Archive for July, 2009

If you’ve searched for information online, then you’ve surely come across Wikipedia.  It’s user generated and regulated — meaning anyone can edit the information.  And information can be found on a broad range of topics from diseases to celebrities to televisions.  Pretty much anything.

But is it trustworthy?  That’s where the debate starts.  And the debate is important.  For example, New Scientist recently reported that 50 percent of medical doctors are using Wikipedia for information.  Its trustworthiness goes beyond whether an article we’re writing is accurate.  It affects our lives.

The theory on Wikipedia that I employ and teach my students to employ is that it’s a good starting point, but any information found on the site needs to be confirmed by a more solid source.  That’s what I hope is happening with doctor’s using Wikipedia to look up information on certain prescription drugs or conditions.

In the end, the Wikipedia debate comes down to whether the information is reliable.  Because it is user generated information it is both reliable and unreliable.  My very tech-savvy husband falls more to the reliable side of the debate.  His argument is that with so many people editing it, the information is bound to be accurate.  Someone who knows better isn’t going to let a mistake go uncorrected.  The New Scientist article even points out that no factual mistakes were found.  That’s a decent track record.  And we can surely all agree that multiple heads are better than one for catching mistakes.

However, I fall more on the unreliable side of the debate, especially for article writing.  I feel as a journalist that I have a responsibility to my readers to dig deeper than the general, user-generated information on Wikipedia.  Does that mean I never visit the site?  No.  Does that mean that I may start with the site to get an idea for what kind of sources and information to look for?  Sometimes, especially if it’s a new article topic I’m not familiar with.

All that said, I also need to point out that Wikipedia articles include references for where the information is coming from.  That means the information has to have some credibility to it.  I would say, though, instead of using the Wikipedia page as a source to go to the actual sources quoted.  First, you can confirm what is written on Wikipedia is true.  And second, you’ve just found a primary source.

Primary sources are those who were/are directly involved in the event or topic being covered.  Secondary sources are people outside of the event/topic reporting on it.  For example, I originally found the New Scientist article through another Web site.  But, to use it as a source and credit it, I went back to the actual article.  I even checked the information the article references for accuracy.  I’ve long been a fan of the Pew Internet & American Life project for data, so I made sure what New Scientist reported was actually what Pew found.  I didn’t want to quote a secondary source even in my blog.

Wikipedia seems, to me, to fall into that secondary source category.  Sure, some of those editing the posts may be directly involved, but we don’t know that.  My biggest problem with Wikipedia is that very fact — we don’t know who is behind the information.  Since it’s such a large collaboration, knowing who specifically said what is impossible anyway.  How do you quote that?  At least going to the primary sources at the bottom of each Wikipedia page gives you a more primary source to reference.

At the end of the day, credibility is most important.  Wikipedia is credible to an extent.  But, it’s a secondary source that has no place being quoted or referenced in articles.  Too many other sources exist to draw information from if you’re willing to take the time to look for them.

How do you feel about Wikipedia?

I love my work.  I make no secret about it, but even in loving my work, I struggle to stay motivated 100 percent of the time.  As I’ve written in this blog before, external things like deadlines can keep me motivated.  But, sometimes I have fewer deadlines and more time to work on pursuing new projects or do paperwork and my motivation lacks.  Here are a few tricks I’ve learned to keep myself motivated when I don’t necessarily feel like working.

Set your own deadlines. I learned this trick while working as an assistant historian for the History Program of the National Model Aviation Museum during graduate school.  My biggest task was to compile biographies of model aviation enthusiasts.   It was an ongoing project that had no deadline or end in sight.  I would set deadlines to have so many biographies or certain biographies completed by certain dates.  I also knew that I had to schedule other tasks to keep myself from burning out, so I also set deadlines to create things like a writing guide for the biographies, a form for modelers to use, etc.   I employ the same tactic today in setting deadlines for non-deadline tasks, like updating business finances, pitching new projects, etc.

