[Sigia-l] Re: Next Article Links on Newspaper Sites

[Skot Nelson]

On Aug-14-2005, at 7:30 PM, Mark Richman wrote:

>> Have you noticed this style of link on newspaper/magazine sites?  
>> Do you use
>> them?
>
> I read the NY Times website every day and I not only never use  
> these links, but I find them annoying since they always attract my  
> attention. I could only imagine them to be of use if you are  
> browsing a very limited category such as Dining.

Like Mark, I've never used them. Unlike Mark, they don't aggravate me  
or distract. The New York Times is not my daily news source, so I  
tend to be reading it for specific articles (I am both Canadian and  
West Coast, and I read the Grey Lady in that context.)

These links appear to be an attempt to reflect how people read  
printed newspapers, which tends to involve browsing the complete  
paper section by section. Others have suggested that these links are  
different from a blog style "next in category" link; in fact, this is  
exactly what these links a like. Newspapers use sections to divide  
their content into categories while blogs use Categories.

I'd be most interested in understanding how daily readers of the  
online Times from the New York area use these links. I personally  
still find it easier and more pleasant to browse paper, because I'm  
basically waiting fora well implemented interface for daily news. I  
don't think this is it, but maybe New Yorkers feel differently?
--
Skot Nelson
skot at penguinstorm.com