Submitted by Marin Heinritz on Sat, 06\/05\/2010 – 12:17pm<\/p>\n
Marin Heinritz<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Marin Heinritz<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Marin Heinritz, Kalamazoo College
\nHyatt Fathy, Wayne State
\nAshlee Wells, U oF M Sociology
\nLaketa Dumas, R U Ready for Business
\nKadidjri Lahab, Rochester
\nMarcelo Toledo, Ann Arbor
\nAndrea Silenzi, freelance, chicago
\nGeoff Samek, Sac bee
\nLou Rutigliano, Trinity University
\nTaleka Johnson
\nCambrey Thomas<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Topic: If\/How does freelancing change with the changing industry<\/p>\n
K–Wants to know to contribute and do it effectively, writes about any topic that interests, submits to online publications.\u00a0 Keep it local it\u2019s OK.\u00a0 Suite101, Associated Content, looking for more online sites.\u00a0 Paid based on hits and ads around site.\u00a0 Paid by paypal.\u00a0 If it\u2019s local then locals will go to it.\u00a0 At least 600 words long.<\/p>\n
H–how do you present yourself if you\u2019re a freelancer?<\/p>\n
M–be self assured, in-your-face, confident.\u00a0 you have to be bothering all the time until they tell you NO.<\/p>\n
Ashlee–are there legal issues when you\u2019re interviewing?<\/p>\n
Marcelo–I\u2019m interested in freelancing but it\u2019s sad.\u00a0 Underpaid.<\/p>\n
K–trying to figure out how to get people to come to you when they don\u2019t know who you are.\u00a0 and to get people to listen.\u00a0 Interested in blogging and doing something relevant to the community.\u00a0 Building a reputation where you\u2019re trying to.<\/p>\n
Andrea–we face the same challenges as legacy media in terms of credibility.\u00a0 Lost job in sept.\u00a0 doesn\u2019t have the discipline yet.\u00a0 Need advice coming your way, straddling identity as a freelancer.\u00a0 Maybe being a freelancer translates as unemployed.\u00a0 We should be proud that we don\u2019t want to affiliate with one news source.<\/p>\n
Ashlee–trying to figure out in what capacity I could be a writer.\u00a0 I\u2019m trying to figure out how to use my talents.<\/p>\n
Hyatt–trying to figure out what to do with my degree when I graduate.\u00a0 Want to learn more about this concept of freelancing.<\/p>\n
Lou–professor –looking for ideas for his students –always come to me for ideas and looks for guerilla ways for them to talk to people in online publications.<\/p>\n
Geoff–guy in sacramento started a blog covering media and then got hired as a social media coordinator for a local tv stations.\u00a0 get passionate about a niche and start writing about it and job starts coming your way.\u00a0 queries not super well received.\u00a0 they get lost in the shuffle<\/p>\n
Andrea–for some freelancing is a bridge to get swallowed up by a larger project.\u00a0 another way is to say I\u2019m a freelancer .\u00a0 the economy is pushing us out.\u00a0 In NYC the freelancers union is considered one of the worst unions in the city and it\u2019s one of the highest concentrations.\u00a0 member of ass for independence in radio.\u00a0 they offer a listserve that becomes your office space as a freelancer–a real community.\u00a0 they offer mentorship programs, stipends for attending conferences, they also now work for corp of pub broadcasting for grants.\u00a0 Freelancers often have the ideas.<\/p>\n
Lou–demand media pays but is there a place where freelancers share–<\/p>\n
Geoff–yahoo and aol spend millions a year on freelancers.\u00a0 aol just bought patch–local level free stuff to build your resume.\u00a0 one local paid editor and that editor runs a small neighborhood site, then a regional editor that manages.\u00a0 not really freelancing bc it\u2019s doing it for free.<\/p>\n
gifting<\/p>\n
Ashlee–worried about people stealing ideas.\u00a0 everyone has to start somewhere.<\/p>\n
Andrea–hates seeing social media intern–we want young people to come to our office and teach us but do it for free.<\/p>\n