Know when to switch tasks. This is part of what I mentioned in the first tip.  Some tasks just don’t hold our interest for long.  If I have a task that I dread doing, like updating business finances, then I reward myself with a task that I like to do.  Knowing that as soon as I’m finished with the dreaded task that I can start on something more fun helps keep me motivated to keep plugging away.  For larger tasks, sometimes that can mean breaking it up over a couple of days to avoid getting burned out.

Find someone to keep you accountable. A little while back I wrote about how Twitter can keep me accountable.  That’s one option, but sometimes I need a bit more interaction with someone.  I have another writer who lives across the country from me that I’ve discussed this with.  Sometimes we e-mail each other and encourage the other to keep going.  I also use my family support when needed.  I’ll tell my husband about a project I’m working on, and as he asks me about how it’s going, I want to have answers, so I stay motivated.

Understand that sometimes you just need a break. I’ve also learned along the way that sometimes to maintain my motivation and drive I need some time away.  When I’m working on more technical aspects of writing and less creative ones, I will sometimes need to take a creativity break.  Just spending 30 minutes playing the piano can refresh me to return to my task more motivated.  I also take breaks sometimes just to throw the ball for my dog in the backyard or chat with a friend on the phone.  Whether it’s a five minute break or an hour break, it’s sometimes just the thing I need to refresh myself and my motivation.

Work through the drudge. Another tip I have for now is working through the lackadaisical feelings.  Sometimes I find I get the most done by simply applying my backside to my chair and working when I don’t feel like it.  Usually by the time I’m 20 minutes in (or sometimes less!), I forget that I was even dreading work.

Music as a motivator. My final tip is to use music as a motivator.  I love music.  It’s part of everything I do.  I’ve written a bit about this before as well.  When I’m feeling least motivated, I can put on the right music to keep me going.  For times I am struggling to write, I turn to the soundtrack from “Riverdance.”  For times that I’m feeling sleepy and need to do some design work, I turn to peppy tunes that make me happy.  I’ve been known to jam to old M.C. Hammer tunes or Broadway scores when I need some pep.  It works for me.

What do you find helps you to maintain motivation on days/times when you feel like doing anything except working?

As we talked about last week, interviews are a time to do much more listening than talking.  However, you will always have sources that you connect with more than others.  Sometimes it’s commonalities.  Sometimes it’s from sources coming back at you questions about yourself.  And sometimes it just happens, usually with some of the most memorable interviews.

A couple of years ago, I was covering a small community just outside of my city for the local newspaper.  I was responsible for a column, profile and feature article each week.  One of the features I wrote was about a long-time local family whose mother was 98 at the time.  The family was so intertwined in the community that they had a road named for them.

I went in to their mother’s house to interview her and a few of her children.  I wasn’t sure what to expect, but they immediately welcomed me warmly.  They were overly nice.  In fact, after talking for probably 45 minutes, I agreed to let them perform their family initiation on me.  I definitely went outside my comfort zone and let them blindfold me to take me on an “airplane ride.”  It was a wood plank in the living room.  No danger was involved.

But, I connected with this family.  Though that page no longer exists, I have stayed in contact with the family.  They’ve invited me to their mother’s birthday parties, including her 100th this summer.  We just connected.

Another source I connected with even longer ago.  About four years ago, I was writing an article for a denomination publication about how its churches were using the Internet to reach out to members.  I found a church in Africa doing this very thing and contacted the pastor.  I still get e-mails from him today.  He checks in with me and asks about my family.  We’ve only spoken through e-mail, but it was a connection.

Sometimes connecting with your sources can mean getting outside of your comfort zone a bit and being blindfolded.  Sometimes it can just mean answering questions about yourself when asked.  Of course, keeping an interview on track is important, but many people feel more comfortable sharing information with someone when they know a bit about the person.  Don’t be afraid to connect with sources!

A big part of being a journalist is conducting interviews.  Being a copywriter involves meetings, which are similar in some respects to interviews.  For both situations, listening is vital.

