White Paper World 45: August 7, 2024
- Quick tip: Don’t go mobile-first for white papers
- Buyer beware: Would you sign this contract?
- July book winner: Karl Fort
Read in 7 minutes. Listen in 13:39 minutes:
Quick tip: Don’t go mobile-first for white papers
2 minute read
For years, we’ve heard that everything online should be mobile-first.
But I don’t believe this applies to long-form content like white papers.
I’m not a luddite. I have an iPhone and I read on it.
But when I find a white paper on my phone, I send the link to my desktop. That way, I can read it on a screen 14X as big.
Don’t you do that too?
Now consider this table, drawn from a variety of sources. I think these four stats tell the story.
| Use Case | Mobile | Desktop | Source |
|---|---|---|---|
| To access Facebook | 82% | 18% | Statista |
| To access websites | 62% | 38% | Exploding Topics |
| To access LinkedIn | 57% | 43% | TheB2BHouse |
| To view long-form content | 10% | 90% | Contently, page 13 |
Let’s take it from the top
Most people (82%) use Facebook on mobile only. Hardly anyone (1.5%) uses it on desktop only.
Another 16.5% use it on both, so I added that to desktops just to be generous.
Facebook is a mobile-first experience, more about connecting with people than doing serious work.
Next stat: More people around the world visit websites from mobile (62%) than desktops (38%).
That makes sense. All over the world, most people have a phone but not everyone has a PC.
Now consider LinkedIn. As the preferred social media for business, more people use it at work. Notice how mobile dips to 57%… a bit more than half.
And when it comes to long-form content like white papers, mobile drops like a stone. In fact, a study from content platform Contently revealed that 90% of long-form content is viewed on desktops.
That sounds right to me. How about you?
The best way to think about mobile vs desktop
Here’s how Broadband Search sums up the difference:
While mobile platforms prioritize accessibility and quick interactions, desktops provide a more robust interface that allows for deeper engagement.
In other words, think mobile for social media and apps. And think desktop for case studies and white papers.
That’s not being an out-of-touch dinosaur.
That’s reaching your prospects where and when they want to hear from you.
After all, any B2B executive trying to solve a big problem will likely see your content on their PC at their desk—not out running around with their phone.
Mobile-first content works best if you’re selling to consumers.
But for B2B white papers? I don’t recommend it.
What can writers do?
- For any platform, write in chunks with lots of headings, bullets, and sidebars
- Make sure your landing page works on mobile
- Don’t ask your designer to squish your white paper onto a mobile screen
- Instead, optimize the design for the 90% who view it on a PC
And like always, consider the source of the advice you’re hearing.
Google wants everything to be mobile-first so it can sell more ads, especially location-based ads for consumers who are out and about.
But I don’t believe that works for long-form B2B content.
Buyer beware: Would you sign this contract?
1.5 minute read
I was recently invited to guest on a podcast for entrepreneurs.
And I almost agreed… until I saw their Terms & Conditions.
They asked to own and make unrestricted use of my voice and likeness, real or edited, for all time, in any medium, for no money.
Check out this clause in their contract (boldface by me):
You grant [NAME] permission to copyright and use, reuse, publish, and republish audio, video, and photographic images of you, or in which you may be included, or composite or distorted in character or form, without restriction as to changes or transformations, made through any medium anywhere, including any media not yet invented, including but not limited to distribution over the internet for advertising, art, editorial, illustration, or promotional purposes, or any other purpose whatsoever.
Would you sign that?? I sure didn’t.
And here are three reasons why not.
Ursula’s theft of the Little Mermaid’s voice may soon be possible!
Don’t sign reason #1: They can make you say anything
AI apps can already take a sample of your voice and generate a believable clone.
Maybe the quality isn’t perfect today.
But imagine how good AI voice cloning will be in a year or two.
Someone could make a believable sound clip of you:
- Begging family and friends for money
- Endorsing products, causes, or politicians you don’t like
- Uttering threats or slurs
- Testifying to things you didn’t see
- Confessing to crimes you didn’t do
Don’t sign reason #2: They can show you doing anything
With a digital sample of your face and body, AI software could also make a believable video of you:
- Doing everything in the list above
- Having sex with anyone or anything
- Committing any type of crime
- Assaulting or killing anyone, anywhere
Is your mind reeling? Mine is.
Don’t sign reason #3: They will own your future
This touches on a major cause of the 2023 strike by the Screen Actor’s Guild.
