I've seen expandable posts on other blogs and always wondered how it was done. An expandable post means that the intro is in the blog entry but you can click the link to read the full text. It's used for long posts, stories, etc. Read more.
This was not nearly as easy as Blogger Help made it sound in "How can I create expandable post summaries?"! To make it work with my Blogger template, Denim designed by Darren Delaye, I had to turn to Google for help. I found it on a blog called Hash Out.
Even with help from Hash Out, it took some trial and error to make it work. Now that I have it set up it will be easy to use in the future, but my posts are usually so short that I can't imagine using it very often. At least I learned something!
Friday, July 11, 2008
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2 comments:
Congrats on tackling this latest blogging skill. As you know, I tend to go on and on, so I could use this! Interestingly, this technique puts pressure on your opening, as in most online sites, to be so intriguing that the reader can't help but click on the "expansion." Have you noticed how often AOL or CNN put questions in their lead-in paragraphs now? "Williams sisters battle it out: which one won?" etc. This is changing the nature of openings, I think, and it's interesting -- recognizes reader behavior. And perhaps shapes it. In my brief career as a newspaper headline writer, we were supposed to summarize the whole story in a brief subject-verb-object delivery, with the object considered a bit self-indulgent. Sox Lose Shirts, etc. See, even here I'm being verbose!
Macy Swain said...
Congrats on tackling this latest blogging skill.
Thanks! I'm please to have figure it out.
As you know, I tend to go on and on, so I could use this!
I think your posts are clear and interesting, even if you think they are long! Let me know if you need help adding this html to your template. I'm sure I can muddle my way through again, now that I've figured it out. (I also made notes. LOL.)
This is changing the nature of openings, I think, and it's interesting -- recognizes reader behavior. And perhaps shapes it.
Right! And as writing teachers we'd be practicing what we preach by writing such a catchy opening readers would feel compelled to click the link to keep reading. :)
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