Upsetting Trend--Follow up from Yesterday

As I wrote yesterday I was disappointed in the fact I was let go because someone charged a cheaper rate.  As I thought about it more, I think the culprits to blame for companies paying minuscule wages to writers is because of the ease of being a writer.  You don't need to have an advanced degree to be a writer. A guy with a GED can be a writer.  I chalk it to up to the fact that with technology today it's so easy to make websites and work off of adsense.  People assume that makes them qualified to be a writer.  Sure, it works sometimes, but in the end, they're really hurting the people who truly work toward writing as a career.  A friend once told me he designed and created an online magazine in one day and asked for writers to "build their freelance portfolio" with articles to be published on the site.  While my friend was making adsense money, he was essentially screwing his writers. He didn't ask for the writers to know AP style or MLA style formats.  It didn't matter. Good marketing can make a site look legit, sans the proper writing style.

Is this a problem? Yes, it's a big problem because there are genuine writers who write correctly to writers who don't know the difference between AP style or MLA style.  It's maddening knowing that "writers" can be anyone.  ANYONE.  Not everyone can be an engineer, and not everyone can be a doctor, etc.  But the one field that I tried so hard to get into, anyone can be.  I think I got the short end of the stick on this one.

I have more to say, but I'm going to take a few days off because it urgs me thinking about it. Maybe I'll have a much happier post tomorrow.  

Business is Business

I got a disturbing email from one of the freelance companies I worked for that said they didn't need my services anymore.  Trying to get a response as to why that happened, I got the answer, "We're going with someone who will work cheaper."  Writing How-to articles aren't bad, but I charged a reasonable rate, and produced high quality, one that was highly praised by the clients.  While it doesn't urg me to be let go (after all it is a freelance job) it does bother me when the person I was "fired" for is selling himself cheap.  Writers shouldn't shortchange their selves. I thought I charged a low price for what I did, but going any lower than that is, pardon my French, whoring yourself out.   Writers should never work for free or cheap. It's a craft that warrants meticulous detail and creative ingenuity.  It's one of the hardest crafts because you do have to learn the hundreds of grammatical rules in our lexicon today. 

I understand that as a business it's important to save a buck, but when you have millions of dollars of expendable income then it shouldn't be a problem.  With them, it is, apparently.  I'm going to read some of the articles this other person writes.  I'm a little upset, not because I'm losing a little extra income, but I'm a little upset that companies like this are essentially exploiting writers. 

Labor Day

I know what the day is all about, but I find it funny that many of the working class personnel get that day off.  You would think that a day called Labor Day would force people to work, but we're not in Communist Russia or Communist China.  I know it's a linguistic play with "Labor Day," but it's still funny and rather ironic that many have the day off on "Labor Day".  I'm not complaining and I'll certainly take the day off. It's rather nice in fact. I have a day planned of doing nothing and resting. Now, what I really don't understand is how some people have Columbus Day off.  That "holiday" has always bothered me because there has always been debate about whether his contributions were really his contributions.  But who cares, we get a day off, right?  Well, no.  It should be commemorated with something that really counts where historical accounts of the people involved is confirmed and not put in any negative clout. I will follow up on this like three of my other blog topics, but you'll just have to keep looking for it.  Hahhh...

Norman Needs It

I'm referring to the city, not the friend.  Norman is a "small" city in its own right, but it does have the University right in the middle.  Let's put it this way: you can definitely tell when the students go home for the summer.  Not sure what it is but Norman is a city that needs the football team. I'm more and more convinced that the city functions on the common bond of football and in essence brings together the people in Norman that they probably wouldn't get in other means.  I'm going to develop this idea and write a more cohesive blog on it, but I'm only writing this from an observation standpoint from being at the game this evening. The next blog about this will be cutthroat sociological analysis about the matter.

Norman is a great town, don't get me wrong. It's quaint to certain people's standards, but it's a city that's built by the university (more to explained later).  A common interest in football seems to bring the best (and the worst) in people. People fellowship more and they certainly become different when they wear the crimson and cream.  My next blog about this topic is sure to offend people, but I'm okay with that. I couldn't care less.

A Great Date

It's been a long time since my wife and I had a date where we could spend some time together without being interrupted by someone we know.  We went to Half Price Books and it was fun because we're both English graduates, have our own quarks and like the smell of books.  Don't judge me. 

It was nice to get out for a change. The book store is probably the most lame date anyone can think to take someone, but I couldn't pass up a chance. I didn't want to sit around the house and twirl my fingers on a lovely Friday evening. 

Maybe next week we'll upgrade a little and go to the clothing store.  Next time, we might even have dinner. I'm getting a little crazy here. This is certainly going to the extreme.

College Football

I promise I won't make the majority of posts about sports, but that time of the year is upon us and I was watching the first two games on ESPN, which made my blood boil with excitement.  There's something about the season that makes me excited. For starters there's the weather that's associated with the season.  Then, there's the BCS debate that rages, and I can annoy all Sooner fans about how they're going to choke it away in the end.  This football season feels different. Don't know what it is, but it feels great. There is a lot to enjoy about football season even if you don't like football. Can't really think of what that would be, but that possibility's still out there.

A Real Challenge

I knew going into my position as Social Media Marketing Specialist that it wasn't going to be easy. The problem I'm seeing is that the results are coming fast enough--for me at least. I'm a results-driven individual. I want to see results fast and I know it takes time.  It's like a new adventure; it really is.There's nothing easy about the job. People often think if you set up a Facebook page, you're going to be successful. However, what they don't consider is this: there are other social media programs, you need to find fans and followers, and you have to market the marketing device.  There's a lot going on and a whole lot of options in social media it's hard to know where to start, but results are coming in slowly. 

I sometimes feel that it's going to bloom overnight, but I haven't quite gotten there yet. I'm on a quest for knowledge and to figure things out.  Social media is big so I want to make sure I get ALL the nuances of it down to run successful campaigns.