A stereotypical writer is a person who is quiet and shy.  Notice I the use of the word “stereotypical” in that last sentence.  Not all writers are quiet and shy.  I acknowledge that.  Personally, I do tend to fall into that quiet category and am more of an introvert.

Regardless of your natural tendencies, it’s important to know when to listen and when to speak during an interview.  A good rule of thumb is to listen 90 percent of the time.  Here are some tips for good listening:

1. Give nonverbal and subtle verbal cues to show you’re listening.  Whether I’m on the phone or in person, I do this.  It can be a nod of the head, an “uh-huh” or just looking the person in the eye.  While taking notes during an interview is important, it’s just as important to keep conversation cues in place to encourage the person to keep talking and feel comfortable to do so.
2. Ask follow-up questions when appropriate.  While listening is vital, so is asking follow-up questions when relevant.  Think about talking with a friend who is telling you a story.  Throughout their story, you ask a question here and there to clarify things or keep the story going.  Even just questions like “What did you do?” or “What were you thinking?” can show the person you’re listening and really do care what they’re saying.
3. Don’t get overly absorbed in your notes. A good way to turn someone off is to keep your head bent into your notebook throughout the entire interview.  I like phone interviews because I can type faster to keep pace.  However, for in-person interviews or important, complex interviews, I record the interview as well so I don’t have to take as many notes and be distracted from really listening.  Never rely solely on a recorder since technical errors occur, but it’s a great backup plan.  I sometimes even make notes of the time on the recording where a good quote is that I don’t have time to write down.  However, don’t make a big fuss with the recorder.  Ask the source if it’s OK for you to record (common courtesy), then sit it down near them and leave it be.
4. Don’t be afraid of silence. I don’t want this to come across as being smarmy, but when silence happens, people want to fill it.  Sometimes I get the best information from my sources just by staying silent for a moment when they’re finished talking.  I’m not trying to trick them.  The kind of writing I do isn’t investigative anyway, but they feel the need to fill silence and sometimes expand more on a topic and I get great information.

Talking can actually sometimes be vital to a good interview as well.  It makes up that other 10 percent of the time.  Sometimes you need to make small talk with someone at the start of an interview to get them to relax.  Aside from asking your questions, other times for talking come up during interviews.  Here are some examples:

1. You have something in common with your source. Not just that you both like the color red, but something in common relating to the article.  When I was in college I did a series of articles on children of Vietnam veterans with PTSD.  They were wary to speak with me thinking I might unfairly characterize their parent.  Most times I would explain that I was in their same situation and understood where they were coming from.  Just a sentence or two was enough.  I didn’t need to recount every detail of my experiences for them to get it.
2. Your source gets off track. Chitchat can be good to put a source at ease in some situations, but the bottom line is some people just really like to talk.  You know what kind of information you need, so don’t be afraid to nicely bring the conversation back around to the topic at hand.  You can ask a question to get back on track.  Or if you caused the veer off topic, you can say something like “I got a bit distracted there.  Anyway, back to what we were talking about.”  Something like that to get them back on track.

I suppose to sum it up, the best way to know when to talk and when to listen during an interview is to remember that you are there to hear the other person’s story.  You are not there to share your own.  The focus is on the interviewee and should remain there at least 99 percent of the time.

I enjoy working from a home office — most days.  However, that’s now.  When I first started freelancing full-time from home, I had a few obstacles to overcome.  I needed a space where I could be organized and do my work.  And I needed respect for that space.  Here are some things that have worked for me in maintaining a mostly professional home office.

A dedicated room or space

When I first started freelancing full-time, we were living in a 900-square foot apartment.  I didn’t have the space to dedicate an entire room to my office.  I started with a corner.  It was the same corner where my desk was set up in the back of the living room, so it made sense.  I had a bookshelf and a computer desk with my computer and printer.  I spent my days sitting in that corner.

