Friday, May 07, 2010

"Retitling," It's All In The Labeling, Isn't It?

I've just changed the title of last night's Shiloh Musings blog post.  I was very surprised that it hadn't attracted any comments, but then again, the title was awful.  As usual I wrote the title before writing the post, and it was an unwieldy, unattractive title.  Yes, as a former public relations worker and advertising agent, I know a good title when I write it or read/see it.

Last night I was in a rush and tired and wanted to go to sleep.  When I started writing the post I had a vague idea of what I would write, and short as it is, it quickly developed in a slightly different direction.  When I posted it, I knew that the title was too unwieldy (there I am using the same adjective again) and probably not at all clear to many readers.  Doubly bad.

Titles should be short and pique the interest of potential readers.

I feel better about the title now.  It'll also google better. 

Another thing is that the original title had a Hebrew phrase, slogan, which most people wouldn't get, and I didn't even translate and explain it.

Yes, the bottom line is that I did a bad job.  I never claimed to be perfect.

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