The kids are packed up. I'm dressed and caffeinated and sitting in front of my computer. I have to make my plan for the week.
Last week, I published another article with the Atlantic. This one was about Newark's new merit bonus program. In some ways, it was a fairly easy article to write. Education politics was one of my academic specialties. I knew who to talk to for quotes and can ask the right questions.
In other ways, writing about education isn't so easy. I'm still burned out on the topic even after finishing that dissertation ten years ago. Sometimes it is easier to write about topics that you are discovering for the first time. The curiosity is there.
The article did fairly well, thanks to some nice words on Twitter from Randi Weingarten, the president of the AFT. I'm not privy to the actual traffic numbers, but I can get a sense of its popularity from the number of Facebook likes and links from Twitter.
After I write one of those articles, it is very tempting to sit in front of the page hitting refresh over and over to watch that little counter go up. But it isn't a great use of my time. Luckily, I had plans on Friday and was forced to be separated from my computer.
It's a new week. And online articles have the same life span as a tuna fish sandwich. So, it's time to choose the next topic.
I have a couple of ideas, but I have to play around with them to see which one has the most potential. I like topics that are grounded in some research, where I can leverage my social science background, but are tied to a timely event. I like topics that have gotten buried on page 17 of the regular newspaper and really deserve more attention. I like topics that brings attention to women and kids.
I'm slowly turning blogging into a traditional career. I'm still surprised by this turn of events.
Recent Comments