Geoff–we have an intern, she became our social media expert and now we pay her with benefits and she now has an intern.\u00a0 It can lead to jobs.\u00a0 so many of our paid staff came from interns.\u00a0 our managing editor started as an intern two years ago.<\/p>\n
K–don\u2019t feel guilty for telling your students to work for free.\u00a0 Interns won\u2019t go\/return to places that treat their interns badly.<\/p>\n
Is there mentoring, are people getting feedback?<\/p>\n
K–I got a lot of hard feedback.\u00a0 I did learn a lot.\u00a0 You have to ask how long am I going to ride this wave?\u00a0 even the bad stuff is good.\u00a0 I learned a lot about how to write fast and under pressure, which I don\u2019t like at all.\u00a0 as long as you get something out of it.<\/p>\n
Ashlee–when you\u2019re writing a freelance article, what is the goal? what are some resources?<\/p>\n
Lou–one thing you can do s look at what the paper is covering–follow the briefs to see what the editor cares about, look into it further, you can pursue it and flesh it out.\u00a0 Look, I know you care about it and would cover it if you had the staff.<\/p>\n
Andrea–there\u2019s something to be said for imitation.\u00a0 look at a writer you admire and look at\u00a0 how they work.\u00a0 That\u2019s what Ira Glass said.\u00a0 I also make sure I\u2019m really familiar with the radio show I\u2019m pitching to, so I know what they\u2019ve done.\u00a0 It would be really embarrassing if I pitched something they\u2019d already done.<\/p>\n
Lou–Yeah, familiarity is key.<\/p>\n
Marcela–also researching–stroke their ego, know what they\u2019ve done.<\/p>\n
Geoff–funny, random anecdote.\u00a0 Temp worker that got a job from doing good SEO.\u00a0 He made sure that his resume showed up first on the google search of the CEO he wanted to hire him.\u00a0 It would be a funny way to get your work.<\/p>\n
Geoff–yes<\/p>\n
Bill–support service that supports them.<\/p>\n
Harold–a lot of people who offer it but aren\u2019t good<\/p>\n
Geoff–you still need to understand the basics of those concepts<\/p>\n
social media club, make friends of someone who knows it, basic philosophies
\nnot just people who want your money<\/p>\n
social media club, mashable<\/p>\n
Lou–devote a month to just learning as much as you can<\/p>\n
Geoff–stay on top of it.\u00a0 There\u2019s not a day that I don\u2019t read 20 different blogs.\u00a0 it\u2019s really hard to keep up.<\/p>\n
L–just knowing the industry is key. now if you know it ahead of time you can meet other people.<\/p>\n
Andrea–you can\u2019t just graduate and say I\u2019m going to do just this for the rest of my life.\u00a0 There\u2019s a real fusion that\u2019s going on .\u00a0 people wanting to add skills to their bucket but you ned to really be interested.\u00a0 how is it added into the work that you\u2019re doing?<\/p>\n
GEoff–photography is rough.\u00a0 cameras are getting so great that you\u2019re seeing our amateur photog coming in with really great photos<\/p>\n
Harold–photog friend .\u00a0 most really good photog that are making story are those who can tell a story.\u00a0 good news for those who can tell story but arent\u2019 nec. photogs.\u00a0 a series of photos that can sell.<\/p>\n
Laketa–how do you get the stories told?\u00a0 How do you choose which stories to tell?<\/p>\n
G–as peole who receive 9 jillion press releases. . . . I just tune them out.\u00a0 Blog about it on your site and use social media to promote it. Start a fanpage for whatever you\u2019re doing on facebook.\u00a0 Start tweeting about different things.\u00a0 Just try to circumvent traditional media.\u00a0 It\u2019s realy tough and there\u2019s a reason.\u00a0 There\u2019s just so much. Skip the middle man<\/p>\n
Harold–reach out to your network.<\/p>\n
Andrea–press releases make me think about when you\u2019re on your own those story ideas are up to you.\u00a0 I let people know I\u201dm a freelancer and to let me know.\u00a0 I take in story ideas.\u00a0 I\u2019ll take ideas.\u00a0 I can\u2019t guarantee you.\u00a0 the more I have coming in, the more I can be connected to my community.<\/p>\n
