On Words and Business

It’s quite thought-provoking how important one’s perspective is to writing about and understanding an issue.

Right now, my work has me focusing on the history of the manufacturing industry in the United States. (My forthcoming book is a guide to careers in manufacturing, and I’ve been working on the industry history chapter.) In a way it never seemed before, the entire history of this country is all about manufacturing and business interests.

History for me has always been social or urban. Never military or business or religious or any other thing. So it’s quite an eye opener to be looking at the same stories and the same basic information from a different perspective.

It really opened my eyes. And it makes me realize that purposefully looking at the same information from another perspective is a good exercise to help my writing be more inclusive and perceptive.

Plus, it’s just really fascinating to see in a different light something I thought I knew.

What are your experiences of looking at something with a new perspective?

As the web and other technologis grow quickly, and people struggle to catch up, to keep up, and to measure their success, we need an objective and studied viewpoint. The Society for New Communications Research is all about that.

Their 2nd annual Research Symposium is coming to Boston in December, and promises to have some interesting things to say about trends in blogging and other new media.

As a trained librarian, I find it frustrating that the internet is still such a morass of information. Search engines try to make it easier, but their focus and methodologies leave a lot to be desired.

I understand the user-generated part of the equation, but there are times I just wish everything was categorized (by its owners, of course, because who else would have time to review every page?). From a list of subjects. Like library books. That system isn’t perfect either, but it’s better than what we’ve got.

There is so much good information out there, on the free side of the internet house, that it’s a shame we can’t find it when we need it.