Journalism n Writing

Challenges of Freelance Writing

2012-01-13T11:58:00.002+08:00

Writing freelance has its ups and downs. Sometimes we get many assignments, at other times we get none. Keeping ourselves alive and supporting our dependents in such a way is not only unreliable, but also unsustainable. Unless we have lots of savings to spare, working freelance or providing editorial services as a full time job may not be the best option for livelihood.

Nonetheless, working freelance has many advantages. Among some of the greatest benefits of working freelance is flexibility—we get to choose to take on an assignment or not, depending on our timing and availability. We can spend more time with our family and do the things we like or choose to busy ourselves earning money. However, if there are not enough requests for freelance writing and our finances are tight, we may be left in jeopardy. For some of us, such a free and casual lifestyle may not be viable.

Observing from past trends, editorial service requests seem to come periodically. In certain months of the year, requests can be overwhelming, and if we are alone doing the work, we can only do as much as we can, and drop the rest. Unfortunately, by dropping the rest, we face the dilemma of not earning enough to sustain during off-peak.

One of the best ways to work around having insufficient funds during times of low editorial requests is to have multiple source of income or a contract with a corporation or organization for an ongoing project. Such a project may be to write for a monthly or bi-monthly newsletter or in-house magazine, or an arrangement with a publishing house to write for its periodicals.

Contacts and connections, however, are crucial if we hope to get writing contracts. Unless we know the right people, if we plan on going full time into writing freelance, we need to consider carefully all the aforementioned pointers before we jump in.

Two Facets of Freelance Writing

2011-12-23T10:30:00.001+08:00

Writing for freelance entails two facets, one as a professional providing service to the customers, the other as servicing customers to provide them what they want. The former assumes as professionals, customers should accept and go with our style or way of writing, proofreading, and editing. The latter does not assume anything, but goes with customers' planned agenda, which often involves many rounds of re-writing, proofreading, and editing.

Of the two facets, the first approach is usually much sought after by freelance writers because of its clear cut relations with the customer. The second approach, however, is what most customers seek today. Customers want to be able to maximize their invested cost to put their engaged freelancers to work for them, not as slaves of course, but much like employees or people who owes them a living.

Sadly, reality often dictates how freelance writers should decide on which facet to go with. Either we are worth something to our customers, or we may end up always waiting, but never receiving.

If you are a freelance writer or someone who is providing editorial services to customers, feel free to share your thoughts on this subject here.

All About Writing

2011-12-01T23:10:00.000+08:00

Some of you may find it difficult to search through my blog for specific topics on writing experiences and tips in the archives, so I have created this entry to help you navigate:

Feel free to share your views on writing at this blog!

Academic Writing Services

2011-04-07T10:53:00.002+08:00

As a writer in the business of providing writing services, I frequently get requests by people who are willing to pay me to write their academic theses and assignments for them, which I of course refused. The reason is obvious—it is not only ethically wrong to cheat, but also against my professional principles.

The fact that it took me years of hard work studying part-time before I received my degree makes me abhor anyone who cheats or take a shortcut to get his or her certificate, diploma or degree. The value and worth of achieving one's own by one's own effort and knowledge is paramount to any future success. I have learned much through serious study, not pay someone else to write for me. In the real world, there is no way for anyone to be useful to the society if that someone paves the way to success through dishonesty.

While my belief is never to take up any paid academic writing assignments requests, I recently found out there are those who do the exact opposite and seize this as an opportunity for earning money. In fact, some even advertise to encourage students to pay them to write their essays and theses!

I am appalled by such practices! Although writing academic assignments for requestors can earn much, it questions the integrity of the achiever. It is no wonder some potential employers doubt the credibility of potential employees when they read résumés that state academic achievement through part-time courses. Such a practice can cause significant damage to many who have really studied, of whom I was one of them.

If you are a student seeking help for assignment writing or an academic writing service provider, I pray that you would quit such unethical practices. Students who need help should seek friends or others, share information and come up with their own ideas, not pay someone else to write for them. Academic writing service providers should consider other writing services rather than just writing ‘on behalf’ of students.

May we all agree to join hands to walk the straight path in building our own integrity and credibility!

Writing a News Feature Story

2010-11-10T16:04:00.002+08:00

When writing a feature story, one of the first things you must consider is the target audience. Is it for the general public or is it for a specific group of readers? If you are writing for the readers of a lifestyle magazine or for the lifestyle section in the newspaper, for example, you would need to consider whether you should write from the view of a third person or second?

Most feature stories are written from the third person. Exceptions where the second person is used instead is when the story is about 'what you should get', say, for an occasion or a festive season. Seldom is the first person used for feature writing except when the author is the narrating his or her own experience.

Take for example the first paragraph of a feature story on entrepreneurship written in the third person:

John lost his job two years ago due to the economy downturn. Believing it to be only temporary, he actively seeks employment while upgrading his skills through short-term courses. Today, he is still unemployed. Now at the age of 41, he is forced to consider self-employment and entrepreneurship but is hesitant because he has been an employee his entire working life.

If this first paragraph is written in the second person, it would read:

You have been an employee your entire working life. Two years ago, you lost your job due to the economy downturn. Believing the downturn to be only temporary, you actively seek employment while upgrading your skills through short-term courses. Today, you are still unemployed.

As you can read from the two approaches, the third person's voice draws the readers into the story better than the second person because there is no need for personal involvement in the story unless it is a call to action. It works fine to use the second person if you are writing for a lifestyle magazine showcasing shopping goods, but not quite fine for a news feature story that aims to convey a message containing facts and advices.

When writing for a news feature story, four components should be considered: anecdotes, quotes, facts, and statements of theme.

An anecdote in a news feature story should be written from a third person as the narrator. The purpose of this is to use content 'pull' to attract readers to a sense of reading a novel or a storybook. For a feature story to be successful, at least one anecdote should be included to help readers visualize the 'reality' of a situation or the life of the person being told in the anecdote.

A feature should also include facts and quotes for angles of human interest. Facts may be research finding that quantify the content of the story, official statistical figures, or actual events witnessed by people:

According to official figures from the manpower department, unemployment is now at 4.5 percent.

Quotes are actual account of events by witnesses or spoken comments of people interviewed. Quotes can be direct or indirect. For a feature story to be credible and interesting, both direct and indirect quotes are necessary.

A direct quote is the actual spoken words by persons interviewed:

"I have been an employee my entire working life," said John Doe, 41, a retrenched worker.

An indirect quote is a paraphrased or rephrased writing of actual words spoken by persons interviewed:

John Doe, 41, said he has been an employee his entire working life.

Statements of theme are sentences that links original theme of the story to various parts of the feature. This is especially useful when there are multiple sections or story points that need to be expanded in different areas of the feature. The objective of statements of theme is to draw the readers back to the main theme of the story.

The feature story is usually written with each paragraph pulling the readers forward to read on to the point of closure or a conclusion or instructions to proceed further. It is usual to end the story by drawing the readers' attention back to the points being told at the lead paragraph, but with added knowledge on the subject.

Writing Press Releases

2010-10-22T11:11:00.008+08:00

If writing press releases is a part of your job, then among the first things you must remember is although your final target audience is the readers of the news, the media as the vehicle for getting the news published is just as important.

The media need not and usually do not publish a large part of what you write in the press release. Catching the media's attention or interest to your piece of news therefore should be your first objective, and that will require the news to be noteworthy.

If the news is about a new product or service, then you as the writer must highlight what is different that makes it stand out from the rest. If there is nothing worth highlighting, such as a unique selling point, then there is unlikely any news going to get published. Journalists always seek out only what is newsworthy.

One of the greatest mistakes vendors of products or services make is to have press releases contain too much technical details or the over emphasis of numerous features or functionalities. If there is nothing different or outstanding among the many things mentioned, then there is nothing much that will attract or draw the journalists' attention to write about it.

Vendors often think that information in the press release is what the end users want to read about, but frequently such details are not newsworthy for publish. Even if it does get published, it will often be placed at the end of the story. Information or text placed at the end of the story, depending on the space available in the newspaper or other media, may be lifted off by the editor or gatekeeper to give way to other more noteworthy news.

When writing a press release, therefore, a good approach is to use the 'reverse pyramid' methodology, where the most important is placed at the top and the less important at the bottom. The first paragraph, as the intro of the press release, should summarize the key points of the entire story to answer at least three of the 5Ws and 1H—who, when, why, what, where and how.

Within the press release, at least one quote or two from a spokesperson should be included as a standard practice. This is because journalists in general prefer to have someone say something within the story so as to eliminate the monotony. This is especially true for a feature story.

In short, it means when writing press releases, always remember the media plays an important role of what gets published, therefore, the content must be newsworthy.

Ellipsis and Em Dash

2010-07-07T11:27:00.008+08:00

Ellipsis is represented in any piece of writing by a row of three periods or full stops (...). At times, it may overlap with the use of em dash (—).

Ellipsis is useful for omitting certain words in long speech writing, citations or quotations. When using ellipsis, however, the writer must be careful not to change the meaning of what the speaker is actually saying. This is a basic journalistic rule and ethical practice for any kind of writing. When ellipsis is used at the end of a sentence, it usually signifies something is 'to be continued ...'. If used somewhere between a sentence, it is considered an omission to shorten a sentence, often to remove words that are not critical to the objective point at hand. For example:

Before
Jane went about looking for the dog again and again, but was unable to find it.

After
Jane went about looking for the dog again ... but was unable to find it.

According to the MLA and AP style guideline, ellipsis should precede and proceed with a space for correct usage as shown above. There is a tendency for many writers to omit the space after a word, and this is not a correct usage following the standard style guides.

Em dash is represented by a longer dash (—), and should not be mistaken as figure dash (-) or en dash (–). Figure dash is used as a hyphen and en dash in a range, for example 'three to ten people' or 3–10 people.

Em dash is used in two ways, one as a break between a continuing sentence and the other at the end of sentence.

When used as a break between a continuing sentence, it sets off from the parenthetical information to indicate a break in character thought or speech. For example:

Every single thing we do — big or small — is significant in the sight of God.

When facing tough situations, the best thing to do is to first know God’s will through His word — the Bible.

When used at the end of a sentence, it usually refers to an aposiopesis — a sentence deliberately broken off and left unfinished which ending is supplied by your imagination or to give impression of unwillingness or inability to continue. For example:

"Get out, or else —!"

Em dash is frequently used without a space around it. Even with universities and various educational sites, many in practice advise no space before and after the use of an em dash as a house style. Certain newspapers use a dash in place of em dash or en dash because of the limited space within the columns.

According to the MLA and AP style guide, the em dash should precede and proceed with a space in all uses except at the start of a paragraph or for sports agate summaries.

Reaching the Readers

2010-05-07T09:00:00.004+08:00

One of the text that come highly recommended on writing is the book by Kathryn Lindskoog, Creative Writing: For People Who Can’t Not Write. In this book, the author suggested a number of areas writers should pay attention to in order to reach out to their readers.

First, write creatively, because the world will never be starved for want of wonders.

Second, write simply and correctly, not necessarily with large vocabulary, but with untangled thinking to keep sentences from going awry.

Third, avoid pitfalls and pratfalls, as they can make the writer look foolish, sidestepping into the booby traps of misspelling or overwriting.

Fourth, show instead of tell. Make familiar things new and make new things familiar.

Fifth, write something funny or at least interesting. Write things that please the ear, tease the brain or ease the heart.

Sixth, think up ideas that can make some earnings out of writing. Get published, paid and read.

Seventh, let the readers see and hear what is going on for themselves instead of interpreting and summarizing it for them.

Eighth, continue to strive to do better and stretch the limits, because with each new piece of writing, it usually gets more difficult than easier.

All the pointers mentioned above are good advices for writers to put into practice. However, if our wish is to be really good writers, we will need to look into other pointers as well. Here are some pointers from me.

Ninth, get to the heart of the matter. In order for us to get to the readers’ heart, we must write with a heart that cares enough to want to know what matters to them.

Tenth, don’t just write what ease the readers’ hearts or what they like to hear. Share what we have seen and heard that our readers may understand plainly and also learn from us. Even if we are writing fiction, our plot can include true to life examples, like our own experiences or those of other people we know.

Eleventh, understand your target readers, their background, their culture and practices. Remember, if our target is to the masses, then we must write in a way everybody can understand.

Twelfth, use references to substantiate claims if writing non-fiction, and use identifiable traits to describe the behavior of characters in the story when writing fiction.

There are of course many other areas we must also consider as writers. This blog entry merely touches the tip of the iceberg what’s involved in the writers’ craft. In the real world, writing skills are very much dependent on one’s own flair for writing, the degree of our creativity, the inspiration, and the talent given to us as individuals.

Characteristics of a Good Technical Writer

2009-12-08T16:20:00.007+08:00

One of the many ways for freelance writers to survive the irregular demands for their writings is to become technical writers.

A good article detailing the criteria of a good techical writer can be found in the following link.

What Are the Characteristics of a Good Technical Writer?

Posted using ShareThis

Wordle for Frequently Used Words

2009-06-03T16:21:00.008+08:00

Ever heard of a wordle? A wordle is a tool for generating 'word clouds' to analyze and create greater prominence of words frequently used in a source text, such as blog.

The following image shows he frequently used words at this blog. The larger the size of the word is displayed, the greater the number of times the word has been used.

http://www.wordle.net ~ June 2, 2009

Editorial Style Guide

2009-04-28T16:22:00.002+08:00

When writing for corporate communication, it is usual for writers to follow a certain style of writing as prescribed by the corporation. This style is commonly termed as house style or editorial style guide.

Not too long ago, I was tasked by a corporation in the technology industry to come out with an Editorial Style Guide for its marketing communication team and internal technical writers. As documentation in the corporation involves various genres of writings, I decided upon using the standards or guidelines set by two of the world's most accepted editorial styles: Modern Language Association (MLA) and Associated Press (AP).

Documentation with content primarily consisting of story writing style will follow the guidelines by MLA, while documentation associated with news or media will follow the guidelines by AP. This essentially means documentation using MLA editorial style will include technical paper, white paper, solution brief, solution guide, user guide, sales guide, product data sheet, magazine, newsletter, presentation, proposal, release note, report, training material and web content. Documentation using AP style, on the other hand, will include press/media/news release, media kit, news wire and other related stuff.

One of the key differences between the two style guides is in the way a heading or title is written. While MLA style guide recommends de-capitalizing all conjunctions, prepositions, and articles in headings or titles with the exception of the first and last word, AP style guide recommends capitalizing all principal words including verbs, prepositions and conjunctions with more than three letters.

Editorial style guides are essential tools for writers looking into writing for corporations and businesses. If you are planning to look into writing for the commercial world, you will need to understand some of the standards required in writing practices for the industry, including the usage of capitalization, abbreviation, punctuation, quotation and numbers.

More information on Editorial Style Guide available: MLA / AP

Customer-Centric Writing

2009-02-23T11:31:00.006+08:00

There are many ways to write a story, and depending on the point of view or the angle the story is written will decide how readers respond to the story or be drawn to continue reading the story.

Take a scenario description in a solution guide of a computer networking company for example. The scenario may be described in three different ways:

Option 1
A company with 5 to 50 computer network nodes hopes to achieve more efficient information-sharing among employees. Budget and IT expertise are key constraints. The company wants a network infrastructure solution that is cost effective, easy to deploy, and simple to manage.

Option 2
Alex is the owner of a company with 5 to 50 employees. He hopes to have his employees share information more efficiently. Budget and IT expertise are key constraints, and Alex hopes to have a network infrastructure that is cost effective, easy to deploy, and simple to manage.

Option 3
Your company is made up of 5 to 50 employees with each having a computer, and you hope to have your employees share information efficiently and securely. Budget and IT expertise are key constraints, and you hope to build a network infrastructure which is cost effective, easy to deploy, and simple to manage.

Which of the three options above do you think is more customer-centric? Option 1 is not the one, because it does not draw customers’ attention to desire to read further. Option 2 is not too bad as a narrative and is perfectly normal for novel reading, being written from a third person’s perspective. Option 3, however, is usually preferred for business writing because it draws the reader into the scenario.

Customer-centric writing is in some way similar to marketing writing or copywriting, where the AIDA principle applies. AIDA stands for Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action. AIDA is usually achieved in sequence, first to draw readers’ attention especially in the headlines, then the interest to continue reading, bring the customer to desire the product or solution before taking final action to purchase.

In the example mentioned above, when it comes to writing about the solution, therefore, rather than emphasize what the company can offer as a solution, write to show the customer how the solution can help meet their needs and provide benefits.

Peace and Quiet

2008-06-19T10:24:00.002+08:00

Peace and quiet is a must-have for most writers, in order for them to think and write creatively. These days, however, peace and quiet is almost impossible to achieve. Whether as a passenger onboard public transport, a driver in a car, a pedestrian walking on the street, or a worker at the workplace, there are noises, sounds, and chatter everywhere.

Take public transport for example. In a bus or train, we hear people talking over the phones or to one another, people playing music on their mp3 or mp4 out loud, parents teaching their children or telling stories from story books to their children, among other noises. One of the ways for writers to get away from all these s to go a place of quiet peace, such as in a room of your house, or out at sea, or to a nature reserve or park some distance away from the noises of vehicles, mobile devices and the kinds.

If time does not permit for the writer to go to the world of nature or to be away from the daily hustles and bustles of life, however, the next best thing to do is for the writer to have his or her own mp3 or mp4 player plugged in with soothing music, such as the instrumentals. One audio CD which I particularly like that helps me put my mind to rest is Peace Instrumental by Integrity Music. If you, like me, need to calm your mind before you write, you can try listening to this CD.

With noises surroundings us almost every moment of our lives, it is important for us to find peace and quiet in the midst of all these. Without a heart of solitude and an environment of calm, it is often hard to produce good writings, and good writings are what we must have if we want to be good writers.

Colons and Dialogues

2008-05-05T10:47:00.002+08:00

Colons are commonly seen in dialogues within news stories, but they are never seen in fiction writing because colons hinder the flow of reading.

Take for example the following dialogue in a newspaper:

A witness of the accident, Howart Steward, 47, said:

"The boy was running across the road while the traffic light was still red."

In fiction writing, the example above will have to be reworded to exclude the colon, and this may be done in several ways. For example:

"The boy was running across the road while the traffic light was still red," Howart Steward told the policeman.

Howart Steward was at the scene of the accident when it happened.

"The boy was running across the road while the traffic light was still red," he told the policeman.

From the examples above, it is clear that news and fiction writing requires dissimilar styles in writing. The use of colon while acceptable in news stories is a no-no in fiction writing, so if you are writing fiction, remember always to exclude colon in dialogues.

P.S. This is one of the reasons why many journalists find it hard to write a novel!

Writers' Block: Clarity of Mind

2008-04-24T11:42:00.003+08:00

As a writer for a corporation, I sometimes encounter creative blocks in my writing, especially when under pressure to get something done within a short deadline.

