Slowing Down Skimmers

In response to 7 Deadly Sins of Social Media: Slowing Down Skimmers . Here's a few helpful style guides to attract skimmers. Although it is impossible to please everybody, And there is always a flip-side to every suggestion. Here are a few of mine. Please note that in Composition Writing 101 I flunked; Reading and Comprehension I scored 98!

It must be visually appealing to look at- “Oh no, it’s three pages long!” Keep it short and simple.
[I have a two-minute attention span!]

Each blog post or chapter should have one overall focus or objective. Every post should have an opening, a body, and a closing [basic English 101; also ingrained into salespeople].

A paragraph should convey only ONE idea at a time. I like one that starts with a headline OR bold first line, phrase, or word. Each paragraph MUST logically connect OR lead into the next one. A sentence MUST be readable aloud in one breath, unless separated by a punctuation for emphasis. In fact, have someone read it to you out loud and see if YOU understand everything! Best someone who has no idea what the subject is.  Added Nov 23 Useful Rules

Unless it is a non-formal form of communication [e-mail, text message] where characters and time spent typing is at a premium, use precise wording. Don’t use smileys, emoticons, or other forms of short-hand. Avoid highly technical words. Use Spell Check and Dictionary Look-up for ANY word more than seven letters long. Readers stop mid-sentence to check a dubious spelling or context of a word. Do it enough times and they will doubt the content of the whole post!
“I stopped blogging because people always criticized my grammar.”
see 24 Things You Might Be Saying Wrong

Striking out words can be fun, if used sparingly. Personal anecdotes should be in italics, inserted words, in brackets or parentheses, for emphasis. Do not go off topic. If you have to, put in italics “see [subject, location] like the anecdotes. But keep the main idea rolling! Don’t post something that will be misconstrued as an endorsement, unless that IS the idea you are pushing. Bulleted items or lists help to move the eyes along. Avoid graphics as breaks. One photo is enough per post. And NO animated graphics…so tacky!
In all cases, don’t overdo it! It will become monotonous!

Side bars are nice, if not overdone to be a distraction. It keeps gadgets handy. Too long a post leaves a lot of empty space.

To summarize, think of it as fishing. Lure them in with a shiny format. Bait them with a single tasty concept [your goal in mind]. Tug at them a few times using your ideas. Reel them in with your closing statement.

Oh, I almost forgot…You MUST MAKE IT INVITING FOR THEM TO COME BACK AGAIN AND AGAIN!
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

WagnerWrites

We're about to revamp a nonprofit's website, so I appreciated seeing this today via BlogAid. Consider watching the original video (linked in this note). Even somebody who is 26 prefers larger fonts (14 pt or 16 pt) and other design elements to improve readability on websites.
Rodney Rivera I like the concept of "one site, one goal." Color, placement of what I call 'hooks', seeing the point right away, all of these are important to catch those 'just looking.' True for pages as well as in-store. I really miss GeoCities where templates or codes are not necessary to make a personal page. There was a 'Web Pages That Suck' that was a great tool like this one promises to be. That one went commercial. Font size I don't see as being important in this age of zoom control. What IS important is proportions. Does the sponsor ad at the side-bar 'yell' louder than the real content? You want to catch 'just looking' skimmers. Not be tacky or boring.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
6 Surefire Ways To Piss Off Facebook Fans- This may also apply to blogs.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
re 10 Things I Learned in 2010 About the Pitfalls of Blogging

Being a non-commercial blogger, a few points don't apply to me. But 1-3 is certainly true. Being interesting, posting regularly [every Wednesday for example] insures that when you DO have something important to say, they'll be there to read... it.

Don't alienate your readers with ads not related to you. I posted once that a writer is as interesting as the width of their column...the rest is somebody elses garbage, or worse blank [half way down the article].

