“Blogging for Dyslexic Readers” plus 1 more

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Blogging for Dyslexic Readers Posted: 28 Feb 2011 11:04 AM PST This guest post is by Varda Epstein of CogniBeat. Worldwide, about one in every ten people has dyslexia. In the U.S., Dr. Sally Shaywitz, a leading expert in the field, says that up to 20% of the U.S. population suffers from dyslexia. And yet, dyslexia is just one of any number of possible reading difficulties. Any blogger who wants to reach the widest possible audience will want to be sensitive to the fact that some readers have reading issues. If you make your blog user-friendly for people with dyslexia and reading problems, it will stand out in the crowd. Those who enjoy blogs but find it difficult to read will reward your efforts by following your blog and recommending it to others who have reading difficulties. Attracting and keeping readers with reading difficulties is not as daunting as it sounds. Most of what you need to know is stuff you're already doing. Good design and good writing solve most of the issues that make blogs illegible to the person with a reading problem. On writing Start by keeping paragraphs short and to the point. Those with reading issues find it hard to keep the place in a long paragraph. Shorter blocks of text are the ticket to readability. In any event, good writing entails using just one idea per paragraph. That should be your rule of thumb. Keep paragraphs short and sweet to keep your dyslexic and other readers reading. Layout, Fonts, and More Don't double-space after periods, no matter what your teacher taught you in school. Once upon a time, manual typewriters necessitated using mono-spaced fonts. It was thought that double-spacing after periods would help make the ends of sentences more distinct. Today, the fonts we use on the web have better proportions. As a result, double-spacing after periods has the effect of creating vertical rivers of white space within the text. This so-called "river effect" makes it hard for a dyslexic reader to find where sentences start and end. Single-spacing after periods, on the other hand, offers just the right amount of space between sentences. Avoid high contrast between text and background colors. Too great a contrast may result in the blur effect for readers with dyslexia. In the blur effect, letters seem to swirl together. Don't use pure white for background or pure black for text. Instead, add a touch of gray to each to cut the glare and reduce the blur effect. Use sans serif fonts. Sans serif means "without serif." Serif fonts have little hooks on the ends of the letter strokes. These hooks make letters less distinct to dyslexic readers and may cause a washout effect in which the text appears faint and becomes hard to see. Fonts that are sans serif come without those troublesome hooks. The most readable of the Windows fonts is Trebuchet MS. Use bolding to make text stand out instead of italics. Italicized letters have jagged edges and lean to one side. These characteristics make the text indistinct and just about illegible to those with reading difficulties. Bloggers often get just one chance to attract new readers. If the dyslexic reader has to struggle to read the text, that person will bypass your blog, no matter how great the content. By avoiding these simple design flaws however, you'll widen your potential readership and make your blog a pleasure to read. Is your blog guilty of any of these no-nos? Varda Epsteinis a content writer and editor for CogniBeat, a company that aims to help people with learning disabilities by offering AgileEye technology. Post from: ProBlogger Blog Tips Blogging for Dyslexic Readers

How I Quit My Day Job and Became a Blogger Posted: 28 Feb 2011 05:07 AM PST I remember, in the early days of building a business around my blogs, being given the sage advice, “don’t give up your day job” when I told friends or family members about my dreams of becoming a full-time blogger. Image by Adam Foster It was advice that was well-meaning, and probably pretty wise on some levels—I mean, who had ever heard of a full-time blogger back in 2003?! However, over the years I’ve come to be glad that I did give up my day job (actually, I had day jobs, plural) and transitioned to become a full time blogger. It was not an overnight proposition, of course. The switch from day-jobber to ProBlogger took a number of years (I wrote about the process here) but it did happen, and the Before and After shots of my life then and now are remarkably different. Today I caught up with a friend who reminded me of the “don’t give up your day job” advice that he’d given me way back then. I don’t even remember him saying it, but he told me today that he thought of it often and regularly wondered what would have happened if, instead of saying “don’t give up your day job,” he’d asked, “how can I do it too?” He told me that he’d regretted it for nine years. There was a pause in the conversation at that point, as we both reflected on those nine years and the way things had played out. By no means has his life turned out badly (or has mine been a fairy tale) but there was a real sense of regret in his demeanor. He went on to tell me that he wished he hadn’t “missed the boat” of getting into blogging. That he looked at what was happening on the Web today and how it had developed to a point where it was “too late to start and build anything substantial” That’s where I felt like jumping up from the table and shaking him. You see, I once had those same feelings. Nine years ago, I was looking at my fledgeling first blog, and started comparing it to all those bloggers who’d already been at it for two years. I looked at the following that others had built, the influence that they had, and the skills that they’d accumulated as bloggers, and I distinctly remember thinking to myself, “I’m too late.” I suspect most bloggers have felt it at some point or other—we all tend to compare ourselves to others further along the same journey, and many of us have feelings of inadequacy when we do. It’s natural to have those feelings, but it’d be a shame to let them overwhelm you to the point of paralysis. You see, I don’t think it’s too late at all. If anything, this revolution that is happening around us at the moment is only just beginning. Sure, there are more and more people engaging in creating content for the web, but with that comes opportunity, and alongside it we see an expanded audience. As one of my favorite social media practitioners, Gary Vaynerchuk (who’s new book, The Thank You Economy is well worth a read by the way), puts it “there’s a gold rush happening … where are you?” Okay, he said it back in 2008, but I think it’s still a relevant message today. I’m not saying that you should quit your day job today—that wouldn’t be responsible—but if that’s a dream for you, there are things that you can do about it today. The key is to start. Today. The key is to get over the fact that you’re not first, and start creating something that matters. Today. The key is to start developing your voice, to start building community, to start putting your thoughts out there. Today. The key is to move past the fear of not being good enough, or not having the skills needed and to take your first small steps. Today. The key is to do something. Today. Post from: ProBlogger Blog Tips How I Quit My Day Job and Became a Blogger

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