But what also sets Monday Note apart is its formatting. Perhaps here at Plain Text we just don’t read enough blogs, but I don’t recall seeing others that use this one’s simple technique of starting paragraphs, and major points in the story, with a sentence or a few words in bold.

It’s simple, but using bold this way really works. Having it at the start of the para makes it somehow more convincing, more credible than if it were a subhead. And Gassée and Filloux make sure that whatever’s in bold is also properly interesting, usually a short, attention-grabbing sentence. It draws the eye down the page and through the argument.

Maybe it’s the weight of what they write that makes it work. But these bold beginnings, together with some choppy paragraphs and a smattering of images, make their long, involved posts a joy to read.

Contrast this with ‘traditionally’ formatted pieces (or my personal pet peeve, the multi-web page mega-article) where no matter skillful the writer, it still seems harder to appreciate their words online than in print.

Let’s hope they haven’t been pesky and copyrighted the technique. Because it really works – and could maybe help businesses to cheer up some of their ‘thought leadership’.