To do good writing, read good writing. Here’s the good writing I’ve been reading this week:
It’s been too long since I shared a Friday reading list. Blame it on an over-abundance of work, laziness or being out of town. Regardless, I’m back. And here’s my recommendations for good reads from this week:
The Official Kickstarter Page for Greece! (McSweeney’s) – Humor writing is tough. All the more reason to be in awe of McSweeney’s, which publishes some of the funniest stuff online. I especially liked this story because I just finished this SecondAct.com post on Kickstarter, which encourages creators to give premiums to backers in exchange for their support. That’s good to know if you read the M. piece. Another McSweeney’s humor essay I highly recommend: In Which I Fix My Girlfriend’s Grandparents WiFi and Am Hailed as a Conquering Hero, written in the style of an Old English heroic epic poem.
The New York Times’ About.com: From All-Star to Albatross (PaidContent) – About.com used to be a reliable, fairly lucrative gig for freelancers who specialized and could make it through the site’s rigorous vetting process. With the site taking a huge hit after Google downgraded About pages in its search results, looks like that could change. “Going forward, it’s hard to see About reacquiring its former cachet anytime soon,” Jeff Roberts writes.
Also:
- David Allen’s “Getting Things Done”: Is it Relevant to Freelancers? (FreelanceFolder) – The simple answer – yes.
- Live tweeting is the new ‘Honey, get me rewrite’ (Digital Ninja School)
- How journalists are using Facebook, Twitter for mini serial narratives (Poynter)
Industry news worth reading:
Why Journalists Need to Link (Wired) – Reuters columnist Felix Salmon weighs in on when reporters should link, and when they need to (such as when they’re following another reporter’s big scoop). Salmon’s essay follows a Nieman Journalism Lab post on the same issue by Jonathan Stray.
Technology Journalism: The Jobs are There; The Journalists Are Not (PBS MediaShift) – Reporter, get thee to computer class. The vacancies for tech-savvy journalists far exceeds the number of hackers who could fill them, writes Clyde Bentley, an associate professor at the Missouri School of Journalism and a 2010 fellow to the Donald W. Reynolds Journalism Institute. “The world is in desperate need of journalists who can translate what technologists say into a language we lesser beings can understand,” he says.
Yahoo’s Jai Singh: Creating a Voice at the World’s Biggest News Site (Beet.TV) – The former HuffPost managing editor and founding editor of CNET explains what’s in the works at Yahoo Media Networks.
Basically I am a involuntarily laid off,apparently unemployable 60 year old. I do not want another career. Just a “cloik ya gotta woik” kinda job in a medical office setting. I got a certificate from Jr. college for medical secretarial studies. I have worked at a large university hospital and spent almost 20 years as a medical claim analyst. Using all medical codes and terminology,interfacing with insureds,doctors and hospitals. ALL companies have their own internal computer systems and I have usually mastered those by day 2 of my employment. So although I have no experience in a doctor’s office at $10 and hour these jobs do not require a Mensa type brain. So how do I get noticed with my resume? Also I really do look ten years younger. If only I did not have to show my driver’s license upon entering the door. Secret age discrimination! I have even thought of getting my college age daughter to get me a fake ID showing my birthday as 12 years younger! Help!
Sorry to hear you’re having trouble landing work. I’d recommend reading through blog posts in the Reinvent Yourself series I edited for BlogHer that were written by women in their 40s, 50s and 60s who’ve successfully found jobs or changed careers. It’s not easy, but it is doable.
I’d also recommend reading the job-hunting series I’m writing over at SecondAct.com for people who are switching jobs in the 40s and beyond. Scroll through the posts listed here to see them:
SecondAct bloggers: Michelle V. Rafter
Best of luck,
Michelle