Jobs, Blogs and the continued search

I have been applying for jobs recently without success.
I am not alone in my inability to find work.
Oregon has a 10.6% unemployment rate.
We rank #7 among the 50 states.
My teenage son and daughter are also looking for work.
It makes searching for a simple minimum wage job difficult.
Recently Home Depot opened a new distribution center with a need to fill 200 positions.
Over 8000 people applied.
I don't have much hope I will get an interview any time before I turn ... 60.

So the other day when I learned of a position opening up for Ghost Blog Writers was opening up,
I decided to apply. 
After all, I enjoy writing.
Even if they don't like my style of writing, its worth a try.
What the heck.
My odds can't be worse than 1 out of 8000, can they?

I put together a resume. I hadn't done that in a very long time.
I felt quite old as I was trying to recall my jobs, the dates, duties, and all the details of my former work.
I sent it in with a sample of my writing.
And I heard back in the form of a Sample Test Blog, my first assignment.
It was more vague than I anticipated and I was uncertain of where to begin.
The topic: How to use video effectively in social media (as coming from XYZ Media Company)
I wasn't even sure how to begin.
I was uncertain of my audience.
I didn't know what my specific goal was.
I had no clue where to focus my writing, or how to begin.
I generally write just for me.  Can I writer for someone else?
Can I write about a topic I am not familiar with?
I had so many questions.
But this morning I just put pen to paper, or I guess I should say, I put fingertips to keyboard.
Here is what I wrote:

A picture is worth a thousand words. We have all heard that and most likely we can all agree that statement is true.

If a picture is worth a thousand words, then what is a video worth? Some say a video is worth a million words. Some claim a video is worth an encyclopedia. 

We simply say, “Video is priceless”. 

Video has the ability to make the unimaginable real.  We are an eye-minded people who learn more from video, both pictures and words, than just words alone, or just pictures alone.  Videos can take us to a place we have a difficult time imagining and can tie our worlds together.

Did you study World War II in High school?  Have you studied the Holocaust?  Most of us have, regardless of our age, or the generation we grew up in.  We read about history in books.  History is referenced on news programs, and replayed on cable television.  We have easy access to, historical filmstrips, and images, maybe even an old scratchy movie films.  However, the striking video clip from the movie Schindler’s List is what many of us think of when we now hear the word Holocaust.  The memory of the little blond girl in the red coat easily comes to mind.   Video is like a recall button, at the mention of a word, it plays back in our mind.  Video lingers in our memory and becomes a part of us.

Videos aid in making our world smaller.  Video can connect us to others, creating shared experiences.

We have all gazed up into the sky at a full moon and marveled at how it appears to hang there as if suspended by a magical rope.  It is picturesque.  But that image pales in comparison to watching the Apollo 11 Mission of 1969.  The world watched and listened as Neil Armstrong first stepped on the moon and said, “That’s one small step for man, one giant leap for mankind”.  Through video we all are able to share that experience and feel connected because of it.  It doesn’t matter whether we watched that clip huddled around a black and white television in 1969, in high definition on the History Channel, or a clip found on YouTube.  Video brings imagination to life, and bridges the gap between the words we read, the words we hear, and the things we can only imagine. 

Are you looking for that recall button that creates a link between you and others?  Video can help tie the world together through shared experiences.  And it’s all right at our fingertips. With recent developments in technology, small digital movie cameras, and cell phones that take video clips, you too can share your own videos in a matter of minutes.

There are many ways videos can be shared through social media allowing you to connect and link with the world. Sites such as Facebook, MySpace, and YouTube give businesses and individual’s easy access to thousands of people through a common site.

Create the priceless experience you have been looking for.  Share your video today.

I sent my test assignment off via email and will wait to hear back.

I am not sure how I feel about this.  I think I could learn to write for others rather than myself.

But I guess that is for someone else to determine, not me.

 In keeping with what I wrote regarding the use of videos in social media I wanted to add my own video.
This, for me, is an example of how we tie the world together, share experiences and stay connected with our friends, family and loved ones.
 Each time I think of my dad, I also think of my awesome family, the work my dad did at the Lord's Pantry, and how we all came together to celebrate his life.
Miss you dad!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eigbSJagkBo

Steppin' out with DWNTWN

DWNTWNimages.me