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Before Diana settled into the not-so-leisurely life of a freelance travel writer, business writing ( technical and ghost writing) was part of her 9-to-5 job routine. From medical to business to software reports, Diana's nonfiction and technical writing covers a wide variety of industries. Below is a sampling of this writing along with a couple of professional recommendations.
According to Shel Holtz (holtz.com), we have entered the era of social computing, a social structure in which technology puts the power of communication in the hands of individuals and communities rather than institutions. Unlike traditional media, social media is not just about transmitting information; it’s about engaging and participating. In his two-part Manchester presentation, Holtz said that while traditional media remains strong, it has shifted from formal and instructive to informal and conversational (i.e. Blogs). Just as radio had to adapt and reinvent itself when television came on the scene in the 1940's, magazines and newspapers are also adapting by channeling the printed word to the Internet. Ghost Writing Articles written by Diana
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For those who have yet to blog or podcast, Holtz’s statistics are eye-openers: 1.3 million blogs are posted daily (18 per second); 100,000 new blogs are created daily (two per second); the Blogosphere doubles every 236 days; there are now more podcasts than global radio stations; there are 100 million MySpace profiles, 50 million Facebook profiles, nine million LinkedIn profiles - numbers that have no doubt increased by now. The bottom line is that people want to share their own experiences and have the ability today to do so, meaning travel writers are competing with non-professional writers. Holtz says that all travel professionals must at a minimum become familiar with the social networks and rankings and the new tools of content. "Content today resides on the edge," he said, "and the tools of ‘on edge’ content are RSS feeds, blogs, podcasts, Wikis, Widgets, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr photos and Microformats." Holtz added that "leverage is with he who seizes conversation, not he who starts or controls it." Consider that in the last five years, 50 percent of content was produced by consumers rather than by traditional media. Those in the Instant Message (IM) generation (born after 1980) get 62 percent of the content they consume from people they know personally. One percent of this community generates new content (i.e. Wikipedia) and 10 percent contributes to existing content (i.e. Commenting on blogs). These are critical influencers. The tourism industry is already involved with social media via blogs and other forms of new media (virtual tours on tourism sites, for example), but Holtz encouraged Actives and Associates to become more involved in sites like MySpace, Facebook, Ning and TripUp (beta version for people who travel). In addition to blogs, Holz said travel writers should also have an online social profile. Part Two of the presentation focused on how to build a social media presence, a.k.a. How to build a reputation and brand. Why is a presence important? Social media helps build a community that includes a writer’s biggest fans. By providing ongoing engaging content and attracting new fans, a writer will ultimately be seen by more people as an authority – and an interesting one at that. There are several ways to achieve this. Blogs. A good blog is essentially a journal in reverse chronological order and includes a way for consumers to comment. Blog writing style should be informal with an emphasis on voice, and posts should be short for quick and easy reads. Content, said Holtz, is enhanced by images, audio and video and links, which blog readers love. It’s important to note that bloggers who have a following are being hired by traditional publications. Setting up a blog shouldn’t cause stress because it’s simple. Sites Holtz recommended include: blogger.com, Podcasting. Podcasts offer continuing, regular audio content that is deliverable by subscription, downloadable so consumers can listen at their own computers (56 percent) or on digital media players or can be burned to a CD. One example is Travelcommons. Wikis. Wikis are web pages "edited" by the community so that the community itself adds and builds content. Two examples are Wikitravel and Wikipedia. While it’s true that creating a presence in social media is a slow process and not always profitable, Holtz said that the time spent can be justified if you use it to promote your other work – books, magazine articles, videos, shows, etc. He suggested adding Google AdSense or Feedburner ad insertion into RSS feeds because some blogs warrant sponsorships or other advertising. It may seem overwhelming but getting started in social media is easy. Holtz recommends these five steps:
Holtz’s slide-show presentation is available for download at holtz.com/satw. Numerous examples of successful social media websites, blogs, podcasts and wikis are listed on the 101-page presentation.
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