I will not really be blogging about what I do for StageofLife. That's right, I just used the title of this blog as part of my first sentence. So, what have I done, what will I be doing and why is this the case? All in good time. I'd first like to complain about the fact that my mouse will not stay where I put it. It makes things difficult. That's all the complaining I have to do though.
I've been working this summer on making StageofLife a better site. I think I've done alright. I know that some of what I've done has been useful. Like contacting that site about our writing contest. The CEO says that produced a lot of site traffic. I recruited at least one blogger and that's a little bit of something. There were the videos I found, Mr. Thiegs used many of them. And today I found pictures to illustrate the Etiquette sections of the site. When you boil things down to a list like this it seems like I didn't spend hours working on these things. I wouldn't say it seems like nothing, but look, it's a tiny paragraph. That paragraph is the product of hours in a steamy attic. I think I can safely say I'm proud.
I'll probably be keeping this blog up, but I'll switch topics. I have no clue what I'll blog about. My internship could continue if I find the time for it when I head back to campus, but who knows if I'll still want to write about it. Maybe I'll talk about being the fiction editor for our lit mag. I'm hoping to have more fun and creativity with it.
So, technically I covered the reason for not blogging about StageofLife. I'll be going back to school on the 19th. It's an early move-in due to my editing position, but I wish it could start sooner. While I've enjoyed my time working for Mr. Thiegs, life at home is dull. I could say "dull as. . ." but anything coming to mind is cliche so I won't. I am anxious to get back to school and have something to wake up for. Most days here I don't wake up until after 11. Life, life, I'm coming back!
Wednesday, August 11, 2010
Thursday, July 22, 2010
It's possible I hate the internet
Of course I use the internet and find myself completely bored when I don't have access to it, but there's nothing I actually like about it. I've been doing a lot of different stuff for StageofLife and it makes sense that most of it (all of it?) is internet based. Look up blogs, email bloggers, find videos, email videos, and today I found newspapers. That's a little vague. Today I contacted newspapers and Education section editors to see if they will post a press release from StageofLife. These papers made me think about not liking the internet so much.
They have a lot of buttons on their site. Some are set up so you can scroll over a main topic and see what topics are under it. Some you have to click on the main topic and look around for the subtopics. Some have "contact us" at the bottom. Others have it at the top. Many have confusing lists of ways to contact and few emails. The good ones have complete staff lists with email addresses. I could go on about the frustrating system that newspapers have set up online, but I'll move on to some other points I don't like about the internet.
Facebook. Everyone knows there's not much to do on facebook unless you're addicted to the games. I'm not. I'm addicted to waiting for people to talk to me. Youtube means pausing my music to perhaps be amused for a minute, but for some reason I have a hard time even keeping my attention on the videos. Google comes in handy if I ever have anything I need to look up. Then there are all the other sites people tell me I could visit, laugh at, or waste time on, but I never care enough to remember or keep checking them. I just don't like those things. And here I am blogging. It's okay for me because writing is what I do, but it took a while for me to give in to doing this.
I'd rather listen to music and take pictures or look over my memories.
They have a lot of buttons on their site. Some are set up so you can scroll over a main topic and see what topics are under it. Some you have to click on the main topic and look around for the subtopics. Some have "contact us" at the bottom. Others have it at the top. Many have confusing lists of ways to contact and few emails. The good ones have complete staff lists with email addresses. I could go on about the frustrating system that newspapers have set up online, but I'll move on to some other points I don't like about the internet.
Facebook. Everyone knows there's not much to do on facebook unless you're addicted to the games. I'm not. I'm addicted to waiting for people to talk to me. Youtube means pausing my music to perhaps be amused for a minute, but for some reason I have a hard time even keeping my attention on the videos. Google comes in handy if I ever have anything I need to look up. Then there are all the other sites people tell me I could visit, laugh at, or waste time on, but I never care enough to remember or keep checking them. I just don't like those things. And here I am blogging. It's okay for me because writing is what I do, but it took a while for me to give in to doing this.
