It can get a bit hectic sometimes, but it's worth it

Confused?

I’ve taken to writing this blog as soon as I get back from Poached Creative. I’d like to say it’s because I’m supremely organised, but in truth it’s down to the sheer volume of information my brain has absorbed in the last few weeks. I had a practical assessment for my peer mentoring course on Monday, and the corresponding paperwork is due next week. Like at Poached, it’s all new to me; so it’s best I get this written now before I start confusing the two. If I ever claim that I’m mentoring the drummer from Freddie and the Dreamers, you know what’s happened.

Less is more

Today was primarily about writing for the web. I discovered some interesting things about how much (or little!) people actually read on a website – and the areas of the page they pay closest attention to. The findings seemed surprising initially, but perhaps less so when I consider my own internet use. There are only a handful of websites where I read text unrelated to what I was looking to find. So, as only read a small percentage of what you write is actually read, it is vital that every word used has an impact.

Honest learning

Angela shared with us her new-found knowledge of Search Engine Optimisation – a technique I know will help in my work at Camden Calling. SEO is a term I first heard used at a marketing conference a few months ago - where I had to sort of pretend I knew what it was - for fear of expulsion from the building. Fortunately no such pretence was required today, and I’m sure SEO will benefit me beyond the walls of Poached. I feel another transferrable skill coming on.

Paper – NOT obsolete!

I had my first experience of a preliminary stage of designing a website using post-it notes. Each post-it represents a section of the website, and can be moved around and re-organised until you have a good representation of a site-map. We are each going to write something for an area of the new site – with me opting for the ‘Training’ section. This is an exciting opportunity for me, as having some input in to what the site will look like makes me feel like a real part of the company.

Blast from the past

We had a guest speaker, Claire, that afternoon. She is a copywriter – a term that, until recently, I assumed involved registered trademarks. The work she showed to us was extremely impressive, and acted as a reminder of how far technology has come, even in my lifetime. She mentioned the 1980s programming language Logo and the turtle that could be programmed to move across a floor on its own. This was something I remember well from primary school, and seemed amazing at the time, but strangely surreal now.

It all pays off

Hard work usually pays off, as some excellent feedback from Jess on last week’s music biog attempt shows. This means in the next few weeks I should be writing some similar pieces for Rockpool. Again, something that makes it all worthwhile and an opportunity I’m flattered to have. And who knows where it will lead to? Right now, I feel it’s essential for me not to pass up chances of finding my true calling in life.

Although I’ve been busy lately, I do feel in control this week - which I think is hugely important. I feel capable of doing the work asked of me at Poached, and generally positive about my prospects after this six weeks are over. All in all, this week goes down as another success, and I shall update again soon with the latest news.