A few days ago, I was assigned to write a corporate email to a Minister of State on behalf of the top management to give an account of the events that took place while she was visiting our country. It was evening, and I was expected to finish the writing on the same day so the mail can be sent out first thing in the next morning.

After three hours of struggle, I managed to complete the draft, which I deem as not exactly up to standard. What I was unable to achieve in three hours that evening, however, I was able to complete within half hour early the next morning, entirely re-written and with the needed punch.

The fact that an article can be better written at a different time shows the effectiveness of writing with needed rest, and the importance of clarity of mind. By the end of a day, writers are often too tired to think, and when pressured to come up with something within a short time, the written work will never be as good as when it is written with a clear mind. Much can be achieved with better results when a writer is given the needed rest and a fresh mind on another day. However, such luxury is usually hard to come by, therefore, alternatives such as a break in routine can help.

To find out more about overcoming writers' block, read my article on Inspiration vs Hard Work.

Writing and Editing

2007-11-11T17:53:00.001+08:00

A writer should not be an editor at the same time, but at a different time, that may be fine.

I am not saying a writer cannot be an editor, or vice versa. The key emphasis here is time, or the proximity of time between the two roles being played. If you are writer for a piece of work, you cannot be an editor for the same piece of work immediately after writing the piece because the same blind spot you as a writer faces during writing will also be unseen and unrecognized by you as the editor.

A writer can edit his own work, but it is best to have someone else does it, especially when there is a constraint of time. If a writer has to be the editor for the same piece of work, then a break or an interval is imperative between the time of completing the writing and the starting of the editing. The writer must, within the interval, free his mind from the pressures, prejudices, and the intensity inherent in a writing environment or during writing, and prepare himself at heart and mind for editing.

One of the best ways of freeing one's mind between the two roles is to go away to a place where nature is visible, where noisy sounds are far away. However, this is not always possible, so an alternative is to get oneself away from the previous piece of work and do something else, preferably less stressful, and then return with a refreshed or renewed mind. Whether you are a writer or an editor, or both, it is always good to have a break between writing and editing.

However, if taking a break is not possible, the best way to perform the two roles consecutively is to write one piece and edit a different piece. Usually, the different piece is written by someone else, and that helps to clear one's mind off from one's own work. There is no conflict in this case between playing the role of a writer and an editor at the same time, since both the pieces are written by different people, and to edit and spot the mistakes in the writings of another is usually relatively easier. However, if this again is not possible, editing a different piece written by oneself is still better than editing one's own piece of work immediately upon completion.

Following the above arguments, a writer can therefore be an editor, and vice versa.

Copywriting

2007-10-21T22:16:00.001+08:00

Copywriting is defined in the Wikipedia as "the process of writing the words that promote a person, business, opinion, or idea. It may be used as plain text, as a radio or television advertisement, or in a variety of other media. The main purpose of writing this marketing copy, or promotional text, is to persuade the listener or reader to act — to buy a product or subscribe to a certain viewpoint, for instance. Alternatively, copy might also be intended to dissuade a reader from a particular belief or action."

"Copywriting can include body copy, slogans, headlines, direct mail pieces, taglines, jingle lyrics, World Wide Web and Internet content, television or radio commercial scripts, press releases, white papers, and other written material incorporated into advertising media. Copywriters can contribute words and ideas to print ads, mail-order catalogs, billboards, commercials, brochures, postcards, online sites, e-mail, letters and other advertising media."

The art of writing an advertising copy is based on the assumption that words can change the thinking, attitudes, beliefs, and behavior of an audience. If the writings in a copy fail to provoke attention, interest, desire, conviction, and action, it has failed its task and intent.

One of the oldest advertising copywriting formulae is AIDA: Attention, Interest, Desire, and Action. An ad that does not gain the attention of the reader will not to be able to do anything else. Only after catching attention can an ad arouse the interest of the consumer and create the desire for the product, service, or idea presented. Finally, the ad should stimulate some action by the customer, otherwise, it has failed in its purpose.

Some techniques a copywriter can use in writing persuasive ad copies include:

Cliches or buzzwords, such as, now, new, here, at last, and today.
Action words, such as, buy, try, ask, get, send, taste, watch, look, come, and many more.
Emotive or exciting words, using adjectives that enhance facts, such as, splendid, amazing, delightful, beautiful, and wonderful.
Alliteration or a form of repeating sounds pleasing to the ear, but not overdone, obvious, or irritating, such as, 'Let the train take the strain,' 'Don't be vague, ask for Haig,' and 'Go well, go Shell'.
Colloquialisms or writing to imitate informal speech, such as, 'Pick 'n Choose', 'Fish 'n Chips', and the use of words, such as, don't, wouldn't, won't, what's, and other abbreviations.
Punctuations and grammar, such as, 'Save the children. Now.' 'Write his name in gold. Remy Martin.'
Repetition, such as, the use of same word to open each paragraph, plugging brand or company name throughout the text.
Intertextuality or the association of a text to other texts or signs, such as the use of the word 'lock' to associate with security, or the use of a statement, term or sign from a movie or other media.

When writing a Headline for a print ad, consider the following guidelines:

Make the headline a major persuasive component of the ad
Appeal to the reader's self-interest with a basic promise of benefits
Inject the maximum information without making it cumbersome or wordy
Limit headlines to about 5 to 8 words
Include the brand name in the headline
Entice the reader to read the body copy
Entice the reader to examine the visual in the ad
Never change the typeface in a headline
Never use a headline whose persuasive impact depends on reading the body copy
Use simple, common, familiar words

When writing the Subhead, consider the following:

Subhead should reinforce the headline
Subhead should entice the reader to proceed to the body copy
Subheads should stimulate a more complete reading of the entire ad
The longer the body copy, the more appropriate the use of subheads
Keep the use of subheads to minimum - they can clutter an ad

When writing the Body Copy, consider the following:

Use present tense whenever possible
Use singular nouns and verbs
Use active verbs
Use familiar words and phrases
Vary the length of sentences and paragraphs
Involve the reader
Provide support for the unbelievable
Avoid clichés and superlatives

Some common mistakes to be avoided in copywriting include:

Vagueness, resulting from generalization of words or imprecise meanings.
Wordiness, where economy of words is paramount because a copy has to fit within limited space and time before it bores the audience.
Triteness or unoriginality, where the use of clichés and worn out superlatives can create a dull and outdated image for a brand or firm.
Beyond Creativeness, where creativity is taken overboard for the sake of creativity. A copy must remain true to its primary responsibility: communicating the selling message.

Writing a good copy requires much more than what is mentioned in this article. It requires research, thinking out of the box, and many other aspects. For more tips on copywriting, check out the many resources available on the web and read the relevant books by professional copywriters.

Translations

2007-08-14T11:45:00.001+08:00

I can now better understand why books with different translations appear at time to vary in content or context.

In recent months, I have the opportunity to translate and edit several articles of different languages into English with the help of online translators. Some of the languages for translation include French, Italian, Hungarian, and Japanese.

One of the greatest difficulties I faced in translating the languages is the many varied meanings of a word. Take French for example. The word 'apres' or 'a pres' is translated by the different online translators as 'after' or 'near'. A sentence such as the following:

Après ses casinos, le groupe Louvre Hôtels souhaitait également offrir aux clients de son hôtelier un accès Wi-Fi gratuit

therefore, can be translated as:

After its casinos, the group Louvre Hôtels also wished to offer to the customers of its hotel free Wi-Fi access

or

Near its casinos, the group Louvre Hôtels also wished to offer to the customers of its hotel free Wi-Fi access

This sentence, which is at the start of a new paragraph, however appears incorrectly translated, based on the structure and preceding paragraphs which made no mention of what is before, hence, 'after' cannot be used. The word 'near' seems logical, but in understanding the context, does not seem to fit the starting point of a new paragraph, so a French to English dicitionary was consulted.

Apart from the meanings 'after' and 'near', the dictionary also defines 'apres' as 'in front of', which put the whole context of the sentence in different light. The plausible meaning of the abovestated sentence therefore can be translated as:

In front of the casinos, the group Louvre Hôtels also wished to offer to the customers of its hotel free Wi-Fi access

Having determined 'in front of' to be the 'correct' translation, most of us will automatically assume the same word 'apres' used at the beginning of the next paragraph means the same thing, but this is far from the truth and presumptious, as in the case of the article I was editing. Reading through the context of the new paragraph:

Après un état des lieux et une série de tests en réel, c’est la gamme sans fil AirPremier qui a été retenu pour répondre totalement aux contraintes techniques Wi-Fi des hôtels

the correct translation will appear to mean 'after' rather than 'in front of', as in the case of:

After an inventory of fixtures and a series of testing in 'live' environment, it is the wireless AirPremier which was retained to answer completely the technical constraints Wi-Fi of the hotels

Following this thread of discussion, it is clear that translations and interpretations can differ in context. This is probably why different translations and versions of the Holy Bible can sometime appear to be different in interpretation of certain passages and verses in specific context. When read as a whole, however, the focus of the Bible is essentially the same, and it is our attitudes as the reader in understanding the truth within that is important.

Online Translation Tools:
www.google.com/translate_t
www.worldlingo.com/en/products_services/worldlingo_translator.html
www.freetranslation.com/
www.translation-guide.com/free_online_translators.php?

News and Media Archives

2007-03-20T15:56:00.001+08:00

News agencies often use archived pictures and video clips for re-publishing in general news articles. This method of placing back-dated clips or pictures however can mislead audience to perceive the visuals as occurring only recently.

Just yesterday, a friend of mine was perturbed when she saw her picture appear in an article of a local newspaper which was taken by the press two years ago for an event. Although the picture from the archive is appropriate for the theme of the article in illustrating the dependency of good teacher-pupil relationship in providing effective teaching, it is seemingly 'incorrect' to portray it as part of a recent news relating to a subject discussed in Parliament concerning a new method of assessing teachers under the Enhanced Performance Measurement System, especially when it is published without prior permission from the person in the picture. This, however, is how it is with news reporting. Where a piece of news has been accepted for publishing by the press, all its content essentially becomes the property of the news agency, in which the agency reserve all rights to do anything they want with it. Such content once published is deemed to be for the 'public' eye, hence, can no longer be considered private, which would require the agency to seek permission before re-publishing. However, if the picture is being misused to convey something not relating to the original intent, the matter can then be brought up for scrutiny.

Take the example of the news station that presented an archived video clip of the celebration by Iraqis after the September 11, 2001 event where the twin World Trade Center towers were destroyed in New York. This piece of news was telecast throughout the world and created much hatred, resulting in Gulf War II. The video clip in question, however, is not shown 'live' from Iraq, but from an archive in the library. In reality, nothing of that celebration took place, yet by telecasting the clip immediately after showing the video of what happened to the World Trade Center, audience's perception was misplaced, resulting in hate.

The issue being discussed here is not to determine the extent in which the journalism code must be adhered or about what is and what is not ethical. It is about how audience must perceive news that is found in the newspapers and television news. To this end, my hope is for all of us as readers of news, to learn to see beyond what is written in the text, so as to decipher for ourselves what is true and untrue, what is real and unreal, and what is right or wrong.

Historical Writings

2006-10-02T15:52:00.000+08:00

Something I've learnt over a hermenuetics class this week is that 'history' is not the same as 'historiography'. History is what actually happened in the past, while historiography, as defined in the Oxford Dictionary, is "the writing of history", which is a way of portraying or telling what had happened during actual events.

The way a writing or message is conveyed in historiography involves the perspective of the author, which can be selective in content (John 20:30-31). Depending on the message the author wish to convey or achieve, a text is chosen to tell the story of the event. This, of course, does not mean the event did not take place, but rather it means history or the event can be told differently by different people, depending on the individual's perspective and objective.

For example, when Matthew wrote the gospel, it was to the Jews, so many Scriptural verses of the Old Testament were quoted. Mark, on the other hand, wrote to the Romans, so the word 'immediately' is frequently seen, because the Romans were the ruling party at that time, thus a sense of immediacy was depicted to show action.When reading the Bible, therefore, there are occasions where people see it contradictory in content, but in actual fact, it is merely the difference in perspective and objective. What is needed when reading God's word, therefore, is for us to put ourselves in the context of the time the text is written, and read its content through the eyes of the author, constantly remembering that:

"All Scripture is inspired by God and profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for training in righteousness;" (2 Timothy 3:16 NAS)

Effects of Online Media

2006-09-22T16:36:00.000+08:00

In media studies, we often argue about the effects of the media. Many advocators say the advent of media technologies help provide benefits of knowledge through abundance of information. Sociailists, on the hand, see it as a greater evil in influencing people, in controlling and seducing the community.

Take the example of online communities like Hi5, Friendster, MySpace and others. Many boast of the benefits in getting to know more friends online, while others feel they have been sucked in to cyber intoxication of impurities, of virtual unholiness. Take a look at the pictures people post at their profile in online communities. These pictures range from cartoons to sexy photos, and some others, inappropriate content. People get led to become another friends because of the photos, and these photos may not even be the persons they are communicating with. These photos are mere representations, or what is know as avatars.

An avatars is, according to the Cambridge Dictionary, "an image which represents you in online games, chat rooms, etc." This means, essentially, a picture which is not you, placed anywhere online in the Internet or the World Wide Web, to represent you.

These days, however, most of the images at online communities are actually avatars, where 'cool' pictures of people who generally borrowed identities from other people's photographs pose as themselves. Maybe the real person ain't handsome or pretty, but to have images that attract another so as to make friends is not exactly what I would have like, but then again, maybe they have something to hide. Avatars or not, I am generally open to accepting people as they are.

So, readers, what do you say? Are online communities good or evil? My opinion is, where there is anything bad, there must always be some good. Without improvements in technology, communication would have been difficult, and fulfilling the task of the Great Commission would have been difficult. As a faith deliverer and writer, I am now able to reach the world, just by merely writing or blogging on the Net.

Practical Skills in Photo Journalism

2006-08-09T22:43:00.000+08:00

To be a good photo journalist is not easy. You'll need to be at the right place at the right time, see your surroundings differently from others to know what makes a story, and be quick to capture moving objects or events. This essentially means you'll always need to have a camera at hand wherever you go.

Many times photos for the front page news bear pictures of event aftermath, and such photos are usually not good enough because they do not depict the story, but only tell what have happened earlier. Candid on-the-spot pictures of actual event, on the other hand, need little narrative as they tell the story visually. Theories of photo journalism frequently emphasize the ethical aspect of presenting the truth of a photo as is, rather than crop or make it seem to convey other messages. What you see in photographs, however, in reality are not truths as represented. It is alright to use digital capabilities to enhance pictures, but it is unethical to modify content.

If you are considering a job in photo journalism, first consider what it entails, then hone your skills to live life in action, fine-tuning your instinct and making changes in perception, to sense the story behind every event and every important person.

Blog A Job

2006-07-20T14:23:00.000+08:00

About two weeks ago The Straits Times in Singapore quoted a news story from the New York Times concerning the reviewing of potential employees' blogs by employers.

In the story, a graduate with great potentials and outstanding results was denied a job after a potential employer discovers the graduate's blog containing some questionable remarks or inapporiate content.

Blogging as a way to find a job is not uncommon these days. Not too long ago, a Singaporean blogger was hired to be press writer for a local newspaper because of her 'famous' or 'infamous' blog. Just recently, I came across an advertisement at JobsDB.com that mentioned the following as a criteria for the position of an Editor:

You must also be able to show a decent portfolio of work - mostly published but if you're a blogger, we'd also like to have a look at your online efforts.

These days, online writing can be used for many purposes, and getting hired is certainly one noble way of using our writing skills to make a living!

Dialogue

2006-05-25T00:29:00.000+08:00

Dialogue is an essential part of every fiction story, therefore all writers should learn how to transform an ordinary conversation into a worthwhile read.

Take the example of the following transcripts. The original transcript is derived from an ordinary conversation between two persons who met each other in a shopping mall. There is nothing unusual about the conversation, but if written as is in a story, may be seen as boring.

ORIGINAL TRANSCRIPT
'Eh, hi, what brings you here?'
'Oh, I'm just running some errands here.'
'I see. Have you eaten?'
'Nope. Not yet.'
'Shall we have lunch together then?'
'Okay, but it will have to be somewhere near.'
'Sure, no problem. Let's go.'

The revised transcript, on the other hand, has been modified to include gestures, tones, and narratives to make the story more interesting and a worthwhile read.

REVISED TRANSCRIPT
It was lunchtime, and there were many people at the shopping mall. Nancy was about to go to a restaurant, when she saw David, her ex-colleague from Banque Nationale de Paris.

'Eh, hi, what brings you here?' David greeted Nancy in a sweet and sensuous voice.
'Oh, I'm just running some errands,' Nancy responded with a forced smile, her gesture revealing a reluctance to elaborate any further.
'I see. Have you eaten?' David asked.
'No, not really.'
'Shall we have lunch together then?' David continued, his tone mellowing to a beg, his face expressing hopefulness and longing.
'Well, alright, but it will have to be somewhere near,' Nancy replied in a relenting tone, feeling sorry for David who has been asking her out on a date for a very long time.
'Sure,' David brightened up immediately. 'Let's go.'

REVIEW
From the two transcripts above, it can be seen that by adding narrative to the dialogue, an ordinary conversation can be streamlined towards building up the climate for the story plot. This is done by painting in details the picture of what is not ordinary about the situation.

Fiction Story - A First Attempt

2006-03-26T10:01:00.000+08:00

After having traveled a day's journey by coach from Moscow, my wife Belle, and I finally arrived Suzdal, where we stayed overnight at an inn. The next morning after breakfast, we began our journey uphill to where our friends live.

The walk took two hours before we were near our destination. The small village town was covered entirely by snow, and the rooftops of the residential houses were totally white. All the surrounding trees were barren and without leaves. Belle and I hurried towards the houses on the snow-covered pathway as it was extremely cold even with heavy winter clothing. It was an hour past noon and the air was pleasantly sweet as the breeze gently blew at our faces. Belle and I were feeling excited, as we have been looking forward to meeting our friends for tea.

A short distance before we reach our friend's house, we heard the sound of tinkling bells and steps of some animals rushing towards the pathway, from a side road hidden from our view. Belle and I froze for a moment, and before I knew what I was doing, I have pushed Belle away from the pathway to avoid direct confrontation from whatever was coming.

A three-horse troika carriage suddenly appeared and came rushing towards me, and in that moment of shock, my mind flashed back memories of my past, then blank. I was no longer conscious.

"Honey, are you alright?" I heard my wife cried in my sub-consciousness.

"Adam, can you hear me?" a familiar voice spoke.

I tried moving my body, but was unable to. Then I tried to open my eyes, but it stayed shut.

"Adam, wake up! You've been unconscious for a week and your wife needs you," the familiar voice continued.

In my sub-consciousness, I knew I must wake up, because it hurts me to know my wife is hurting. I struggled and prayed, and in the next few moments, I felt my eyes blinked.

