Content Modality
In one sentence
The form the information takes: text, still image, video, audio, an interactive tool, a downloadable file.
Analogy Mental model
One novel can exist as a printed book, an audiobook, a comic, a film and a radio play, and each suits a different habit.
In practice What you actually do
Match form to job. A process with physical steps wants video. A decision with numbers wants a calculator. A reference wants text and a table. The same content in three forms reaches three sets of people.
Where people get burned Pitfalls
Format for its own sake is expensive. If the reader needs a quick answer, a ten-minute video is worse than fifty words. The modality serves the question, not the production budget.
This entry was written in English from the Chinese original, not machine-translated. Read the Chinese version →