Writing

How to Write a Story (for Geeks)

In How to, Writing on 10 July 2008 with 10 comments

So maybe you’re a geek and you want to write a personal story for someplace like Fray. Writing, like life, is personal. Do whatever works for you. But if you need a hand, here are some things you could try. Take any that seem helpful and discard the rest.
First, tell the story - with your [...]

Modern Rituals

In NaBloPoMo, Writing on 30 November 2007 with 4 comments

I don’t have a lot of rituals in my life. I check email every five minutes, but that’s just a part of the job. And I walk the dogs every night, but only because, if I didn’t, they’d piss the carpet. I go to the local cafe, but not every day.
That’s why participating in [...]

NaBloPoMo Q&A 8: Never Tell a Story Like It’s Not About You

In Interviews, Life, NaBloPoMo, Q&A, Stories, Writing on 25 November 2007 with 3 comments

Louise asked:
I was wondering if you have ever regretted your transparency on the web. Has it worked as a negative or positive influence?
I was 23 years old the first time it happened. It was two hours into 1996. And I was bummed out. So I wrote down how I felt, posted it to my website, [...]

If It Bleeds, It Leads

In Blogging, Geek, Journalism, Writing on 23 November 2007 with Comments Off

With my month-long experiment in daily posting a week away from its blissful conclusion, I thought I’d check to see what effect, if any, it was having on the site’s traffic. So I checked in with the handy WordPress traffic page. Here’s what I saw, with the addition of the most trafficked posts and the [...]

What’s on Your List?

In Business, Journalism, NaBloPoMo, Writing on 19 November 2007 with Comments Off

So me and six thousand of my friends are participating in National Blog Posting Month right now, which means we’ve all agreed to post to our blogs every day of November. I don’t know about my fellow NaBloPoMo-ers, but today’s the nineteenth day of this and I’m getting to the bottom of the barrel. So [...]

NaBloPoMo Q&A 6: Chopping Blocks

In Creativity, How to, Interviews, NaBloPoMo, Q&A, Writing on 15 November 2007 with 2 comments

Or: How To Bust Your Creative Block
Megan asked:
Say someone’s in a rut. What advice would you offer for getting out? ie, how do you stay creative and engaged? Who/what keeps you accountable?
And Joey asked:
How do you overcome creative block? What inspires you?
I had an English teacher in high school who said something I still think [...]

NaBloPoMo

In Geek, Writing on 1 November 2007 with 2 comments

NaBloPoMo = National Blog Posting Month. And I am member #4928. Which means I’ll be posting here every day for a month. Or at least trying to. Stay tuned.

iPhone The Book

In Apple, Elsewhere, Writing, iPhone on 26 August 2007 with Comments Off

It was my pleasure to donate a few stories and photos to Ethan Bodnar’s printed retrospective of the most anticipated Apple product ever: iPhone: The Book. I got my copy a few days ago and it’s beautiful. It will serve as a fun reminder of the wild ride that was the iPhone launch.

Did Assignment Zero Work?

In Community, Crowdsourcing, Journalism, Writing on 16 July 2007 with 4 comments

As powazek.com readers know, I participated in Assignment Zero’s Interview Week over the last few months. Jeff Howe, who coined the word “crowdsourcing,” has a piece in Wired today with the provocative headline: Did Assignment Zero Fail? A Look Back, and Lessons Learned.
It’s a frank assessment with many insights that should be required [...]

My Interview in Wired.com

In Crowdsourcing, Elsewhere, Interviews, Journalism, Writing on 10 July 2007 with 2 comments

In May I participated in AssignmentZero’s Interview Week. The stories have been making their way online at Wired.com this week, and today mine went up! Check it.
Exploring the Dark Side of Crowdsourcing
As the creator of Subvert and Profit, a site that makes a business out of gaming social media site Digg for paying advertisers, “Ragnar [...]