I'd rather listen to music and take pictures or look over my memories.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
I think I wrote this in two minutes
I haven't written here for more time than I feel happy about. I'm supposed to keep this updated for people who might come to see what I'm all about. People who I've contacted and need some persuasion. Of course, I haven't actually been to work for a couple of weeks now so I didn't have anything to say on the topic.
I have been hearing from more people. Busy people. It's good to see writers who are busy. I'm not one of them so maybe I have some hope. I only wish I could get a hold of someone who could blog for the site. The CEO says I'm getting some common responses so at least I know it isn't just my approach that isn't working. I do believe people when they tell me why they won't be able to blog for us, I'm not calling anyone a liar; I just get worried I've done something wrong. I only contacted one person today.
The rest of my day was spent on youtube looking up videos for various stages of life. It was an interesting break from trudging through emails, but admittedly, not a strong point of mine. I don't actually get on youtube unless I'm finding a song to post on someone's facebook wall or someone forces me to watch something. Luckily, I have many friends who love procrastination so I was aware of some good videos in advance. One of the problems I have is trying to figure out what people with children, or grandparents want to watch. I couldn't tell you. However, I'm optimistic that some of the videos will be posted by the CEO. He seemed to like some of the stuff I found. I did have a hard time trying to come up with reasons why you would find the videos on the site. Mostly I just like things that are funny. You can only give that as a reason so many times. My summations are probably not the best and I hope Mr. Thiegs will either be okay with what I wrote, or figure out something better to say.
I have been hearing from more people. Busy people. It's good to see writers who are busy. I'm not one of them so maybe I have some hope. I only wish I could get a hold of someone who could blog for the site. The CEO says I'm getting some common responses so at least I know it isn't just my approach that isn't working. I do believe people when they tell me why they won't be able to blog for us, I'm not calling anyone a liar; I just get worried I've done something wrong. I only contacted one person today.
The rest of my day was spent on youtube looking up videos for various stages of life. It was an interesting break from trudging through emails, but admittedly, not a strong point of mine. I don't actually get on youtube unless I'm finding a song to post on someone's facebook wall or someone forces me to watch something. Luckily, I have many friends who love procrastination so I was aware of some good videos in advance. One of the problems I have is trying to figure out what people with children, or grandparents want to watch. I couldn't tell you. However, I'm optimistic that some of the videos will be posted by the CEO. He seemed to like some of the stuff I found. I did have a hard time trying to come up with reasons why you would find the videos on the site. Mostly I just like things that are funny. You can only give that as a reason so many times. My summations are probably not the best and I hope Mr. Thiegs will either be okay with what I wrote, or figure out something better to say.
Tuesday, June 22, 2010
Sitting on Excitement
Well, I'm not too sure how to start this blog. I'm excited so I just want to jump in, but I find if you go with this approach in a pool you end up shocked by a burst of cold water. I don't know if blogs are like pools, but jumping just isn't my style.
I didn't find a lot today. Google likes to send notifications that deal with stages of life I'm not looking for, like how many stages of life a dragonfly has. Yeah, that would be helpful to someone, but I don't need to get twenty notifications about it when I'm looking for bloggers. So, I've looked at a lot of nothing today.
Then there was the googling of authors from Muse & Stone. The CEO asked me to look some of the authors up because their credibility as writers is already established. I googled names to try to find email addresses. It's a frustrating process because you might be able to find the right person and still not find the information you want. My work during this part of the day was mostly looking at google links that said amazon.com then hitting the next button.
Monotony. That's what I'm going through. It's something I was thinking about earlier in the day. So much of my life is spent in ritual and, while I wouldn't be able to get along without it in most cases, it's something that drives me mad. I can sit and work on a task for hours, but I think something inside claws at my belly the whole time. Of course, this isn't really a complaint about the work I'm doing. It seems an awful lot like it because I've been staring at the computer since 11 and it's now 5. I'm just not used to working so my retelling of events comes across as being bitter. Perhaps nothing I say will make anyone think I am not bitter because I'm about to go on about this working business (does the pun come across?).
