Publish text as digital text, not images

Be a responsible Internet Citizen: publish content as digital text to make it usable and accessible.

Writing every day for 365 days, I’ve learned ten reasons why is better to publish a text as text.

I’ve discovered many issues with publishing short essays in digital images instead of digital text.

  1. Text in images cannot be edited. You need to change the source and export the image again and again.
  2. Text in images cannot be copied easily.
  3. Text in images cannot be searched, almost always.
  4. Text in images cannot be indexed by Search Engines (unless they are so advanced to do OCR. Google does it at least on Google Photos).
  5. Text in images cannot be automatically translated without extra steps.
  6. Portions of text in images cannot be linked, defying a web page and a hypertext’s primary goal, unless using tricks.
  7.  It’s difficult to quote text authors in digital images since I cannot copy its embedded link unless I am a tech wizard.
  8. Text in images is not responsive and adaptive to the device on which I am viewing it. It’s just not.
  9. Text in images wastes more bandwidth and storage space than digital text unless you can read zeros and ones.
  10. Text in digital images cannot be easily formatted, aligned, and spaced.

Be a responsible Internet Citizen: publish content as digital text to make it usable and accessible.

Be a responsible Internet Citizen: publish content as digital text to make it usable and accessible.
Text on the left is a digital image zoomed in. Text on the right is digital text zoomed in.

This is Essay 19 of 30 in the my challenge One Year Writing: 30 Lessons Learned in 30 Days

  1. The Journey is the Purpose (16 Nov 2020)
  2. Writing is Thinking (17 Nov 2020)
  3. Write a Lot to Write Well (18 Nov 2020)
  4. Creative Loneliness (19 Nov 2020)
  5. Be Less Ambitious, Be More Consistent (20 Nov 2020)
  6. Writing builds your networks (21 Nov 2020)
  7. Connect ideas now (22 Nov 2020)
  8. Writing improves your memory (23 Nov 2020)
  9. Writing makes you a better observer (24 Nov 2020)
  10. Writing sets the focus on yourself (25 Nov 2020)
  11. Dissolve your distractions (26 Nov 2020)
  12. Writing reduces your jargon and slang (27 Nov 2020)
  13. Walking generates ideas (28 Nov 2020)
  14. Writing is like drinking coffee (29 Nov 2020)
  15. Creativity makes you happy (30 Nov 2020)
  16. Be smart, let it go (1 Dec 2020)
  17. Writing is a process (2 Dec 2020)
  18. Automate repetitive tasks (3 Dec 2020)
  19. Publish text as digital text, not images (4 Dec 2020)
  20. Why asking questions? (5 Dec 2020)
  21. Facilitate growth by tracking habits (6 Dec 2020)
  22. Type more, type faster, type better (7 Dec 2020)
  23. Transcribe your thoughts to become an effective communicator (8 Dec 2020)
  24. Write daily to become a better manager (9 Dec 2020)
  25. Do it small to do it better (10 Dec 2020)
  26. Don’t lose your mind. Back it up (11 Dec 2020)
  27. Write daily to enhance your reality (12 Dec 2020)
  28. If only I could be ten, again (13 Dec 2020)
  29. Writing compounds despite everything (14 Dec 2020)
  30. The habit of building habits (15 Dec 2020)


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