Nice Work - A Critical Book Review

2006-03-25T23:54:00.000+08:00

The book being reviewed for this exercise is Nice Work, by David Lodge (1998). Most of you would have read it as part of the text prescribed by Monash for one of the units.

Nice Work essentially uses a comparison of the different thinking in academia and the industry to connect and form a balance perception of what is ideal and what is the ‘real’ world as a response to the outside world in contemporary life and society.

The purpose of Lodge’s writing in his book appears to advocate two points: the academia’s ability over industry expertise, and the subjection of man to woman. The book suggests that knowledge of businesses is not enough, and working smart is better. This may be seen in the fact that the lead male character in the book, Victor Wilcox, eventually has to ‘bow’ to Robyn for money in order to startup a new business and to keep his family alive.

This connotation in the theme is what I dislike about the book. It portrays the man as easily subdued by the opposite sex because of sensual desires. Victor is seen almost begging to be accepted by Robyn who is the ‘third’ party breaking up his family. Even though the story ends with Victor patching up with his wife, it essentially implies that Robyn still holds the key to his life (Lodge 1988:380).

‘I’m afraid I’ve been a bit foolish.’

‘I’ve been living in a dream. This business has woken me up. I must have been out of my mind, imagining you would see anything in a middle-aged dwarf engineer.’

‘You’re a very special person, Robyn,’ Victor says solemnly. ‘One day you’ll meet a man who deserves to marry you.’

The above quotes demean man in general, and as a theme of the story, this is disconcerting because it ‘attacks’ not only character, but also a particular gender. To be fair however, it must be said that the book is quite successful in the use of language, narrative structure and style, as it is highly readable and without complexity. The characters portrayed of the other supporting people in the story are believable, with some not at all likeable, such as, Charles and Brian Everthorpe.

From the way the narrative has been structured in Nice Work, together with the simple language and alluring easy-to-read style, David Lodge has successfully given sufficient reasons why readers will want to read his work, demonstrating the many facets of good writing, which include a believable plot, a sense of humour and irony, and the identification with ‘real’ characters in the academia and industry.

Reference
Lodge, D (1988), Nice Work. London: Penguin Books.

Writing Techniques

2006-02-25T16:49:00.000+08:00

A long time ago, while I was still the Secretary of the Young Writers’ Circle of the National Library in Singapore, I have the opportunity to compile a set of notes for members of the group entitled, ‘Writing Techniques’.

The content of the notes are still relevant for writing practices today, and in this article, I will summarize some of the significant details to share the key points by which we can improve our writing.

First of all, we will take a look at the various genres of writing. We have the descriptive, argumentative and discursive, reflective, imaginative, and story writing.

Descriptive writing talks about a definite point of view, where feelings are described. For example, the description of mixed feelings at a place, and the reasons for the mixed feelings. Descriptive writing also talks about the surrounding’s color and atmosphere, the vivid details, and the significant characteristics. For example, an observation of a place may be described as dull to capture the reader, so he can have the same opinion as the writer. Vivid details entail striking description of a person, his character, and his feelings, whether he is nervous or otherwise. Significant characteristics reflect a state of mind, the mood of a person reflected by the details of the scene of nature, imaginary or real.

Argumentative and discursive writing reinforce an argument, rather than raise the voice. The objective is to show contrast and write in such a way that the reader may be won over, to make him ‘see’ our point of view. In this case, there is no straightforward narrative, and the writer must not only present convincing arguments, but also be convinced and have his own stand on the matter. The objective is not to prove the reader wrong, but to make the reader come round to seeing things in the writer’s way. A method of doing this is to have a well-presented case by illustrating examples, facts, sound arguments, and not sounding statements.

Reflective writing limits the scope of what is been written, so as to be specific, and gives adequate treatment to the introduction, development and conclusion of the story. The writer must begin and select something interesting and develop the story at some length, writing with conviction and ending with a summary.

Imaginative writing is about originality and plausibility, a distinguishing mark of good imagination juxtaposed with ‘real’ circumstances, situations, and environment. The writer must plan carefully and consider how to create the mood, atmosphere, humor and the intensity of stirring up feelings, to make the content interesting. It can be an ordinary description of events or a depiction from a given topic.

Story writing encompasses the introduction, development, suspense, climax, and conclusion of the story. It introduces the situation or background, arouse curiosity of the reader or promise the worth of further reading. Development extends the story with details and complication, providing a sense of suspense, such as a crisis or a solution in doubt, and banks on the climax of the deciding factor. It concludes with a brief round off with few words of comment, a reflection or a poser for the reader. It does not moralize, but provides satisfactory ending that gives the episode a sense of completeness, and independence of its own.

Some pointers for good writing include the right choice and economy of words, originality of expression, using action in verbs, variety of words, proper emphasis, and a personal style of writing. For example, use familiar words rather than far-fetched, concrete words to abstract, simple to jargon, straightforward to flowery, specific to general, short words to long, saxon to romance, active to passive. Other examples are, omission of anticipatory constructions, elimination of idle words, avoidance of redundancy, variety in positioning of ideas and sentence structure, variation in length of sentences, order of word, visual emphasis, humor, conviction, and sense of occasion in writing.

Good writing begins with good writing techniques. Learning to write well is not an easy task. Over the years of writing, I consider myself still an amateur. If you are an accomplished writer, feel free to share your experience here. If you are aspiring to be one, tell me how you plan to achieve your goal. If you, like me, are a learner attempting to grasp the intricacies of writing and its techniques, let me know your thoughts and share your knowledge at my blog.

NOTE:
A major part of the content in this article is from the compilation of notes by various authors and from different sources. The writer and compiler of this article acknowledge all credits due to the relevant authors and parties. References and bibliography, however, is not included here because information of originating source is no longer available.

Writing Simple

2006-02-15T13:43:00.000+08:00

I am not a novelist, and I do not use jargons in my writings. Unlike novels which aim at select group of readers, I write for the mass audience.

Writing for the mass audience means writing simple, and writing simple means writing for anyone who has at least a basic understanding of the language with some reading skills and certain level of education. To write simply allows me not only to reach people with basic education, but also those with higher education. Easy reading is what attracts the audience, whether moderately or highly educated.

When we first learn the language, we are always taught the parts of speech and the sentence: noun, pronoun, adjective, adverb, preposition, conjunction, interjection, subject, predicate, and more. Writing simple is not all about understanding the structure and use of the sentence nor about the way it is written. It is about writing simply, without grammatical mistake. People who write good articles do not normally attempt to understand which part of a sentence is using which parts of speech rigidly. In fact, to understand specific structures in writing often destroy the flow and inspiration. It is a matter of flair in writing. If a person loves writing, he or she will, without much effort, find words coming to mind as he or she writes. It is like magic accompanied by extensive reading or inspirational recalling. It is nature taking its course.

Writing simple therefore means using basic words in the language to write, accompanied by the natural flow of ideas during writing.

Unsocialable or Thinking Alone

2006-01-13T13:31:00.000+08:00

Many people think I am unsocialable because I usually lunch out alone, but the truth is, lunch time is the time my mind is set free to think, relax, and rest, in order to do a better job later.

As a writer, I work better using the mind and writes better creatively when my mind is relaxed. Many time when I rush with time, I lose focus and in the end accomplish nothing. There are of course days when I have to gather all the information I need to write an article or a presentation instead when there is a creative block or a lack of inspiration. In such cases, I often do not achieve my goals and fail to get angle of the story through to my audience. Readers and audiences read a story only because there are points or a point to be made, rather than being flooded by tonnes of information.

On days when my mind is clear and ideas start falling together, I often accomplish the task much faster, usually half the time I spend on compiling information for writing, yet with the article or presentation standing out better than all the hours of pressured compiling and writing, reaching out to the audiences further than ever before. Such is the power of inspiration!

So, you who are reading this blog, the next time you encounter someone like me, don't just jump to conclusion that the person is being unsocialable. You'll never know the real reason why he or she declines lunching with you. Maybe, like me, the person is merely thinking of the next move.

Deviance versus Defiance

2005-11-15T11:56:00.000+08:00

Social normality and societal expectations are often a construct, created to control the behavior of individuals within a society, bearing different codes in different cultures. What is ethical code of conduct in one country may be unethical in another, and what is expected of us as members of the society is constraint within the social construct.

In a society where freedom of expression and speech is prevalent, the culture frequently breeds complacency and people demand their rights to information among other things. In a less privileged society, the culture breeds obedience and people conform to a kind of self regulation in adhering to pre-defined social norms. Neither of the two extremes is ideal, hence a balance is always sought.

Where freedom is restricted, people who question the authorities are often seen as deviants. Prolonged restrictions however beget defiance at every opportunity available, especially when a rule is in the gray. For example, when the news tell of a magazine or a book that is banned because of inappropriate content, citizens rushed to find ways to obtain the material so they can know what has been restricted or what is hot and juicy. Human behavior is such that the more one is told not to commit a wrong, the more likely the person will choose to defy, if not in front of authorities, will be committed underground.

This is simply the force of nature at work, where unlike poles attract and like poles repel. Many governing systems using authoritarian or socially responsible do not seem to realize that restrictions and constrains breed contempt and opposition, thus increasing defiance. People who defy are not totally to be blamed and variations from norms need not necessary become deviancy. All of us differ in opinions and each of us interprets things differently, yet not of our own, but of a framework within a constructed way of thinking, what is known as hegemony. While we choose to believe we are the ones making up our own minds on issues, we are in truth making decisions based on our upbringing, and our upbringing is based on the education we received, taught by the same people who construct the culture and beliefs.

There is in fact only a thin line differentiating deviancy and defiance, and the people of the new generation knows this very well. What parents and society think of children who disobey and do things their own way are a result of too much constrains and restrictions, and without freedom, people cracked under the yoke, resulting in defiance. This is essentially the state of the society today.

Effects of Negative Publicity

2005-10-28T16:03:00.000+08:00

Negative publicity about blogging recently has affected many people, including the non-bloggers.

News pertaining to the jailing and punishment of bloggers over offences of sedition and porn has raised considerable concerns in the public community, resulting in negative effects and pseudo-perceptions of blogging and online activities as a dangerous affair.

In a blog created by a student less than a month ago, the blogger wrote about how she has secretly started her blog and how her parents would 'kill' her if they found out. A few days after she wrote that blog, she has ceased blogging completely, leaving her last words as having been found out.

The news is not without having an effect on me too. Don't get me wrong, I am not against blogging. I have been blogging for sometime, and I have found it extremely helpful for sharing, educating, and getting to know new friends. What I am saying here is its effect on me resulting from the daily hounding of my better half who reminds me constantly of the dangers I may be in, getting upset over my 'addiction' to online activities. The truth is, I barely spend more than five per cent of my available time in Net activities, even though I do communicate in online communities and blogs. I suspect the real reason is probably because I have not been spending enough time with my companion, but considering the fact I am a worker and a student at the same time, I am in actuality already barely grasping with time.

The way news is presented can affect the way views are perceived. If presented negatively, its effects may result in unfair perception of blogging and online activities as totally bad. In reality, however, blogging is a useful way of communicating and sharing, and online activities have helped build a unique sense of closeness in a global world, which have never before been possible prior to the introduction of cyberspace.

Online Journalism

2005-10-25T18:09:00.000+08:00

Going through the process of designing a news web site as part of the learning requirements for Online Journalism, the task ahead is not only challenging, but also demanding skills in conceptualization, news sense, story consideration, and some coding to reap the unique benefits that comes exclusively with online news reporting.

For example, when writing news stories, consideration must be made on how to engage the readers' attention and understand their habits and needs. One such consideration may be to provide hyperlinks for extended readings in addition to guiding a sequence for reading. Slideshow, such as a pictorial presentation of news, is a good idea to provide 'news in pictures', with individual captions to explain the photos, so as not to allow ambiguity or misinterpretation.

News stories can have a summary lead to draw the interest of the audience, and the content of each piece of news should be independent from the need to read previous entries for background or complete story. Linear writing allows the reader to scroll down to make a complete reading without having to click on another page for the story. Headlines of news stories should convey the content with a straightforward approach rather than 'funny or cute'. HTML coding is another area that needs to be learnt so as to provide essential customization of web pages. In short, all that needs to be done is to:

Use hyperlinks to allow readers to extend reading if required
Combine linear and non linear storytelling
Give the audience choices, yet guiding them along a sequence of reading
Incorporate captions for individual photos in slideshow rather than simply throw together a bunch of interesting photos
Provide a good lead for each story to draw audience into reading further
Provide sufficient linear reading without requiring hypertext to other pages
Use meaningful headlines rather than the funky
Get familiar with HTML even if a web authoring software is available

For a sample web site that includes all the points mentioned above, visit News Beat.

BIBLIOGRAPHY
Dube J (2003a) 'Online Storytelling Forms', Journalism.org - Journalism Tools, www.journalism.org/resources/tools/writing/lessons/storyteling.asp (Accessed April 15, 2004) pp.1-3.

Dube J (2003b) 'A Dozen Tips for Writing News Online', Journalism.org - Journalism Tools, www.journalism.org/resources/tols/writing/lessons/tips.asp (Accessed April 15, 2004) pp.1-3.

Ward M (2002) 'Chapter 6: Who's Afraid of HTML', Journalism Online. Focal Press Oxford: 150-163.

Private Lives in Public Eyes

2005-10-14T22:44:00.000+08:00

I use to record my daily activities in a diary when I was younger. These records are meant for self-edification for the private use of the individual writing the diary.

Today, web diaries (blogs), Internet communities, and other gratifying services and products allow individuals to share their private lives with many. Blogs allow the individual writer to share his or her life and deny or grant comment for feedback. It allows people in the public to know a person's private life and identify with the person as if he or she knows the individual.

Celebrities host web sites to draw people to buy their services and products while letting their audience identify with them, giving the public individuals the feeling of knowing them personally through participating in forums, group discussions, comment on photographs, giving testimonies at celebrities' personal profiles in what is called Online Communities, like Friendster, Hi5, and MySpace.

No longer is a diary for private use. It is now for the public eye, added with multimedia features incorporating sounds, videos, images and interactivity. If you are an individual unknown someone, you can become a celebrity through Net communities and blogs. You need not have to put your face on the line, and can hide behind a mask of avatars if you mind, but you can't escape the public eye.

Is this the kind of publicity you need for your private life? Communities such as these are just great ways to celebrate the broken line of private individuals in the public eyes of a small world.

Imagined Communities

2005-09-22T22:17:00.000+08:00

People who study Mass Communication or related fields would have often heard the term 'imagined communities', which refers to the publics as target audiences or subjects under governance.

These days, imagined communities can be very real, especially with interactivity of communication on the Internet. Take the example of forums. People participate and voice their views publicly, but these people do not reveal their real names and often use short names or nicknames to hide their identity. These are people I would term as real imagined community or communities, since there are so many forums on the Net.

Another imagined community which is very real indeed is what known as Online Communities, such as the popular friends’ community sites like Friendster and MySpace. People participating in such communities often feel attached to the imagined friends they have in their list and through participation in their forums and multimedia groups, people begin to identify and feel belonging as if they know each other personally.

For example, models, movie stars, and popular personalities have their fan clubs formed in groups where audience can subscribe to access photographs, chats, discussion messages and many more. The star of the object needs only place occasionally entries of messages, say, to describe themselves, and all subscribers will be able to know the object intimately, sharing with others of like minds.

These imagined communities can become very real, depending on the amount of participation by the individual in commenting or writing testimonials on their imagined friends' blogs, profiles, and photographs.

With such technology these days, people do not feel as lonely as they should be, because they can imagined virtually the 'friends' they have, but in reality, such 'friends' are often imagined and some are represented by avatars, which essentially are fake identities, so whether the other party is real or imagined, disguised or true, male or female, it is up to one to decide to what extend he or she should indulge in this unreal world!

Confession of a Pusher

2005-09-16T23:51:00.000+08:00

You may be wondering what a pusher has to do with writing or journalism, but do not be mistaken, this article is not about drugs or about acts outside marriage. It is about what captures the attention of the readers and about captions and headlines, so if you wish to know what the pusher's confession is all about, read on, for the story begins here ...

It irks me that I am a pusher and I have to do it daily. It is not as if I am enjoying it, but rather I don't have a choice.

Let me tell you my story, how I became a pusher. I work it a place remote from public transport and I have to take a feeder bus to reach my destination. Each time the bus arrives, a huge crowd will gather to enter to a one-door entrance up the bus. There is no queue to decide who goes in front of another nor the cue to know the exact spot where the bus will stop, so everyone has to move discerningly in anticipation, to position a good spot when the bus is seen arriving.

When the bus arrive and stop, all hell will break lose and everyone will be rushing to get up the bus relentlessly. Some passengers however will be stricken with fear of stampede and freeze without moving forward, and that is where I become a pusher.

I push people to move forward to reach the bus. Many people surrounding the bus will try all angles and means to make their way forward and up, inch-by-inch, step by step, but with some fear stricken people ahead, there is seldom chance to reach the goal. The only way, therefore, is to PUSH ahead using a finger or one's body, with a stare that can kill, to make sense to the person ahead, to quit being a stumbling block and move forward and up.

This is my story of how I became a pusher, and it is an unpleasant daily experience for me, because I have always pride myself in acting gracefully, but for this case, I do not have a choice, so if you are one of my victims, I hope you will understand.

As you can see from what is written above, a header or a title of an article plays an important role in drawing the attention of readers and target audiences. Like tabloid news, however, sometimes the content of the story may fall short of expectation of what the headline may have promise. This is what is known as sensationalizing news, which often leaves the readers disgruntled at the end, if he or she ever reads to the end.

A lesson for the writer or journalist is therefore to write responsibly, professionally, and credibly, in providing a content that substantiates what the headline promises.

Conversational Writing

2005-08-02T11:37:00.000+08:00

When writing for the broadcast media, it is usual to write in a way similar to a conversation, such as talking to someone or an audience. This is called conversational writing.

A common practice of conversational writing takes place when we chat and give comments in blogs. People use conversational writing or words to chat with others on the Net, and some use words in chat to flirt with others whom they can only 'see' or imagine from photo images or avatars representing them.

In the 'real' world, people who flirt online may really be quite tamed, while people whom seemingly keep silent and use ordinary pictures to represent themselves on the Net may be reversed.

Words, verbally spoken or casually written, are often assumed harmless because people on the Net seldom meet each other and unless they do, nothing physical can happen. However, the truth about words is that it can send sensory signals to a person's innermost being, triggering roaring desires hidden within.

Whether we think of words as harmful or otherwise, it is prudent for us to be wise, to note the things we say, to keep ourselves from harm's way!

Blog Disaster: Death of Free Speech

2005-07-28T11:44:00.000+08:00

The death of the freedom of speech and the dangers of blogging are not something that happen only in countries that practise communistic or social responsible models, but also in countries that uses the freedom of the Fourth Estate or the Western model.

