Guest Post: Bailey Digger looks at how writers use the Internet

It’s a phenomenon that no one can ignore or avoid today, unless it’s at their own peril – if you’re not online, it’s like you’re not alive. The Internet has revolutionized the way we live our lives; and while there’s no denying the detrimental effects that this technology has brought to those who misuse it, we also have to admit that it has made life so much more convenient and reduced large geographical distances to nothing. Today, it is just about possible to do anything right from the comfort of your home, if only you have a high-speed Internet connection and a decent computer.

Everyone knows what the net is; most of us know how to use it for the most basic of functions like sending out email and doing the minimum of browsing; many are power users who get most of their work done through the net; some have jobs that require them to stay online 24×7; and some use it to gather information for work-related and other reasons. Suffice it to say that the Internet is here to stay, not in the same form forever – it will evolve and take shape according to the changing trends and developing needs.

When it comes to writers, the web has made a huge difference in the way they work. Not only are more jobs available now, there is a bigger and more widespread platform through which they can share and spread their creativity.

Writers use the Internet in various ways:

• To showcase their work through blogs and other self-promotional ways – gone are the days when you had to search high and low for publishers to print your short stories or novels. Today, you just need a blog account (they’re free), and you’re all set to shine through your words online. [Editor’s note: You can learn more about building your own blog right here on thinks]
• To communicate and interact with other writers – by creating a network of writers (or bloggers as the web world calls them), the Internet has fostered a community through which those who are passionate about writing can comment on and compliment their peers on their work. Social networks like Facebook and LinkedIn also make it easy for writers to stay on top of what’s going on in their line of work and find assignments and jobs.
• To find jobs – online jobsites and forums make it easier for aspiring writers to find positions that suit their qualifications and situation. You have many work-from-home opportunities opening up for writers because of the passive nature of the job. Online freelance portals allow freelancers to bid on projects and find new clients.
• To send and receive assignments – it’s easy to send and receive documents through email; also, project management software allows a team of people to work efficiently by assigning responsibility and deadlines, permitting upload and download of files, and allowing people on the same project to interact with each other even though they are in different locations.
• To do their research – I think this deserves the most special mention because today, without the Internet, a writers work would be much harder than it is. An article that takes around an hour to write now would take much longer a few years ago, simply because there was no Google or Wikipedia to get your facts straight. The web is the best place for a writer’s research because it offers information in real-time and allows access to a large variety of sources – all the writer needs to know is how to separate the authentic from the spurious.

While the web has not changed the way we write, it certainly has revolutionized the way we research what we write and how much and how fast we write.

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