Help Wanted: Gear Diary Contributors
Posted on 27 March 2009, at 7:36 am, by Judie Lipsett
Update 03/31/09: Wow, Wow, WOW! The response to this ad has been absolutely amazing and I’ll admit – a bit overwhelming. Thank you so much to all who responded!
I am still sorting through emails, but Wayne and I have already selected quite a few names to slug it out as contributors and perhaps eventually make the team; you’ll be seeing posts popping up from our fabulous freshmen soon.
In the meantime, I am going to close this Help Wanted ad. But that doesn’t mean that I still don’t want to hear from you, especially if you are absolutely fabulous. 
We would like to add a few new Gear Diary Contributors…
You don’t have to have prior writing experience, and you don’t have to have an English degree; the main requirements are that you have an outspoken passion for technology, that you be able to explain sometimes complicated concepts (or products) in language that everyone can understand, that you know how to use spell check, and that you be able to make a deadline.
The hours are terrible, the pay is non-existent, and you would have to be absolutely crazy to submit to this torture. But the payoff (assuming that you make it through the hazing period) is the interaction you’ll have with thousands of other like-minded individuals daily.
If you are a self-starter, a prolific writer, and you manage to impress me and the team, then the odds are that we will ask you to join as a regular team member. That’s where the torture really begins. 
We are looking for people who would like to write about the following topics:
- Articles about your gear (whatever it happens to be), and how you use it
- How-To and DIY tutorials
- Windows Mobile software
- Symbian software
- Android software
- Palm software
- BlackBerry software
- Computer Games & gaming products
- PC, Mac computer hardware peripherals / accessories
- Mobile phone accessories
- Audio related products
- Miscellaneous products
- Offbeat items that aren’t necessarily gadget related, but that at least have a loose tie to tech…or are just so crazy that they beg to be published.
Ideally you would be able to submit at least two posts a week, whether they be articles, opinion pieces, reviews, news items, or what have you.
If I haven’t scared you away (and believe me, I’m trying!), then email me with a short introduction. You don’t have to submit a mini-review or an article, just give me a sense of who you are, what your interests are, and why you think we would be a good fit. Perhaps we will be!
~Judie
PS - This is Wayne Schulz here editing (or adding) to what Judie said.
My regular day job is accounting software consulting…. I know – hard to believe I don’t write for a living, huh!?
I’ve spent the last year writing for Gear Diary — at least I call it writing…
… really what I’ve been doing is learning to use WordPress (the web based software that powers most blogs like Gear Diary), learning how to find stories that attract web visitors, and learning the discipline to write regularly and often.
I’ve translated that skill to my business. And this ability to write online keeps my company from spending a dime on expensive Google Adwords campaigns. I now have the unusual skill (in my boring industry) of being able to knock out 5 or 6 interesting articles PER DAY on my company web site (which I converted to WordPress myself after Judie taught me how easy it was).
These articles on my company site live on forever. I use them in my newsletter (saving writing time), and customers use them to find and most importantly hire me (typically on the spot with no bidding).
What I’m getting at is this.
Though you won’t make money – you will learn a skill that is priceless. Knowing how to find, publish and edit articles that ultimately show up easily in searches is invaluable. While my colleagues are complaining about the recession and how hard it is to find work – I’m attracting paying clients to my company web site.
This position is great for marketing folks, sales folks, or just about anyone who wants to learn. Judie’s a great teacher – and she has connections to lots of big brains in the blogging world. You’d be foolish to overlook this opportunity to learn. I’m just hopeful none of my competitors take Judie up on her offer.
PPS – This one from Judie, again: We are getting some really awesome applications, and I want you all to know that it may take me a little while to write everyone back…but I will. THANK YOU for your emails and support!!
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