Writing to the World Wide
Web
February 5th Recap: Guest Speaker Philip Garfield
Philip examined some ads for Web-related jobs recently posted in the New York Times.
Although he didn't use the exact terminology, what Philip was doing was looking at the language
conventions used in the ads, and how they were used to attract a specific type of employee. For example:
- In the bad ad the company described as something like, "a exciting and growing Internet company."
Merely describing a company this way fails to convey a key value that most innovative Web design companies are trying to convey: creativity.
- Remember the "you" orientation. The good ad was worded in a way that gave you an idea
of how you could contribute to the company.
- The good ad expressed the values and mindset of the people they're looking for through the use
of cultural references. Remember the phrase, "You own a mansion and a yaht."? That was a
reference to a line from a Bugs Bunny cartoon.
Philip also pointed out how your academic experience translates into "real world" experience. Your experience in this course, assuming you work hard and commit to producing a quality product, should translate to about six months to a year of "real world" experience, should you look for a job
in the field of web development. If you are really interested in getting into this field in some way as a profession, get some practical experience now.
Return Schedule