In August last year, Friendster, the online social networking organization that promotes self-expression among peers, fired one of its employees for her personal Web log. Read the story by Stefanie Olsen, "Friendster fires developer for blog" at news.com (assessed July 28, 2005) for more information.

Friends or Avatars

2005-07-20T11:02:00.000+08:00

Writing an article these days require the writer or journalist to be conversant with the language of the Internet and the web. For the next 3-6 months, my studies will encompass the topics of online web journalism, radio and television journalism, and journalism ethics.

In the World Wide Web, many people get to 'know' each other through blogging, chatting, and emailing, and in many cases, these people do not meet the other face to face or even see their real faces. A photograph of someone on the Net, even with a name attached to it, is seldom the actual face of the person you are communicating with. It is usually just an avatar.

An avatar, according to the Cambridge Dictionary, is "an image which represents you in online games, chat rooms, etc." This essentially means a picture which is not you, placed anywhere online in the Internet or the World Wide Web, to represent you.

This form of representation can be discreet or exploitative. Discreet means to put an image that is obviously not you to represent you, such as a cartoon, a comic character, scenery, or something else. Exploitative means stealing or borrowing someone else's image to represent you.

For example, when John communicates on the Internet to write blogs or to chat, he uses avatars, obvious avatars that let the other party knows he does not want to be seen. He does not steal or borrow someone else's identity to pretend it is his. His many cyber friends also use avatars, but unlike him, they use cool pictures of images to represent themselves, mostly stolen identities or impersonation. It may be the real person is not handsome or pretty, but to have images that attract a person in order to be friends is not always ethical or acceptable at times, but then again, maybe, like John, they have something to hide, just as John discreetly hides behind avatars.

The 'reality' is, as users of the Internet, many people represent themselves using avatars. This can pose a problem. If some day a person gets close to knowing another on the Net and they wish to meet, it may turn out to be a shock when they do, because being beautiful or handsome sometimes plays a very important role to chemistry. As long as avatars are involved, people on the web are just 'real' individuals who hide behind masks!

Is It Worth It?

2005-07-19T12:54:00.000+08:00

As I walk this narrow way

Where the sun shines and set everyday

The things we count valuable

Will sooner or later fade away
Let me learn to count my days

To walk upright in acceptable ways

To live my life worthy of the call

To lead the world to a place above

This poem is written as an afterthought from an early morning nature walk.

The World Beyond

2005-07-07T13:58:00.000+08:00

There is a world we look beyond

A place we long to go

The place we can only presently dream

Of peace and joy we yearn to have

Free of dust odours and pollution
Utopia of nature undefiled

An environment only of pleasant smell

In hearts within we long to possess

The place in God can we only have

A promised land of blessings beyond imagination

A truth we can only see to comprehend

To catch a glimpse of the world beyond,
view the picture at this post,
created using 3D art by ShiftedReality.com.

Writing for the Faith

2005-06-29T12:12:00.000+08:00

I wrote a few articles on the topic of voyeurism and morality recently at FaithWriters.com.

It talks candidly about the lust of the eyes, pornography on the Net, and perceived moral standards. If you wish to read them, go ahead and access the articles, Voyeurism the Visual Sin and Morally Acceptable.

International Journalism: Freedom of Press

2005-06-18T13:47:00.000+08:00

Different degrees of press freedom is found in different parts of the world. Whether the country you are in is practising Western or Authoritarian theory of the press, it makes no difference to the fact that press freedom is relative and subjective. There is no true complete press freedom whether you are exericising rights to the Fourth Estate as watchdog of the state or constrained and restricted by governance.

Take the example of the Western free press where the government is not allowed to intervene with news written by journalists. Exemption from government's intervention in the free market may mean freedom from the government, but it is not freedom from the media owner. Where the survival of a newspaper is dependent on advertisments and subscribers, how free do you think news can be? News is written for its readers and what the readers want to know and hear is what determines the content of news. If a journalist writes something true, but is of no significance to the audience's life, the papers do not sell. If the papers do not sell, the publication cannot survive, and advertisers will not spend money on a poorly circulated publication. For this reason, some newspapers are circulated free, but these papers are unsustainable for serious news in broadsheet press. In other words, there is no freedom in free market press and the content of the papers are determine by advertisers and subscribers.

In an Authoritarian press environment, the control is primarily from the government. There may not be need for a law to censor what is allowed and what is not, because coercing through actions is good enough to perform wonders. Say a wrong word and you get sued or replaced, and automatic self-censorship and self-regulation wil fall in place. In so doing, the audience reads from the news, socially constructed perspectives of events, controlled by governance, to read and see things the way they planned.

Whether you are in a country that practices Western or Authoritarian or Communist or Developmental theories of the press, it is more or less the same. The content of all press is controlled by some form of governance and the only difference is in the degrees of 'press freedom'.

Original Writings

2005-06-17T10:52:00.000+08:00

We reap what we sow and we write what we read. That is why our writings are seldom original. Much of our thoughts are built from what we know through reading. Our logic is built from accumulated knowledge from past experience and from studies. Past knowledge is a killer of originality. We need not plagiarize when we write, but we frequently borrow ideas from someone or somewhere else.

In this information age, we are seldom a witness to actual events. The news or stories we read or hear each day is often relayed to the journalists from a source. Relying on source can lead to bias reporting and yet journalists are expected to be objective, impartial, and balance in their reporting. This is a lot to ask of anyone, for a thought or hypothesis we add to what we write is often social construct. We are what we are because we have been molded thus to be, systematically, through education, through regulations, and through depravity.

If someone says he has an original idea, he is almost certainly a liar. Few are the things we see and hear are truly original. They are all borrowed ideas, combined from different sources, formed as one to be considered new, but there is nothing new under the sun.

Ecclesiastes 1:9 (NAS)
That which has been is that which will be, And that which has been done is that which will be done. So there is nothing new under the sun.

No Free Speech in Blogging

2005-06-16T16:46:00.000+08:00

Blogging can be dangerous, especially if your blog entries contain comments relating to the Singapore government or any person representing that government or its agencies. If your 'true' identity is traceable within the blog, you can be sued for any defamatory statements made on the Internet.

Tracking the identity of a blogger can be easy, especially if your true data has to be provided to the company hosting your blog. A host company, whether local or oversea, can be forced to reveal information of their users when a court order is served.

In a case on the Internet, a Singapore student in the United States was forced to shutdown his blog because of a comment he made on a government agency. Chen Jia Hao, 23, a first-year graduate student in the chemical physics PhD program at the University of Illinois, has to unreservedly apologize to The Agency for Science, Technology and Research (A*STAR) of Singapore for unspecified "defamatory statements" made against the agency and its chairman Philip Yeo.

Today, the blog site of Chen no longer exist apart from an index page containing the apology. This issue has "raised concerns among international press freedom groups that Singapore, known for its strict controls on the traditional media, might be widening its scope to crack down against dissent on the Internet" (AFP 2005).

"We are troubled that the government has raised the spectre of costly legal action to chill commentary on the Internet," says executive director Ann Cooper of the New York-based Committee to Protect Journalists (CPJ) in an interview with AFP.

International media watchdog Reporters Without Borders told the AFP press that "such intimidation could make the country's blogs as timid and obedient as the traditional media" (AFP 2005).

REFERENCE
AFP (2005) "Student apologises to govt agency for Internet criticism", Singapore Window, http://www.singapore-window.org/sw05/050509af.htm, 3 May 2005 (Accessed 16 June 2005). Agence France Presse.

The Narnian Story - A Book Review

2005-05-22T13:57:00.000+08:00

The Lion, the Witch and the Wardrobe, is the first of seven books written by C S Lewis in The Chronicles of Narnia, including the prequel, The Magician's Nephew. Narnia is a magical place beyond the world we live in, a place where animals talk and trees walk, and where time in that world spans across many years while time on earth remains unchanged.

A story built with enchantment and fantasy, it begins with four children playing a game of hide and seek. Lucy, the youngest of the four, stumbles upon a magical wardrobe that allows her to enter into another world in the land of Narnia where she meets a faun. Edmund also enters that world, but refuse to admit it because he was enchanted and addicted to the 'turkish delight' offered by the White Witch. When Peter, the elder brother, and Susan, the elder sister, with Lucy and Edmund finally enters into the world of Narnia, Edmund chose to betray the others and seeks to report to the White Witch their whereabouts. The other three meets with Aslan and the war begins between good and evil, with Aslan dying for Edmund and the world to free them from the curse, and restoring Narnia with the appointment of Peter as High King, Edmund as king, Susan and Lucy as queens.

C S Lewis, in his seven books on The Chronicles of Narnia, presents the stories with intriguing equivalence to the Christian faith. Similar to the Bible, the first book or the prequel begins with the creation of Narnia and explains how the White Witch entered the world. The second book explains how the Creator, Aslan the Lion, has to die to redeem the world and when he arose from the dead, weaken the power of the witch. The final book, The Last Battle, is an equivalent of the Revelation in the Bible, where a new world is opened up to accomodate the faithful demised characters of the former Narnia, where judgment is pronounced for those who are on the side of the White Witch.

Writing Beyond Cultures

2005-04-30T11:05:00.000+08:00

When you read my entries at this blog, you will notice that I sometimes use International English instead of American English. This is because what I have written here may have come from what I have written for another part of the world.

As a writer, I frequently have to customize my writings to fit the preference of my readers and their modes of reading. Juggling the two English language is no easy task. Where I live, people use International or British English. Where I study via distance education, I use International English too. Where I work, however, I use American English and when I write articles on-line at web sites such as faithwriters.com, I use American English too. The type of English I use depends on my target audience.

When I want to emphasise something in an article, I often write to emphasize the word, and while I write on the subject of favouritism at faithwriters.com, I have to clearly write favoritism, not favouritism. In the web where readers and writers of different cultures meet, there are readers who sometimes comment and correct writers in the way they write. In a case I know, I saw a reader cautioning the writer to be careful to write 'favoritism' without a 'u', although in truth there is nothing wrong with it, because the writer is writing from another part of the world that uses International English.

A thing to learn about international writing is therefore about our readers and about gatekeeping by the editors. The style we write in one country may be unsuitable for another, and even though the language used is all-English, the way we write is crucial if we want to pen our writings for international read. To be an international writer, we have to learn the ropes of international practices and customs. We must learn the style to adapt, so that our audience will read what we write. It is important to know that not all things about writing are about the language. Writers must be able to adapt to styles and variants in language to target an international reach.

International Journalism - A Book Review

2005-04-29T23:50:00.002+08:00

International journalism involves many facets of news reporting and includes areas like press freedom, news sources, objectivity, culture, and audience trends. Vincent Campbell (2004) in his book, Information Age Journalism, wrote on this subject. This blog entry provides an overview and critical review of the book.

The first chapter introduces the historical background of how journalism began and how it became what it is today. Current crises involved in international journalism mentioned by Campbell (2004) include technological development, emergence of commercial newspaper and broadcast industry, digital convergence, declining audience and diversity, tablodisation, and threats faced by journalists in non-democratic and developing nations (pp.3-27).

The second chapter looks into four theories of the press and explains why the belief of press freedom without state intervention is a myth, as there will always be some form of control, regardless of political or economic reasons.

The third chapter illustrates this point by showing how free market journalism and the role of journalists as watchdog in maintaining democracy in the Fourth Estate also face problems, such as audience preference for entertainment to serious news, reliance of news organisations on advertising revenue, influences of owner on editorial, and professional competition (pp.54-78).

The fourth chapter discusses the reliance of reporters on their sources for news (pp.80-83), and explains the importance of relationship between journalists and their sources. This relationship, however, can result in journalists' sympathetic tendencies to the cause and endanger the balance of neutral viewpoint in news (p.86).

News selection and gatekeeping are discussed in the fifth chapter to explain why audience's interest precedes the importance of news (pp.117-123).

The sixth chapter discusses the ethical issues of gathering and producing news, and the limitations of professional codes (pp.127-152). Issues discussed include human rights and privacy, taste and decency, confidentiality of information, bribery to write preferentially, news fabrication, unqualified account of events, erroneous foreign feed, adding of unknown facts, distorted presentation of information, and defamatory libel.

Threats to objectivity of journalism are covered in the seventh chapter (pp.153-154). These threats include the emergence of free market and commercialisation (p.156), exclusion and inclusion of ideologies (pp.166-167), reliance on official sources for news, and the dangers surrounding journalists' opinions and actual 'facts' (pp.173-175).

The eighth and ninth chapter looks into alternative news sources such as participatory and literary journalism, conglomerate influences, entertainment, sport, and lifestyle news.

The tenth and final chapter concludes the book by looking into the globalisation of journalism in the information age, wherein, Campbell says, "newspapers never really developed into international titles" because of the difficulty in producing and distributing news in synchronised content across countries, language barrier, and literary rates in certain countries (p.230). The rise and fall of foreign correspondents (pp.230-231) and new technology used in news gathering are briefly mentioned before the book concludes with considerations of the extent gatekeeping can be exercised in the new information age (pp.254-255).

As can be seen from the overview above, Campbell covered a large part of his book on topics pertaining to issues encountered by journalists in general news reporting situations, rather than in international context. The first two chapters provided a relative good start into the understanding journalism in a global scale, of the present day crises in journalism and the foremost important four theories of the press, with provides essential reading introducing international journalism. The topic on globalisation provides a good focus on journalism in international context, but it is only covered in the last chapter of the book, which leaves the rest of the chapters focused on general journalism topics. A first read of the entire book gives the reader the impression that the author may have realised nearer the end of the book that he has not met his intented goal and attempts to cramp everything on journalism in international context within a single chapter at the end.

REFERENCE
Campbell, V. (2004) Information Age Journalism. London: Arnold.

Between Learning and Writing

2005-04-20T08:52:00.000+08:00

The last two months have been really tough for me, struggling with work and studies. On the one hand, I have classes and study assignments due, and on the other, I have been working overtime quite frequently at certain time of the month.

I am back to full time work at the technology desk, but this time with a difference. I may be working for a technology company, but I am no longer an analyst or a consultant, but as a writer, a technical writer, that is.

Writing has been my joy, and over the past years, I have struggled as a freelance journalist and writer for magazines, primarily in information and communications technology writings, but not limited to such subjects. Before I became a writer and journalist, I was in the technology line for about ten years in many areas, from technical support to professional services to project management and so on. I had enough of that and I believe I have enough of catching up with technology each day, with knowledge obsoleting every other day. It was a struggle.

Just yesterday, I handed in a study assignment which was due two weeks ago. Although I have been granted extension for the submission, it is the first time I have to beg for extension twice, just to get enough time. Overcome by fatigue working through the nights and the early mornings, my weekends are either momentary breathers or completely burnt. After handing in my first study assignment, I looked at my calendar to find the next, only to realise in shock I am already late with a day to go for another subject's assignment! I guess, once again, I have to play the begging game, and this is just for two study units this term, with three waiting the next semester.

That's my life in a nutshell, at least for now, struggling each day to balance work, study, and spiritual health. The only consolation is that I have only one and a half year to go to complete my studies, barring any unforeseen.

Memories

2005-04-02T12:12:00.000+08:00

Memories are things we cannot hide
The things we sometimes hope to forget
Yet there are things we hope we'll always remember
Or our achievements and our past will be gone forever
For if our identity is erased without a trace
It will be hard to live by the mercies of God's grace

Without memories
We will not know
What we have lost
Or what we have gained
To appreciate the things in life
That keeps us alive
To know what is worth
And what is not worth keeping
To give more than receive
To do good things
To live and appreciate
The things we have
The nature and the air
The beauty of God's creation everywhere
The water we drink
The air we breathe
The things we take for granted
And assumed always there

O God bless our memories
To remember the good
To learn from the bad
To move on to live our lives
To the fullest we know how
In ways guided by Your Spirit
In faith and love
In fruitfulness and charity
To do the right things
To bring good memories

Exploited Passion

2005-03-16T17:01:00.000+08:00

There is a passion that man knows not
A passion only employers seem to understand
The passion they call passion for the job
That accepts all things beyond boundaries
Mediocre pay and many other duties

The dictionary defines passion
Of a very powerful feeling
That goes beyond love hate anger and emotion
The drive to reach and achieve
The unseen impossibilities
A suffering that endures inflicted pain
The state of being acted upon
In subjection to external influence
A disorder of the mind
A kind of madness
To which we choose
A state we express our passion
Of madness or of drive
Is up to employers to define

To a person who wish to join
Only the passionate will they employ
Of one who works the extra mile
With passion and love to die for
Of expressed willingness to take
Beyond ascribed duties for position engaged
The one who is unconcerned for wages paid

The passion only employers understand
Is not a passion any heart can comprehend
It is a passion underlining sufferings
That endures inflicted pain
From external influence imposed
To mean passion in subjection
In bringing disorder of the mind
To drive us crazy far beyond
The state of madness for simple minds

Breaking Routines

2005-03-06T00:10:00.000+08:00

The thing I like about using a public transport stored value card is the freedom to decide even at last minute my final destination. If I board a bus and change my mind where I wish to go, I freely choose to go some place else to disembark. I need not worry about the discrepancy I did not pay or have overpaid, because with the card, charges only deduct when I disembark. So I frequently change my mind where I wish to go in order to build flexibility to cultivate creativity.

Creativity is about observing things differently, seeing things as we have not seen before, reading details we frequently ignore. We sit on a chair daily, yet we seldom really care, to explore and see what material it is made of, whether there are any loosen screws or cushion tear, what mechanism is in it, how it turns, what type of rollers is used, because we fail to see things with a creative mind.

Creativity is also about being always ready for changes, a circumstantial or deliberate act to be different, to do things differently, and to break from routines. We can go to a regular destination by a different route on a different day, or walk a different path to where we work. We can take public transport instead of driving, or take a bus instead of the subway train.

Creativity is about listening or hearing the things that surround us, the noises and conversations people share, the sounds of nature and music everywhere. It is about smelling things in our surroundings, of fragrance and flowers, perfume and odors, food and many others. It is about being sensitive to our five senses.

In a busy world today, the things we see, smell, and hear, we seldom care more than superficial. We take for granted the things we have, and we fail to stop and listen. We do not pay attention because we are too busy, and it is for this reason I occasionally take a break, away from society, to get away from routines, to retreat, recreate, and rediscover self, to restore my soul, to make myself whole. As travelers for a little time while on earth, we need to regularly calm our souls, to enter into a mood of relaxation, to pay attention at all occasions, to close our eyes and ear all things, the likes of birds chirping, cricket and grasshopper calling, the dragonfly buzzing, the pin dropping, even the clock ticking.

Photo Journalism

2005-02-27T23:49:00.000+08:00

Photography news reporting can be interesting when it is placed in context with a written story. Being able to take good pictures is certainly a desired skill for any journalist, whether it is writing for print or digital media. Photo journalism however can be very dangerous if taken out of context.

