My latest on-line addiction
Lex introduced me to a new listserve that has me addicted: http://www.helpareporter.com/. It is a list put out trice daily by a guy names Peter Shankman, and basically it is a list of pitches from journalists looking for expert or anecdotal points of view. I've replied to one request, a woman looking for environmental tips for new moms. The requests range from the very serious, to very light, to almost absurd. But the thing is, we're all experts in something, and if not, we all have opinions, and there are journalists, authors and freelance writers out there who want to hear from you. Here was today's list for the evening (full stop means they got enough responses):
1) FULL STOP: Andrea Kay and "Intense Focus Executives."
2) FULL STOP: Ways to make your child feel special
3) Decline of Pay-Per-Post Job Boards (Boston Business Journal)
4) Got Asthma? (Reader's Digest)
5) Hotel Restaurants and Gas Prices
6) Brain-Boosting Tibetan Secrets (Woman's World - On Deadline)
7) Consignment Shoppers (Philly Only)
8) Aculpoco - Top Tips
9) Commercial Real Estate Merger
10) Stopping Antibiotics Too Soon (Reader's Digest)
11) Prolonged Labor - Anecdotes
12) Hotels vs. Vacations Rentals
13) Speedstyle Seeks Insights
14) A day in the life of a rancher
15) Fit Female Role Models
16) Green Hotels/Hotels that Recycle
17) Employee Loyalty
18) Celebrity Wrist-Watch Lovers
19) Latina Youth and Suicide
20) Insurance and Classical Singers
21) Need Film Professors or Expert
22) Single Minded Women Needs Experts
23) Teen Girl Campaign Volunteers
24) Holiday Gift Guide
25) Daily Task Management
26) Profiles of Baby Boomers
Each e-mail contains more detailed information on each request, but you get the idea. If you think you would like to get the list, just go to the link above, and sign up. I've just found it fascinating how many different things people are writing about today.
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FYI, a friend of mine is a freelance writer in NYC, so I forwarded this link to her, asking if she uses it often. She'd never heard of it but gave it a try, and this morning her message to me was, "Hey, it works!" So thanks for sharing this helpful info with the rest of us :)