I fear work which is why I'm putting myself into it. I've never had a job before and, while I don't want to be without one when I graduate, I'm terrified of what I'll end up doing. It's never been my policy to face my fears so I'm really in uncharted waters with all of this. My internship is a great opportunity and I actually like what I'm doing. When I find blogs I really like reading them to see what different people find interesting. The thing I'm unsure about is putting myself intentionally into more monotony. That little beast scratching at my stomach wall might get larger and start to eat precious organs. I guess I'll figure out if I'm suited for this if my kidneys don't fail.
One good sign is the cause for my excitement. That's right, now we're plunging in (notice it is not a jump, more of a submerging). I got a response from someone I contacted! This news is wonderful for me on a couple of different levels. For one, my job is actually accomplishing something. I'm not just shouting into the dark anymore, somebody has held up a candle. And I'm excited about something which is out of the norm for me. One of the writers from Muse & Stone emailed me back and I really hope she signs up to be a blogger.
I didn't find a lot today. Google likes to send notifications that deal with stages of life I'm not looking for, like how many stages of life a dragonfly has. Yeah, that would be helpful to someone, but I don't need to get twenty notifications about it when I'm looking for bloggers. So, I've looked at a lot of nothing today.
Then there was the googling of authors from Muse & Stone. The CEO asked me to look some of the authors up because their credibility as writers is already established. I googled names to try to find email addresses. It's a frustrating process because you might be able to find the right person and still not find the information you want. My work during this part of the day was mostly looking at google links that said amazon.com then hitting the next button.
Monotony. That's what I'm going through. It's something I was thinking about earlier in the day. So much of my life is spent in ritual and, while I wouldn't be able to get along without it in most cases, it's something that drives me mad. I can sit and work on a task for hours, but I think something inside claws at my belly the whole time. Of course, this isn't really a complaint about the work I'm doing. It seems an awful lot like it because I've been staring at the computer since 11 and it's now 5. I'm just not used to working so my retelling of events comes across as being bitter. Perhaps nothing I say will make anyone think I am not bitter because I'm about to go on about this working business (does the pun come across?).
I fear work which is why I'm putting myself into it. I've never had a job before and, while I don't want to be without one when I graduate, I'm terrified of what I'll end up doing. It's never been my policy to face my fears so I'm really in uncharted waters with all of this. My internship is a great opportunity and I actually like what I'm doing. When I find blogs I really like reading them to see what different people find interesting. The thing I'm unsure about is putting myself intentionally into more monotony. That little beast scratching at my stomach wall might get larger and start to eat precious organs. I guess I'll figure out if I'm suited for this if my kidneys don't fail.
One good sign is the cause for my excitement. That's right, now we're plunging in (notice it is not a jump, more of a submerging). I got a response from someone I contacted! This news is wonderful for me on a couple of different levels. For one, my job is actually accomplishing something. I'm not just shouting into the dark anymore, somebody has held up a candle. And I'm excited about something which is out of the norm for me. One of the writers from Muse & Stone emailed me back and I really hope she signs up to be a blogger.
Wednesday, June 16, 2010
Drudgery
I began my grueling work today. I mean, the official stuff that the CEO went over with me on Monday. My job is to look at blogs and invite the people who spark my interest to take a look at our site and possibly write for us. So, I went through approximately 180 links sent to me by google alerts and found nine writers I liked enough to contact.
I'm semi-used to this kind of work already, but it doesn't get much easier with time or experience. When I was a senior in high school I was Copy Editor of the yearbook and spent fifty minutes a morning staring at a computer, looking for wrong spellings of names and typos. When I'm at college I work for our literary magazine and read through hundreds of aspiring writers to find maybe a good piece every month. I guess I'm trying to say that this work isn't any different. Staring at a computer screen, looking for something good in a swamp bloggers. The work isn't bad really, just tiring and monotonous. You find some interesting stuff when you search for "stage of life."