One of the myths about journalistic photography is the perception of 'seeing is believing'. We assume visual representation in photographs is the equivalent of seeing the actual event, hence genuine in every respect, capable of conveying the truth about the happening. Unfortunately, all these are just mere perceptions as photography only records what has been captured and do not interpret the meaning of the picture. A photograph is therefore not seen reality, thus cannot be true evidence of what had happened (Kuhn 1985, p.26). Furthermore, with digital editing capabilities, creative intervention can tamper the authenticity of what is actually 'seen' through the camera eye.

Another misrepresented truth is in the area of photography portrayal of people. In 1988, the Museum of Modern Art in New York presented an exhibition of Nicholas Nixon's photographs called 'Pictures of People.' Among the people pictured by Nixon are people with AIDS (PWAs), each graphically portrayed as someone of colored skin and to be pitied or feared, often in a dehumanized state of deteriorated health. This pictorial message however is far from the truth, as many PWAs can continue to live a relatively long life after diagnosis through the use of experimental drug treatments. The real reason for the high death toll is in fact due to government inaction and the inaccessibility of affordable health care due to institutionalized neglect as a result of racism and sexism (Crimp 1992, pp.117-118).

Media representation of PWAs affects how viewers perceive the victims. Photography journalism can convey messages out of context when presented without the corresponding written story. Audiences can be manipulated if they fail to deconstruct media representations to understand the perceivable reality. Images from photography like the PWAs must be understood as simply representations, formulated not in relation to the 'truth' of the image, but in relation to a social governance and construct.

REFERENCES
Crimp, D. (1992) "Portraits of People with AIDS" in L Grossberg, C. Nelson and P. Treicher (eds), Cultural Studies. New York: Routledge: 117-131.
Kuhn, A. (1985) "Lawless Seeing", The Power of the Image: Essays on Representation and Sexuality. London: Routledge & Kegan Paul: pp.19-47.

Inspirational Nature Walk

2005-02-24T01:40:00.000+08:00

As a writer I often make time to go for nature walks to think and to get inspiration from God. I walk in early morn in solitude with nature, to calm my inner spirit and to heighten my senses in listening, smelling, touching, feeling, and seeing.

I hear the birds chirping, the insects flying, and the sounds of waves hitting shore. I feel the breeze and wind caress my face. I smell nature and the fragrance of flowers in the air. I see falling leaves and flying birds and ants marching the floor endlessly without despair. I see chameleons crossing my path and I see squirrels climbing trees.

In nature I discover myself, a human being created to love nature and co-exist with others as well. In nature, I discover my inner love for writing, a longing desire ever growing, to pen my thoughts and share to the world, how great is our God, Who created us into being.

Walk with me and share my thoughts, view the photos of my nature walk.

Living With Uncertainties

2005-02-20T00:40:00.000+08:00

Jessica has recently resigned from her job due to poor health and stress but fears for her survival and financial future. She starts looking for new jobs hoping to find something less stressful, but fears she may not be up to the job. She constantly asks herself questions of 'what if I take this job and it is just as stressful?' and 'what if I take this job and a better one comes by?'

There are many people who live their lives in fear of uncertainty and of the future. Living a life constantly plagued by 'what if' can be miserable because without assurance, Man often fails to see a positive future, so they attempt to predict the foreseeable. There is of course nothing wrong in taking measures to prevent the 'what if' that can happen. However, we must always remember forecasts and preventive measures seldom turn out the way we expect, and changes are bound to happen. The Bible agrees on this point when Jesus says:

"For which one of you, when he wants to build a tower, does not first sit down and calculate the cost, to see if he has enough to complete it? Otherwise, when he has laid a foundation and is not able to finish, all who observe it begin to ridicule him, saying, 'This man began to build and was not able to finish.'" (Luke 14:28-30 NAS)

The future and what it holds for us is not something we should try to predict, for it is by faith that we should build our confidence in God. If we live our lives in fear of the unknown and the possibilities of the future, we live meaningless lives, deprived of the abundant life God has intended for us.

Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen. For by it the men of old gained approval. (Hebrews 11:1-2 NAS)

And without faith it is impossible to please Him, for he who comes to God must believe that He is, that He is a rewarder of those who seek Him. (Hebrews 11:6 NAS)

By faith Abraham, when he was called, obeyed by going out to a place which he was to receive for an inheritance; and he went out, not knowing where he was going. (Hebrews 11:8 NAS)

If we therefore wish to live fulfilled lives, we need to first know some certainties in life, the certainty of eternity - of death and life. If we are Christians, we are certain of eternal life in Jesus Christ, so there is no fear in the end of life. It is the certainty of death that tells us our purpose of life, to do the will of Christ, as sojourners on earth passing by temporary lives.

And inasmuch as it is appointed for men to die once and after this comes judgment, (Hebrews 9:27 NAS)

There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus. For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus has set you free from the law of sin and of death. (Romans 8:1 NAS)

Therefore, knowing the uncertainty of life on earth, we should bravely face each challenge without fear. We may be uncertain what is next to come or what if something does not happen the way we expect it to come, yet we can be assured all things work together for the purpose of God.

And we know that God causes all things to work together for good to those who love God, to those who are called according to His purpose. (Romans 8:28 NAS)

So, the next time we raise a question 'what if', ask what is there to fear if God is supreme in the situation? Whether it is now or the future, need we then fear our inabilities or the unknown possibilities? If we have asked God to be the Lord of our lives, will He decide to do otherwise?

… what man is there among you, when his son shall ask him for a loaf, will give him a stone? Or if he shall ask for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more shall your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him! (Matthew 7:9-11 NAS)

Therefore do not fear them, for there is nothing concealed that will not be revealed, or hidden that will not be known. (Matthew 10:26 NAS)

There is therefore no need to fear about the future or about uncertainties, so long as we have received Christ. Instead of asking questions of 'what if', ask 'what is there to fear'? If God is supreme in our lives, we know for certain that all things will work together for the purpose of Christ.

Overcoming Anger

2005-02-17T17:32:00.000+08:00

We frequently see expressions of anger and sometimes experience flare-up too. We get angry when someone breaks a promise or when we are unable to get what we want. We also get angry because we fail to meet our own expectation or because we do not measure up to perfection. We get frustrated at people when we see them do things we considered as undignified or deviant. We may even be unhappy for being angry with people and sometimes ourselves.

There are many reasons why we get angry but we must always understand that anger in itself is not wrong. What is wrong is dependent on whether we are angry for the right reasons.

The Greek philosopher Aristotle once said:

"Anyone can be angry - that is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way - this is not easy."

The Bible talks about an anger that is righteous and holy, such as the holy anger of God:

And they have defiled My holy name by their abominations which they have committed. So I have consumed them in My anger. (Ezekiel 43:8b NAS)

In this verse, we realize even God gets angry too and He has the right to do so because He is a holy and righteous God Who cannot let His holy name be defiled by the sins of Man. Jesus Himself was angry and cast out the people who were buying and selling in the temple (Matthew 21:12-13; Mark 11:15-17). God must also have been angry when He sends an angel to strike Herod because he did not give God the glory (Acts 12:21-23).

As we can see from the narrative above, anger in itself is NOT sin. Anger can be holy and righteous if it is for the right reasons.

Most of us however are angry not because of holiness or righteousness. We often get angry without first investigating the truth or without considerations for the circumstances of others. Regardless whether we are Christians or not, we need to learn to be "quick to hear, slow to speak and slow to anger" (James 1:19 NAS). We may get angry and yet do not sin if we are angry for the right reasons. However, whether it is for the right or wrong reasons, our anger must always be kept in checked and not consume us or be carried forward to another day so that we do not sin.

This is what the Bible says about handling anger:

Be angry, and yet do not sin; do not let the sun go down on your anger, and do not give the devil an opportunity. (Ephesians 4:25-16 NAS)

Let all bitterness and wrath and anger and clamor and slander be put away from you along with all malice. And be kind to one another, tender-hearted, forgiving each other, just as God in Christ also has forgiven you. (Ephesians 4:31-32 NAS)

So when we get angry the next time, remember not to flare-up, but stay compose. Learn to forebear, investigate the truth, and be forgiving.

This approach however is not going to be easy, especially if you are not a Christian. To the non-believers, they must work really hard at self-control, and sometimes this method doesn't work too well for a person with a temper. For Christians, this can be cultivated quite easily because it comes natural with the indwelling of the Holy Spirit whose fruit is "love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law." (Galatians 5:22-23 NAS).

If you desire to have the power to overcome sin and therefore anger, all you need to do is to acknowledge your sinfulness and invite Christ into your life, and He will freely give to you His Holy Spirit. Once you have received Jesus into your life, the Holy Spirit dwells in you, and you will be able with His power overcome the desire of the flesh.

In his epistle to the Galatians, Paul teaches:

... walk by the Spirit, and you will not carry out the desire of the flesh. For the flesh sets its desire against the Spirit, and the Spirit against the flesh; for these are in opposition to one another, so that you may not do the things that you please. (Galatians 5:16-17)

Let us therefore who possess the Holy Spirit in us, not get angry unduly, remembering always not to let anger be brought forward to another day. Where forgiveness is necessary, confess and reconcile with the other party within the same day, and DO NOT let anger accumulate, because it can consume us to the point of bitterness. Confess to God and acknowledge our sins if we have been angry for the wrong reasons, and let the Spirit of God Who dwells in us mold and change us as we walk in His word (The Holy Bible) daily.

Beyond Valentine

2005-02-14T21:22:00.001+08:00

A day to remember the greatest love on earth,

Of Jesus Who died for us while we were yet sinners,

Of One Who willingly lays down His life for another,

To save the lost world from death eternal.

Greater love has no one than this, that one lay down his life for his friends. (John 15:13 NAS)

... God demonstrates His own love toward us, in that while we were yet sinners, Christ died for us. (Romans 5:8 NAS)

For God did not send the Son into the world to judge the world; but that the world should be saved through Him. (John 3:17 NAS)

Christian Writing

2005-01-29T14:22:00.001+08:00

I have not written Christian articles for a very long time, not since I last wrote for a newsletter of a church I have left many years ago.

As a Christian and a freelance writer I feel it my obligation to write about what I believe apart from writing for commercial print and digital media. Therefore, when I came upon a web site that welcomes contribution of Christian articles, I immediately signed up with them to be a participant. That was what I have been busy with over the last week.

It has not been easy writing religious related articles, especially when it has been a long time since I last wrote on such topics. In fact, I find it more difficult to write things related to Christianity than to write for commercial media. Anyhow, for a glimpse of what I have written thus far, feel free to read my articles at FaithWriters.com.

Academia vs Experience

2005-01-24T18:42:00.000+08:00

It has been said that the early bird catches the worm, but in the real world this may not always be true.

Early birds or capitalists who have been actively engaged in playing the lead role in coming up with new products and services may have reaped manifold in comparison to late comers, but they are not always the winners of the race.

For example in the academic world, there are people who ace all their papers in exams and achieved the highest academic qualification within a short time, while there are also those who achieved their academic qualification late in life. Yet in the secular sense of the economic world, both may be great achievers in their own respect, and in some cases, the late academic achievers may be better off than the early. To understand what I mean by this, let me illustrate by telling you a story that happened in real life.

Hector is a software analyst who has not achieved a degree in Computer Science. While working in a technology firm, he learned hands-on how to implement networking for corporations. When he was required to get himself technically and academically certified for Internetworking, he was able to score high marks because of his experience, in comparison to the degree holder who lacks the practical hands-on.

From the factual story mentioned above, it is clear that people with skills and expertise in their field of work demonstrate better performance and possess perception that is quite different from the pure academic achievers. Unfortunately even though this is a fact, not all employers however recognize this truth, partially because certain governments, especially in Asia, strongly believe in academic achievements and have thus molded the society to think the same.

If you are among the people who are not the great academic achievers or who are latecomers, you must therefore be discerning and not be disheartened, because you can often be better secular or economic achievers than the academics.

Therefore, when writing becomes a pressure instead of pleasure, it is time to retreat and rediscover inspiration within nature.

Inspiration vs Hard Work

2005-01-22T16:30:00.001+08:00

We usually think more creatively when we are relaxed. Unfortunately, many of us think at the worst of times and often under pressure, when we are forced to make decisions.

As a writer, I often have to muse and think over the subject before I write, and I write best when I am relaxed. I get inspired easily when walking through the woods or while taking long nature walks. Unfortunately, such luxury are seldom available when I am on an assignment, which often has short deadline, so I do the next best thing, similar to what everyone else do when they are pressured - research and compile, then write.

Research and compilation is common in most environments, and if you know the process of problem solving, you will probably know what I mean. In a corporate environment, problem solving means identifying, analyzing, implementing, and evaluating. This is not dissimilar in any other environments.

First, research and gather as much information on the subject as possible. Next, sort out the useable from the unusable then select what goes into the story. Finally write in one's own words the story based on all the information gathered, re-reading it to edit and modify where necessary.

A story written based on hard work is seldom satisfactory to the author, but at least it gets the work done. In a perfect world, the author has a lot of time to think, and if one gets a chance to write a novel or a book, some inspiration will definitely be essential. However, if writing is a daily or periodical routine that makes up a high percentage of press news and factual content then option two will be more appropriate in solving the immediate problem.

Therefore, when writing becomes a pressure instead of pleasure, it is time to retreat and rediscover inspiration within nature.

Silence

2005-01-21T13:19:00.000+08:00

There is communication in silence where the absence of words communicates many things.

Silence reads messages in the eyes, understands the language from the body, and sees gestures that tell many tales. When someone talks to you and you remain silent, it reveals your disinterest or your ignorance. It communicates your lack of attention and a listening ear.

When someone says 'silence is golden', he or she refers to solitude, and not the absence of sound. True silence is about being quiet at heart and mind, and being of few words. It is about thinking before speaking and speaking only when necessary.

Complete silence living in the city is quite impossible, but true quietness is amidst the noises, maintaining silence in the heart and mind. If your mind is not in turmoil and your heart is calm, it is then that true peace has been attained in silence.

Quit meaningless chatter!

Emotional Intelligence

2005-01-13T17:47:00.000+08:00

"Anyone can be angry - that is easy. But to be angry with the right person, to the right degree, at the right time, for the right purpose, and in the right way - this is not easy." - Aristotle

Understanding one's emotion to behave in a way that is socially acceptable is certainly not an easy task. It requires "a type of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one's own and others' emotions, discriminate among them, and to use the information to guide one's thinking and action" (Salovey and Sluyter 1997, quoted in DeJanasz et al., 2001, p.9). This social intelligence is what we call today as emotional intelligence or EQ.

Emotional intelligence is about developing an awareness of one's feelings and emotions to response appropriately according to the situation at hand. It requires skills like self-control, zeal, persistence, and motivation to adapt and navigate within a society.

According to experts in the field of behavioral studies, there are six fundamentals for achieving emotional intelligence. They are: self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy, social skills, and group work skills (DeJanasz et al., 2001, p.10).

Self-awareness requires the self-analysis of behavior in understanding the way we conduct ourselves, our motivation, our modes of thinking, acting, and interacting. It includes understanding one's own personality or the relatively stable set of characteristics, tendencies, and temperaments formed by inheritance and by social, cultural, and environmental factors (Maddi 1980, p.10; DeJanasz et. al., 2001, p.4).

Self-regulation is about regulating oneself to adapt to situations, exercising discretion, cultivating trustworthiness, conscientiousness, innovativeness, with the ability to manage disruptive emotions and impulses.

Motivation is about what drives us to pursue one action over another. By understanding one's core drivers, whether positive or negative, one can discover the roots of one's behavior and make adjustments necessary to modify it.

Empathy is the ability to understand others and putting oneself in the shoes of another, to read and respond to others' feelings.

Social skills relate to one's ability to interact smoothly in managing interpersonal relationships and the emotions of other people.

Group work skills focus primarily on organizational or communal collaboration and cooperation, teamwork, conflict management, and the willingness to work toward common goals.

Emotional intelligence is related to several personality traits such as conscientiousness, emotional stability, openness to experience, agreeableness and the kinds. To some extent, EQ can be learnt but people in general do not naturally develop it by just understanding what it is. It requires coaching, constant practice, and adapting from others' feedback (McShane and Travaglione 2003, pp.125-126).

REFERENCES
DeJanasz, S., Dowd, K., and Schneider, B. (2001), Interpersonal Skills in Organizations, Irwin, McGraw-Hill.
Maddi, S.R. (1980), Personality Theories: A Comparative Analysis. 4th edn. Homewood, Il, Dorsey Press.
McShane, S. and Travaglione, T. (2003), Organisational Behaviour on the Pacific Rim. NSW, McGraw-Hill.
Salovey, P. and Sluyter, D. (1997), eds., Emotional Development and Emotional Intelligence: Educational Implications. New York, Basic Books.

Discovering Self

2005-01-11T23:38:00.000+08:00

Not long ago I wrote on the subject of Personality Traits and a few people have asked me whether there are tests available that can help a person discover oneself. There are of course many methods of evaluating oneself through personality tests, but there is no one particular place or site that dare claims to provide a complete analysis of a person's personality in uncovering one's strengths and weaknesses in entirety. A good start in understanding oneself is to take a simple test such as What Number Are You?

Using this test I discovered myself to be a peacemaker who is emotionally stable and willing to find common ground with others. My friends and family often look to me to be the mediator when there is conflict and I am generally easy going and accepting. I take things as they come and avoid conflict most of the time. I am content when things are calm.

This reading or analysis to some extent expresses my sentiments and knowing this fact helps reaffirm the understanding of myself. Understanding self however is just the first step. If a person is starting on a career, this information may help direct the right direction to bridge the gap, but if the person is mid way through a career or finishing his or her dues, this test remains an analysis for knowledge because one cannot in real life change a career to become a social worker or peacemaker to serve all mankind because of a discovery of self. To what end then is the purpose of personality tests?

In my opinion, personality tests are only for discovering self for the purpose of understanding one's own character. In understanding one's character, one can then adjust and change to adapt to the situations one face in his or her environment. Hence if you ask me about personality tests, I will say there are plenty out there on the Internet, but if you ask what you can do in discovering your personality, the answer depends on where you are at in life and in what situations you are in, and from there it is up to you to see what next steps to take.

From the way the test works, it appears the number scored doesn't really matter. It's just a reference to associate the type of personality a person majors. What matters is the description of the character. Does it describe you accurately? Accuracy of the test result is dependent on how true you are in answering the questions and how well you know yourself. If an answer is in the borderline, you'll need to pick one that is most frequently true and what's closest in describing you.

As a suggestion, you may want to consider taking the test at different days and at different time of the day because your feelings probably differ when you are busy, angry, or when sad. Results can differ depending on mood too!

Have fun discovering yourself and let me know your results! :D

Late and Awake

2005-01-08T18:39:00.000+08:00

Have you ever deliberately stayed up late in the night because of a reluctance to let a day pass by? You have been working hard the whole day and despite tiredness, you stretched yourself through late night because you feel unfulfilled without spending a few hours for personal time each day.

