Making a menu

Something has quietly disappeared from the internet. I noticed when I decided to study article headlines on sites where I read. I wanted to get away from the bias of my own recommended reading lists and see what was being promoted on the front page. But there is no front page anymore where articles rise to the top. The front page has to be logged into. Everyone gets their own front page.

I eventually was able to use Medium’s tag recommendation pages to study popular headlines per tag (for example, food). The good news is this means that every reader starts with a personalized menu narrowed down by topic, and my main job is to present them with a choice that matches their appetite. The headline, then, is the name of the dish I’m serving.

Most readers don’t know what they’re looking to read. They just feel a headline offers something that fits their appetite. (Or the headline generates appetite.)

After looking through the headlines, I put together a personalized menu and recipe cards for a number of dishes that hit a variety of reader appetites. Me being me, I also created a process document for putting together a writing menu with AI.

• Describe the boundary of your menu. What is your genre?
• Develop the menu and recipe cards. Build a spread of distinct dishes.
• Display the dishes. Generate examples of each recipe to taste it directly.

At this point my menu of dishes is a hypothesis that needs to be tested. Does it help me write? Will readers respond? AI can generate the menu and example articles, but I need to test writing the articles myself in the kitchen, and track reader response.

Example Recipe Card: