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Web
content is King!...
Getting
into content management
The title 'content manager' can sound a little stuffy - especially
when you are working for what is supposed to be a young and
funky new medium. However being a content manager differs
from traditional editorial roles, as you won't be simply dealing
with words, but with pictures and the whole interactive caboodle.
Where
do you begin?
Good news! The industry is still relatively young so there's
no such thing as a traditional route into new media! Courses
are cropping up all the time but it is more important to get
the relevant skills than to get on a certain course. Working
on a student or school paper will stand you in good stead,
but working on a website will give you a much better grounding.
If your school or college doesn't have it's own website then
you should either suggest creating one, or if that is a little
too ambitious then you should try building your own webpage.
Your internet account will probably come with free webspace
or you could try sites such as nbci.com where (under My nbci)
you can create your own webpages. Getting some work experience
for a dotcom is great as it shows commitment and will give
you an inside view of what you could be letting yourself in
for.
Check
out www.revolution.haynet.com which offers a directory of
website design companies and their contact details. Write
off to the ones you like the look of and ask for work experience.
Writing
for the web
In order to fulfil an editorial position you will need
to be an excellent writer with good subbing skills and the
ability to see a good story and get it commissioned. There
are lots of journalism courses that will teach these skills,
but this is just for starters. For more information see our
course listings from Stepstone. Read as much as you can on
the web in order to immerse yourself in different style and
also to familiarise yourself with the way that hyperlinks
work. There are different schools of thought on how much people
like to read on the web and how they like that information
presented. As a user you will gain valuable insight into what
you feel to be successful and this is something that you can
than translate when you land yourself that dotjob. For more
information on how to write for the web you should look at
work by web guru Jacob Nielsen. http://www.useit.com/papers/webwriting/
Web
Head
You will need a passion for the internet and have strong
opinions on what works and what doesn't An ability to multi
task is essential, as you will often be expected to juggle
a million different things at once, as well as being able
to manage your time effectively and work under pressure. The
more computer programmes that you know the better, but if
you wanted the minimum then you should learn a package like
Homesite or FrontPage. Knowledge of design software like PhotoShop
is not essential but will certainly make you a lot more useful
in the office.
HTML
If you want to work on the web then you are going to
have to learn some HTML or Hyper Text Mark-up Language for
those of you that are interested in such things. It sounds
dreary and it pretty much is unless looking at lots of brackets
and is your idea of fun. The important thing however is that
it's not hard either. Once you pick up a few basics (and that
is all you will need) you will be able to update your valuable
content at a furious rate. Have a look at the following site
http://www.ncsa.uiuc.edu/General/Internet/WWW/HTMLPrimerAll.html
which will help you teach yourself.
Dotcom
or dotgone
When looking for a work on the web you should look at
the company's history and get an idea of where they are (hopefully)
heading. Check to see what financial backing the site has
and how long it has already been going for. If it is backed
by a company that already has solid foundations elsewhere
then you are much more likely to stay in your job. If you
take the risk in going with a newcomer then you will probably
get a better position and maybe more money, but you will also
need extra drive and motivation in order to keep yourself
there.
And
finally…
If you love the internet and spend lots of time on it
and want a creative job that's challenging then this could
be for you! Go for it.
Jac
Wild from StudentUk.com
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