TOP 10 SECRET TIPS:
7. WRITE WITH A PURPOSE AND OUTCOME IN MIND. Like DUHHH! Everyone is bombarded with material to read in every form coming from every direction. Why are you writing? Why should anybody read what you write, even the niche you identified in Tip 8?
Answer these questions:
What can you contribute that’s new? (Or, tell me something I don’t know.)
What can you contribute with a different spin from anyone else?
What problem can you solve?
How can you help someone?
Who will benefit or gain?
Who cares?
How can you make a colleague a better researcher, teacher, or clinician?
How can you make someone’s life
• easier?
• healthier?
• safer?
• more meaningful?
• more productive?
• more efficient?
• more influential?
• more satisfying?
In other words, “Your writing is all about your readers; it’s not about you. It’s what you can do for them that counts” (Berk’s Law, 2010). Match your expertise to your readers’ needs.
These questions have to be answered whether you’re writing a blog, report, research article, or book. If the outcome isn’t a significant contribution to your discipline or to your readership, they won’t read your blog or article or buy your book. Your writing must be salable to your readers.
(Up Close & Personal: You’re probably thinking: “Where are the jokes you promised?” They’re sprinkled here and there, hither and yon, ying and yang. What you really wanted to ask was: “Why am I writing another piece on ‘writing’ in an already overcrowded field?” Great question. I thought I answered it previously, but maybe you were busy checking out my French derivation of niche. Wasn’t that a pip?
Although writing [but not necessarily publishing] is expected of all academicians, I don’t think most search for sources on how to write [or publish], no matter how much they may struggle. I thought my blog series could not only suggest a few new pointers, but also provide an easily accessible, anonymous, high security, secretive, covert, and free platform for a concise Berk’sNotes® resource. No one will ever know you peeked. Go ahead. Peek. I know you want to.)
My next blog will take you to Tip 6: how to pick topics about which you are passionate. We’re back to the heart of writing agaaain!
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
WEB 3.0 (2010–present)
This 3rd generation is “read-write-execute” (Berners-Lee). It is actually the 3rd decade of the Web. However, don’t start celebrating yet. We need to figure out what it means.
TECHIE JARGON: John Markoff (2006), who coined “Web 3.0,” called it the “intelligent Web.” Unfortunately, I’m not intelligent enough to grasp his tech definition:
“using semantic web, microformats, natural language search, data mining, machine learning, recommendation agents, and artificial intelligence technologies.” I don’t have a clue what that means.
INTERPRETATION W/ EXAMPLES #1: However, Todd Lucier (2009) provides a little more insight with: “location-aware and moment-sensitive Internet.” He emphasizes that Web 3.0 affords people all over the world the opportunity to engage with one another on a variety of devises, particularly handheld ones, which are easier than ever before. Examples with which you may be familiar include the following:
• handheld 3G and 4G devices, like the iPhone 3GS and 4.0, for fast access to Internet almost anywhere
• iPhone apps like Around Me, OneTap, LocalPicks, iTV, and StarMap, plus a bazillion others by Apple
• real time face-to-face communications like video calling with Skype Video and Google.com/videochat
• multimedia group messaging with Utterli
• gps-triggered driving directions
The iPhone 4.0 can perform most of the above functions and a lot more. Web 3.0 adds a layer to Web 2.0 tools to allow mass diffusion of video to TVs, laptops, tablets, and mobile devises with simpler interfaces. It makes tasks faster and easier than Web 2.0. Content is recognized by its context (aka “semantic”).
INTERPRETATION W/ EXAMPLES #2: Calacanis (2008) describes Web 3.0 as the creation of high-quality content and services based on Web 2.0 technology by recognizing talent and expertise:
• a Web 3.0 version of Digg would involve experts checking the validity of claims and correcting errors
• Funnyordie.com adds a layer of talent and trust to standard YouTube features like syndication and social networking
• Wikipedia is locking pages down as they reach completion
CONCLUSIONS:
Are the differences among the 3 generations of Web any clearer? Although the shift between static, read-only pages to nonstatic, interactive Websites seems kinda distinct, the actual improvements in Web 3.0 over Web 2.0 are muddier, as our earlier inklings suggested. Maybe those changes, occurring as I type, will pop out and become more meaningful as we experience them. Web 3.0 emphasizes higher quality and easier communications of every kind. I bet consumers of the iPhone 4.0 or iPad can already appreciate those changes and the popping; even better, maybe I should go buy one.
HAPPY WEBBING! Please let me know your thoughts on any of the preceding blogs, especially corrections and clarifications by any of you techies out there in cyberspace.
COPYRIGHT © 2010 Ronald A. Berk, LLC
