A conundrum posed by SciAm editor George Mussur: why do magazine readers love cosmology/physics stories, while these same topics come in last on the web rankings? My answer--web stories are often shorter and therefore skimp on the the little details that personalize it and help carry the reader through difficult concepts. This is an especially crucial omission for cosmology/physics stories because they can seem so obscure, and the web is such a personal medium.
A former editor once told me,
"On the web, people like things personal. They like to think they've learned a little secret that no one else knows." The only thing less personal than cosmology (way way out there) or physics (tiny, almost undetectable things) is math (imaginary things) and math doesn't even get its own subject category on most science news sites. So, as a reader I beg you--give it a little bit of scene-setting, a well-placed metaphor, or a splash of human interest. It goes a long way no matter where you're publishing, and, I would think, especially if your dealing with shorter attention spans. Don't drown us in blase, newsy, jargony
press release rewrites. Scan. Yawn. Back arrow.
The reason many editors keep their web stories short and embrace the yawn factor is because they think that the web audience just doesn't read long-form. Bonk. In 2009, New York Times Magazine editor Gerry Marzorati’s
said, “contrary to conventional wisdom, it’s our longest pieces that attract the most online traffic." And, also in 2009, Slate's Fresca initiative--their staff took a month off to produce long-form pieces--netted 3-4 million pageviews each. Communities of web readers who seek out long-form now use blogs and services such as Longreads, Longform.org, and Instapaper.
So, it is possible to hook a web reader and keep them (without lying or sensationalizing.) The best web writing is like a little gem that you discover in your own home.
So, I say--enrich those web stories. Don't be scared to write long-form (or at least long-er-form.) If you really don't have time to write long-er form, do something crazy. Get creative and add a little personal touch so those articles don't all sound the same. "Astronomers have sighted a new thing in space." "Physicists have detected a subatomic particle doing cartwheels." Ok, now let's bring it down to earth and chat about it.
