When people share their chosen profession is writing, the first question is often in regards to genre. However, writing professionally is much more than writing fiction, novels or poetry. Non-fiction writing is a continuous professional field that is growing. The creative world of writing is making its mark in the technological and corporate world, as creative words and content plays a predominant role online.
The merge of the creative writing world with the online technical world is an interesting one. The Internet is growing daily with new websites, web pages and content. While some of it is professional content created by legitimate businesses, others are personal websites with craft projects, photo galleries and stories to share.
However, websites are also being created with the intention of scamming or misinforming. It is becoming harder to determine what websites should be trusted and which should be avoided. This connection between online writing and credibility is what I discuss in my Master’s Thesis paper. If you are confused, you can consult with any reputed Marketing Company in Gold Coast to get professional web content.
Definition of Credibility – On and Off the Web
Before embarking on the theoretical research, I have to establish a solid definition of credibility. Taking the basic notion of credibility from the Oxford English Dictionary, credibility is the truth or a sense of something known. However, this definition needs to be expanded, as ‘the truth’ or ‘sense of the known’ differs from person to person. What is known to my brother may not be known to me. Thus, it is credible for him, but not for me.
Credibility is something that occurs within each individual. It occurs within the human mind, as it is an understanding of something or someone. Establishing credibility is a mental process that involves the mere act of interpretation. Credibility is essentially how each and every individual interprets something truthful to them.
Psychological Interpretation from a Theoretical Perspective
Before creating a hypothesis on how credibility is established from interpretation of things and ideas, the act of interpretation itself needs to be discussed. I reference a famous psychologist and philosopher known for his theories on the mind, the brain, thought patterns and thought processes. Born in 1842, William James has created theories that were not only relevant in the 19th century, but also in a modern technological society.
James explains that psychological interpretation is a unique phenomenon that not only differs for each individual, but can vary for one single individual. This is because human thoughts and interpretations are based on personal histories, exposure, social influences and learning. Because people carry their own experiences, their own social exposure and their own education with them in their minds, there is no guarantee that two individuals with interpret one thing the same. For example, a cross might have one meaning to a religious individual and quite another meaning for an atheist. However, this does not mean that two people cannot reach the same conclusion about any given topic or idea.
An example of this is a poster for a new cell phone. While one person can conclude that he or she will go buy the device because it will be cheaper than his or her current device, another can conclude that he or she will go buy the device because it is much more modern than the existing device. While both people can conclude that they will buy the device, the reasons or interpretations of the poster differ. The poster is credible for each of the individuals, because their interpretation and conclusions were ‘true’ in their own unique way.
Creating Credible Web Content
Being aware of how the readers think and interpret the content can help make a website much more credible. Keep this in mind when writing online. On a single website, there are many factors that contribute to the overall appeal of a website, including the written content, the colors, the structural lay-out of the website and the images. Each of these elements plays an essential part in creating a credible overall meaning of the website – a concept theoretically known as hermeneutics. Credibility is established by parts coming together as a whole.
When choosing words for the web content, choose them wisely and place them in a correct context. Since some words have several meanings, they can be interpreted several ways. An example is the word “bank”. If placed in a corporate context, the associations and individual interpretation may lead to a mental conclusion that it is a monetary institution. However, if placed in a natural setting with images of fields and rivers, the word may be interpreted as a raised area of ground.
Images can help create a virtual context online, as they can help guide reader’s thoughts toward the conclusion the writer wishes. However, they can also help destroy a website, if they are not part of a hermeneutical circle that provides the meaning of a website. For example, having a picture of a car on a restaurant website may stand in the way of a believable website. Instead, use words and content to help the reader interpret that the car is part of a contest prize, for example. Analyze and interpret each and every website that comes along during the day in terms of its credibility. It is only through analysis and practice that one can establish credible online content.
