Photoshop - Motion Blur

Any type of blur in Photoshop softens the pixels, smearing them across the screen. A motion blur has the added effect of smearing the pixels in the direction of your choice. A motion blur sort of mimics the effect of smearing paint across a canvas sometimes allowing colors to bleed one into another.

Before and After:

The creation above started out as two separate layers, one with red text and another with black text. The black text layer was a few font sizes larger than the red. The whole document is 300 pixels wide and 200 pixels tall.

Highlight Black Layer:

Create a Motion Blur:

With the 'black text' layer selected, Access the Filter menu at the top of Photoshop.
Set an angle of motion.

Set a distance (in pixels).

Angle: 20 degrees
Distance: 100 pixels

A Motion Blur:

Blurring in general softens edges allowing you to create transition in your presentations. A motion blur takes this step one step further by also choosing an angle and an amount (distance) to blur.