The Internet offers expanding opportunities for writers and gives the
unprecedented control over the publication of their work. It allows
them to connect with their readers in a more direct and involving way
than has ever previously been possible.
Over
the last few years the Internet has become an increasingly important
showcase for writers. Work published on the Internet reaches a global
audience, allowing new authors to demonstrate their writing talents on
an accessible, hitherto unimaginable platform.
"There is a massive and growing demand for content on the Internet, with many opportunities for writers. We are going to see more and more writers and journalists working entirely online. The freedom the Internet offers to the freelance author is its biggest attraction. And its speed - no more waiting for weeks to hear if an editor or publisher has accepted your work; the Internet works in hours and days."
Sam Harrison, Tutor
Writers and
journalists were slow to move to the Internet in the early years,
perhaps because so much of the writing was of a poor quality - unedited,
often poorly researched and full of inaccuracies. In addition there was
no established route by which authors might be paid for their work. For
sure, a
few sites were willing to pay out a couple of dollars for donated articles, but most authors received no financial reward. Fine if writing is a hobby, untenable if you are writing for a living.
few sites were willing to pay out a couple of dollars for donated articles, but most authors received no financial reward. Fine if writing is a hobby, untenable if you are writing for a living.
Today,
however, there is growing recognition of the importance of the Internet
as an avenue of communication and expression. Many journalists now work
at least partly online and there are a number of established routes by
which they can be paid for their work. The rise in blogging - with high
quality, influential comment appearing first on the Internet, has been
significant here.
Millions of people are changing their habits when it comes to information acquisition. This has happened many times before -with the appearance of the printing press, then the telegraph, the telephone, radio, television, and Internet. Now the blogosphere has appeared, and it has come so suddenly as to surprise even the most sophisticated analysts.
Hugh Hewitt, Blog: understanding the information reformation that's changing your world.
There
is also increasing recognition of the value of citizen journalism -
where 'ordinary people' report on events in their part of the world,
often through a personal blog. Services such as Scoopt (www.scoopt.com)
provide a simple system by which editors can pick up the articles and
images they like and pay the author or photographer in one process. At
the same time, Scoopt offers authors and photographers a simple way of
earning money from their online work. For an insight into some of the
latest developments in citizen journalism, see the following article
from springwise.com:
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