Don't lose touch with your friends, family, and your own health...texting and bio-rythm doesn't count.
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
The Language of Social Media | Social Media Today
Rodney Rivera The second point is a great morale booster! I like “Keep it short and sweet” and “don’t take it too seriously.” Also “For the best results, keep it honest and authentic.”
What I like about this article is that it is short and to the point. It states its sources at the end instead of links not needed in the body. Also, unlike some journalists, it doesn’t just copy and paste whole paragraphs from those sources.        6/4/2011 a Saturday
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
WagnerWrites                                                                     7/21/2011, a Thursday
Want to look at some great website designs? Clean, colorful, and optimized for social media. These are nonprofits but the same principles apply to anyone. Let me know your favorite.
11 Nonprofit Websites Designed for the Social Web 
#1 is a simple whole page banner to draw you in, without 'other news' along the edges or bottom. What I do not like are when the big picture slideshows into an ad...tacky. If I didn't click the hyperlink, I wouldn't have known it was a slideshow.


I hate web pages that distract you from the Message.
Sidebars that take up 1/3 of the page width total is my biggest problem. Followed by a Like or 'invite' pop-up before I have a chance to read anything.
Mysteries...more follow...
Web Pages That Suck on Google search [their page sucks because it doesn't show nuthin']

Page one, screen one should be simple and eycatching in itself. Without ads, pretty slideshows, list of sponsors, and flashing animations in smaller squares. Yes you should have your photo at the top, but keep your bio 'down below.' This page should be no bigger than one sheet of paper if printed out, landscape or portrait.

Following pages can be 'anything goes' within reason.
Mystery meat refers to anything invisible until you move the cursor over it OR doesn't really say what it is about (i.e., an icon).
A page should be no more than 'four clicks down' when scrolling  [that's what I hate about FB. There is no 'back to top' button].
Grammar and spelling IS important! Nothing distracts more than a dubious word I am tempted to look up.

This not about slowing down skimmers. It is about keeping everyones attention (and awake). Thanks to Lori Randall Stradtman and Claire Wagner for showing me how it should be done; and James Jimbo Denny on how it shouldn't. Humor helps :-)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
I HATE when FB allows only 420 characters in the status space. There is SOMETHING about that number that seems significant. What follows is a disclaimer of sorts...
Please use the comments to demonstrate your own ignorance, unfamiliarity with empirical data, ability to repeat discredited memes, and lack of respect for scientific knowledge. Also, be sure to create straw men and argue against things I have neither said nor even implied. Any irrelevancies you can mention will also be appreciated. Lastly, kindly forgo all civility in your discourse . . . you are, after all, anonymous.
- I like this quote, now that I've seen it a second time. I don't remember where the first time was

My GrandDaughter Amariee Leah

This is my GrandDaughter Amariee

born just after mid-night morning of May the Fourth

- which makes her a Jedi baby "May the Fourth be with YOU!"

A Role Playing Game

------------------------------------------------------------
Introduction/Preface/Forward... my words
Character, size, and scale
   Movement
Attributes
The Skill Roll
   The Percentile Roll
   D20 System
AP System
The Encounter
The Combat Round
   Simplified Combat
   Dirty Combat
   FRAG
   Supremacy
   Stacking
Order of Combat


skip to The Game


The 4X Game
Federation and Empires
World Domination


Miscellanea 
------------------------------------------------------------
Introduction 1.0
You come to a door. You open it. You gawk at all the treasure. THEN you see the monster guarding it as it attacks you. So do you a) stand and fight, b) run away, or c) pee in your Levi denims?

Character, size, and scale
A player character [ PC ] can be a human male or a deity. A game piece can represent the character, its vehicle, or its territory currently controlled.A PC has a personal space that can be a scale of 5' [1.5m], a continuum universe, or an abstract. This is the Scale.
The hall is no more than a sprint across and rooms with no doors just as deep.
Movement is based on the Scale and is usually 1 Space per Phase.
5' in 3 seconds walk or march; 30 ft at a run;
1 Parsec starship cruising, or 20 light-year sector at emergency speed;
1 to 6 spaces maximum move or 'line-of-sight' control.

