My friend has crossed the line. She has gone beyond the border that distinguishes a reasonable cat person (wait, is there such a thing?) to become a person who dresses her you know who in clothes.

While the cat tolerates the apparel with ambivalent good will, let’s face facts. They have fur – way better than fabric. But then, the dressing of cats has nothing to do with felines, and everything to do with being human.

Macy the cat, in her turtleneck sweater.

In Search of Meaning

We seek meaningful connections even when that which we seek is lost in inter-species communication. Cats in clothes are cute, but our desire to dress them in the garb of humanity underlies our need for reciprocal, recognizable relationships.

Web Copy for Spiders

Continuing the trend of cats in clothes, we now write web content for spiders. I’m talking about the animated critters that crawl the Internet, consuming content and coughing it back up at data farms in undisclosed locations.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m all for search engine optimization. I want the web sites we create for clients to be found. It’s just that we now write the way people search. Consequently we have people who read like spiders. They scan; look at headlines, sub-heads and bullet points.

Content that Connects with People

If, as Jakob Nielson says, 79% of people scan web pages, what is it that would prompt them to occasionally read? I have a 3-point theory based on observation and absolutely not one speck of scientific research. Nonetheless, I believe that people who read like spiders are more inclined to read like humans of we do these three things.

Offer Something of Value.

That can be useful information (salt really does get out wine stains); insight on the complicated business of being a person (see Mark Epstein’s book Going on Being); or an original and thoughtful point of view (see Nathan Myhrvold -whether you agree with him or not he makes your brain cells grow).

Write with a Human Voice.

People see words on the page. They also hear the words in their head. Some information is dense but unless it’s a government form it doesn’t have to be dull. (Maybe there’s a law that mandates government documents must be obscure.) Anyway, Bill Bryson, author of A Short History of Nearly Everything, shows that a personal voice can make you make you enjoy reading about complicated stuff. From lichen to quantum mechanics, his writing sings. It has rhythm and cadence. It’s funny, lively, irreverent and always personable. He transcends information and serves up something we all need more of - understanding.

Be Like a Cat.

Okay, I mean be a person who copies cats in this one thing. Authenticity. Cats are relentlessly themselves and they communicate their cat-ness with incredible consistency. What if your intention, your messaging, your self-ness as person or product were undiluted, without conflict or distraction. Imagine the power you would project, the allure you would have, the market share you could win.

If we’re human enough to dress cats in clothes, surely we can bring the same humanity to the content we create for people. Then maybe all of us would read a little bit less like spiders.