What is "microcontent"

n. (context Internet English) Any small piece of content removed from its original context, such as a summary snippet in a page of search results.

There are at least two interpretations of the term microcontent. Usability adviser Jakob Nielsen originally referred to microcontent as small groups of words that can be skimmed by a person to get a clear idea of the content of a Web page. He included article headlines, page titles, subject lines and e-mail headings. Such phrases also may be taken out of context and displayed on a directory, search result page, bookmark list, etc. The second use of the term extends it to other small information chunks that can stand alone or be used in a variety of contexts, including instant messages, blog posts, RSS feeds, and abstracts.