Do you regularly write about events that affect you, but find it hard to connect with interested readers? Have you wondered where to look for on-the-ground, personal stories on the topics that dominate the news? Today, we announce a new current events tag, WPrightnow, to help strong writers find new readers (and …
14 Comments on Your Voice, Live from the Scene: WPrightnow, last added: 10/11/2013
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I think what my problem is, I tend to harp on what happened in the past which people in general seem disinterested in? However it actually shows how the present happened.
I would like to see some tags promoting different genres of photography get official support from WP staff. Right now “photography” is overflowing compared to the other possibilities. “Black and White” is 50% not about black and white photography. I think WP is a great platform to display my photography. It continually gets better, but there are ways to make it better yet.
Hi Ron, you make an important point, and are absolutely correct that we should always strive to make WordPress.com even better. We’re continuously thinking about ways to make specific content within popular topics more visible and accessible, and photography — like current events — is definitely a topic that can benefit from such an effort.
I agree completely that quite often the challenge is to find a way to make the past alive and relevant for present-day readers (especially those who might not be super-knowledgeable about a particular topic). But it’s an effort worth making: an anecdote, an analogy, or a comparison can all be very useful to connect a current event with its history, even if it’s in the distant past.
Thanks for the effort and innovation you and the WP team put in… It really makes a difference!
So to use #WPrightnow, what do you do? Just add it to the url post? I’ve never done this but my post about contacting the White House and why I couldn’t is current news about the government shutdown.
To tag your post with WPrightnow, just add it like you would any other tags you choose for your post, in the Tags Module on your editor screen. There’s no need to change anything in your post’s URL.
Thank you. I didn’t start a Blog to show my views on the world, but, rather, my progression as a writer. The journey of returning to the basics to becoming more knowledgeable of my craft. I didn’t imagine that I would be as intrigued on the entire spectrum of blogging. I find myself reading blogs that speak of more than just the world of creative writing. I find myself learning from people who blog about their lives, food and wine, and current events. By reading others you hear their voices.
Ben, I can agree with you that the “traditional news outlets are crucial for getting the basic facts right.” But, unfortunately, objective journalism, or even most reporters trying to be objective, is pretty much dead. Most content is too much about how people feel about the news rather than the news itself. Human interest stories are one thing, and important; but hard journalism needs to be revived. Everything is blurred today.
My imagination runs rampant while reading current events, and then continues throughout the night while I’m sleeping. My head is whirling at 250 mph at any given moment from my various blogs, to my writing, my cause in protecting children, and a screenplay I’m working on. I hardly have time to advertise myself, I’m so busy contributing.
The tag of wprightnow then would become obsolete after 36, 48 hrs. when the event has occurred… More useful to tag the blog post on the name of the event. I have written as a person who experienced a major event in person –2010 Winter Olympics as a Vancouver BC resident, the 2013 Alberta Flood in Calgary. But we are talking about big cataclysmic events that cost money and affect thousands of people.
Wprightnow also applies to birth and death of our loved ones who have shaped our lives.
I should add that I have had readers on the above events mentioned. It depends where else I go to participate regularily in forums, etc.
I agree that it’s increasingly difficult to distinguish between different types of reporting, especially since there’s so much information coming at us from all directions. Which is one more reason why personal accounts from involved bloggers hold a special value: it’s not to replace straight-up news, but to give it more context and detail.
The shorter shelf life of the WPrightnow tag is actually part of its value: as new events dominate our attention, they will be the first ones we see when we search for fresh, personal angles on big stories. This is why it’s also crucial not to forget to tag your posts with other relevant tags, as you say: that way, if someone wants to read about that event a month from now, they’d still find your post.