Time for self or personal time is what many people treasure most. It is this time that most found lacking because a third of their time has been spent on work, one third on sleep, and the little time remaining for self. Many sleep late because at the end of the day they feel a vacuum in themselves because of a lack of satisfaction or the need for accomplishing some aim or purpose, apart from regular occupational work.

For me, I spend much time on-line late into the early mornings because of my refusal to let my personal time go by without accomplishing something. Whether it is catching up with friends via e-mail or chat on-line, writing a blog article of my thoughts, or doing something I like, I constantly dragged on the time available before I will myself to sleep. The consequence of this is a lazy morning going to work or going about doing the things that brings in the bread and butter. This may be the reason why many people are seen sleeping in the morning on public transport - to catch up the lost sleep before occupational work commence. Such a practice however is not at all a healthy lifestyle.

Symptoms of people who practice such lifestyles may indicate a certain level of dissatisfaction at work. When a person does not find satisfaction at work, he or she seeks pleasure in other forms, and such other forms hopefully can be fulfilled through the little time remainder at the end of the day. Without satisfaction, man will find it hard to move forward in life because of a lack of aim and purpose. A fulfilled life is not always about material gains. In fact material gains are quite meaningless and do not in anyway satisfy the vacuum within man. Man is after all created different from other living beings with a spirit and a soul, and without God no genuine satisfaction can be derived.

If you are like me in some ways staying up late into the nights, share your comments at this blog. Tell me your reasons for staying up late and let me know your thoughts.

Prejudices

2005-01-02T16:04:00.000+08:00

If a mobile phone rings during a seminar attended despite a prior request by the organisers to turn off all phones, which group of people will immediately come to mind to blame? Is it the youngsters or the adults?

The scenario described above is fairly common and often happened in public meetings. It illustrates the prejudices that all of us possess to some degree or a great degree. We always think negatively of people of a certain group based on race, age, occupation, financial status, or the kinds. For example, when we look at people of a particular race, we often feel certain the types of behavior to expect. We assume a certain group of people frequently spit on the floor and we constantly view negatively of another group of people who constantly block passageways. Which group of people do we assume are not educated?

Preconceived ideas of people within a certain group although can be generally true at times, are in reality not the entire truth. Not all people of a certain group or genre behave in the way we think they usually behave. People are not robots. They are not programmed to behave in specific ways. Some may have accumulated bad habits as a result of the society or culture they live in, but not all are the same because individuals change and vary in behavior. No two persons are created the same.

The next time we meet a person, try not to jump to conclusion or think negatively of that particular person. Always ask the question, are the assumptions we have of them prejudices or are they true. If the answer is prejudice, then erase it out from the mind, and view the person as someone yet to be discovered. If the answer is true, then consider whether he or she may have changed. Learn to give others second chances. Never ever coin a person by the group he or she is in or by the people he or she associates.

Personality Traits

2004-12-31T21:53:00.000+08:00

Personality traits in people are primarily made up of four types of temperaments: sanguine, choleric, melancholy, and phlegmatic. Generally most people fall into one or two main types of temperament, however, there are exceptions where a person may possess hybrid personalities.

Understanding personality traits helps a person understand his or her character, and the character of others. Character concerns our true selves, while "personality is the outward expression of ourselves which may or may not be the same as our character" (LaHaye 1983:6) depending on how genuine we portray ourselves to others. Personality often is just a pleasing facade for an unpleasant or weak character. By learning about our temperaments, we can adjust and change for the better and it is to this end that this article is being written to help readers understand themselves in making changes and planning a course of action for the right career.

Sanguine is what we usually termed as a person with an outgoing personality who likes to mix with everybody. Sanguine often speaks before thinking and is hearty by nature. Extrovert, spontaneous, and often naïve, sanguine tends not to see the big picture of things but lives for the current. Sanguine is good at telling stories and is blessed with the gift of the gap. Weaknesses of sanguine include restlessness, weak-willed, egotistic, and emotional instability. Sanguine make good salespersons, actors, and public speakers.

Choleric is one who commands or likes to command. Often with hot temperament, choleric is strong-willed, self-sufficient, decisive, opinionated, and makes decisions for oneself and for others. Choleric thrives on activities and is not frightened by adversities. Quick to recognize opportunities and diagnosing solutions to problems, choleric possesses a well-organized mind which make them good managers and supervisors, although they may not be the best persons to understand how their staff work to achieve their goals. Weaknesses of choleric include insensitivity to subordinates, domineering, bossy, manipulative, and failure to see areas of potential pitfalls.

Melancholy is analytical, self-sacrificing, gifted, perfectionist, with sensitive emotional nature. Melancholy is prone to be introvert and often gives in to a variety of moods. Mood swings can either lift the melancholy to heights or at times to gloom and depression. When in good mood, the melancholy can become more extrovert in behavior, but when in gloom withdraws oneself and become antagonistic. Melancholy person is a very faithful friend, but does not make friends easily. Melancholy person is dependable and expects very high standards on self and sometimes of others. Experiences of disappointments however tend to make the melancholy reluctant to see people at face value. Melancholy person possesses analytical mind, evaluates, plans and sees far into the future in understanding possible problems and pitfalls that may be encountered. Weaknesses of melancholy include self-centeredness, pessimism, moodiness and revengeful nature. Life vocation chosen by the melancholy tends to involve great personal sacrifice which makes good support staff and the types.

Phlegmatic is described by Hippocrates as one that possesses "calm, cool, slow, easy-going, well-balanced temperament" (cited in LaHaye 1983:21). Circumstances cannot ruffle the phlegmatic who can withhold a high boiling point, seldom exploding in anger or laughter. Emotions of phlegmatic are kept in control. Kind hearted and sympathetic, the phlegmatic seldom conveys his true feelings. Phlegmatic tends to be a spectator in life and tries not to get too involved with the activities of others. When put in a position for action, phlegmatic proves to be capable and efficient person. Weaknesses of phlegmatic include slowness, laziness, stubbornness, indecision, and teasing. Phlegmatic makes good diplomat, accountant, teacher, leader, scientist, or other meticulous-type of work. Now that you understand the four temperaments of the different personality traits, evaluate yourself and discuss at this blog what you think is your type of personality. Plan out actions that can help minimize weaknesses.

REFERENCE
LaHaye, Tim (1983), Spirit-Controlled Temperament, Asian Edition. Hong Kong: Tien Dao Publishing House.

Spider Web

2004-12-28T17:17:00.001+08:00

Have you ever walk through a spider web accidentally because you are unable to see or are not aware of its presence? If you have not, you should try it someday. It is quite an experience, and the feeling of it is really 'great', especially when it is at your face.

Removing the web from your face or body does not exactly come easy, and sometimes if you are not aware, the spider may still be hanging to its line of web silk and eventually reside in your clothes somewhere.

Apart from cobwebs, spiders are actually quite loveable. Most spiders are not harmful creatures. In fact, house spiders can be helpful in getting rid of unwanted insects. In ancient times, the Greeks use cobwebs to apply to wounds, which is an effective way to stop excessive bleeding. Research by 19th-century doctors confirmed that spiders coat their silk with antiseptic agents. It was spider webs that French scientist Rene Reaumur came up with the idea of making paper from wood. In the 19th century, astronomers used spider silk as cross-hairs on their telescopes and in World War II, gunsights and bombsights, range finders and transits, telescopes and microscopes were all using spider silk.

Today, scientists are looking at the amazing structural properties of spider webs to be used in airplanes and bridges, clothing, body armor, and cable.

REFERENCES:
Berenbaum, M., "Spin Control", The Sciences, Vol. 35, No. 5, September/October 1995, pp. 13-15.
Lienhard, J., "Epidsode 1069: A Spider's Web", The Engines of Our Ingenuity. Houston: University of Houston, 2004.
Preston-Mafham, R., and Preston-Mafham, K., Spiders of the World. New York: Facts On File Publications, 1984.

The Problem with Corporate Management

2004-12-27T13:55:00.000+08:00

Many of us working in organizations often wonder why the management seems to always make lives difficult for their staff.

We constantly see organizational and departmental restructuring which affects the way we work. We see corporate re-engineering exercise where people get axed. We see and hear things that threaten our livelihood and we feel our supervisors are always picking on us. We suspect and know there are spies for management who are our peers, always lurking around our backs, ready to stab on us at every opportunity.

One of the many ways our management keeps an eye on us is through spies tapping on the grapevines. Grapevines are informal gatherings by colleagues to discuss anything in general, and in general, workers talk about their bosses, their unhappiness at work and the likes. A manager can either directly plant a spy in grapevines or indirectly insinuate to get his or her staff, especially secretaries, to convey messages. For example, the manager can unofficially leak news about possible retrenchment to secretaries who unknowingly hint about it at these informal gatherings, thus motivating staff to work harder, or make them demoralized and then play savior to win support from staff.

Such are the politics working in a corporate world and these by no means are totally the fault of management. The truth is, managers are trained by education to do such things. Attend any business management study and you will find all these written in the textbooks.

Another technique frequently used by management is the reinforcement theory, which takes the view that workers are by nature lazy and must be scrutinized or manipulated constantly in order to yield results expected by management. In short, it means behavior modification. The management may introduce a consequence or change the environment in order to increase or maintain frequency of staff participation. These may include punishment, controlled rewards, psychological segregation, or other methods. For examples, the threat or rumors of possible retrenchments, punishment of a staff to set an example, and the cutting of bonuses. By using such shock or depravity tactics, staff will then modify their behaviors and change attitudes toward work.

Some of us who are reading this article may be supervisors, managers, or bosses in our own companies. As people in a position to determine the behaviors of others, we must constantly be reminded that not all techniques we learnt from books or education are in real life practical. We ought to treat staff as human beings and hence we must use our own brains to decide what is best and not rely on learnt knowledge. Instead of manipulating, we may wish to consider how to increase staff's job satisfaction so that they may willingly sacrifice their time and efforts to go an extra mile.

To workers who are suffering at the hands of the management, know that all these exploitations are not necessary intentional on the part of the supervisors or managers. All these techniques used by them are not new and have been taught in academic schools. It is a flaw of the education system that makes them what they are. If we can make them see their wrongs and 'educate' them through staff consensus and feedback, or even through unions, let us try to make it work. However, if such methods don't work, then use the techniques they use on us to reverse the role, and hopefully in this way get attention from them by getting our message across.

Learning to be Graceful

2004-12-26T15:48:00.000+08:00

Few days ago, I wrote on the topic of ‘Branded Culture’. In the story, I mentioned about the unpleasant encounters which resulted from certain unacceptable behaviors. In this article, I will list down ten things you can do to minimize negative opinions and improve your gracefulness.

The first thing to do is to consider others first. For example, by letting others out from the subway train before pushing your way in or before smoking at a bus-stop, consider whether it will affect others’ health.

Second, in every action, ask yourself whether it will hurt others or put others in a disadvantaged position? For example, at a pedestrian walkway, consider whether riding your bicycle there will cause inconvenience to others. What about leaning on the pole in the subway train, will others who need to stand fast on their feet be derived from getting a hold of the pole? Consider whether your shopping trolley will prevent other shoppers or block others from having access to through routes if put in the middle of a lane.

Third, in making plans, consider how you can help others. Example, if building a public place or facility, have you given thought to conveniences for the handicap?

Fourth, quit all non-etiquette behavior, such as spitting and blowing nose in the public, asking for more free gifts when given only one or a few, excessively accumulating free gifts not meant for you, or accumulating massive food on the plate during buffet meals.

Fifth, learn good practices from others and from other cultures. Examples include clearing your own waste after eating at fast food outlets, returning unused spice packs to the counters, and giving up seats to people needing it more than you.

Sixth, Learn to give more than to receive.

Seventh, do not do anything from selfishness or conceit, always thinking to exercise own rights or assuming you deserve more than others.

Eighth, do not be too calculative or expect reciprocal returns from others.

Ninth, do not expect a 100% quality in everything, be it services or products. There is NO perfection on earth.

Tenth, be considerate in all things because you want to, not because you have to or because you are told to. Do it from the heart.

Church Weddings

2004-12-22T18:14:00.000+08:00

We often complained about the lengthy hours spent at church weddings, but do we know how much time is spent at a similar wedding in Thailand?

The first time I traveled by air was to Bangkok to attend a church wedding. When the couple arrives at the pulpit before the marriage vows are said, or the ordainment proclaimed by the pastor, it is the time when the couple stand in the presence of close friends and relatives who will one by one or in groups present their words and songs of blessing.

This process of dedications may take hours, depending on the popularity and importance of the ones getting married. This is the time when the couple patiently stand with joy and peace for hours to receive all the words and songs bestowed on them in remembrance of the special day dedicated to the union of two becoming one flesh. Accompanying the swearing of vows and ordainment of marriage is the sense of awe in the presence of God.

So to all of who are attending or getting married in a church wedding, just be thankful and grateful such traditions are not often seen in Singapore!

Service Without Smiles

2004-12-21T18:10:00.000+08:00

The first time I went to USA was when my company sent me to a software application manufacturer in San Diego to learn how to service helpdesk in a call centre. What I have learnt from there impressed me as I compare it with the service we provide in Singapore.

In the United States, when the helpdesk support staff picks up a call from a customer, he takes his time to service the customer, providing excellent quality and above all, without rushing or with impatience. When a customer requires an answer to something the support staff is unable to provide immediately, the customer patiently waits 'on hold' for the staff to research and stays on line till the staff gives him a reply. There were no sign of any impatient gesture between the customer and the support staff, and even though the line may be toll free, it is still something we can learn about cultural differences and expectations.

Over here in Singapore, support staff are expected to rush and support as many customers as possible. Before the answers are provided, we either asked the customers to call back again or tell them we will call them back, taking extensively long time to 'research' before an attempt is made to return a call. Customers are expected to pay via 1-900 line and as the cost gets clocked at each tick, so is the growing impatience of the customer. Alternatively, we provide an answering service that is always busy or difficult to get a real person to talk to. Temperament flares up between customers and support staff frequently and eventually neither the customers nor the support staff accomplishes anything.

This is the kind of support service we get in Singapore, and this is the kind of expectations we get from customers. Tell me I am wrong or prove to me otherwise, and I will readily write another article to demonstrate the 'perfect' service a company provides because this is one area I will be glad to see improved.

A Branded Culture

2004-12-20T22:20:00.000+08:00

When I was in Las Vegas several years ago, I went to a casino and applied for a Player's Card to accumulate points, not so much to gamble but to have the card as a souvenir. When I submit my application at the counter, the attendant on realizing I am from Singapore exclaimed, "Oh no! Not another Singaporean." I was immediately appalled and questioned her what is the problem, but she did not give me a reply, except to apologize.

This occurrence sets me thinking. What is it about Singaporean that turns people off? Is there a problem with our behavior that shocks others? Is it our kiasu-ism, the fear of losing? Or is it because we are always too particular about things that when we ask for something we always expect the best and no less? Is it because we cannot accept anything other than perfection or is it because we lack the spirit of give and take? Is it our lack of gracefulness?

These thoughts that go through my mind remind me of another incident. I was helping a foreign company set up an exhibition in Singapore and while I was mending the booth together with these foreigners, I observed some of the greatest embarrassments I have ever seen as a Singaporean. The booth for the exhibit was intended for selling some software products, but as a form of goodwill, my foreign partners also give away button badges as freebies to attract visitors. A Singaporean carrying a child came by and was given a button badge. Instead of appreciating the gift, the man upon confirming that the button badge is free, grabs all the remainder badges in the container and intends to walk away with them, if not for my foreign partner stopping him from doing so, explaining that they are for giveaways to other visitors too. This incident puts me in a disgraced position as a Singaporean and I had to apologize to my foreign partners for the occurrence.

Although not all Singaporeans behave in the same way as described above, very often we are seen by our foreign counterparts as people of very low dignity and sometimes as deviants, non-etiquette, and nuisance. I don't wish to be ashamed to be called a Singaporean, and I certainly don't wish others to have the impression of us as nuisance. It is for that reason I often stay away from our own people who behave in such mannerism, and when I travel overseas, I always avoid travelling in a big group of Singaporeans. It is not about being ashamed of one's own country, but it is the association of characters like these that spoil our nation's image that concerns me as a citizen.

So, to all Singaporeans who are reading this, I pray that we will all learn more from the cultures overseas that may help us to be more graceful. Let us learn the good things from them and teach others to make our nation a better country, filled with citizens who are considerate, willing to give and take, who detest ungraceful acts and appropriate what is good, wholesome, and culturally refine.

To foreigners who are reading this, our suggestion is not to generalize or brand all Singaporeans as a type of people with particular behaviors. Not all of us are the same and many of us are totally unlike what has been described. Some may have similar traits and many are still learning to be more graceful by the day. Occasionally our ways may not seem rational to you, but it is often societal pressures that make us the way we are and by no means are the fault of our own. So please just view us as individuals, each with a difference, and do not categorize us as a single genre!

Living with Junk

2004-12-19T22:50:00.000+08:00

We are always faced with junk everyday, handbills at our doorsteps, junk in our snail and electronic mail boxes, and junk in our bins.

In my blacklist for junk producers, ERA property agents top the list of paper junk. Before mail boxes were modified to refrain from targets of junk, I used to receive an average of fifteen to twenty handbills from ERA per week. These days I still receive junk papers from ERA at my doorsteps, and they serve as reminders not to use them when I need to sell my house. That is the kind of reaction consumers will get as a result of persistent junk marketing. I sometimes wonder whether anyone tells companies like them how many trees they are killing each day to use this form of marketing which is not only ineffective, but also a waste of everybody's time. Is it therefore justifiable for a handful of responses to result in the immense volume of junk being created?

Another kind of junk is the marketing e-mails we receive in our electronic mail boxes. The creators of such junk are the e-Marketers who often use net crawlers to obtain every e-mail addresses available on the Internet in order to send materials of their products or services using spiral marketing that persistent send junk to our e-mail accounts. Attempts to filter all e-mail junk through conditional settings in e-mail systems cannot completely eliminate or place junk into the trash automatically, hence it is quite fruitless to spend too much money on such filtering software applications.

Till this day, there is still no perfect method of eliminating junk in e-mail systems, and despite that, iDA has proposed in their legislation for an opt-out regime in electronic marketing. This means in essence that marketers can now send junk e-mails to anyone in Singapore legally or put anyone's e-mail address in their permanent mailing list for regular spamming, so long as the individual do not opt out from such marketing materials. This idea of opting out or unsubscribe from a mailing list is however impractical, because getting in is easy, but getting out is not. In fact, by sending an unsubscribe request, devious marketers can use the information as a confirmation of e-mail address validity and hence result in more marketing targets.

For more information on the proposed legislation on e-mail marketing and spamming, please read my article to The Straits Times forum page, "Opt out of proposed law."

