worry too much about things I post turning people off. I suspect it sometimes acts as a filter, meaning I’ll only end up working with people who are more or less on the same page as me, or get me, or think they’ll enjoy working with me in some way. So I’ve made positive comments about Obama recently, knowing GOP-lovers may take note and decide I’m not the kind of person they’d want to hire. Too bad for them. At the same time, I’m not saying “f_ck” a lot on Twitter or FaceBook, or posting pictures of my large _ss anywhere. It wouldn’t be hard to find forum posts of mine with “f_ck” in them but, again, I think if someone was to do that kind of research on me with a mind to taking offense, I probably wouldn’t enjoy working with them anyway.

Zachary Johnson [http://www.zachstronaut.com/]:

I had an experience where somebody who is trying to run a serious online business has a Twitter account named after their business and branded based on that business and said some things that didn’t fit into the content that business provides. I pointed this out and they responded emotionally and it was very unprofessional. You can’t go around telling people to p_ss off when they disagree with you if they are your customer and you are running a business. You have to be like “Thank you for your criticism, I will look into making my services better.” Even if you disagree. Even if the customer is being an A-hole.

I think we’ve all wanted to tell clients or customers off at some point — but I think any of us who were foolish enough to follow through on that impulse learned their lesson. I don’t hold a grudge against this business. There seemed to be quite the backlash from more than just me when this happened. I hope the person behind that Twitter account learned a lesson. If they want to apologize to me for the emotional DM they sent me, that would be nice – but it isn’t necessary.

If you have a personal Twitter account (named after yourself for example) and somebody disagrees with you then you can argue and debate all you want, and I think people will not raise much of an eyebrow.

I think the way you frame your Twitter presence sets certain expectations. If you run a business or professional community called Bob’s Web Tips, and have a Twitter account called BobsWebTips, then most of your followers and future readers on Twitter will be from that business audience. That audience is going to expect professional tweets related to the content they know you for. If you tweet some personal stuff about your favorite flavor of pizza, or start talking sh_t based on emotions rather than professionalism, I think that audience is going to be surprised, annoyed, or possibly offended.

On the other hand, if your Twitter account is a personal one called BobSmith, and you aren’t telling people to follow you from your business’s site... then you can be more personal and define the content you put on Twitter however you want. You haven’t set such a firm expectation of content, and I think people will be more understanding if you are Tweeting casually to your friends and being more off the cuff. If they find you on Twitter they were probably looking for you, and they can make their own decision about whether or not your personal tweets are of interest to them.

On a side note, Facebook is a terrible, awful place (I have an account) where way way too much of your personal life shows up whether you like it or not (since your friends can post pictures of you too). I keep my profile almost completely locked down. The only redeeming grace about Facebook is a) that it can be locked down a lot and b) it is understood that Facebook represents a personal presence not a professional one. I’m not going to look people up on Facebook that I have a purely professional relationship with.

Jonathan Snook:

Zachary said: On the other hand, if you have a personal Twitter account (named after yourself for example) and somebody disagrees with you then you can argue and debate all you want, and I think people will not raise much of an eyebrow.

Where it can get a little dicey is with people like myself. Sure, it’s a personal account, but I’m a freelancer. A lone gunman. And therefore, my reputation is still on the line regardless. I suppose I could set up a Snook.ca account but I’m not sure how much that would really differ from what I do now. (If anything, I’d probably just do a new personal account and make it protected.)

Likewise, even with personal accounts, things aren’t always so cut and dry. There was that agency representation that was visiting FedEx in memphis and didn’t speak too fondly of the place on Twitter. Turns out, there was a FedEx employee who followed him and poof, FedEx wasn’t too happy.

Lea Alcantara:

I agree with Jon. My business is also tied with my name, and as a fellow “lone gunman” my biz and myself is more tied than not. I think the reality is that when you’re in the public space, you are open to judgement by anyone and everyone. And some people unfortunately become “targets” for absolutely no reason e.g. Kathy Sierra who was targeted by internet trolls, interviewed in the NYT.

Anton Peck:

So far we’ve heard from a fairly diverse set of opinions on the article. The general consensus seems to suggest that there’s a fine balance between exercising basic freedom of speech (1st amendment for the US citizens) and knowing when to keep your keyboard silent. You want to be yourself, but how much of yourself should you monitor for the sake of business? Feel free to add your own thoughts, because I feel that this is an important topic that we should all keep in mind as more of our lives become public on the web.

