Tricks to Using LinkedIn and Quora to Research Topics and Articles

By My Web Writers

LinkedIn and Quora can be used for much more than meets the eye. Most think of LinkedIn as a professional website for job hunting, and some see Quora as a question-and-answer site with no more credibility than Wikipedia. If you know a few tricks, however, both can be excellent resources for researching topics and articles. Whether you’re a content writer or researching for a school assignment, turning to these sites can provide some great information, or at least point you in the right direction for other outstanding sources.

LinkedIn

LinkedIn is no doubt a great source for networking and showcasing your list of job skills for potential employers, but it can also be used to research topics and articles. LinkedIn Today is the perfect spot to see what other professionals are sharing. Like the “How to use LinkedIn Today” video says, “There’s too much information out there, and not enough time in the day.”

LinkedIn Today gives you information from industry professionals and experts who have knowledge to share about specific topics. Not only can you search for a specific topic on LinkedIn Today, but can then filter down the results even further based on time posted, industry, or even company.

You can also set up your LinkedIn Today posts to show up on your LinkedIn homepage. You can select specific topics or even people to follow. The articles will be catered to your specifications!

Join a LinkedIn Group and read what others are asking or sharing.  Some of the best, blog post topics can be formed just by looking at forum questions.

Quora

“Anyone can ask, answer, or edit questions on Quora,” is the welcome you get once you’ve logged in to your Quora page.  Get answers from real people from all over the world. The answers might come from doctors, lawyers, writers, etc.

Quora has some great tips on getting started and how to decide which information makes for a good answer. For example, a good answer will often include a link to a research article or website that will provide more detailed information. The best answers are voted to the top of the often long list of answers.

If you can’t find a question that’s already been asked about your topic, ask the question yourself! You’ve got a world of people out there waiting to answer, so why not ask? The answers could open up a world of information you had no idea was out there and can be quoted in your blog post.

While LinkedIn and Quora shouldn’t be your only means of researching, the information found can certainly point you in the right direction. LinkedIn and Quora can offer analysis from industry experts and professionals that you might not otherwise find. ~Natalie

Five Video Perfect, Speech Opener Ideas

 My Web Writers

If you’re not using video yet– you should be.  When using video as a way to communicate mass messages, these following five ideas will help you to open with strong and compelling calls-to-attention and to pique your audiences’ interests.

1. Start with a demonstration.

Video presentations can do what would not be nearly as effective in front of a large, live audience. You can open your speech with a hands-on demonstration, talent, or trick – especially one that can be zoomed in on. Many people learn by doing and so a speech that begins with an immediate action captures interest and improves retention. This makes the audience want to know the connection between your demonstration and what you’re about to say next. We like the Shindigz video collection because of the quality and quantity of helpful tips and the ways in which these party products are demonstrated by Wendy and Mary.

2. Add emotion.

A video speech or presentation is also a key opportunity to employ an emotional appeal to your audience. You can begin with a montage of photos with a voiceover, words or a story from someone else or tell a story that is personal to you. Music can greatly enhance the effect of this. Another important benefit of this speech opener is that it helps to create a relationship with the audience. Through video you can sometimes lose that “human element” that you get from a live presentation, but by incorporating emotion you ensure this important element is still present right from the start. We think the Dove Real Beauty Sketches demonstrate how to effectively tug at heartstrings.

3. Incorporate humor.

The use of humor is a tried-and-true technique for many different styles of speeches. Remember that with video, you have the advantage of zooming in on facial expressions to really emphasize the humor in a story.  Telling a joke is a perfect speech opener idea for this medium because it helps to break the ice and set a warm and friendly tone. Whether dry or sarcastic, humor like Apple Coasting will bring a welcome chuckle.

4. Reference another well known speech or video clip.

Countless video clips have risen to stardom overnight after going viral on social media. These have become just about as well known as classic novels, especially depending upon the generation you ask. Including a short clip from a well known viral video as the opener of your own video speech is a great way to capture an audience’s attention and to prime them for your message. Ideally, such a clip should be relatable to the rest of your speech. With the many, many viral videos to choose from, you should be able to find something that can be woven into almost any message.  We think this Cimorelli and Matty B spoof of Cary Rae Jepson’s Call Me Maybe is a fun way for up-and-coming singers to partner and credit a well-known singer.

5. Do something completely unexpected.

Finally, video speeches are a great opportunity to do something completely unexpected and harness this as an effective opener to capture your audience’s attention. You’re able to zoom-in, edit, add special features and use props much more easily than you could in front of a large, live audience. So stretch your creativity and really think outside the box for an unexpected opener like a special effects trick, goofy song or sound effect. This can be in relation to the topic of the rest of your video speech or it could be a complete contrast that will keep the audience guessing.

