When I graduated from college with a bachelor’s in English, many asked me, “So, what do you plan to do with that?” Well, I wasn’t sure exactly, but I knew that having a background that allowed me to sharpen my writing skills, develop my reading comprehension, and not have to take upper-echelon math classes would serve me well in whatever I wanted to do for a career.

I believe that writing skills (i.e., a major in English, Journalism, Humanities, etc.) can help you in many different types of occupations, as clear communication is a prerequisite for any company.

Using myself as an example, my full-time position with an SEO marketing firm doesn’t necessarily require a degree in English. However, my experience with writing has greatly helped me be able to quickly understand the relationship of keywords for search engines, writing content for the Internet, and so forth.

Below is a list of Web-related jobs that I feel an individual can excel in with a strong writing background.

• SEO Content Writer: If you enjoy writing short articles or blog posts and can gear it towards particular keywords, perhaps this is something you would enjoy.
• Website Content Manager: Being in charge of website content consists of keeping pages relevant, accurate, and up-to-date. Obviously, being able to write and edit the website’s content is invaluable to a company that wishes to sell their product or service.
• Pay-Per-Click Analyst: Writing experience can help you be able to write short, effective copy for ads.

Have any other job ideas? Please feel free to write a comment below.

Luis D. Bonilla
luis@wordszilla.com
Wordszilla, LLC

There really isn’t a written-in-stone right or wrong way to write a blog post, although there are some aspects that have proven to be more effective than others. Whether they are lengthy, short, professional, or anecdotal, as long as they’re entertaining and/or informative for a specific group of people, your blog will have a good chance of serving a useful purpose.

If you’re attempting to start your own blog, here are some general guidelines to follow that I have found to be helpful for the Wordy’s Wisdom blog, as well as other techniques that I’ve seen in other blogs that I read.

• Use Your Voice: I believe blogs are meant to be personal, and as such, it helps to write in your own unique voice. When writing blogs, I write as I would talk (i.e., informally to a friend). This practice makes it much easier to read. Avoid sounding “salesy,” as the casual reader doesn’t enjoy reading advertisements.
• Have Structure: In my opinion, blogs should have a theme or cover a specific niche topic. Focus on cars, movie reviews, real estate, or anything that you feel you can write a lot about. Doing so will allow you to have a particular set of readers that you can cater to, as well as making it easier for you to come up with blog post ideas over a long period of time.
• Utilize SEO Principles: If you want to have people search for and read your blog, remember to include items that will be friendly for search engines, such as keyword usage in the URL, blog title, “h1″ header, and throughout the text/content. Of course, make sure the post doesn’t come off as “spammy” or as if you’re trying to manipulate search engines, as no one would want to read anything like that (i.e., junk mail or spam content.)
• Proofread and Edit: You knew I was going to mention it. But, when I’m reading other blogs and notice a couple of errors here and there within the text, the post and message become less credible. It is important to proofread your message and edit your blog post in order to not alienate OCD grammar readers like yours truly.

I know this isn’t an all-inclusive list, but those four points do help form a foundation. Do you have any tips or suggestions on how to write well for blogs? Leave a comment below and let’s hear your thoughts.

Luis D. Bonilla
luis@wordszilla.com
Wordszilla, LLC

Last week, I posted the first half of the interview with Paul Hurley. Today’s post is the conclusion of the email interview.

The Goods (Part II)

LB: What are some of the most recent concepts that you have taught your journalism students that interest you?

PH: Some of the things we’re discussing here in this interview have been fodder for our class discussions, including the future of print media, the relevance of critics in a world of bloggers, the rise of digital media, changing standards of traditional media, etc.

Last week we had an interesting discussion about the phenomenon in China about the “mud-grass horse.” In Mandarin, the phrase “mud-grass horse” could be interpreted as sounding similar to a particularly common and obscene vulgarity. Somebody in China made up a kind of fairy tale about the mud-grass horse, as if it were a tale for children. But the story is filled with language that could be considered obscene.

The video is intended as a criticism of the Chinese government, which has been relentless in trying to control and censor online content in China, mostly successfully. It uses the term “harmony” to explain the importance of expurgated content on the Internet. As it turns out, “harmony” sounds very close to the words “river crab,” which the mud-grass horse vanquishes in the fairy tale.

You could find all this stuff online, BTW.

Anyway, the mud-grass horse has become a cultural phenomenon in China. It has been viewed literally millions of times and copied and repeated tens of millions. There are all kinds of offshoots – pictures, cartoons, jokes, etc.

The Chinese people are using this very subversive method to criticize their government, which obviously tolerates no criticism at all. And they are using the Internet to get their message out.

From a political standpoint, it’s very exciting. It’s like Thomas Paine’s “Common Sense,” except in the 21st century. It indicates that Chinese totalitarianism will fall; it will not prevail, because of the ability of people to communicate freely with each other. That’s very powerful, when you think about it.

LB: In the same email I mentioned before, you said that journalism (most specifically new media) is going through a transition. In your opinion, what do you feel this transition is, and where will journalism end up?

PH: The transition is from one medium to others, from a system where the communication line is linear to a network. The capability of electronic media is making that possible and accelerating the process.

Some form of journalism will always be relevant and valuable. People want to know about their world and each other. Journalists will need to discover and communicate that. There will always be a need for people to capture data, synthesize that information, and present content that makes sense of it for the rest of us.

That process, however, will take place on different platforms than simply newspapers and magazines, or radio and television. No doubt Web sites will also change and become different that what we are accustomed.

In the end, though, journalism will retain these qualities: It will need to continue to be expert and not amateur (speaking of bloggers here). It will need to be relevant, that is, tell people what is most important to them, and certainly not to what people in the major media centers think is important. It will need to be interactive: Opportunities will be built in for people to both provide feedback but also provide additional information. In that way, journalism will become more wiki.

LB: What advice would you give to an individual who desires to enter the journalism industry?

PH: Work on the skills that will be valuable in a world where journalism becomes what I just described. Communication skills are essential. Experience with different platforms will be important. Journalists can’t shy away from technology anymore. They must embrace it fully.

It will be important for journalists to be their own camera person, graphics designer, sound technician, etc. Then they will have to do what they can to stay ahead of the curve, to know about the latest thing, if not use it. They will also have to be prepared to collaborate, and not just with other journalists, which has been common for years, but with their audience. Doing all that requires having a well-developed critical sense: The idea is the thing, not the medium. There are lots of ideas out there. You better be able to tell the good stuff from the crap. Start learning now.

Interview Summary

Once more, I would like to thank Paul Hurley for sharing his time and expertise for the Wordy’s Wisdom Blog. I hope that everyone who has read the full interview found it to be as interesting and insightful as I did.

What are your opinions about the future of journalism or media? Your comments are welcome below.

Luis D. Bonilla
luis@wordszilla.com
Wordszilla, LLC