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WHILE Luddites toll the death knell for books, we who have made thetransition to new media look to the future with confidence.The Internet does not spell the end of the written word but the beginning offresh opportunities and renewed status for professional writers throughoutthe world.Since becoming disillusioned with the world of print journalism at the dawnof the 90s, I have sought new challenges and, following a baptism of fire inthe bureaucracy, I pursued short-term freelance work.Newsletters, media releases, proofreading, editing and copywriting have beenmy staple diet for three years, and a surprisingly satisfying one at that.Freelancing also provided time to learn about the new communications medium,which sparked my interest a few years ago when commissioned to writecorporate copy for a pioneer web site developer.As more businesses, individuals and organisations have considered thequestion of when rather than if they should set up an on-line presence,competition in web site development has intensified.Gradually, the gulf has widened between sites developed usingprofessionals web content writers, graphic designers, programmers andmarketers and sites hastily thrown together on a Saturday afternoon with ado-it-yourself web-authoring package.The content manager or writer has been the missing link in the webdevelopment process until now.As web design houses wake up to the fact that a successful site needs morethan pretty pictures and nifty applets, people with strong communication andorganisational skills are in demand.Just as a desktop publishing package does not transform a writer into agraphic artist, a web-authoring program does not turn a graphic designer,computer programmer or marketer into a wordsmith. We each have our owntalents and should respect the differences.You dont have to surf far on the web before striking poor writing, badspelling or just plain offensive copy.To secure our future and prevent mass bastardisation of the Englishlanguage, writers must promote their skills now and not be intimidated bythe technology.If you can use a word-processing program, you have enough technologicalknow-how to write for the web. The emphasis is on information nottechnology.Writing for the online reader requires more discipline than even journalism.The experts say people between 25% and 40% more slowly on screen as the eyestire more quickly than on paper.Web users will not tolerate long-winded prose, unless its for a literarysite or on a topic in which they are deeply interested.Writing for web sites is not simply a matter of rehashing existing printmaterial the web is already clogged with so-called brochureware.Clean, concise, active, purpose-written copy is essential to the developmentof this new medium and the web writing profession as a whole.If you havent yet taken your first dip in cybersurf, head to your localInternet caf or library and take the plunge.Even if you dont want to weave words for the web, youll have a ballspinning yarns with other writers via chat rooms, newsgroups, web sites andemail.Like it or love it, the futures online.

About the Author

Yvette Nielsen writes a popular weekly web sitereview column for Brisbane News magazine, has developed her own site athttp://www.brizcomm.com.au, and conducts web content workshops on how tostructure, write and promote sites. Subscribe to her weekly newsletter forfree tips and site reviews at http://brizcomm.listbot.com. Emailyvette@brizcomm.com.au