Come Write for Digital Crossings

This still isn’t what I promised to write this week, but I gotta take care of business, you know what I’m sayin’? I have been writing this blog since February this year and it has been fun. However, I am painfully aware of things I wanted to write, and some commitments I made in terms of volume and types of content that I have not kept. In particular, I said I would post more frequently, and I would have categories of content. I have not been able to live up to that and I suspect this may have made this less than the best experience for my hundreds of readers. Lastly, there are some other projects, I would like to develop, but I don’t want this blog to suffer as a result of divided attention. Lastly, I think diversity of style and perspective can only be good thing. I had already spoken to a friend about this earlier today, but decided to give everyone the chance. So, I hereby officially invite other interested technology writers to write for Digital Crossings. I am looking for the following qualities in writers.

• The person has to be writer. If you have no appreciation for the well turned phrase, don’t nod your head at a nicely executed rhyme and cannot string one together yourself, then you’re not what we’re looking for. The writer should have the ability to write correct English sentences, but with wit, flair and elegance (yes that means you’re a better writer than I currently am). I want to be able to publish your posts without rewriting any parts of it. I’ll fix typos, other than that I will reject a post rather than attempt to rework it.
• Should have a passion for technology, but a willingness to write for non-geeks and non-technology professionals. I have drawn the line at writing about hardcore technology stuff and focused on ordinary computer and internet users. Who knows, with enough writers we may do a section purely targeted at geeks, but let’s stay the course right now. You do need to know technology and know it well. So be familiar with Ajax and RSS. Understand what an accelerometer is, be eagerly waiting to get your hands on an Android phone, but be able to restrain yourself when writing for these pages.
• Should be Nigerian, or at least have an experience of the Nigerian technology situation. In other words, someone who understands that we do not have 4Gb broadband connections and knows where Otigba is and has, at one time or the other, screamed “NEPA give us light”!
• I’m looking for writers who are not looking to earn money from this. This is Pro Bono work people. Despite the Google Ads on this site, I do not make money from this blog. Not a cent. You get to have your name in the blog, can link to it from your various profiles in Facebook, Legwork or MySpace and can put it on your resume, will get into our (yet to be created) honour roll, but that’s about it for the foreseeable future.
• Lastly, the writers need to understand that they are only sending in articles. I look forward to excellent pieces of writing and useful, insightful articles, which I will appreciate and celebrate. I’m hoping to build a community with the writers that write, but I’m not building an organisation. I’m not building an editorial team or staffing a publication, at least not yet. I’m just asking for people who would like to to write. For the pleasure of it. For the value of helping someone use technology to be more productive in their lives.

If you do decide that you want to write for Digital Crossings, send me a DM on Twitter saying “I want to write” and include a link to what you consider to be your best piece of writing and another link to your public profile on your social network of choice.

Lastly, I still plan to do that piece on building a website and you won’t have to wait till next week Tuesday to get it. Keep an eye on this space.

Dej.