As you consider the quality of your content, I'd like you to take a moment to consider the quality and language of how you link your content together. Especially for blogs and news feeds with unique summary and body sections, and (if you happen to allow these) the link in your comments section.

To use myself as an example, I was tweaking the structure of how my Journal pages link to each other, and noticed a few annoying details...

• On articles that contained only a summary, there was still a "Continue Reading" link that directed the user to the article's permanent URL. Even though there was nothing more to read in that article.
• There was always a link to read comments, even when there were no comments to read.
• The word "comments" was still plural, even if there were only a single comment.
• There was no call to action at the bottom of the article, to help encourage the reader to contribute his/her thoughts.

After doing a bit of unofficial research, I noticed that a very large amount of websites contained similar oversights. Even cases where the blog content was very well written, and the designs were nothing short of premium quality — the consideration of the meta-information that held the whole structure together was just "there", will little attention spent on improving it.

Summary, Sans Body

Although my work here has only just scratched the surface, I did spend some time working on this last night, and I couldn't wait to share my results with you. Although my website is powered by Expression Engine, I'm certain you can use similar methods in whatever drives your own site. I like to call these: tweaks to a "micro context", since all I'm doing is adjusting the language used in the small, usually overlooked, cracks of the site.

First, I took care of the "Continue Reading" concern. In my opinion, if the entire length of an article is contained in the summary only, then there is technically no reason to "continue reading". You might however like to have a permalink url for the article, as short as it might be.

All that was needed was to detect if the body of the article contained any data, via a short conditional statement, like this:

{if body}
    &middot; <a href="{title_permalink={my_template_group}/article/index}">
    Continue Reading</a>
{if:else}
     &middot; <a href="{title_permalink={my_template_group}/article/index}">
     Article Permalink</a>
{/if}

Here's what happens: If there isn't any body, the conditional skips down to the second section, allowing me to display custom text under those circumstances. Way too easy.

Comment Link Language

Adjusting the comments link took a bit more consideration, since there were a couple of overlapping issues: the possibility of no comments, the possibility of just one comment, the possibility of several comments, and finally the possibility that I would not have comments allowed on any given article.

Before I go into my solution, let me explain quickly my reasoning for not linking to a comments page if there are no comments (because yes, you can still leave a comment to be the first).

The link needed for the comments appears above the artice. Rather than giving a link to a comment form that hasn't yet seen any action — I'd rather bring the reader into the article and present the call to action at the bottom, where it's needed most! I rhetorically ask: why link to the comment form before giving someone a chance to read the material first? I'm not sure, but it happens more than it should.

Here's what I came up with to cover these overlaps:

{if allow_comments}
    {if comment_total=="0"}
     <!-- no comments -->
    {if:elseif comment_total=="1"}
        &middot; <a href="{title_permalink={my_template_group}/comments/index}">
        {comment_total} Comment</a>
    {if:else}
    &middot; <a href="{title_permalink={my_template_group}/comments/index}">
    {comment_total} Comments</a>
    {/if}
{/if}

The first wrapping "if" statement simply checks to see if I've allowed comments on that particular entry. Inside that, I test "comment_total" to see if there are no comments, a single comment, or more than 1, so that I may deliver a custom message for each (or no message, as when the result is "0").

To create a call to action at the bottom of the page, I just re-used the above code, but with different copy, to make it more interesting:

{if allow_comments}
    <h4><a href="{title_permalink={my_template_group}/comments/index}">
    Would you like to leave a comment?</a></h4>
    {if comment_total=="0"}
        <p>You&rsquo;ll be the first intelligent person to start a conversation here!</p>
    {if:elseif comment_total=="1"}
        <p>{comment_total} intelligent person already has, so what are you waiting for?</p>
    {if:else}
        <p>{comment_total} intelligent people already have, so what are you waiting for?</p>
    {/if}
{/if}

In this case, I always show the option to leave a comment, as long as the ability is enabled on the entry (as seen with my <h4> tag above). I only take advantage of the comment_total variable to display some interesting context-related text. This allows the system to feel like it makes more sense a subtle way.

More to Come

So, you now have a glimpse at the thought process that I'm approaching with this site: To obsess and fuss over the content I intend on bringing to my readers, but in taking great care to manage exactly how I present that content. Because this isn't a re-design… this is an opportunity to build upon what I already have right now.