A year later we moved into a house with just over 1,600 square feet, so I finally had the space to dedicate an entire room to my office.  I picked a room in the back of the house with an attached half bathroom, door leading to the outside, two walls of built-in bookshelves and plenty of windows looking into the backyard.  It is perfect for me.

No matter where you find, make it your dedicated space.  It should be where you can go to do work.  It should be separate from the rest of your household.  True, I have a shelf and a couple of files in my office where I keep personal finance information, but at least 80 percent of the space is dedicated solely to work.  If I were too overwhelmed with household or personal things, I would never be able to concentrate on my work.

By the same token, having a dedicated work area means that you can leave it behind at the end of the day.  I don’t spend much time in my office during non-work hours.  I have a laptop and if I need to do something on my computer, usually I will take the laptop to another room when I’m not working.  That way I am actually getting away from it.  Otherwise, I start to get burned out.

Office hours

In order to take yourself seriously and have others follow suit, you need set office hours.  In general, I try to be behind my desk at least by 9 a.m. every day.  I try to be finished for the day by 4:30 p.m.  I take an hour for lunch.  Of course I have both shorter and longer days, but these hours are my guide.  Oh, and I work Monday through Friday.  Yes, I have worked weekends, but I don’t make a regular practice of it.

The nice thing about a home office is you really can make the hours work best for you.  I do my best work during the morning and day-time.  I know others, however, who work better at night.  Pick hours that work for you.  If I waited to start work until 7 p.m., I’d be dozing at my keyboard within a couple of hours.  I’m far from a night owl!

Another bonus to having hours is that you can let those around you know.  When I first started, I would often get phone calls during the day from family members wanting to chat.  After telling them time and again that I was working, it sunk in.  Now I seldom get chitchat calls during the day.  Or if I do, they ask if I have time to talk, just like if I were in an office outside of my home.

Letting others know also helps keep you accountable in some ways.  On the days my husband works from home, we both give each other space.  I almost feel guilty if I am not working like I know I should be because someone else is around to see that.

Caller ID, voicemail and long distance calling

A variety of tools can help you maintain a professional office, but caller ID is one of the most important and perhaps most overlooked.  I love caller ID.  When I first started, I couldn’t afford my own office line.  Caller ID told me when I needed to answer the phone professionally (as in “Hi, this is Stacey”) versus casually (as in “Hello?”).

Caller ID also told me when it was a personal phone call that I could let go to voicemail if I was busy or on the other line conducting an interview.  That said, when I am on the phone conducting an interview or client meeting, I never click over and answer the other line.  Caller ID shows who called, even if they don’t leave voicemail.

Voicemail is also crucial.  An answering machine can’t pick up when you are on the other line.  Voicemail can.  I, personally, use Vonage for phone service.  I get an e-mail with voicemail messages attached.  I can also forward the phone to my cell phone when I am expecting a call and need to make a quick trip to the post office or something.

Another benefit to Vonage is free, unlimited long distance throughout the United States and Canada.  When I started free-lancing, Vonage didn’t exist.  I had a regular phone company phone plan.  I paid through the nose for long distance.  Sometimes I was reimbursed; sometimes I wasn’t.  And when I was reimbursed, it was usually months after the phone bill was due.  Unlimited long distance keeps me from worrying.  It’s vital to a home office for a free-lancer.

One more option I’m going to mention is Vonage’s virtual phone number feature.  For a while I actually maintained two phone lines.  Now I opt for a virtual phone number for around $5 a month.  I still have the same two phone numbers, but they ring in on the same line.  Again, caller ID lets me know when it’s a business call or when it’s a personal call so I answer the phone accordingly.

I could go on and on about maintaining a professional home office and the tools needed, but I’m going to stop here for now before this gets too long.  I guess to summarize, I would say maintain an air of professionalism and that will follow through.  I literally had days near the beginning where I’d put on shoes just to feel like I was going to work and feel more professional.  Whatever it takes!