8 must-have tools for traveling freelancers
When you get started in the freelance world, it’s not always as easy as it looks. You need a lot of organization, motivation, and self-discipline.
Reshaping future with Disruptive Technologies
When you get started in the freelance world, it’s not always as easy as it looks. You need a lot of organization, motivation, and self-discipline.
I have been blogging professionally for nearly five years — it has been my sole source of income. It isn’t by any means an easy career decision, but I make it work for me. But, as they say, all good things must come to an end, and I fear that the day of the professional blogger is no different.
For now, I’m in good company: 34 percent of bloggers who participated in Technorati’s State of the Blogosphere in 2010 revealed that they partake in this blogging endeavor on a full-time or part-time basis, meaning there is money to be made. Blogging is also incredibly popular in the States, where 33 percent of respondents noted that it was where they resided.
Clearly, there is no shortage of people who are blogging and making a living from doing it. The statistics paint a bright picture for the near-term future, and many would assume that everything is fine.
But I have my reservations.
I am by no means ignorant to future trends. I know that Facebook, Twitter, and those of their ilk are eventually going to take over. It’s not a question of if, it is a question of when. However, it is not easy to face reality when it could mean the end of an entire line of work. After all, this is my job and my future!
I know, you know, and everyone else knows that sites like Twitter and Facebook are the future. The number of Facebook users who are active and engaged alone are astonishing. The number will be well over 600 million in time, almost twice the amount of the U.S. population, and more than the entire North American continent.
These sites appeal to the masses because of their ability to keep everyone connected. Facebook is a prime example: you are always connected to your closest friends, even when you are not physically near them. Twitter is similar, but it makes strides in connecting you to the world of news and information.
Not only do these sites keep its users connected, they are also doing their best to encourage users to share information. After doing some quick research, many people who are my friends on Facebook post videos, comics, infographics, and other forms of media — I might also be treated to some political ramblings once in awhile. But to see a link posted to a long-form article is nothing short of a miracle.
That is no mistake, but it is ironic.
The Internet used to contain primarily text when it first came into existence. It was the media of choice because Internet connections could only sustain such type of information before things got incredibly slow. Of course, broadband changed all that, so images and music became all the rage. Only recently are we seeing even faster connections and video streaming becoming popular.
But it all began with text. And now we are amidst the next computing revolution. This one just so happens to be taking place in the palms of our hands. Unfortunately, text might not be the format of choice this time around.
Nowadays, it is all about 320 x 480. This is one of the most common amount of pixels displayed on smartphones (with higher-end phones having significantly more). Filling those pixels is not difficult; presenting meaningful content on them is. Just as screen sizes are shrinking, our patience with information does the same.
Reading a novel on a smartphone really isn’t ideal. Reading thousand-word articles isn’t either. There is but only so much information that can be displayed on these tiny devices before the user becomes uninterested or overwhelmed. And even if you do convince a user to invest time reading something meaningful, by the time the user gets drawn in, there is sure to be a call, text, tweet, or status update inbound to distract the user.
This is why the way we present information is changing.
Instead of long, drawn-out forms of content, creatives are now being asked to create new content that can adapt to the changing times. This means producing shorter videos, shorter articles, and shorter podcasts. Webpages are also decreasing in size. Some are taking to it better than others — like film shorts on Vimeo and YouTube. Others, like print newspapers, are still struggling to make the adjustment.
Furthermore, while people are consuming content on these devices, they are producing it, as well. Writing long-form content isn’t practical without a keyboard and screen (I should know… I’ve tried it before). Producing a 30-minute video on a mobile device isn’t exactly appealing either (although I’m sure we will read a story one day of someone who produces a feature-length movie from a mobile device). But the content itself is adapting to our technology, and it shows: the average length of a YouTube video is a paltry 2.7 minutes — try selling that to those who have been accustomed to two-hour-long feature presentations.
So, where does the almighty blog fit in with these developments?
Blogs will still have their role to play. The act of blogging, in a way, is little more than an act of communicating. When people blog, they are actually communicating to their audience. Blogs just so happen to be a platform for which users voice their opinions to the world, inviting others to come and read.
But platforms like Twitter and Facebook do a much better job of giving its users direct access to eyes and to people who can be easily engaged. Call it more efficient, intimate, or involved… but social media is the prime medium to reach users.
But blogs — and informational websites in general — will remain a tool for providing information to people. In that way, blogging, as profession and hobby, isn’t doomed. Blogging might serve a different purpose in the future. Blogging will likely become far more commercialized than ever before, and it might be viewed more like the print industry of today: an industry that seeks profit from information.
For the typical Internet user, blogging won’t be the “thing to do” anymore. And that is fine. These people will be engaging with other users on existing platforms like Facebook, YouTube, and Twitter and new platforms like Beluga. When they seek information, they will either get it from blogs directly for from their friends who share it on social networks. But blogging will go on.
Just as the print industry is going through dramatic transformations to survive, the blogosphere will do the same. It might be awhile before it happens, but be assured that it will come. When it comes, however, you can expect that many people will lose jobs and much money will be lost. But those who are willing to adapt, things will be just fine.
The blog — once full of affinity, originality, and creativity — is now filled to the brim with animosity, mediocrity, and futility. So what happened? What has become of the blogosphere that I once knew and thoroughly enjoyed?
