Right for a living

Here’s a quick summary of my morning. I attended a San Diego Ad Club Copywriting Workshop, a session I was more than willing to wake up early on a Friday morning to attend. Sharpened pencils and new notebook in hand, I walked in full of first-day-of-school excitement, ready to glean wisdom from other professional writers in my field.

Sadly, I was rather disappointed to find that so few people have the passion for words that I do.

It seems that most of the people at this workshop were various marketing personnel who are forced to write their company or client copy because said company lacks an actual staff member with any writing skills (or desire).

We went around the room and gave introductions, including what we hoped to get out of today’s session. Most asked to learn how to ‘make copywriting less painful.’ Ouch.

My personal goal for the workshop was to ‘get my press release and email blasts opened, read, and acted on.’ Unfortunately, I think I may have to research this on my own, do a case study, and then teach my own Copywriting for Copywriters seminar in the near future…

In the meantime, I would like to offer advice for you struggling writers out there, or rather, those just struggling to write—anything.

Writing should not be a difficult task if you are writing about a subject you know. So the easiest advice I can give is this: Do your research. Glean as much background information as you can before ever typing one word. Once you have a general—or better yet, a very specific—knowledge of the company, client, product, or subject, the easier it will be to form full sentences and paragraphs.

I find that so many people (including myself) get writer’s block because they are spending all of their time worrying about writer’s block. So once you’ve done your research, stop thinking and just start typing. Get something down. Anything. It doesn’t have to be good. It doesn’t have to be pretty. Heck, it doesn’t even have to be legible! Just get it out of you and onto paper (or your Word doc). Then, breathe. The hard part is over.

You now have a ‘rough draft.’ It’s rough for that very reason, because you still need time to polish, and process, and pass it around, then polish it again before you post it (how is that for alliteration?).

So, dear struggling writer, do your research first. Then attack your word processor with reckless abandon. Then pass it onto a coworker, but don’t be afraid if they like to use a red pen.

Happy Writing.

I am online…hear me roar!

“Social networking” is an umbrella term which refers to any one of about 200 Web sites focusing on the creation and maintenance of an online community, or social network. Some of these sites are target-specific, like LinkedIn (business) and Match.com (dating). Even MySpace started as a social networking site for local musical talent but quickly expanded due to the demand for personal pages for its general membership.

“MySpace me!”

There is no denying what the World Wide Web opened up in terms of instant communication, especially in terms of a global marketplace. Once again, the Internet is leading the innovative way with the fairly recent boom of social networking sites. Like locusts, these things have descended on the Web and devoured the productivity of the working class worldwide. Social networking sites appeal to young and old because they run the gamut from business communities to online dating, gothic industry to virtual pet sitting.

Although social networking sites first appeared online in 1995 with Classmates.com, most notably they exploded in popularity with the 2002 introduction of Friendster. One short year later came the emergence of MySpace, who by 2005 was receiving more clicks than Google.

Just look at the new catch-phrases coming out of the social networking phenomenon. “MySpace me” has evolved into a common farewell term and can be overheard at campus coffee houses and downtown bars countrywide.

Narcissists everywhere, unite!

Email has been available to the public since 1993, and instant messenger has been patented since 2002. So why are social networking sites suddenly such a giant of mass communication?

Because social networking sites allow the layperson to exist on the Web. By permitting anybody to stake a claim on property in the online universe, social networking sites are taking the power from tech geeks and Microsoft employees and putting it into the hands of any 15-year old with rudimentary keyboarding skills.

Most social networking sites also allow full creative license. The <> keys have never gotten more use! Your little brother can employ basic Web design to create brilliant backgrounds, table borders, and revolving slideshows to share with his 2,500 online friends. He is now an html god, and his online kingdom bows down every time his profile changes.

Can’t beat ‘em? Join ‘em.

Companies like Photobucket and Flickr have reaped the benefits of these social networking sites by providing html and URL encoding with every picture. Simply browse, upload, copy and paste to instantly share your summer vacation pictures with millions of people.

MySpace currently boasts over 100 million active users. Recently, Facebook opened its doors to those without .edu addresses (normally associated with active student e-mail accounts). Music bands and various businesses from every sector have already gotten on board. Why haven’t you?

This is the exact question companies everywhere are asking themselves. One hundred million users can’t be wrong…right? Following in Rupert Murdoch’s very large footsteps, many businesses are jumping on the social networking train hoping it will eventually chug them into higher profitability. However, considering most of the existing social networking sites are not highly profitable themselves, it will be interesting to see just how much ground companies can cover on this social networking ride.

Wouldn't have lasted long as a Girl Scout...

Too many pinecone and peanut butter bird feeders, not enough pyrotechnics.

l'amore, si chiama Italia

Sometimes I will glimpse a picture or read a few words that will literally make my heart ache for Italy. My second home, because home is where the heart is. I do not long with the same intensity for the shores of the Northwest, where the waves gently lap at the gravely beach.

Right now, my soul hurts with a desperation fueled by the dappled shade cast by olive trees and the chill of icey cold limoncello. Gazing across a blinding noontime Mediterranean coatline, questa paese ha il mio cuore.

Purrrrrr

Cat confirmed as 'normal.' The medical profession has a surprisingly broad definition of normalcy.