It's All About PEOPLE

      I know I myself, have been a People lover for years. In my opinion People Magazine does a great job with keeping its readers engaged. It doesn't just appeal to one target audience which is a major plus. Recognized by many because of its famous white and pale-baby blue logo, People is considered to be one of the most reliable and factual websites for 'celebrity gossip.' (and no it is not a tabloid!)

      According to Ross's Writing For the Info Age, People Magazine follows the first precept of the book immaculately. Ross's first precept says,

"Keep your writing light, especially at the beginning, to engage your readers, not repel them. Second slide your content into layers of progressive density and detail, so that your readers skip across the surface and go deeper only when they find what engages them."

      For some reason I can't quite explain, People seems to know how to lure readers once they're on their site. Rather than repelling readers, People Magazine is able to organize the content of their site in a manner that is appealing to the eye of the reader. By layering the content with a premiere layer that consists of a title, a subtitle, message statement, and list of contents, they allow the readers to access multiple interactive routes; they aren't limited to just one. Below is a snapshot of People Magazine's homepage. This is an example of what one would see if they entered the sight today, February 8, 2011. Today's current 'Top Story' is not surprisingly, one of Lindsay Lohan. Categorized as 'breaking news,' this story is titled "Lindsay Lohan To Be Charged with Felony Grand Theft: If convicted of stealing a necklace, the actress potentially faces several years in state prison" (with a little READ IT link if you want to read more). Now this is just an excerpt from the first page.

  

Example of layer 1 (Title, subtitle, message statement, and list of contents)

      After exploring through the first level of content on People's homepage, you then decide you are interested in this Lindsay Lohan story and you decide to click 'READ IT'.

Example of layer two (Summary, short or long)

      Once you have clicked 'READ IT' you then find yourself here: "Lindsay Lohan To Be Charged with Felony Grand Theft." With her picture right besides the story, the site allows the readers to either 'tweet', 'like' or 'share' the information on the article as a whole. This enables the readers to interactively involve themselves within the stories they are reading.

Example of layer three (Text, divided into sections with content-laden titles and headings)

      After you have read the text which was divided into a different section with content-laden titles and headings, you then find yourself at the bottom of the article that leads you to the 'PEOPLE TV Archive' where you can discover other important documentation that will allow you to dig deeper on Lindsay.

Example of layer 4 (Attachments, for important documentation that allows you to keep third layer uncluttered) 

      As you can see, the way in which editor, Larry Hacket and the other developers of People Magazine and its' website, have designed it in a way that is both navigable and appealing. They have a general topic whose content fluctuates daily along with an audience that constantly yearns for more gossip. They have a purpose to disseminate celebrity gossip and entertainment news on a regular basis (that varies in length). Essentially, you can see why People Magazine is considered to be a top-notch source for celeb news and information. Do you think People has done a sufficient job incorporating Ross's ideas?