I’m still here.

I’m still looking at traffic stats.

I’m still reading comments, and sometimes even replying.

I’m still thinking of blog posts.

But that’s just it. I’ve been so busy lately with my editing day job the only thing related to this blog I’ve been doing is thinking.

I’m too pooped to post.

The editing job should settle down a bit over the Christmas holidays. When it does and I have some more time, here are the posts you’ll see from me:

• In praise of the nut graph – small, powerful, elusive and 100 percent unavoidable – why are you so hard to master?
• I love writers who… – a 180 from a post I wrote awhile back on the editors that writers love. Based on the last month, I have much to say on this subject.
• 2009: a freelance writing year in review – a horror story with a happy ending.
  
• Digital media trendsetters to watch in 2010 – The usual suspects, plus a few surprise picks.
• To incorporate or not to incorporate – That is the question to ask your accountant.
• A media incubator wish list – Portland freelance journalists are huddling this week to continue plans for a coworking space dedicated to indie writers. If you were going to design your dream shared newsroom, what would be in it? If you’re already working in such an environment, what do you love about it, and what do you hate?

Readers, which of those subjects should I tackle first? If there’s something else you’d like to read on WordCount in coming weeks let me know.

But if you want to stay in journalism, you’ll have to change with the times, and that means looking beyond the traditional newsroom walls for different venues in which to practice the reporting trade.

That’s the basic take away from a Webinar called “Now What? Rethinking Your Future” on journalism’s new directions that I listened in on last week. The training session was sponsored by Webbmedia Group, a new media training consultant run by a group of ex-reporters and editors turned Web 2.0 journalism specialists.

During the session, Webbmedia founder Amy Webb and her colleagues presented recently laid-off reporters and other writers – including a few of us long-time freelancers – with a variety of options for continue to pursue old-fashioned journalism in new settings. Without giving out too many of the details – which I promised I wouldn’t, they are running a business after all – here are some of the suggestions for actions ex-newspaper reporters can take presented in the session, along with some of my own observations:

Figure out how what you do best – And what type of work you like the most. That could be writing straight news, arts criticism, computer-assisted research, whatever. Then think about how to do that in a new way.

Team up with other journalists. Form a mini-syndicate writing on a single or related topics with multiple tiers of content, including paid subscriptions for the most in-depth stuff.

Start a blog. Get over whatever hangups you have about blogging, Webb says, it’s just a platform. It’s a way to dip a toe into the water of Web 2.0. Experiment. Write about the same beat you used to cover, or pick a new one. What you write is secondary to learning how to do it, at least at first.

Start a neighborhood news blog. Webb calls them hyper-local Websites, other people call them community blogs or microblogs. These ultra-niche blogs can cover a town, a neighborhood or a particular slice of life in a city or other area. Webb pointed to examples such as Broad Street Review, a Philadelphia arts scene blog edited by Dan Rottenberg. Others: the SealBeachDaily, an online newspaper for the coastal Orange County, California, town, and NewzJunky, a Watertown, NY, town blog started by a local photographer turned community news reporter.

Have fun with numbers. If you’ve done computer-assisted reporting or just geek out over numbers, consider aggregating some kind of public records into a database and using it as the cornerstone of a Website. Charge for access and write related content. Voila, instant business.

Go mobile. “It’s what’s next,” says Webb. Pair up with a developer who knows mobile apps and build a business around travel tips, product reviews or other content that could fit on the screen of an iPhone. One example: GoodGuide, a Website that tracks green products, which has created a special version of its site for the iPhone.

Work for a tech company. Reporters might balk at the suggestion that they go to work for a company – too much like PR. Get over it, Webb says. Pick a company, agency, union or other organization you admire or one that could really use help with its Internet presence. Approach them with suggestions for how they could beef up the information on their Website, user interface, content management platform, etc.

Have a biz plan. Think about what you want to do and how you’ll get there. But since online and digital media trends happen so fast, don’t plan too far into the future. Stay flexible. Keep up on trends by reading pubs like ReadWriteWeb and TechCrunch.

Build a network. Use LinkedIn,Twitter and Facebook, but don’t forget to network in person too.

Have your affairs in order. If you’re still gainfully employed in a newsroom congratulations! But just in case, make sure you have copies of your business contacts, clips, etc., in digital form stored somewhere other than your work computer so they’re handy should you need them.