Q: how do you stay in touch with your community when you\u2019re a single entity, when you\u2019re a freelancer.<\/p>\n
Harold:But you\u2019re not a single entity.\u00a0 you have your network.\u00a0 on facebook, etc.<\/p>\n
Marcela–you know what he\u2019s doing is making people feel someone cares about them
\nI used to go to the local newspaper.\u00a0 It depends on where do you live.<\/p>\n
Ashlee–as freelancers why would you ever discriminate against what stories you pick up?<\/p>\n
Andrea–as a freelancer you\u2019re still trying to narrow your focus.<\/p>\n
G–get involved in the communities and don\u2019t pitch, just get involved and it will happen.<\/p>\n
harold–there\u2019s a paradigm, shift–teaching of open space\u00a0 even big mainstream media are doing things but they\u2019re not.\u00a0 the reality is they have their niche, their focus, as does everyone else.\u00a0 that\u2019s just the reality.\u00a0 If you\u2019re too broad, you end up serving no one.\u00a0 If you narrow it, then you love that small group, that passion, then you can start growing from there.<\/p>\n
G–should freelancers be more open about what they write about?<\/p>\n
K–I don\u2019t mind writing about anything.\u00a0 I\u2019ve been criticized for it.\u00a0 But it\u2019s like a free education.\u00a0 I have my interests, but I don\u2019t have an expertise.<\/p>\n
Marin–professional dilettantes.\u00a0 double edged sword.<\/p>\n
Taleka–interested in healthcare.\u00a0 started to read other healthcare writers, and decided I wasn\u2019t really to go marching in that direction, so I have not attacked it in the way that I want.\u00a0 There\u2019s a formula to each genre.\u00a0 the circles, the crowd, the audiences are different.<\/p>\n
L-how did you learn<\/p>\n
Marin–change–used to learn by medium.\u00a0 no longer that way.\u00a0 You have to be a generalist.<\/p>\n
geoff–huge shifts.<\/p>\n
K–trad. media offered you beats, so you got to learn.\u00a0 You start out shifting around.<\/p>\n
Andrea-when you find that spot for your work, you become more valuable to editors. develop that identity.\u00a0 how do you find your stories.\u00a0 You can follow trade publications, blogs, talk to friends and family.<\/p>\n
L–how do you build your relationships with different media?<\/p>\n
Andrea–sometimes as an intern.\u00a0 but there are disadvantages–<\/p>\n
Ashlee–advantages in applying for internships.<\/p>\n
Andrea–knowing the show\/publications.<\/p>\n
Geoff–just be literate.\u00a0 don\u2019t have spelling, grammar mistakes.\u00a0 Also, don\u2019t bullshit me.\u00a0 I see through it in five seconds.\u00a0 Go in with a humble attitude.\u00a0 The people I like the most are people who genuinely have that fire.\u00a0 build a portfolio.\u00a0 it\u2019s hard work and passion.\u00a0 hard workers stand out.<\/p>\n
how would you advise someone from being an intern to being an editorial assistant?<\/p>\n
G–I can\u2019t speak to trad. media.\u00a0 so the answer is there\u2019s no way.\u00a0 the best writing is great, but if it\u2019s done by someone who\u2019s not reliable, then there\u2019s no way.<\/p>\n
Ashlee–what would you want to see on a blog or a website?<\/p>\n
G–what do you want to write? what do you look for?<\/p>\n
Ash–pictures, clothes, designers.<\/p>\n
G–do it.\u00a0 You could work for the gilt group–a sample sale website.<\/p>\n
T–is it vital to have your own website and market yourself?<\/p>\n
Harold–make a friend here, today, and they\u2019ll get you set up in 10 minutes and it will look good.<\/p>\n
Andrea–andreasilenzi.com<\/p>\n
G–just go to wordpress.com<\/p>\n
H–you could start a group, people can meet.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
Submitted by Marin Heinritz on Sat, 06\/05\/2010 – 12:17pm Session Convenor: Marin Heinritz Session Reporter: Marin Heinritz Discussion Participants: Marin Heinritz, Kalamazoo College Hyatt Fathy, Wayne State Ashlee Wells, U oF M Sociology Laketa Dumas, R U Ready for Business … Continue reading