(Glad to be back as a columnist for Edge Davao writing about my take on things as they transpire around me. Welcome to my scene!)
If you think you’re “too old” to learn something new, you couldn’t be more wrong.
Take me, for instance. I went through the old ways of doing public relations. Those press releases you send to media outlets via email? We used to deliver hard copies of them to media offices—in person. Those RSVPs or confirmations you make by clicking a button or a link that takes you to a confirmation page? We used to get those by making actual calls.
It may sound funny now, but those were what others would call ‘’old but reliable’’ ways of doing things. And I like the reliability of doing things face-to-face. Now there’s a totally different landscape – a digital one. And I’ve only barely scratched the surface of this world rooted in technology.
Writing is my core competency, and as a writer, I used to craft anything my job required. I penned our executives’ speeches, edited company newsletters, and created profile pieces, executive summaries, video and radio scripts, news, and feature stories. I crafted copies for ads, flyers, brochures, and all types of collateral. I even did product labels, billboard copy, book prologue, and the occasional correspondence. Anything that needed writing, I did it all under the umbrella role of a writer.
But the term writer has evolved over the past couple of decades into what is now called content writer. Content now encompasses many forms, from blog articles to videos, podcasts, infographics, and even memes. Writing itself has become highly specialized. Now we have Web copywriters creating content for webpages or social media (or both). We have product copywriters who write copy describing products. We have user experience (UX) writers who create content and microcopy for apps and other digital products.
A Social Media Specialist is a writer, so is a Content Strategist, Content Specialist, Email Marketing Specialist, and so on. What all these have in common is that they all write for the digital platform.
I’ll be quite frank. My transition from traditional media to new media has not been without challenges. But I realized it was an opportunity not only to expand my skillset but also to reinvent myself as a writer.
In the early days of this transition, I had to learn how to write blogs, SEO articles, microcopy, chatbot scripts, social media copy, website content, and all sorts of online content, primarily for digital marketing. While I had to learn the psychology, as well as the mechanics, behind each type of content, I realized that if your writing skills have a strong foundation, you can practically write anything!
While it’s good to learn as many things as possible, especially those relevant to what you do, I found that you don’t have to know everything, certainly not all at once. Learning is a process, and you can choose your journey.
What struck me most was that as I continue to navigate writing for the digital platform, I find myself constantly pulling from my previous experiences that have built and strengthened the foundation of my skill. It became crystal clear to me that I didn’t have to let go of what I’ve learned in the past to be able to embrace the present.
My learnings from working in traditional media have allowed me to have a deeper insight and understanding of working in new media, allowing me to straddle these two worlds. It’s tough at times, but for the most part, it’s fun and exciting. More importantly, you carry the learning with you wherever you go, so opportunities are limitless. And that alone makes it a rewarding journey.