Mostly it's articles about graduation, things about menopause, and dog food advertisements. Then, when you actually find a blog, the phrase is there because it's a quote from the Bible. I keep thinking I might be terrible for this job because I'm so biased, but then I think, "who isn't?" I'm less inclined to contact someone who focuses an entire blog, or several blogs on Christian life. It isn't that I don't like Christians, I just don't like preachers. Another bias is really liking people who talk about the arts and I'm not wholly sure the CEO is looking for poets, but he did put me in charge of this. When I look at other people's blogs I try to look at quality first. I go for subject if they pass the first test. I've been taught to do that in most situations so I guess it's a good policy here.
So, I have my worries about objectivity, but I'm pretty confident in my decisions. I found some really interesting blogs and writers today. There was a football player who wrote about travel, family and memories. He was really eloquent and it made me happy to see someone so diverse. There was a very descriptive piece about not wanting to go on; a dark subject, but why ignore something just because you might not want to admit it's true? I also read a feminist piece (there were a lot of these that were mostly crazy and nonsensical) that surprised me with it's very logical points about the unique experiences to women. And I found a poet! I'm not entirely sure how good he is, but the poem he had posted was something I liked. I'd call it a good day.
I'm semi-used to this kind of work already, but it doesn't get much easier with time or experience. When I was a senior in high school I was Copy Editor of the yearbook and spent fifty minutes a morning staring at a computer, looking for wrong spellings of names and typos. When I'm at college I work for our literary magazine and read through hundreds of aspiring writers to find maybe a good piece every month. I guess I'm trying to say that this work isn't any different. Staring at a computer screen, looking for something good in a swamp bloggers. The work isn't bad really, just tiring and monotonous. You find some interesting stuff when you search for "stage of life."
Mostly it's articles about graduation, things about menopause, and dog food advertisements. Then, when you actually find a blog, the phrase is there because it's a quote from the Bible. I keep thinking I might be terrible for this job because I'm so biased, but then I think, "who isn't?" I'm less inclined to contact someone who focuses an entire blog, or several blogs on Christian life. It isn't that I don't like Christians, I just don't like preachers. Another bias is really liking people who talk about the arts and I'm not wholly sure the CEO is looking for poets, but he did put me in charge of this. When I look at other people's blogs I try to look at quality first. I go for subject if they pass the first test. I've been taught to do that in most situations so I guess it's a good policy here.
So, I have my worries about objectivity, but I'm pretty confident in my decisions. I found some really interesting blogs and writers today. There was a football player who wrote about travel, family and memories. He was really eloquent and it made me happy to see someone so diverse. There was a very descriptive piece about not wanting to go on; a dark subject, but why ignore something just because you might not want to admit it's true? I also read a feminist piece (there were a lot of these that were mostly crazy and nonsensical) that surprised me with it's very logical points about the unique experiences to women. And I found a poet! I'm not entirely sure how good he is, but the poem he had posted was something I liked. I'd call it a good day.
Monday, June 14, 2010
First Day
I'm starting an internship today with a website called Stage of Life.
I'm very excited to start looking at blogs and expose myself to a different type of writing than I'm used to. The site itself is a great opportunity for writers to express themselves as they go through life's journey. I'm looking forward to writing for it, but mostly for getting more writers involved.
I've learned a lot about what it takes to be published and the way the world is changing for writers so having a chance to make good writers known is important to me. I'm also fully behind the CEO's concept for the site. Check out the CEO's blog.
I'm very excited to start looking at blogs and expose myself to a different type of writing than I'm used to. The site itself is a great opportunity for writers to express themselves as they go through life's journey. I'm looking forward to writing for it, but mostly for getting more writers involved.
I've learned a lot about what it takes to be published and the way the world is changing for writers so having a chance to make good writers known is important to me. I'm also fully behind the CEO's concept for the site. Check out the CEO's blog.
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