As the web continues to become our cultural and communicative mainstay, so us copywriters are thrown more and more upon the skirts of this whimsical dame. Whether we choose to delight or dismay in the rolling tides of technological change is very much a personal choice, but it is clear that - like it or lump it - the future of writing lies very much in the realms of electronica rather than the ink-spattered media of the past.
And irrevocable changes to the way we write are already manifesting themselves throughout the industry as a result. The web makes very real and distinctive demands of those who choose its stormy seas as their lexical home, and many a strong sailor has already been lost to the sharp undercurrents of web accessibility, usability, and search engine optimisation.
These key factors have been responsible for shaping a new form of web-based expression, recognisable for its pared down lexicon and sentence structure, as web accessibility guidelines, usability studies and online advertising gurus all hail the era of simplicity over style. Short, practical, one-line statements are now the very thing so that the screen skimming world can digest information without the need for excessive concentration or contemplation.
Does all this normalisation of the fabric and form of our writing indicate an increasing subsidence of intellect among the reading and writing public? Or is it just that we lack patience when it comes to sifting the giant vat of information that is the web?
More than likely the former is tempered with liberal lashings of the latter, as anyone who regularly uses the net readily recognises the frustrations associated with sourcing and assimilating good quality, relevant information online. The change is also clearly spurred on by the positive intentions of the social inclusion camp, who seek to enable everyone to use the net regardless of nationality, educational background or disability.
And of course no one should begrudge this lofty aim, but you can’t help thinking that we’d never have had the Train Spottings, Mrs Dalloways or A Clockwork Oranges of this world if our writers were limited to a homogenous style and vocabulary that everyone could understand.
We'll just have to keep some of our more unusual favourite words for scrabble I suppose.
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