How I Got Started with Blogging and Freelance Writing
June 14th, 2008 by Michael KwanInspiration for blog posts can come from all sorts of places. Maybe You heard about something on television or you had an interesting conversation with a friend. One of the best places to get blog post ideas is from the rest of the blogosphere. This is especially true when you get called out by your fellow blogger. (Don’t worry, Nick, I haven’t forgotten about your headline.)
I recently got tagged by Damien Riley to write about someone that I admire. It has been difficult to narrow it down to just one person. Along the way, I considered authors like Bill Watterson and Michael Crichton. I thought about entertainers like Jay Leno and Robin Williams. And then it hit me that one of the most influential people in my life is someone with whom I went to high school: Joseph Planta.
Who is Joseph Planta?
Most of the readers of Beyond the Rhetoric may not be terribly familiar with Joseph, but I did post an interview with him in this space some time back. Joseph Planta is the Founding Editor of The Commentary, a site that is mostly focused on entertainment and politics.
Most of the attention on The Commentary is currently being paid to the On The Line interview segment. Among the guests that Joseph has had in the past are Rafe Mair, Grant Fuhr, Rachel Marsden, and Jerry Wasserman. There is also a column on the site where Joseph expounds his opinion on a wide variety of topics, most recently discussing Frank Sinatra.
Why is Joseph Planta Important?
If it weren’t for Joseph, I’m not sure if I would have ever gotten into journalism, blogging, and freelance writing in the first place. Let me explain.
The Commentary didn’t always have a website. It got its humble beginnings as an email newsletter back in our high school days. Inspired by Joseph’s column, I decided to start an email newsletter of my own called Now That’s Entertainment. That eventually matured into a Geocities site, which in turn became Beyond the Rhetoric years later. If I were not inspired by the original email version of The Commentary, I would have never started Now That’s Entertainment. NTE is my precursor to blogging.
In like accord, it was through The Commentary that I got my start with covering community events and trade shows. I attended a pet expo, a car show, a skateboard competition, and more under the banner of The Commentary. If it wasn’t for this experience, I would not have been as well equipped to cover larger trade shows like CES in Las Vegas and COMPUTEX in Taipei.
Considering these two elements today, it is perfectly fathomable that I would have never started blogging or launched a freelance writing career if it were not for Joseph Planta and The Commentary. Even though the latter is not nearly as monetized as it could be, Joseph remains motivated to keep the site updated. It is his passion, and for that, I admire him.
Who Inspires or Influences You the Most?
Is there someone in your life from whom you draw inspiration? It could be a family member, a close friend, or even a celebrity who you know through proxy. I encourage you to participate in the Amazing Visions writing contest being hosted by Damien Riley. There are free backlinks and great prizes to be won.
Filed under Freelance Writing, Personal Development.
You always wonder where people got started. It’s always a cool story to hear. As it was in this post too.
Glad to know it’s in the works
This was really interesting to read how you got your start in to your career. Kinda makes a person wonder what you would be doing and if we would have ever heard of you if it weren’t for him and his vision.
Don’t forget who introduced you to…half the people you know now!
Bow down, bow down.
Thank but don’t bown down… lol
Great text. There are realy some moments and some people that make a sort of turning point in our lives.
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Thanks for sharing that story, it is very interesting to see how you found your inspiration and direction into this career. Had it not been for that early experience, do you think you still would have found your way to the place you are now?
I can’t say for certain. My interests would have still been similar, but I wouldn’t have had the same experience.
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That’s nice to hear. An inspirational story for starting bloggers!
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I just read this carefully as I am judging the final winners tonight. I have to say that this post really touched me (not in a place where my bathing suit covers) no … in all seriousness, when you raise ordinary people up that had meaning to your development you give us all hope to be that and to remember the ones who did it for us. Excellent piece of writing Michael. Thank you for linking to the contest as well.
Great entry! It’s no wonder you won Damiens contest!!
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