Going back a few years ago, it was not uncommon for yours truly to read hundreds of different blogs in a single day. It was amazing to have the opportunity to read a myriad of unique perspectives that I never had been exposed to before. Everyone had something to say, and everything they said was interesting. As such, clicking that “subscribe” button was incredibly addictive — at one point, I had thousands of RSS subscriptions. Unfortunately, though, something changed.
No longer am I excited by what I see. The novelty of the blogosphere fell through. In fact, I haven’t felt compelled to subscribe to a blog for what seems to be an eternity. With much sadness, the “subscribe” button no longer exists in my mind. The “unsubscribe” button has become my best friend.
How can this be? There must be some sort of explanation, right?
Well one of the reasons is fairly simple and obvious: it’s all the same.
If we read it on one blog, we can be sure that we will read the same thing on another blog. If it’s technology related, from CNET it will eventually end up on Engadget, Gizmodo, Ars Technica, TechCrunch, TechDirt, Techmeme, and so on. If it’s political, from CNN it’ll eventually end up on Politico, DailyKos, ThingProgress, and who knows where else. The same rings true for most other subject matters. In some sense, it is different. In another sense, it is all very much the same.
This makes me feel that all these blogs I once used to know and love are now becoming an epic waste of time. It makes me question if I should remove everything and subscribe to only one or two reliable sources of news. Why couldn’t I be satisfied with less (like newspapers; back when there was no Internet)? After all, it’s clearly obvious that I wouldn’t be missing out.
We all know that page views are what make the Web go ‘round. Unfortunately, though, the desire for page views has resulted in bloggers finding ways to exploit attention. More page views equals more potential profits and subscriptions. Sure, it’s good in theory — we would be getting more of the same great quality that we all know and love — but it doesn’t seem to work that way in reality.
So damn the quality! Quantity wins this race. Multiply post counts, and eventually enough eyeballs will view this content — good or bad — to squeeze out a few pennies from AdSense or click on that subscription button. No wonder why quality has suffered over the years.
But the sad thing is that there is a gem or two hidden throughout this vast complex of endless junk. The problem is that it’s damn near impossible to find them.
Yet some argue that we all must become curators: that people will solve the problem at hand while helping others find new and interesting content. Unfortunately, real-time curation could be a full-time job — just ask Digg, Reddit, Twitter, and others — and that is a job that I don’t necessarily want. After all, I thought that the Internet was supposed to help reduce the amount of mindless work that we were required to do, not add to it.
In the end, however, it doesn’t matter.
Not only has quality suffered throughout the blogosphere, originality has been swept under the rug too.
The Web is full of content, sure, but much of it isn’t original. For example: take a look at a few of the largest blogs on the Web — they rarely produce original content. They repackage and distribute someone else’s content as their own. And here we thought that the Web was supposed to promote creativity and originality! Yet what we are left with is rehash after rehash of content.
That is bad enough, but what is even more sad is when these bloggers fail to voice a unique opinion on said repackaged content. Instead of relating it to their own life or experiences — thus showing how it could relate to our own lives — they tend to pick a side that is already prevalent and roll with that. So the whole idea of a blog’s existence (i.e. acting as a media to express one’s own thoughts) is, in fact, nullified.
And then there is the heartbreaking reality that it is so difficult to discover a blogger who produces original content these days. It is these bloggers, however, that need to be discovered to keep the blogosphere moving forward.
Sure, this is the harsh reality that has become of the blogosphere, which is something many bloggers won’t like to hear, but it is this trend that will continue for a long time.
It’s too late for me. The blogosphere, at least in my mind, is dying. Sure, there will always be blogs and big-time bloggers, but the appeal that the blogosphere once had over me (and perhaps others) is gone. My confidence in bloggers being able to restore this appeal is fading. How others will handle this degradation of the blogosphere is also up for question.
Regardless, I will still write, read, and comment on blogs. I will still keep in mind that there are great bloggers out there who are worth reading. I will still leave a little room in my heart and soul that there will be a blogging revolution in the future. But at this time and for the unforeseen future, I am disappointed with what the blogosphere has become.
Assuming you’re down with this whole ‘the internet’ thing, you’ve probably tripped and fell over this I Write Like site in the last week or so. Thing’s gone viral as hell. I Write Like doesn’t play around – it does exactly what you’d expect, analyzing and comparing writing (presumably, your own) to that of famous authors. Hm? What’s that? Yeah, fine, you go try that out. You already clicked on this article anyway – really, my job is done.
But seriously, I Write Like is not without its quirks. Written by Russian programmer Dmitry Chestnykh, IWL appears to have little to do with actual writing style. “Who knew?” tweeted Margaret Atwood, recently shocked to discover she writes, in fact, more like Stephen King than herself.
Chestnykh admits that the software is based on email spam filters, and as such is keyword-based; you could write exclusively in bullet-point lists, and be judged a Shakespearean poet. “I wanted it to be an educational thing and also to help people write better,” Chestnykh said, adding that the tool isn’t meant to be taken seriously anyway. “I think that people really like to know how they write, evern if it’s not accurate results. Still, it’s fun for them.”
Indeed. I Write Like is clearly the result of Chestnykh’s passion for literature, accurate results be damned. Apparently, this very blog post sounds like David Foster Wallace.
Oh, wait. Uh oh.