On serendipity

One evening, I was browsing the library bookshelves in search of a novel by my favorite YA author, Scott Westerfeld. I didn't find the one I wanted, but happened to notice a book called Double Helix, just before the string of Westerfeld novels. It was by an author I'd never heard of before, Nancy Werlin. The synopsis intrigued me with its references to biotechnology, and it was set in Boston--two good reasons to pick it up. I did, and I subsequently enjoyed reading it.

Since then, I've read The Killer's Cousin, a much darker YA novel that I also enjoyed. After that, I discovered that Werlin had written an intriguing blend of urban fantasy, romance, and mystery called Impossible. The plot was based on the English folk song, Scarborough Fair. I had some issues with head-hopping and a few elements of the plot, but overall, Impossible was a four-star read for me.

Sometimes, when we don't find what we're looking for, it can be a good thing.

- Posted using BlogPress from my iPad

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Shifting paradigms

When Apple first released the iPad, I--like many other Apple enthusiasts--was both enthralled and disappointed. I remember joking about the iPad being just a larger iPhone, without the phone. Don't get me wrong, I was (and still am) very happy with my iPhone. My biggest disppointment with the iPad was that I had been waiting for Apple to deliver a netbook, and the iPad was no netbook. Yes, a touchscreen device with a decent-sized virtual keyboard was nice, and the battery life was a big plus, but it didn't have a user-accessible filesystem. How was I going to load and unload my files?

So I ended up buying an HP mini, wiping the disk, and putting Ubuntu netbook remix on it. It served me well as a portable writing device, and the form factor and battery life were perfect. As time went by, I continued to hold out hope that Apple would improve its clumsy, iTunes-based method for getting files on and off an iPad, but they never did.

Meanwhile, app developers rushed in to fill some of the gaps. I began to see the benefit of ignoring a conventional filesystem altogether, and turning to cloud-based storage, thanks to Dropbox. And when my netbook suffered a premature demise recently, I finally took the plunge and replaced it with an iPad 2.

The combination of Dropbox and Documents to Go (a very capable, stripped-down equivalent to Microsoft Office that supports a number of cloud-based storage services) has made the iPad an amazing writing device, and so much more. I don't miss my netbook at all, and the virtual keyboard is ideal for me, since I'm not a touch typist. My resistance to Apple forcing me to accept its way of thinking has faded. At some point, I may even begin to see that familiar filesystem and friendly Finder on my desktop Macs as completely antiquated.

That's Apple for you. It doesn't just shift paradigms, it busts them wide open.

More on content farms

While researching content farms, I found a thought-provoking blog post by Matt Gratt:  Content Farms, Performance Publishing, and the Future of Online Media. One of the first points that he makes is that "content farm" is a somewhat demeaning term; he prefers "performance publishing".

Whatever you might think of these sites, it's clear that they've made a huge impact on traditional publishing, in much the same way that the iTunes music store impacted the traditional music production industry. A lot has been said regarding the quality of content generated by this type of publishing, but Matt makes the point that:

...a preponderance of re-written garbage will make the well researched, well written stories rise to the top. If anything, more Demand Media-esque content will make the New York Times stick out more. 

As mentioned in my previous post, I recently started writing for Yahoo Associated Content. It's more of an experiment than anything else, at this stage. It should be interesting to watch the evolution of the industry, though.

Kicking it off

After a long break, I'm back to blogging. It's a new adventure this time, yet it's something I've been doing forever. This is one of the ways I hope to keep my writing muscles from atrophying.

Another recent effort is signing up--and writing--for Yahoo Associated Content (AC). There are many online content farms around (reviewed last year by Spill Guy), and they all have one feature in common: the pay (if any) sucks. I'm definitely not in this for the money. But it's fun, and keeps the writing skills fresh. If you enjoy writing, give it a try. And if you have questions about AC or the other sites I considered, feel free to leave a comment