And we're voyaging into the mundanely practical yet again! This time it's why you're going to want to know content creation in the changing economy.
When I talk content creation I am not talking about simple emails, Tweets, text messages, etc. I'm talking specifically about the ability to create text entries with the purpose of communicating ideas and experiences – and peripherally other media.
In short, you're going to want to know how to write well in current and future economy at the very least.
The reason for this is simple – much as I've said in the past that typing will be needed because text is becoming a major method of communication – and will be for decades – so is the ability to create coherent text communications.
We may live in the age of the text message and the Tweet, but that's usually used for limited or personal communication. We also live in the age of the email, the blog, the journal, the social media site, and the LinkedIn profile. In short, we live in an age where more and more text is being consumed by people all the time.
In addition, this text is often very public – on profiles, blogs, etc. Our increasingly personal publicity means more of our communications are visible – and with search engines and social media everywhere, they have a long life.
If you want to get things accomplished, you're going to need to know how to communicate in text effectively. You want to be able to express ideas, communicate, and in short use at least decent ability to use the language of choice and proper punctuation. Text is going to be a big part of how people perceive you – and how you portray yourself.
How far you need to go probably depends on your ambitions – if you're reading this there's a good chance you have the essential skills to communicate in text effectively. To become more lyrical, more of a journalist, etc. you may want to practice more (say, a blog . . .), read a book or two, or even take a class depending on your goals.
I would recommend having SOME method online to practice and employ your text skills – again, a blog, or perhaps regularly updating your LinkedIn.com profile, or even replying to blog posts with carefully composed posts. You might as well learn by doing.
Boring you over!
– Steven Savage