Beyond the Button

If you create content in a museum you will understand the need for engaging copy. Interestingly the short attention span of our online visitors is very similar to the fickle physical museum visitor browsing through an array of stimulating exhibits. That's why I think the wonderful flow of tips and tricks from Copyblogger is great reading for anyone writing blog posts or even more traditional exhibit copy. Copyblogger regularly posts on basic techniques you can follow to make your communication consumable and zingy; an important skill when you're trying to explain Plank's constant.

Usability guru Jakob Nielsen, has a great post this month on when you should write a short or long web article. Taking his advice I will wrap this up quickly. If you have something simple to say, use as few words as possible. People don't get anything out of more length per se (with a few exceptions).

I think these same principles can be doubly applied to media interactives in museums where the impulse to browse is almost forced upon people. Since people don't get anything out of longer explanation we should avoid them where not completely necessary. Layering small chunks of information on various pages and and even exhibit components is a great way to recognize people's tendency to browse.