There are many great opportunities to open your video speech that will capture your audience’s attention, build your credibility and set the stage for a powerful message.  These are just five to help get you started. They key is to remember that you must tailor your message to your audience and your medium. A video presentation or speech has unique challenges and advantages of which you should be aware and take into consideration. With the right opener and ever-advancing technology, your message can travel as far and as fast as your viewers are inspired to take it!    ~Stephanie & Jean

Other Articles:

Is Your e-Store Prepared for Summer Shoppers?

Social Networking for Business; Success Stories from 3 Brands

How Video Helps Your Website’s SEO

Resolve to Include Video in Your Content

Famous Dead Authors’ Secrets for Writing Success

By Sara, My Web Writers Intern

It has been said that writers are born, not made. Some take that to mean that you are either born with talent, or you may as well not try. That’s probably bunk. If writers are born, they are born out of the sweat and tears of determination and practice. Whether you are drumming up SEO content or working on the next great American novel, writing well and employing the habits of effective writing are essential.

First, it’s important to practice.

Practice keeps you in the habit of writing and thinking about writing. Nineteenth century author C.S. Lewis, most famous for The Chronicles of Narnia, says that “what you want is practice, practice, practice. It doesn’t matter what we write… so long as we write continually as well as we can. I feel that every time I write a page either of prose or of verse, with real effort, even if it’s thrown into the fire the next minute, I am so much further on.”

Another prolific writer, recently deceased Saul Bellow, observed that “somewhere in his journals Dostoyevsky remarks that a writer can begin anywhere, at the most commonplace thing, scratch around in it long enough, pray and dig away long enough, and lo! soon he will hit upon the marvelous.” When you practice the craft of writing and pay diligence to it, you grow. Even if you write tweets for a business firm, you are bound to come up with more unique, interesting, and creative content when you practice. Imagine an athlete who only played her sport at game time — she wouldn’t be good at it and would not be long rewarded for her “efforts.” So practice, practice, practice. Start now. Call it writers’ Spring Training.

Having some “filler” in your drafts is o.k.

It’s certainly tempting for any writer to stop when we have so-called “writer’s block.” Larry Gelbart, though, says “don’t stop.” He wants us to put something there and keep moving. Recently I wrote an article on decade themed parties and decided to employ Gelbart’s advice. I could have stopped and stared at the computer screen when I was stumped on what to write about a 1970s party that wouldn’t be a tired cliché. Instead, I wrote, “too much Footloose not enough Studio 54,” and moved on to the 1980s. Later, while editing and revising, I realized Footloose wasn’t even set in the ’70s, but I understood where my mind was headed. If I had tried to flush that out in the first draft, I’d still be writing it. Listen to Larry. Use filler and keep writing.

Beware of clichés.

“Beware of clichés…. There are clichés of response as well as expression. There are clichés of observation and of thought — even of conception. Many novels, even quite a few adequately written ones, are clichés of form which conform to clichés of expectation.”

-Geoff Dyer

Geoff Dyer is not dead (here is his website), but this advice was too good not to share. Clichés are death to all that is interesting. I can’t say that clichés are never ok, because writing, like most art, only deals in absolutes for the strict business of breaking them. That being said, clichés are never ok. “It goes without saying” that the “early bird catches the worm” and “curiosity killed the cat” so a true “jack of all trades” would never to “keep up with Joneses” by recycling tired clichés.

If it goes without saying, then please, please, just don’t say it.

Ctrl-F and Delete those Adjectives

“Don’t tell me the moon is shining; show me the glint of light on broken glass.”

-Anton Chekhov

Adjectives are not the enemy here (Hint: its clichés). Adjectives can be a crutch, though. I recently read an article about a mama raccoon saving her litter of baby raccoons during a bout of bad weather. It passed through my twitter feed with the phrase, “mother raccoon shields her litter on turnpike from cold,” so of course I read it. I read it and said “awwww… how heartwarming and precious!” If the tweet had falling back on adjective addiction, I probably wouldn’t have clicked on the link following “Heartwarming and precious tale of courage.”

“Don’t say it was delightful; make us say delightful when we’ve read the description. You see, all those words (horrifying, wonderful, hideous, exquisite) are only like saying to your readers, ‘please, will you do the job for me?’”

-C.S. Lewis

Reflect on What You Wrote

In Politics and the English Language, George Orwell claims that a “scrupulous writer” will constantly, even after every sentence (so definitely before sending that tweet), ask him or herself four questions. I leave you with those four questions to take back to your own stack of papers and document files (and practice!):

What am I trying to say?

1. What words will express it?
2. What image or idiom will make it clearer?
3. Is this image fresh enough to have an effect?

