Improving Item Descriptions in Modules
How do you describe the items in a module? Do you:- Use the "Retrieve details for this URL" link in the Link List?
- Stick with what Flickr offers as the image captions?
- Copy and paste from an article's subhead or deck -- or from a book's review in Amazon?
- Write your own description, regardless of the module type?
There are lots of ways to approach descriptions. Some people go with descriptions found on a site. Others write their own. Others use the description field to really leverage the potential of recommendation -- giving details about what they like, how they use something, what people should look for and even what doesn't work well.
How much you do is up to you, but here are some ideas you might consider for your lenses. For some similar ideas for the Amazon module, which isn't covered here, review this previous SquidU feature.
Link List Module
If you've never used the "Retrieve details for this URL" tool before, consider doing so! It'll pull in the web page's title data -- what appears in the gray bar at the top of your web browser window -- and additional copy from the page itself. You can use this text as a starting place for your own description. I usually pick my own Link Name, but I see what the tool gives me for possible inclusion in the description.
At base, however, consider spending some time with a site before you include it in a Link List. What sections are of special interest? What does the webmaster do particularly well? What's the most useful aspect of a site? Tell readers why the link is worth clicking on -- and what they'll get out of using the resulting page.
RSS Module
In the RSS module, the description is called the "excerpt" because it's automatically excerpted from the body copy of the news item or blog entry getting pulled into the RSS feed. If you plan on including a lot of items in the feed -- say, 10 headlines -- consider going with the 100-word excerpt instead of "everything available," which is the full item in its entirety. That option works well if you are including fewer items, say 1-3 -- especially when tapping into sites with longer-form writing and reporting.
Flickr Module
If you let Flickr pick the photos, the images are accompanied by the captions, descriptions or titles that the photographer assigned to the photo. But if you pick the photos -- copying and pasting in specific image URLs from the photo-sharing service -- you have the option of adding your own captions. For one solid example of how this was done to good story-telling effect, check out this module in which the lensmaster tells a story via the image captions. What a great idea!
SuperStore Module
While the SuperStore module automatically pulls in a Store Description for the items you include, you can also choose to add a Lensmaster Description. Use this opportunity to give your own take on an item -- why did you include it? How do you use it? Why do you think it's worth recommending? The power of personal recommendation can be important -- don't shy from making purchase suggestions!