Attributes fall into three categories- Physical, Mental, Psyche- Body, Mind, Soul
Strength, dexterity, and endurance
Intelligence and skills
Will and charisma

Opening the door may prove difficult and require a skilled locksmith. OR you might just turn that knob and push.
The Skill Roll
There are two basic types rof rolls to determine if an Action is successful.
The Percentile Roll
A Player must roll UNDER its Attribute or Skill rating being used;
D20 System
Add Attribute, Skill, and any Modifiers to a D20 roll. Compare it to Opponent's same scores, OR a Difficulty Rating;
If HIGHER, it's successful . . . a straight 20 is an automatic success!

AP System
Roll the number of dice equal to the Attribute oe Skill being used. Discard any rolls of 5 or 6. If the number of die remaining is higher that of the Target, it's Successful.
Base 2 logarithmic scale where +1 AP is double, so +10 is 1,000x. Used in West End Games DC RPG . . . see Batman example.

The Encounter
There is an Interaction, or Nothing Happens
Interactions are Random Events, or Combat
Random Events use appropriate Skill Rolls as well as Role-Play.
The Episode has five parts
Incoming message, new mission, the Briefing
... opening itro theme
Beam down to Fau pax... red shirt killed
Uncover secrets of the government
Sympathyze with the underdog
Bring both sides to a head... combat
Solve the nystery and the problem
After mission report... credits
"I hit you,
and you hit me,
Po-ke-mon!"
The Combat Round
Units can do Damage per Round;
Units can Defend / avoid some Damage;
Units are removed from Play when Damage exceeds normal Health / Hit-Points- becomes zero.

Simplified Combat
Each Unit has a number of Actions to Attack and Defend in a Round of time;
All Player Units perform the following simultaneousely-
Roll To-Hit - count successful Attack rolls less Target's successful Defense rolls- if zero or less, all Attacks miss;
Roll for Damage for each Successful Hit;
If Health ( or Hit-Points) reaches or goes below zero, remove Unit from Play;
All surviving Units can Heal or Repair Damage based on their Statistics.

Dirty Combat
Flip the sum of ATK and opponent's DEF
- if both flip under or over ATK...DRAW
-the first to flip under ATK is the winner, but loses half its forces for every draw!
Examples

FRAG
Each Unit of equal value begins with 7 Action Points
Allocate Action Points to Attack and Defend...NPCs use 3 Attacks and 4 Defensive Saves
Rolled Attacks less opponent's rolled Defenses cause Damage.
If Health becomes zero, remove Unit from Play.

Supremacy
Each side rolls 3 Attacks for every Unit (Army, Navy, Air Force) in one adjacent space
Each side rolls 4 Defenses for every Unit (Army, Navy, Air Force)
Rolled Attacks less opponent's rolled Defenses removes that many Units from Play.

Order of Combat
Begins with the larger land-based scale [range]...
Troops fire Long Range rounds, 1d100 each, as an Area Attack;
Medium Range rounds "kill" 1d10 each;
Shooting removes opposing units ONLY if in range and line-of-sight;
Melee and Hand-to-Hand may remove opponents ONLY if Facing or adjacent.
------------------------------------------------------------
The Game
You are a god!
Begin with your Avatar at the Home space.
You are sitting at your throne looking down at your controlled spaces, each with it's own scale.
You don't have time for petty things like production, developing a nation, deploying fleets, or coddling a superhero. Use the "How to go from Colony to Full Member World" rules.  Assign resources to create stable industries and new pieces. Create pieces to explore adjacent spaces. Your pieces represents the attention you give to this Game.
An explored space that does not have resources allocated to it is removed from play if it becomes vacant.

Randomize Missions to gain points. This is done after each move by each piece. Missions can occur anywhere within your borders.

Similar to Illuminati [INWO], Magic, and most Collectible Card Games [CCGs] the object is to expand your Empire, achieve a pre-set Goal, AND not to be eliminated (Killed).

Players may attempt to hinder opposing Players thru direct combat at a frontier (edge). You just present one of your beloved Pieces and declare combat. If you win, you gain agreed upon Points based on the opponent's strength compared to your own AND you take that Piece for your own.
The winner takes the loser's piece played.
The space and its counterpart is declared a border, neutral zone, nexus, or wormhole between Players' empires. Entry into this space by either side is an act of war. Expansion around it is still allowed.

