Spiral of Just Enough Information-Inverted U Effect of Title Length on Online Read and Relay

The main function of words is to communicate information, which is to send, receive, resend, receive again, resend again, and so on, a process that has been referred to as spiral. Of various external factors that affect spirals of read and relay, this study focuses on one, title length of online messages. We present a conceptualization of read and relay as the most basic elements of communication spirals, then introduce a theory on how title length affects an article’s ability to attract read and entice relay, thereby accelerate or decelerate the message’s diffusion in the spiral of communication. We will test parts of the theory using nearly a month of articles posted on Toutiao.Com. The study forms the foundation of a theory of just enough information, which includes three principles, sufficiency, efficiency, and moderation (SEM), regarding online titles. We found 1) there is an inverted U (∩) curve of title length (TL) predicting read (RD); 2) there is a monotonic and positive curve of read (RD) predicting relay (RL); 3) There is an ∩ curve of TL predicting RL, without controlling RD; 4) There is a monotonic and negative curve of TL predicting RL, controlling RD. Results help answer the questions on What are average read, relay, relay per read, and read on relay relation? What are the average and the distribution of title lengths? What tittle length predicts the highest read, and what is the predicted highest read? and What title length predicts the highest relay, and what is the predicted highest relay?