2.08.2008

When my mom realized that my new job would require virtually no creative writing, she exclaimed, "Wow, you're really taking another step away from journalism and writing."

A little defensively, I noted that I would still be able to pursue freelance opportunities. Just last week I submitted another travel story to a major newspaper and I plan on making those submissions a more regular part of my work life.

But it's true: My day job no longer includes creative writing, journalism or even blogging, which is what I clung to while at GUBA. There, the daily blog entries not only were the most entertaining part of my day; they allowed me to continue to call myself a professional writer.

I will always consider myself a writer, but it will be more of a struggle as I've never been the most disciplined freelancer. But even if I come up with one article idea or travel essay a year, I'll continue to be part of media in this new position. Even as I take that next step away from traditional journalism I'm stepping further into the world of social media, which fascinates and excites me.

I love what Digg is doing to democratize media, taking power away from the one or two (often insane and/or unethical) editors who run magazines, newspapers and other media outlets. Digg puts the power in the hands of the users. They control whether a story and the conversation it provokes attains front-page status.

Also, there's a really nice kitchen full o' drinks and snacky snacks. Booya.

2 comments:

Robyn said...

sorry, what? you work for digg now?

if so, please influence them to take power away from the 10 or 20 digg users who submit all the "most popular" content.

Unknown said...

congrats on the new job, tj!