PW6950 Week Three

"Writing comes so easy for you!" I am pretty sure all of my classmates have heard that from a friend or two. I know most my friends and family picture our classroom as a happy bunch of writers.

For a writer, writing is not that simple. We toil over the words, trying to find just the right one among the 1,025,109.8 in the English language. And, now with the advent of technology at our fingertips, we not only get to choose words, but images to compliment them. I am pretty sure most of us have looked quite similar to the picture on the right more often than the one at the top!

Ironically the words that sparked the most spirited discussion this week as we vented and encouraged each other were:

"A writer's work is never done!"

These very true words is why we forge ahead, hammering away at our keyboards, building, constructing, forming, and creating our portfolios. And no doubt, as friends and family view what we have done, their accolades will revolve around the perception that for us, the writers, it was easy. I guess I will have to give a resounding "yes" then to the question of one of my classmates, "but that is also the joy of being a writer, isn't it?"

My portfolios are coming along as most of ours are, heading into the third week of class. This week we will be submitting them for feedback to each other, so the stress is mounting. Decisions have to be made, even though many will change as the editing process begins.

A large part of our program involved collaboration with each other not only in classroom discussions, but also on our writing projects. I have watched my own writing evolve because of this constant and varied feedback. As writers, we always must keep the audience at the forefront. We are not actually writing for ourselves, but for them. No matter how many words are written, how well they flow, and how beautifully they are presented, they are meaningless unless they are read and understood. That is precisely the reason the feedback is so valuable. Our classmates are also readers and we get the opportunity to have them read and use their writing expertise to assist us in building ours.

There will be many "aha" moments created during the feedback of the initial drafts of our portfolios. So be sure and return next week and I will discuss some of them. In the meantime, my fellow writers:

PW6950 Week Two

Who would have thought the end of your master’s degree would be as overwhelming as the beginning. At the beginning, everything was new. Although I completed my bachelor’s online, the classroom for this degree was altogether different as were assignment due dates and pretty much everything else. It did help that each student was in the same position I was. So we forged ahead together, grasping new concepts and settling into new routines. The eighteen months seem to pass quickly.

Now, the final classes are upon us. NEC set up a consistent schedule for us to work on our final thesis projects. That helped tremendously for students like me, who are organized planners and procrastinators at the same time. Well, I won’t go so far as to say procrastinator, instead I will just say that I am a diligent reviser striving for perfection (or as close as I can get), which can cause some delay in finishing a project. Now that was an “aha” moment in the making!

Getting back to the final class, portfolios, I find the hardest subject to write about is me. In this class, we not only have to build a presentation that brags about what we have done, but then we have to continue the bragging rights and develop another presentation that brags about what we can do. It is not bragging though if we choose to describe it in different words. It is recognizing our accomplishments and demonstrating how we can use our achievements to go forth and help others. I guess it is all in the words one chooses to put together. Maybe it is a good thing I am writer so I can choose the right words when embarking on a new challenge, such as creating my portfolios.

But words are not the only choice I will be making on this journey. I will be choosing the tools of the presentation and visual elements. I find myself trying out new Web 2.0 tools constantly, seeking the platform that will offer the best features and functionality to accomplish my goals. The choices are numerous and I can spend hours "playing" with them! Ahh, my head is swimming.

The good news; however, is a discussion one of my classmates created resulted in this week’s “aha” moment. In defining the two portfolios that each of us is to design, she remarked that we “control” how the viewer experiences our portfolio. 

Control!?! - whoosh, down came the gavel, I was sold!

The word “control” reminded me of what I learned years ago as a car salesperson. Actually, a lot of things remind of my days in sales since I believe everything we do is sales whether it is selling a car on the dealer's lot, an old printer on Craigslist, or myself through a portfolio. 

A good salesperson controls the sale and control is achieved by following the process. This holds true no matter what is being sold; every sale follows the same process.There's that word again, "control." I was playing with all the tools instead of taking control of the job that needed to be done. To control the sale I must go through the process, committing to completion of each step before moving to the next one. 

The Sales Process

Step 1:  Product knowledge and be able to articulate the features and benefits to others

 - my product is what will be displayed in my portfolios.

Step 2:  Identify the customer

 – my target audience for each portfolio.

Step 3:  Develop the approach

– find the platform and discern content and visual elements that will entice  the audience.

Step 4:  Take a test drive

             – present drafts to classmates and professor for feedback.

Step 5:  Overcome the objections

– revision time!

Step 6:  Close the sale

 – launch the websites.

Taking control by breaking it down in steps that can be focused on individually suddenly makes the end result achievable.

Good-bye overwhelmed student, hello graduate!

PW6950 Week One

Greg walked in my office carrying a fairly large and extremely heavy, judging from the way he was huffing and puffing, box into my office. He put it on the floor with a loud thump, then looked up at me grinning.

"This is my portfolio," he proudly remarked. "With every resume I send, I mail them this box."

I could not respond immediately. The box was filled with hundreds of documents that must have encompassed every project he had worked on and every report or letter he had written for the last ten years of his career. Who would read all this? Why? I knew instantly that this was why Greg was not getting hired.

It was Greg that sparked my interest and began my research into effective portfolio presentations. For many years I helped clients set up portfolios of their work. These were not online; however, because it was before the exponential growth of technology. Instead, the portfolios were in print and I was an all too frequent visitor of Office Max and Staples to find unique yet professional materials such as paper styles, folders, and binders. It could get quite costly, but it was always worth the cost and time to develop them because often the portfolio tipped the hiring decision in my client's favor. Then, as now, portfolios showcased growth and achievement of individuals.

I first learned about websites and online portfolios on my own, with no formal training or education. Because of this, development took more time and all the available resources were not incorporated into my productions. I learned a wealth of information just the week from the readings, videos, researching, analyzing, and discussions in the PW6950 Portfolio class.

I found it interesting that most writers combined an academic portfolio with a marketing portfolio. As I pondered that, I surmised that the academic portfolio is used primarily for formal education purposes and as students embark on their careers they modify their portfolio and include a call to action or request for clients and work. This drove home what Dr. Partridge stated in the FAQs about the difference between the two portfolios, "ePortfolio-as-process and ePortfolio-as-product." Thus as I showcase my work in the academic portfolio, I will also be scrutinizing the documents for the ones that will market me as a professional writer.

Purpose and audience are key issues to consider in portfolio development. The academic portfolio is focused on what I have done and the marketing portfolio is focused on what I can do. My portfolio must create an instant connection with my audience. Janine Duff's portfolio that I perused this week did create that immediate connection and I liked her advice, "It's about showing your potential clients that you GET on a heart-to-heart level...and making real, human connections that inspire trust and ecstatic fist-pumping."

With that being said, my biggest "aha" moment of the week was the large role visual elements played in connecting with the audience, even for a writer. The old cliche of a writer being a artist of words, is truly depicted in a writer's online portfolio. The ultimate goal for all writers is to have their words be read; and for those words to be read, a connection with the audience must be established. Online, that connection begins with the visual. When the audience views my site, their interest must be peaked, and that goes beyond the written word. Although I was familiar with this aspect, perusing many portfolios heightened my awareness of just how critical the visual element are to the competitive writer in today's marketplace.

There is a lot of work ahead! It is exciting and tad overwhelming, but the stress will weaken as the my knowledge grows.