Today is my birthday and I usually don’t like acknowledging the fact that I’m getting older but this particular birthday takes place at the start of a new decade and makes me reflect on my writing through the years and the tools I’ve used.
2010
Working as a freelance writer specializing in social media. Using Content Management Systems such as WordPress and portals such as Twitter, Facebook and YouTube. Also using monitoring tools such as Radian6 and keeping up with new trends such as Google Buzz.
2000
Working as an analyst in the telecom industry concentrating on Operational Support Systems for companies such as Verizon and AT&T. Using the internet to market forecasts that project billions of dollars of spending. Totally unaware that 17 months later, the largest terror attack in our nation’s history would occur and send the industry I was analyzing into a downward spiral.
1990
A junior in high school, taking my SAT’s, narrowing down my college choices. I had the honor of having my first published work in the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette as I had won an area-wide writing contest for high school students. I was so excited to see my writing in big city newspaper print. My guidance counselor told me, “By the time you graduate college, you will be applying for jobs that haven’t even been defined yet.”
1980
I was seven years old. I would interview my family members and then use my mom’s manual typewriter to type my very basic newspaper I called “The Family Yeller.” I told everyone I met that “I want to be a writer when I grow up” not knowing that three decades later, I would be telling my story through a WordPress blog and posting it for all the world to see on the internet.
2020?
It will be interesting to see what I write in 2020 and what tools I will be using. Sure it would be cool to see into the future, but for now I’ll keep enjoying the journey and changes that come with time. [Insert Steve Miller Band's lyrics "Time keeps on slipping into the future" here]. Peace everyone. Fly like an eagle.
Sarah Wallace is a research analyst, blogger and podcaster. To learn more about her, click on the tabs above.
Filed under: Social Media Articles | Tagged: AT&T, Facebook, Google Buzz, Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Radian6, social media, telecom, Twitter, Verizon, YouTube | 2 Comments »