Studios and producers wanted to grab the rights to the digital voice, face, and body of actors to use forever. For free.
Actors rightly saw this could mean the end of their careers, maybe even the end of acting in movies as a profession.
So they fought and won some big concessions.
Be like the actors: Resist.
If you see a contract anything like this, don’t sign it.
July Book Winner: Karl Fort
3.5 minute read
I asked you to tell me your favorite science fiction (SF) book.
From the entries, my daughter picked our latest book winner: Karl Fort.
Karl told me about Death Sentences by Japanese author Kawamata Chiaki.
“It’s a bizarre novel with a meta-commentary on surrealism, cloaked in SF. It’s dark and morose, it’s romantic and light-hearted, and it’s unapologetically strange throughout,” he says.
“It doesn’t follow a main character as much as it follows a poem: its conception and its impact throughout history.”
The book won the Japan Science Fiction Grand Prize.
And the blurb says it echoes classic sci-fi works such as Fahrenheit 451 by Ray Bradbury, Neuromancer by William Gibson, and Martian Time-Slip by Philip K. Dick.
I enjoyed all those books greatly, so I’m looking forward to cracking the cover on Death Sentences.
From Ireland to Thailand
Karl Fort’s life sounds like a thriller—complete with a plot twist from the global pandemic.
Originally from Ireland, Karl is currently based in Bangkok. He splits his time between writing and editing materials for clients from all over.
He can speak both Mandarin and Thai and continues to study both languages.
“I’m the progeny of the people you see on YouTube when you type in ‘Irish accent’ and you get a farmer with an accent as thick as tar,” he chuckles.
Looking for a change of pace a few years ago, Karl “wanted to experience living in a country the polar opposite to Ireland to see what I could learn.”
So he left Ireland for China, where he started teaching English to international students at a university in Wuhan.
Little did he know that his adopted city would become infamous.
Karl’s copyediting sideline took off when Wuhan sponsored the 7th Military Olympics in late 2019. That event attracted more than 10,000 athletes from 100+ different countries.
Karl worked on everything from the signage to the promotions for the games, which some now believe were an early “superspreader” event for Covid.
On January 10, 2020 Karl left for a two-week visit to some other cities.
He actually turned down some work that would have kept him in Wuhan for another 10 days. And by that point, his whole city was locked down.
As Covid was recognized and travel controls tightened, Karl found himself adrift in southern China with nothing but his carry-on suitcase, his Kindle, and his phone.
At that point, he faced a momentous decision:
• Return to Ireland
• Move to another city in China
• Fly to a country still accepting flights from China: Burma, Cambodia, or Thailand
He hopped a red-eye to Thailand, in part because it was the only one with an Irish embassy.
Four years later, he’s still in Bangkok, marveling at how a country that wasn’t even high on his list to visit has become his home.
Amazingly enough, Karl says he has never had Covid.
As for the future, Karl is keeping his options open.
“I very much enjoy Asia, so I can see myself remaining here for several more years,” he says. “As for where’s next, I’m going down the list of countries at the moment.”
For his book prize, Karl chose The Wealthy Freelancer—a great resource from Ed Gandia, Steve Slaunwhite, and Pete Savage.
Discovering white papers: a happy accident
Karl’s writing journey has also taken some unexpected twists.
He worked on business documents and reports for years before something began to dawn on him.
“I didn’t know what white papers were until I realized I had been writing or reviewing them for some time,” he says.
Now, he’s resolved to learn more about the world of white papers. He certainly appreciates the skills a white paper requires.
“There’s a challenge to collect evidence and present it in a persuasive way,” he says, “not going so far down the rabbit hole that you’re in academia, but not being so superficial that it’s basically a blog.”
Maintaining that balance takes a steady hand from a human writer.
“You need a human to actually research and put together a white paper,” he says. “I like that a machine cannot do it.”
While he sees some value in AI as a writing assistant, Karl is quick to point out its limitations.
“I see blurbs where I can tell from the first sentence it was written by AI,” he notes. “The output always has the same flow, and the same buzzwords like ‘dynamic, evolving, complex.'”
Karl is one more writer making the case that people are still best at creating effective written materials.
Here’s to more globe-trotting adventures and successful white papers, Karl!
That’s all for now
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And good luck with all your writing projects!
Gordon Graham
That White Paper Guy
