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Yahoo! Buys Associated Content: Some Initial Thoughts

By on May 19, 2010. 12 Comments
Yahoo! buys Associated Content

You probably heard Yahoo! is to purchase Associated Content for $100 million. I feel it’s a smart move seeing as how AOL Seed and Demand Studios are topping the searches with their content.  I’m not one to complain about content sites because I think quick web content articles and how to’s can be useful as long as they’re well written and factually correct. Also, I believe content sites are creating jobs, helping to improve the economy, and helping writers to earn money during a time when competition for gigs is fierce. However… It’s no secret I’m not a fan of [Read more…]

Categories: Web Content Tags: , , , , , ,

Content Mill Writers ARE Business People – And We’re All Proof of That

By on April 30, 2010. 33 Comments
Laptop3

I just read, with interest, Yolander Prinzel’s post at All Freelance Writing entitled “Why Low Paying Gigs Are and Are Not Your Problem.” I’m inclined to comment, except my comment is so long that I decided to just post it here. Warning: Reactionary blog post ahead: In her post Yo discusses why you needn’t worry about content site writers as your competition, but offers an enlightening look at some of the things you should concern yourself with. I’m not arguing with most of her points because they’re fair. For the most part, I agree with Yo in that content mill [Read more…]

Categories: Web Content Tags: , , , , , , , , ,

Jack Crabb and Revisiting the Freelance Writing Great Divide

By on March 24, 2010. 10 Comments

After reading Deb Ng’s “Freelance Writing: The Great Divide” yesterday, I decided this would be a great opportunity to talk about a western.

Huh?

Categories: Freelance Writing Business Tags: , , , , , ,

Freelance Writing: The Great Divide

By on March 23, 2010. 26 Comments
Great divide

Members of the freelance writing  community have been pointing out  I’m a little cranky lately. Everyone is writing to me to ask if something is wrong. The truth is, there’s nothing wrong with me. I’m fine. I’m just a little tired of the great divide in the freelance writing community. You’re either on one side of the fence or another and there’s no in between. As my friend Chris Garrett said to me today, it’s that old “if you’re not for us, you’re against us mentality.” I usually ignore it but today I saw something on Twitter that truly upset [Read more…]

Categories: Freelance Writing Tags: , ,

Four Types of Freelance Writing Sites We SHOULD Be Talking About

By on March 8, 2010. 19 Comments

The content site discussion is getting old. Some freelance writing bloggers see the merits, others don’t, and neither the twain shall meet. What strikes me about the content site debate is that we focus on one or two evil sites as if they’re the only problem. If we’re going to be discussing the best places for freelance writers to work and caution them against certain other opportunities, I personally feel that there are worse places and those are the ones we should be discussing. When we debate content, we generally focus on two main issues; pay and poorly written content. [Read more…]

Categories: The Dark Side of Freelance Writing, Web Content Tags: , , , , , , , , , ,

How Content Site Writers Can Avoid a Bad Reputation

By on March 3, 2010. 12 Comments
laptop 1

There are many sides to the content site debate and I understand them all, even if I don’t always agree. One popular argument for the anti-content site contingent is that the writers are unskilled laborers turning out crappy content. While I have seen some cases of truly bad content,  I know this isn’t the case for all content writers.  Some content sites take great pains to find experienced writers to create quality content, but there are also sites that don’t even check writing samples or credentials before hiring. To generalize and lump every single content writer in the “crappy content” [Read more…]

Categories: Web Content Tags: , , , , , ,

About Demand Studios: An Interview with SVP of Content & Editorial, Jeremy Reed

By on January 12, 2010. 63 Comments
Jeremy Reed

Deb’s note: This interview is part three in a series offering a behind the scenes look at content sites. As there have been much speculation and a few rather one-sided “investigations” regarding some of these sites, I felt it would be fair to talk to the people who run content sites and let them tell the FWJ community a little about what they do, the benefits to their writers and why their sites are unique. In the past we featured interviews with the people behind Suite101 and HubPages. This interview was conducted in the beginning of November, but hopefully isn’t [Read more…]

Categories: Web Content Tags: , , , ,

Freelance Writing Experience: Does it Matter Where Your Clips Come From?

By on November 4, 2009. 12 Comments

Credit where it’s due: A few days Jodee Redmond wrote: “Will Taking a Low Paying Hurt Your Career.” Jodee’s post is the inspiration for this one. Disclaimer: This post isn’t encouraging writers to accept low pay, it’s merely a discussion of whether or not your low paying past will hurt you when you apply for other gigs.This discussion isn’t about low pay or whether or not writers should accept entry level opportunities. It’s whether or not these opportunities will cause you to lose work. When I was younger it was my dream to become a newspaper columnist. I couldn’t wait [Read more…]

Categories: Fair Pay, Freelance Writing, Freelance Writing for Beginners, Web Content, Writing Gigs Tags: , , ,
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