An opposing Player may covet your Empire, or just part of it's growing territory.
Espionage allows Players to destabilize part of an opponent's empire. A failed attempt loses that asset and points are awarded to its captor.
------------------------------------------------------------
The 4X Game
Explore, expand, exploit, exterminate.

Federation and Empires
Begin with a Home world.
Ships as Pieces
Starships are built at a Shipyard at the rate of 0.1 points [of superstructure] per week. Systems are installed after achieving 50% of build. Superstructure supports Power production and distribution, which supports Systems [weapons, propulsion, defenses, life support, etc,], which is needed to have a Crew.
Ships are rated by hull size, primary mission, and armament. Some ships are multipurpose or are capable of modular swap-outs.
Upgrades, repairs, assignments, and crew rotations can only be performed as a Shipyard, Starbase, or Member planet  with a Military base at the rate of 0.2 per week at 4 times the cost.
Explore nearby space with starships, singly or as a fleet.
A space is a Parsec across and may contain a system, hazard, or empty space. Roll for a Mission every turn to perform before moving on. Travel time is half a week [100 stardates].
A sector is 20 light-years across and represents the limit of subspace propagation, long-range sensors, and starship travel cruising for a month, or one day limit at emergency speed. A ship, base, or planet is considered 'lost' or not in Player control if beyond the six spaces from an owned planet. [or a connecting buoy in Advanced rules]

Planets as non-moving Pieces
How to go from Colony to Full Member World
Colony ships and convoys move personnel, materiel, and colonists under a Colonial Command.
Start with one ‘Level of Productivity.’ Write ’1’ in the Resources box and take a coin representing manpower Allocation.
Next Turn, Select either Resources or Industry to expand. Flip the coin. Heads raises that by one Level. Mark the appropriate box.
The following boxes are Trade and Military. In Advanced Rules, Diplomacy, Fleet Support, and Intelligence follow.
In every Turn, flip any number of coins to increase that box’s Level.
Note: a box may not have higher Level than the box before it. The prior box must support the next one.
A Full Member world has 10 10 10 in its primary statistics.
Military (if the world can support one) absorbs starship fleet damage first. The remaining damage is taken one from each box from top to bottom. If combat continues into the next Turn, Military will always equal Trade and not be taken from the Allocation pool [emergency militia act]. The Militia is dissolved in post-war peacetime and the Military must be created and expanded using the previous rules. Military Command assigned to garrisons or a base do not require Allocation [ see Combat].
Uninhabited or primitive worlds can also be manned with scientific or military bases without resorting to the colonization rules.

First Contact
Diplomacy occurs when a Player character encounters another planet or ship with a Diplomat aboard. Diplomatic Command protocols are set into motion. Treaties for trade, mutual recognition of boundaries, and alliances may be formed.
Combat may also ensue due to  a misunderstanding, or if one is of an aggressive race. War, skirmishes, covert operations, black market trade, or intelligence gathering with military build-up may happen frequently.

World Domination
- refer to Supremacy, Risk, Diplomacy games on-line
Moveable Units are an Army, Navy, and Air Force with equal damage potential
Army applies to Infantry, mounted, mechanical, or artillery
Navy may carry/deploy up to 3 Armies [amphibious]
Air Force may cary/deploy an Army at an extended range [paratroopers]
Resources are Grain, Mineral, and Oil
-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
Miscellanea

Physical Strength Attribute Point scale

2 APs is the human norm. 200 lbs [10 kg] can walk 20' in 4 seconds

5 APs is the upper limit of a human being's strength and speed; fatal for most Normals

10 APs displaces/destroys 5' and devastates a 50' room i a 4 second Phase

20 APs devastates a city block

30 APs devastates an area a mile across

50 APs leaves a 10 mile crater and devastation a hundred miles across

Examples

5 APs Batman in peak condition can lift/press/displace [punch]  ten feet in excess of 800 pounds;

Marvel classes can displace 75 to 100 tons in terrestrial conditions. About 15 APs;

25 APs Superman on Earth can displace 1 to 30 city blocks with a punch in 4 seconds.