Reflecting on the characteristics of 'Today's Featured Articles'
Hello, this is Caffeine.
Since an article I wrote the other day was
selected as one of today's featured articles, I would like to
examine the characteristics of articles that get featured.
Previous article
I tried looking for what kind of characteristics they have
The article I wrote last time (about the Animal Crossing collaboration at Uminomori Aquarium) was
selected as one of 'Today's Featured Articles'!!
Wow~~~👏👏
It's really nice, isn't it?
Since I have the chance, I read a few articles that were
picked up as today's featured articles,
and tried to find out what kind of characteristics they have.
I have no proof, but I would be happy if this
could be of some help to anyone.
Characteristics of articles selected as today's featured articles (reflection)
It will be in bullet points, but
I have roughly divided the points I felt might be the case
into four categories below.
1. Clarity of theme
・Many of them make it easy to understand what is being written about just from the article title
・Written with a consistent theme until the end
・The reason for writing about that theme is concise, often written at the beginning, and is easy to understand and read.
2. Presentation of concrete examples and empathy for the content
・Concrete examples, such as things experienced or 'XX lists', are provided and are consistent with the theme.
・Incorporates the author's personal experiences and emotions, making it easier for readers to empathize.
3. Use of photos and images
・Setting eye-catching thumbnails, photos and images complementing the content of the article, making it easy to understand, etc.
For example,
Johnny was also on display at the aquarium during the collaboration.
Even saying that,
when it's just text versus when there are photos,
the amount of information about how it was displayed
is definitely different, isn't it?
4. Step-by-step structure
・Organized with a table of contents or lists
・Simply easy to read
Not all featured articles follow this,
and it's not to say that these four points are the absolute truth,
but keeping these in mind
makes it overwhelmingly easier to read. Probably.
Actually, many of the other articles chosen as featured articles
were truly wonderful,
and I forgot to analyze them and just ended up reading them.
It's exciting to read them.
Trends in views and other metrics
This was my first time being selected for Today's Featured Articles,
but I was curious about
what changes and by how much before and after being selected,
so I decided to look at the trends.
To sum up, the selected article
saw its views increase by about 35 times and likes by 6 times over 3 days.
Sorry if my calculations are wrong.
Day 1
Day 2
Day 3
I usually write note posts just for myself,
so my views are usually under 50,
but I was surprised that it exceeded 1000 for the first time…!
To everyone who read this,
thank you so much!
Conclusion
In my own view, I thought that just by being conscious of the four points above when writing,
the readability would change quite a bit.
It was a learning experience for me as well, so
I hope to continue analyzing and being mindful of these things
as I write in the future ✍︎
Thank you for reading this far,
and I'll see you in the next article 👋