Other Articles from My Web Writers:

Tweet for ReTweets- Twitter Tips

My Favorite Writer and Online Marketing Websites and Blogs

What Stephen Covey Knew about Marketing

Tell a Better Story: Tips and Tricks from Mark Twain

Overcoming the Beautiful Little Fool

Party Crashers App Embraces Digital Marketing and the American Dream

Annual Essay Contests You Shouldn’t Miss

Writers, Don’t Give Up the Day Job Until You Pass Our Spelling Quiz

by My Web Writers

Because most people compose on word processors with squiggly red lines and spell checkers to point out errors, there are few excuses for misspelled words. Most mistakes are chalked up to typos or common homophones that slip through the cracks. Take our spelling quiz to brush up your skills and focus on commonly switched homophones and misspelled words. The first section focuses on words that sound the same but have different meanings. Often writers accidentally use the wrong one. The second section includes words off Dictionary.com’s frequently misspelled word list. Test your spelling knowledge!

Commonly Misused Homophones

Insert the correct word into each blank in the sentence below:

1) The child _______ refused to eat her vegetables. She was ______ going to be in trouble.

a)  Defiantly   b) Definitely

2) The woman relished in the _______ as her shoes were a perfect ______ to her new dress.

a) complement    b) compliment

3) The company was happy to ______ the proposal, _______ they asked for some minor adjustments.

a) accept  b) except

4) The school’s ______  felt her _______  duty was to support the teachers and keep the school running with discipline.

a) principal b) principle

5) The father was concerned with slimming his ______, bu the also didn’t want to _____ food from the table.

a) waist  b) waste

Frequently Misspelled Words

Select the correct spelling below:

6) a state of equality, a scale, a equilibrium:

a) balance b) ballance c) balence

7) Terrible; inspiring awe:

a) awfull b) aweful  c) awful

8) One who robs or steals:

a) burglar  b) burgler

9) Not a professional, a beginner, a hobbyist:

a) amatuer  b) amateur  c) amature

10) A promise or warranty:

a) garantee b) guarantee c) garentee

11) A thousand years:

a) millennium b) millenium c) milennium

12) Something one owns:

a) posession b) possesion  c) possession

13) A place to go out to eat:

a) restarant  b) restaurant  c) restaraunt

14) To suggest or praise:

a) recommend  b) recomend  c) reccommend

15) A machine that cleans your floors; an empty space:

a) vaccuum b) vacuum  c) vacume

Answer key

1.  a, b  2. b, a  3. a, b  4. a, b  5. a, b  6. a  7. c 8. a  9. b  10. b  11. a  12. c 13. b 14. a 15. b

For more help, consult this list of Commonly Missused Words to make sure you’re not just spelling he word correctly, but that you’re using the right word to begin with. You can also continue to test your spelling on your smart device using the A+ Spelling App. My Web Writers also has additional resources for making your copy editing swifter and more accurate. Give your writers our Grammar Test and read our tips for how to Be a Better Editor. ~Kasey

Quotes from 10 Writers about Web Writing

by My Web Writers

There are many quotes out there about writing. Great words spoken or written by Ernest Hemingway, Virginia Woolf, Mark Twain and more are all over plaques and posters, but the art of web writing is young.  Still, some of the pros have made impactful statements about the world of web writing.

Quotes from 10 Writers about Web Writing:

“Good writing doesn’t just happen—at least not very often. Good writing is planned.” John B. Karls and Ronald Szymansky The Writer’s Handbook, 2^nd Edition

“Having the right content in place, keeping it up-to-date, and removing content that is no longer relevant or timely ensures that the user community will find what they need.” JoAnn T. Hackos Content Management for Dynamic Web Delivery

“Good web text has a lot in common with good print text. It’s plain, concise, concrete and ‘transparent’: even on a personal site the text shouldn’t draw attention to itself, only to its subject.” Crawford Kilian Writing for the Web

“Together, we see the need for an overarching content strategy that coordinates written, video, and visual content pieces with social media that fully engage audiences and add to the knowledge graph.” Christina Zila Director of Communications, Textbroker

“The Web is like the Trojan Horse of information overload. It promised information nirvana and delivered overload hell.” Gerry McGovern and Rob Norton Content Critical

“As a rule of thumb, content should account for at least half of a page’s design, and preferably closer to 80 percent.” Jakob Nielsen, Designing Web Usability

“The more you know about your visitors, the better you can write for them.” Johnathon and Lisa Price Hot Text: Web Writing that Works

“If you’ve started a blog, and have it linked on your homepage, and you haven’t updated it for a few months, there’s a simple solution: take it down. You wouldn’t leave a half-finished display in your shop: why do it online?”  Jack Adams, copywriter

“Participating in the industry is not only a great way to network and build your personal brand, but it also exposes you to new ideas. Collaborate with industry peers on side projects. Attend conferences and meet-ups. Write and comment on articles. Do whatever you can to make a name for yourself and soak up as much knowledge as possible.” Adria Saracino, Head of Outreach, Distilled

“Get rid of half the words on each page, then get rid of half of what’s left.” Steve Krug, Don’t Make Me Think

~Natalie