Disobedience vs Perseverance

2004-12-18T22:53:00.000+08:00

Many of us who are in our youth or teenage years do not like the idea of our parents deciding for our future. Whether it be telling us what to study or what not to, we will always prefer to make our own decisions. Sometimes, we may want to run our lives our own way, and sometimes we prefer to do what our parents did in the past, to justify our actions that if our parents can do it, why can't we.

To follow our parents' footsteps, however, may not always be the correct steps, and because our parents know their past better than we do, they sometimes advise us not to follow their footsteps because they know things we don't. Maybe it is because things have changed with time, or maybe because they find it too dangerous for us, or they have discovered a mistake in their path, it all boils down to the same objective they want for us - to have a brighter future.

Unfortunately, in our youth, we do not always understand our parents' intent, so we sometimes rebel. We do things behind our parents' backs so as to get back at them or so as to make decisions of our own. Superheroes like Spider-Girl did that too. She secretly gets training from Uncle Phil and disappears to play her own 'games', but no matter how she goes against the will of her father, she always looked to the day that he will accept her for what she is.

As a girl in her teenage years, Spider-Girl discovers she possesses capabilities beyond a normal human because she inherited the strength of her father, Spider-Man. Unfortunately, her father who has given up super heroism after losing a leg during his Spider-Man days, cannot quite accept the idea of his daughter following his footsteps. When Spider-Girl begins to 'disappear' to do her superhero stunts and secretly gets training under the guidance of Uncle Phil, Spider-Man eventually gives in and teaches his daughter personally.

It is through patience and perseverance, not disobedience, that Spider-Girl was able to finally convince her father she is doing the right thing. When Spider-Man finally relents, he not only consents to her decision, but also helps her along the journey in carving out her future.

Following the footsteps of Spider-Girl, I think the correct approach to our parents' advice should be to listen, and accept their concerns. However, if we know we have made a right choice, we must persevere to convince them our directions instead of demonstrating our disobedience by disappearing, ignoring, avoiding, or doing what we think is best for ourselves without consulting them. If we can get our parents support, it is always better to do so, because we can then go a long way in doing what we want to do.

So for all of us, we must stand strong, persevere, and do not faint when our parents discipline us. We know it is for our good that they sometimes make decisions on our behalf. Even though these decisions are not always the best, we can use them if we are unclear of our directions. If we discover our own interests and can produce materials that prove our interests will help us pull through our lifelihood for the future, then, make it known to our parents, and let them decide what is best for us.

Fine Prints

2004-12-17T22:49:00.000+08:00

There are many things in life that we take for granted because we assume that it is an expected norm. In the real world however there is always the fine print in every norm which we may have overlooked. To assume things is dangerous, because although it may not cost us our lives, it can cost our lifelihood and hurt our pockets!

In advertisements and contracts, we often see the fine print that state "conditions apply" or sometimes, terms that may not be prominently defined. We don't usually pay attention to them, but we often go ahead with the use of whatever the product or service is offered, and before long (sometimes, too long), we realise our bills have accumulated a substantial sum.

Many of us pay the price for assuming. We assume the things that should be bundled with a service or a product, but the providers presume we know that the extras are not included. We assume extras in a service or product are not included, but we later discover premium services we do not ask for come included without our knowledge. A typical example of included extras is the subscription of a mobile phone. By default, voice mail, international line facilities, and other services are included unless we deactivate it from our account. This is called an opt-out service. Unless we opt-out of a service, we are in by default.

Ethical marketing strategy in the selling of a product or service is seldom without fine prints, although there are some exceptions. A responsible marketer should not include services the customers did not request, unless they choose to opt-in. A good example is the chatroom function at moblog.com.sg. This function is NOT automatically activated because it cost money to chat, so users will have to activate their chat account themselves in order to use the service, before billing commence.

Let us take a look at another example to understand the dangers of assumption and its consequence. When I became a user of moblog.com.sg, I was aware that chatting in moblog via SMS using the mobile phone is NOT free. However, I assumed incorrectly that chatting via web on the other hand is free. With this assumption, I frequently send messages to multiple members of my group blogs and sometimes to all members in the group.
It was yesterday that I soon learnt from moblog's moderator that messages sent online via web cost as much as sending SMS via the phone. This means if my group makes up of 20 members, sending a message to 'all' will cost me 20 SMS messages, and in reality, I have more than these numbers of members in different groups! This is the consequence of missing the fine print.

As can be seen from the described scenario, assumptions in our daily lives are dangerous. While I assumed that chatting web online is free, the service provider presumes I am aware chatting online is not free.
Learn therefore what I have learnt. Read the fine print (if there is any) before you use any service or product, and do not risk your pockets getting burnt.

Age Old Problem

2004-12-16T22:41:00.000+08:00

Despite being well known as a nation that emphasise fairness and equality, Singapore still faces age discrimination when it comes to the mature-age seeking jobs.

According to a recruitment consultant, hiring companies usually specify the age requirements for shortlisting candidates, hence if any résumé received does not state the age, the agency will either follow-up with the applicant to verify the information or dispose the application from its shortlisting.

Although employers avoid the use of the word "age" in their advertisements, most companies still indicate their preference for "young and energetic" or for "candidates between 20s and early 30s", even when the job is administrative or does not require any physical ability.

The Work Development Agency and National Trade Union Congress frequently encourage mature-age citizens to be more open to being engaged in domestic related work and even though these bodies encourage people to upgrade themselves through higher education or skills training to gain employability, chances for the mature getting employed are still slim. Many who have been trained said that they still do not get interviews for the same jobs applied by their younger course mates.

According to an article from Bug Cafe by Travel Bug Media, "there is a compulsion to give the young (below 30s) a head start and a chance to be employed, by ignoring the workers who are over 40 years old. The rationale is that the young have a better optimism when starting fresh and are less likely to have debt and mortgage overhangs, unlike the 40 plus who are more prone to heavy mortgage and loan exposure, debts and household liabilibilites."
In this article, an employer of a shipping company said he would "rather train and employ a young school leaver than a slow, over 40 unemployed supervisor" because the mature-age is "burnt out, not agile, and tend to have accidents at the work place".

Unlike countries like the USA or Australia, Singapore does not have anti-discrimination legislation that outlaw ageism. With such laws, governments can end unfair treatment of workers based on age. In Australia, offenders are liable to pay damages up to AUD40,000 under the legislation released by the State Government since 1993.

Human Assets

2004-12-15T22:39:00.000+08:00

"I've never realised how important you are until you are not with us anymore," so says a supervisor to an ex-staff.
If you get to hear a statement like this from your ex-employer or a supervisor, you will probably be overwhelmed and be very proud of yourself. But this is seldom the case in Singapore because employers here do not usually appreciate the work of their subordinates.

To a local company, employees are just numbers, and numbers come and go. Supervisors of companies or even the staff of Human Resource seldom attempt to find out the truth why employees leave. Exit interviews are often unheard, and even if there are such interviews, they are just for formalities.

Employers and the management usually do not care how the staff are getting on, so long as the work gets done in time. Staff and subordinates are people whom they only call upon to blame and scold when things go wrong. They do not care how things are done so long as the things get done, simply because they are too busy with their own work in their own world to care about how the staff are coming along.

The truth about employees leaving a company is usually because of people, not work or greener pastures. Junior staff are often the most ill-treated, and some supervisors are good at supervising and delegating work, but they themselves do not do the work. Managers above them are often blind to who are doing the work and relies on the supervisor to tell the story, but here is where the problem lies, because supervisors are usually the ones who do not understand and who abuse their staff and pull rank.

By and by, companies such as these lost more then they care to admit, because human assets are still the key to a corporation's success. If they neglect the juniors, and allow frequent turnovers, the operational work at the bottom gets jammed, and hence whatever decision at the top do not matter, because work can't get done and customers don't get served, simply because of the bottle neck at the bottom, a certainty that spells the end of all business plans.

So the story goes, that people at the top needs to know the things happening at the bottom, and to neglect this aspect is to spell the end of the company.

Time vs Money

2004-12-14T17:23:00.000+08:00

When you have the money, you seldom have the time, and when you have the time, you are likely to be short of money. That is the irony of life.

When a person has lots of time at hand, he or she is probably a student, a home maker, a freelancer, a contract worker temporary unengaged for duties, an unemployed, or very rich. For an average adult who are neither rich nor a beggar, he or she is probably without work, awaiting assignment, or in transit.

The best time for a person to relax or engage in doing things he or she really likes, is when he or she is without active work. Unfortunately, things that a person likes are usually hobbies, travelling, or other leisure pleasures, and all these activities cost money. Because the person is not actively engaged in income making work, all these pleasures of life are seldom realizable. Hence, the person labors and works hard to obtain the money so as to fulfill wants, but when the cash rolls in, there is simply no time to take leave to engage in leisure pleasures or hobbies. Even if leave is possible, it is often engaged with a non restful mind, stressed by work that are impending, hence, such leisure becomes non-pleasurable.

The reality of life on earth is such. People work hard to get money so that they can have enough for survival and to spend time on leisure, but time is what they don't have. Forgoing the job to find time to de-stress and engage in pleasure on the other hand may be unwise, because without active work, the mind finds no rest and is pressured to find new avenues for survival.

This is the irony between time and money.

Risk Takers

2004-12-13T22:33:00.000+08:00

In a world stricken by natural disasters and chaos from wars and terrorism, there is a real need for superheroes ... but in the real world even superheroes die.

Superheroes in the real world are people whom we esteem as more powerful than ourselves, people who can see us through rough times, disasters, and crises. Superheroes are the signs and signifiers that represent our desires to beat the unbeatable and the strength and energy we lack as ordinary people.
When we hear about the death of Christopher Reeves, a man who was once considered the symbol of Superman, we realise however that in real life even superheroes die. Where and who then are the real superheroes when disasters strike?

The superheroes in the real world are the firemen and the civil defence team who risk their lives to save us in fires and in emergencies. They are the doctors and nurses who risk their lives to help patients with transmittable diseases, such as SARS. Soldiers and police are the ones who risk their lives constantly to provide us a place of security and peace. All these people are the real superheroes … the people who risk their lives for others.

Emotional Dissonance

2004-12-12T22:28:00.000+08:00

In the terms of Organizational Behavioural (OB) studies, it is called emotional dissonance - the conflict beween required and true emotions. In our every day-to-day term, it is putting on a false front or a mask.
I am a man with a mask who possesses more than one identity. When I am out playing superhero, I put on my mask and demonstrate my capabilities and superiority, but when I am off my superhero duties, I am just an ordinary person facing the same problems as everyone else faces, just as Spider-Man faces the reality of life in his alter ego as Peter Parker.

When at work (or in the office), I have to put on an invisible mask or a front that demonstrates my authority, so to subdue my subordinates and ensure they do not climb over me. Out of office, I am just another ordinary person facing the same problems as everyone else everyday, struggling to make ends meet, to acquire my basic needs, financially, physically, mentally, and family.

This is the life of a superhero, a man with a 'mask' while at work, and a man without a 'mask' when at home or when with friends. All of us are superheroes, and we constantly play duality of roles. The dual roles we play each day are sometimes 'unreal' because we often put on a false front simply to show, our discipline even when we are struggling, under the pressure of heart-aches surmount by the multitude of needs. We act the role to show a good example to people who look up to us, because we are tasked with the responsibilities to uphold not only our homes, but also the duties at our workplaces. We run faster than we think, and we often breakdown with poor health as we 'swing', to hurry our paces, because we can't wait for the phases, before the processes fall in the right places!

So what is the meaning of life as a superhero? Just our simple lives, to live it meaningful, to do the best we can, living our lives as they are meant, to unmask our pretence, and enjoy the 'real' life till the end.

Being Yourself

2004-12-11T22:26:00.000+08:00

The story of The Incredibles is about being true to yourself and about living life according to who you are, not what others expect of you, or trying to be someone you are not.

To try to be someone you are not is to be like the villain in the story, whose end is disastrous. To force a person to work in a regular job is to restrict the person's ability to do something different, just like the way Elastic Girl expects of Mr Incredible. To tell children to conform to what is seemingly a better prospect in the future and not to pursue areas that they perform best is to decide the future for them, leading to possible rebellion or intimidation, similar to what is being faced by the son and daughter of the Incredibles.

In the real world, not everyone is suitable for a regular job in the office. Some work better on their own as entrepreneurs or freelancers. Not every kid can live up to the expectation of the academic school system. Some students are academically inclined and work well with their brains, while others may be better as athletes or at working with their hands.

People are made up of different abilities, different interests, and different motivations. To expect anyone to conform to a certain standard of life is to kill the individual's creativity and sense of purpose in life. Without purpose, there is no life. In a family, it is the task of everyone to discover oneself and others to understand one another, so as not to stifle the interests of the other. It is helping each other in developing the full potentials according to the direction that makes him or her perform at the very best to fulfil the roles each one is accountable for within the family and the society.

The Incredibles is therefore about being yourself, doing the things you do best in fulfilling the dreams of your desire and interest. It means working together with your family to fulfil each other's dreams in life using 'superhuman' energy and strength, with great enthusiasm!

Superhero Tendencies

2004-12-10T22:18:00.000+08:00

A superhero is reliable, dependable and responsible at all times, possessing courage and perseverance. He or she abides to ethical principles and possesses a will to help others. A superhero is someone we can look up to and be exemplary in doing good for mankind and nature!

As a superhero possessing great powers, Spider-Man is one such hero who knows with great powers comes great responsbility. Spider-Man possesses courage and perseverance, and fights to the end for the good of mankind. He takes responsibility of saving people even when he is devoid of any energy left, proving to all his reliability and dependablity. Even when society and cops are against him, he abides by ethical principles to do what is right. He is, to the discerning, an example of a great superhero.

All of us to some extent possess similar closet superhero tendencies. Like others, I can be reliable, responsible, and dependable (most of the time). My passion and my will is to help people anyway I can, and I hope to do good to serve the community and preserve the natural environment in the ecosystem. I am therefore a superhero in the making. You can too!

Moments in History

2004-12-09T23:32:00.001+08:00

Today is a special day to me because it is the day my writing forms a part of Singapore history, a day that celebrates the end of a chapter and the opening of a new chapter of yet untold future. It is the day fond memories of the National Library at Stamford Road are crystalized in words and photography in a coffee book entitled, Moments in Time: Memories of the National Library.

The launch which was held in the evening at the library in Esplanade earmarks the untold stories of numerous memories from the public in recalling the days when the National Library at Stamford Road stands in glory. Edited by Philip Lee, the chief editor of Streats newspaper, the book boasts of content written by more than a hundred individuals and contains writings of diverse stories, including love story, ghost story, Christian testimony, reminiscence, humor, and others.

Priced at S$12, the book is available for purchase at the major NLB libraries beginning tomorrow. It is my privilege, therefore, to be one of the article contributors in this book that records the memories of the library in history and in case you wish to know which is my article, you can find it on page 69 under the title, "Home to Writers' Circle."

For details of the launch, please read "Memories of National Library at Stamford".

Broken Bits

2004-11-30T17:08:00.001+08:00

I am writing this while in the midst of sickness, stricken by cough, headache, fever, and nausea. For one who loves to write and can't not write, this may be moments a writer thinks best, the right time to pen down thoughts in forms and angles which may never be penned again.

Here's a peek to the broken bits of thoughts as I took a long walk into the world of nature this morning … a realm within a puzzle, needing to be pieced together. If you can still your heart and picture what I saw and succeed in assembling the pieces together in an understandable manner, you will have accomplished something.

… birds of different types chirping … crickets sounding … butterflies surrounding … insects of different types making noises … dragonflies buzzing … waters running … leaves falling … multitude of trees standing tall … trees with leafy arms and branches … leaves of different shades and colours … leaves of trees moving where the wind flows ... a leave caught within a spider web … a chameleon running across the grass … flowers in magnificence … fragrance of flowers … smell of nature … wind and breeze … trees and plants … red, violet, yellow, and pink … branches and twigs … strong and the weak … calmness against roaring waves … calmness as I've never felt before ... sea breeze blowing at my face ... sounds of waters hitting shore … train of ants marching on the floor … moments of reflection … nature in its beauty … a second Eden … spoilt only by vandalism and waste surrounding the shore … motor boats passing … coconut trees … sparkling waters … shining sun … barbecue pits … couples and families … people running … tai-chi displaying

Words of disparities can seem astounding. The truth is, many of us are too organized and structured for our own good. Spurring moments like these help inspire creativity. If you can read my thoughts and piece together my feelings from the bits above, you are a step closer to knowing me from within.

Fond Memories of the National Library

2004-11-18T08:40:00.001+08:00

A chapter of Singapore history ended when the National Library at Stamford closes recently.

The National Library building at Stamford Road which celebrated its ground breaking in 1957 and officially opened for service in 1960 has now moved on to the next chapter in acquiring a new spot at Victoria Street that boasts state-of-the-art facilities and information hub to serve a wide area of services to its publics.

In commemorating the end of a chapter, the National Library Board (NLB) has invited the Singapore public with fond memories of the place to submit their reminiscences in the form of short write-up, photography, drawing or cartoon. The outcome of these submissions is a coffee table book entitled, Moments in Time: Memories of the National Library, which will be launched on December 9, 2004 at the library in Esplanade. It is therefore my privilege to be invited for the book launch and for the opportunity to contribute one of the many articles in the book.

The National Library building at Stamford holds a very important place in my heart because it was there that I first found my love in writing, as a result of organized group meetings introduced by the library under the flagship of the Young Writers' Circle. These meetings are held regularly on a monthly basis for the purpose of promoting local literature writing in prose, poem, freelance, and short stories. It is therefore with heart-felt sadness that I bid farewell to the many fond memories of this building as it vanish into yet another chapter in the Singapore history.

News Reporting: The Inverted Pyramid

2004-11-06T17:45:00.004+08:00

Anyone who reads newspaper would know how hard news is written. The intro or lead paragraph always starts off with a summary of the whole news story, answering at least three of five Ws and a H on what, who, where, when, why, and how. The subsequent paragraphs expand on the summary and provide details of the news starting with the important at the top and the less important at the bottom. This is called the inverted pyramid.

Writing hard news is very different from writing features because it does not contain content of ideologies, anecdotes, or thoughts. It is not an editorial of opinions. It is all about facts.

The purpose of the inverted pyramid style of writing primarily serves the audiences and editors in the ways they read and edit articles. For the journalist, this method of writing reduces the time in processing thoughts and planning of how a story needs to be written. To the editors and gatekeepers, it allows a quick cut-off of content at the lower end of the story to fit the availability of space for print. To the readers, it allows quick content reading at a glance, with the gist of the story starting right from the beginning of the story, allowing them to move on to the next story even before the article is fully read.

For easier visualisation of how hard news is written, read my article on a court judgement at http://www.edvencomm.net/hardnews.pdf.

