November 2021 Seminar: Writing for the Web: Perspectives and Practical Advice.
Summary
This meeting was an unusual choice for NetIKX, but it proved extremely wide ranging and informative. We considered how writing for the web is different from other content? What are the processes and principles guiding web content and are there any hard-and-fast rules to stick to when crafting texts for the Web?
These are the three questions that Teodora Patkova, our speakers, looked at in this webinar. Following her passion for making the Web a better text, Teodora led us towards a broader understanding of the Web as a new writing environment. She shared her experience with writing content for the Web as well as her academic findings, related to connecting with audiences online. Using a fascinating set of slides which drew from a hugely eclectic set of sources, she opened our eyes to ways of thinking about web content without falling back into standard content production methods. It was hugely stimulating, thought provoking and enjoyable.
We considered:
- Why write for the Web: We learned Teodora’s perspectives about the web as a public sphere, the blog as a way for engaging in dialogue with your audience and about a new SEO ‘on the block’.
- What to write for the Web: ‘Content writing’ is not necessarily a dirty phrase if there are good editorial requirements for content and high quality digital texts which can be found by search engines.
- How to Write for the Web: We all took part in a hands-on group session so that we were able to think through and then write up: a product page; a blog post brief; and a social media share.
Speaker
Our speaker was Teodora Petkova, a content writer fascinated by the metamorphoses of text on the Web. Very much in love with the Semantic Web, she explores how our networked lives transform, and are transformed by, the expanding possibilities of the written ‘webby’ word. She has an educational background in Classical Studies and Creative Writing. Currently Teodora digs deep into words and concepts as part of her PhD studies at the Sofia University and her teaching at the FH Joanneum University of Applied Sciences.
You can connect with Teodora on Twitter (https://twitter.com/TheodoraPetkova), explore her thoughts at http://www.teodorapetkova.com and read excerpts from her book on Web Writing The Brave New Text at http://www.thebravenewtext.com/. The book is also available on Amazon (only available on Kindle) at https://www.amazon.co.uk/Brave-New-Text-Perspectives-Writing-ebook/dp/B07HQ5TYQ5/
Teodora is also on LinkedIn at https://www.linkedin.com/in/theodora-petkova/.
Time and Venue
This was a Zoom on-line meeting at 2pm on Thursday 25th November 2021
Slides
Slides will be available for members. They are high quality and very delightful. Any member can ask for access to these slides, through the NetIKX document management systems. Ask the web editor for your member’s password.
Tweets
Blog
There is a blog available here: https://www.netikx.org/blog-for-november-2021-seminar-writing-for-the-web-perspectives-and-practical-advice/
Study Suggestions
Look at Teodora’s website, slide set or follow her on Social Media (see above for details)