Discourses of the Real

2004-10-12T17:11:00.000+08:00

When a comment is added to a text in a blog, the action constitutes a discourse. A discourse as defined by Foucault is "a group of statements which provide a language for talking about - a way of representing the knowledge about - a particular topic at a particular historical moment" (Hall 1992: 291).

According to the constructionist theory, 'reality' and audiences are formed within discourses, and discourses are what make up the meaning in our daily lives, how we behave, how we see things, and how things are seen as norms in our social lives. We come to understand what is 'real' through what we know and expect of the material world, just as we come to know about our subjection to the law when we read about punishment for crimes in the newspaper. By knowing about the law we learn how we should behave in a society and this knowledge produces power that makes us subjects.

This means in essence that 'discourse produces the objects of knowledge' and that 'nothing which is meaningful exists outside discourse' (Hall 1997:44; Foucault 1972). This does not mean the inexistence of the material world, but that 'meaning' does not exist outside discourse. When a topic about something is discussed, we talk within a discourse. When we see things in the 'real' world but do not talk about it in an understandable language, 'meaning' is lost and communication is broken.

So what is actually the 'real' world? Is it a construct? According to media studies, the 'real' is a construct make up of representations within discourses. When we read in the newspaper about a war in the Middle East as an audience far from the site of occurrence, we essentially depend on the reporter to tell us the story. The story, although 'real' as far as the media and its audience are concerned, is from someone who provides meaning to what he or she hears and perceive about the event, which is usually quite different from the view of a person experiencing it.

Discourse about what is 'real' is simply how we seek to understand about representations. As readers and audiences we need to know how to see things from difference perspectives in order to understand the meanings of what messages are being conveyed in media texts and through understanding negotiate our positions as subjects in the society.

REFERENCES
Foucault, M. (1972), The Archaeology of Knowledge. London: Tavistock.
Hall, S. (1992), "The West and the Rest", in Hall, S. and Gieben, B. (eds), Formations of Modernity. Cambridge: Polity Press/The Open University.
Hall, S. (1997), "Discourse, Power and the Subject" in S. Hall (ed.), Representation: Cultural Representations and Signifying Practices. London: OU and Sage.

Converting Audio CD files to MP3

2004-10-11T23:51:00.000+08:00

Not too long ago I wrote an article on how to convert songs from audio CD into MP3 files. If you are interested to know how, read my article:
http://www.edvencomm.net/mp3edu.pdf

PLEASE NOTE: All material and content in the magazine is copyrighted.

Blogging: The Article

2004-10-01T01:04:00.001+08:00

On August 11, 2004, I mentioned in this blog about an article I was writing for a magazine on the subject of blogging.

The article is now published and can be read on line at:
http://www.edvencomm.net/blog.pdf (Hi Res: 5.49MB)
http://www.edvencomm.net/blog2.pdf (Lo Res: 2.41MB)

PLEASE NOTE: All material and content in the magazine is copyrighted. To purchase hard copies of the magazine or request permission for reproduction, please write to the publisher.

Contemporary Fiction: Genres and Beyond

2004-09-19T22:44:00.000+08:00

Writing fiction is an art, and although I am probably not the right person to talk about contemporary fiction since I currently only write non-fiction, any constructive comments or advice on the subject will be welcomed at this blog.

Now that my stand on the subject of fiction writing has been explained, I wish to add that although I am not an expert in the fields of fiction writing, I am however academically trained in the subjects of Contemporary Fiction and Authorship and Writing. Over the past few years, months, and days, I have the opportunity to read a number of fiction novels as part of my academic curriculum. The many novels and genres I have been tasked to read and analyze include Oranges by Jeanette Winterson, Psycho by Robert Bloch, Nice Work by David Lodge, The Memoirs of a Survivor by Doris Lessing, On the Black Hill by Bruce Chatwin, Guerrillas by V.S. Naipaul, The Remains of the Day by Kazuo Ishiguro, and Beloved by Toni Morrision.

The novels mentioned above are writings consisting of many different genres, and although these are not the usual types of books that I would have preferred to read, an important lesson learnt from all these readings is to be a good fiction writer, one must read more than these and understand the many different genres of writings.

Analyzing literary is not exactly an easy task and to comprehend the many different genres and then categorize each type of writing content is only for the purpose of identifying the different kinds of writings represented. The pitfall of this is the generalization of different genres in writings and the assumption that all writings fall under a certain type of category. Unfortunately, this approach is not always correct, since there may be multiple genres represented in a single writing.

For example, an author may choose to include humor and suspense in a romance novel. To categorize the novel under romance alone will mean limiting the audience's perception of what the novel represents as a whole. If a reader is only interested in books of thriller or sci-fi, what are the chances of the reader entering a bookstore and going to a section selling books on fantasy or folklore instead?

There are of course many areas of fiction writing apart from genres and these include setting, characterization, plot, point of view, style, target audience, historical and literary background, narrative and narrator.

In the area of style, the writer may wish to consider content such as dualities, binaries, layered meanings, connotations, reminiscence, reflections, rhetoric, metaphors, folklore, and others. Examples of these are the dualities and binaries of academia versus industry in Nice Work, the layered meanings and connotative resentment of enlistment to fight the war, the reminiscence and reflections of events in the past in On the Black Hill, and the metaphors in Memoirs of a Survivor.

In a story setting, aspects such as historical background, constructed society, realism, context of past, present and future may be considered. Experiential content such as historical events that happened in the life of the author may be used to add constructed realism to associate the content in the story that readers may identify. Examples of story setting are the association of colonialism in the writings of Guerrillas, the depiction of societal chaos and the future in Memoirs of a Survivor, the folklore of telepathy of twins in On the Black Hill, and the classical example of Ben-Hur in the times of Jesus.

To write a fiction book or novel for a large audience in the international market, the author must explain or eliminate aspects of writings that contain associated content that is confined to a local context. These will include aspects of language, culture, words and literary terminologies.

For guides on modern language and literary writings, visit the web site of the Modern Language Association at http://www.mla.org for more details.

Feature Writing

2004-09-15T01:57:00.001+08:00

Sam lost his job two years ago due to the economy downturn. Believing it to be only temporary, he actively seeks employment while upgrading his skills through short-term courses. Today, he is still unemployed. Now at the age of 41, he is forced to consider self-employment and entrepreneurship but is hesitant because he has been an employee his entire working life.

The introduction above is an anecdote that kicks off a news feature story on entrepreneurship. When writing a feature, there are usually four components to be considered. These components are: anecdotes, quotes, facts, and statements of theme.

For writers who are new to feature writing, a common mistake is to pen an anecdote from a first or second person's points of view. For example, when writing the story mentioned above using 'I' or 'you':

You have been an employee your entire working life. Two years ago, you lost your job due to the economy downturn. Believing the downturn to be only temporary, you actively seek employment while upgrading your skills through short-term courses. Today, you are still unemployed.

To write an anecdote, the story must be written by a third party or a third person narrator. The purpose is to use content 'pull' technique to attract readers to a sense of reading a novel or a storybook. For a feature story to be successful, at least one anecdote should be included to help readers visualize the 'reality' of a situation or the life of the person being told in the anecdote.

A feature should also include facts and quotes for angles of human interest. Facts may be research finding that quantify the content of the story, official statistical figures, or actual events witnessed by people:

According to official figures from the manpower department, unemployment is now at 4.5 per cent.

Quotes are actual account of events by witnesses or spoken comments of people interviewed. Quotes can be direct or indirect. For a feature story to be credible and interesting, both direct and indirect quotes will be necessary.

A direct quote is the actual spoken words by persons interviewed:

"I have been an employee my entire working life," said Sam Doe, 41, a retrenched worker.

An indirect quote is a paraphrased or rephrased writing of actual words spoken by persons interviewed:

Sam Doe, 41, said he has been an employee his entire working life.

Ghostwriting

2004-09-01T23:46:00.001+08:00

One of the less glorifying works that a writer can do for a living is ghostwriting. Ghostwriting, as the name implies, is about writing a piece of work on behalf of someone else. The writer is the ghost and the person who hires the writer is the owner and author credited for the written book.

As a ghostwriter, one does not get the satisfaction of seeing his or her name in print. What is seen is someone else claiming authorship to the written work, which is an experience that can be painful for one who has put in many hours of work and in some ways, degrading. However, ghostwriters are often well compensated in monetary returns in disclaiming association to the written work, and this in itself may provide consolation to the writer.

Ghostwriting entails many areas of considerations in practice and this article hopes to detail some of the guidelines that will be useful in understanding the procedures that may be necessary for providing this service.

For starters, the ghostwriter should understand that it is usually someone who wants to publish a book under his or her own name that will contact the ghostwriter for the assignment. Once contacted, the task of the ghostwriter will be to first estimate the time and cost required to complete the desired writings, computed in dependency to the complexity of content and the need for research. A book project will normally completes within four months of the start date, but this is dependent in part on the ghostwriter's availability, the length of writings required, and the topic.

The hirer of the ghostwriting service will first provide the story or ideas in a two to three pages sample in draft or outline format, and the ghostwriter will then produce a custom sample for the hirer to evaluate the style of writing before the hirer officially invest and hires the ghostwriter for the work. A precise quotation of the price will accompany the sample so that the hirer can know exactly what is entailed in the complete investment.

If the hirer accepts the sample and wish to proceed with the project, he or she will make a 25 per cent deposit of the project cost which will be non-refundable once approval to commence is given. The ghostwriter will begin writing and send chapters along the way for approval, in which any number of revisions will be permitted at no additional cost. The only time revisions become an additional cost is when acceptance of the individual chapters have been confirmed and approved, as any revisions at that point will affect the remainder of the story.

When the book is halfway through completion, another 50 per cent deposit will be requested and on receipt of payment the writings will continue as per normal. Upon reaching 100 per cent satisfaction with the completed book, a final payment will be collected.

The remainder tasks upon completion will be the actual production and publication of the book, and these are not included in the cost quoted for ghostwriting. A reasonable price to charge the hirer for the service will depend on the market price in the country of service provided. This can differ very widely, depending on familiarity to the topic of writing, the research requirements and others. As a ghostwriter usually requires 'full time' concentration for a few months on the project, a good guideline for pricing will be to calculate the opportunity cost and opportunities lost as a result of taking up the project. In addition, the price should also include goodwill for 'selling' one's right to authorship.

With all these aspects considered, it is ultimately up to the writer to decide whether he or she is willing to participate in this less glorifying role of writing as a ghost. If monetary returns are important, then ghostwriting may be the ways to go, depending on its demand.

Live to Write

2004-08-15T15:54:00.001+08:00

Everyone in this world believes in the right to choose what he or she wants to do for a living. Not many people however live the lives they want because jobs are scarce in the world of economics. In the heart of hearts, many people would have at one time or other desired to be a writer or an author, but not all of these people get the chance to live lives the way they want it.

To be a writer is a noble thought and to see one's name published in an article or a book is a satisfaction that goes beyond actualization and personal achievement. It is a signifier of success and authority on the subject of what has been written. For a fiction writer, it is the power of imagination, a fantasy beyond reality, a demonstration of creativity. For a non-fiction writer, it is an accomplishment that propagates the writer's expertise on the subject, a canonical authority to power in knowledge.

Many people who pursue a career in writing began their career as a journalist after they have obtained a diploma or a degree in mass communication or journalism. Academic achievements, however, need not always be quintessential to good writing, although many employers would prefer to engage someone with at least basic writing skills or qualifications, especially in Asian context.

As a journalist or intern journalist, there are various paths in which writers can achieve their goals. The first consideration is usually to write for the broadsheet press or main newspaper, a place that provides a good start for building an outstanding portfolio. This path, however, will not be an easy ride and new comers entering a newsroom environment will usually start as reporters. To work as reporters can be hell because the deadlines for each story is within several hours, often less, because of the required time for meeting people, conducting interviews, and getting the story out for editing and print within the same day. News that do not make it within the scheduled time on the same day will be discarded as it will no longer be news the next day. Apart from the rush, writing for the mainstream has advantages as well, the key gain of which is a portfolio that provides good reference to an impressive CV or resume.

The second alternate path is to write for non-mainstream press or tabloid. Although the desired prestige may not be what the writer seeks to have, depending on the track record of the publication's circulation capacity, it can still substantially provide some publicity and recognition for a good portfolio.

The third path to consider is to write for periodicals, magazines, or on-line publications. The advantage of writing for these types of publications is primarily in the area of deadlines. Articles for such media usually allows a slightly longer time for writing completion as the audiences are more selectively targeted. Production for magazines and periodicals are usually scheduled for weekly, monthly, or bi-monthly release and content of writings feature based, often with added sophistication that allows writers the avenue to express their writing styles as well as presenting thoughts of people interviewed or their own.

Apart from seeing one's name associated to the article he or she has written, working as a journalist has other forms of satisfaction as well. When a journalist is invited to attend an event or a media conference, he or she is always treated with utmost courtesy by the people who invite, sometimes with souvenir gifts and seats arrangements that are usually only for the VIPs. These do not mean that the journalist must then write something favorable accorded to their courtesy, as journalists essentially abide by the code of journalistic practices.

Besides journalism, there are other ways for aspiring writers to start a career. As explained earlier, writing for a living is not dependent on qualifications, literacy, or academic achievements. For people who do not have the required qualifications but desire to write, they may sometimes be better off than those who have because they are not restricted by what they have learnt. In the case of fiction writing, those without degrees and diplomas often possess better imagination and creativity, with the ability to distance themselves from stereotypes. This, of course, does not mean that writers who are qualified are unable to write fiction. It does mean however that trained writers have a tendency to follow prescribed rules in their writing style which can limit a person's creativity and stifle a good story. Having said that, however, it should be noted that good writings are dependent on a person's flair for writing, not good qualifications. For a writer to be good, he or she must possess a burning passion for what he or she writes, not just write to live, but also live to write.

Fee or Free?

2004-08-12T11:25:00.002+08:00

There are many people who are willing to write for free, especially when they have a full time job of their own. They do not mind contributing to publications so long as they get to see their articles published in magazines or books. Few however actually realise that in so doing they are jeopardising the survival of people who write for a fee.

I used to write for many publications at no cost in the past when I was an employee earning a regular income. Occasionally, I get paid writing for a supplement of the main newspaper only because of the publisher's required ownership and rights to the article, and that works fine for me. All these happened about ten years ago.

Today, as a freelance journalist and writer, my livelihood depends on being paid to write. As a gesture of goodwill, I usually provide one free sample of my unpublished works to editors in the hope of them hiring me to write for other articles. Many editors welcomed the gesture and some even assured me that my sample articles will be published. Often these turned out to be empty promises and when the next issues of their publication were released, the content of their topics seemed to be not much dissimilar from my ideas, except that it is written by someone else. This is how it is these days, possibly because there is no black and white to intellectual property rights as far as non-contractual freelancing is concerned.

Writing freelance is not a monetary rewarding job. Usually a writer gets paid about 20 to 30 cents per published word, and this payment do not usually gets received until a month after the article is published. If I write an article in August this year for a November or December issue of a magazine, I will usually only be paid around January next year. If the article is about 1000 words and the fee is 30 cents per word, it means I will be paid $300 after three months from now. In the real world, most editors for magazines only require freelancers to write articles of about one page or up to four pages. Each page is about 500 words and this means a writer must write a substantial amount of articles before he or she can survive.

Unfortunately, that is not the end of the story. The fee paid to the writer includes expenses incurred during the course of writing the article, such as the use of Internet, phone calls and transportation to conduct interviews on phone or meeting interviewees in person.

These are the things being faced by journalists and writers constantly. Print media editors usually get lots of articles free of charge from contributors and from full-time hired staff writers. Freelancers are often only hired for their skills in areas that normal writers do not possess, for example, technical knowledge required for articles of technological content. If you are aspiring to be a freelance writer, your first step is therefore to craft out an area of writing that requires your unique skills or expertise, according to the demand of publishers.

Blogging

2004-08-11T01:22:00.000+08:00

Recently I was assigned to cover a feature story and two short technical articles on the subject of blogging.

I started off the feature by introducing a blog site that I frequently visited of a soldier who is facing the daily tension at the war zone 'live' in Iraq. The site which details the daily life of an infantry machine gunner situated in Iraq is found at http://cbftw.blogspot.com.

The feature covered interviews with various people on the subject of blogging, including adults, teachers, and students. Quotes were taken from different people, including Jack Neo, JanNiCe and Sara-Ann K.

The feature ended in a melancholy note on the contrast of the different people writing blogs. Some write to express their joy while others write for a cause. For the soldier in Iraq, it is a matter of life and death. It is about informing family members and the public of the stituation and about how he faces each day with courage, fear, and uncertainty.
The two other technical articles detail the instructions of how to become a blogger, how to create blogs, and how to add sound and pictures. The first talks about blog and the second about moblog.

As to which magazine I am writing for, all I can say is that it is an educational magazine, and the the articles are for the Sep/Oct 2004 issue.

A Writer's Nightmare

2004-08-10T23:58:00.001+08:00

The greatest nightmare of a journalist is when his or her written work is modified beyond recognition by the editor.

Throughout my experience as a writer and journalist for many publications, my writings have seldom been edited more than 10 per cent, and I respect editors for that.

My nightmare came not so long ago when I have to work with an editor I have never worked with before. The article which I was assigned to write for a trade magazine was a technology article on wireless solutions. As part of the required content for the article, I was required to work with as many corporations as possible to find out how these solutions have helped their businesses and to obtain quotes from them, and from people in the industry. After many hours of hard work and interviews on phone (which cost money), I painstakingly wrote the article and compiled quotes from many key people in the business world, trade associations and government bodies.

When the article was finally submitted to the editor after many rounds of self editing, the editor decided instead that all the quotes be lifted off to focus on an out-of-date aspect of wireless technologies instead! The irony is technology is an area of my expertise and I have worked in the IT industry for many years, while the editor admitted that she is NOT into technology at all.

When the article was finally published in the trade and business magazine, I was no longer able to recognize its content except for some minor semblance which I am unwilling to accept or acknowledge openly to be mine. In fact, I feel shamed by it and fear that it may hurt my reputation as a credible technology writer.

That was the last time I worked with the editor.

Share Your Experiences

2004-08-10T23:57:00.000+08:00

This blog entry is dedicated to all editors, writers, journalists, and bloggers who wish to share and discuss about their experiences and thoughts on writing and editing, or to feedback about this blog.

If you have a tip on writing or an advice on how to get published or how to survive as a writer or have some thoughts that may help writers in their writing, or something to say about this site, please feel free to pen your comments here.

Welcome to this Blog!

2004-08-09T23:56:00.000+08:00

Hi journalists, writers, editors, bloggers, mass communication/media/ journalism students, and visitors of this blog ...

Welcome to this new blog on Journalism and Writing! Whether your interest is to provide advice on writing or to feedback on this site or to share your experiences, please feel free to place your comments here. For anonymous submission, please sign off your comment with a name or nickname and an e-mail or web URL address.

Thank you for participating at this blog.

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