Volume 1, Number 7  |  November 2007

There are a million ways to waste time on the Internet, but if you approach a lot of them with the right attitude, they quickly morph into terrific, f-r-e-e tools for helping you become a better communicator.

Here are a few I've played with and come not only to enjoy, but to respect for the things they've taught me.

Lots of people use Twitter, the newish social messaging site, as a kind of public IM. I use it as an exercise in writing short. For someone who routinely turns in posts over 1,000 words long, this is a really, really useful discipline to learn. And Twitter, with its 140 character limit, enforces the short.

2. Clipmarks

In the same way I turn to Twitter to keep me short, I use Clipmarks to keep me sharp. A social media bookmarking site like StumbleUpon or del.icio.us, Clipmarks is all about sharing your favorite pieces of the web. But in addition to clipping the tiny bit you want to share, you also have to come up with a "headline" enticing enough to get people to stop and look (and "pop" your story, like you "digg" on that other site.) My own headline-writing skillz had atrophied considerably since my Madison Avenue days; Clipmarks is a great, rewarding way to practice thinking in short bites that grab attention.

3. StumbleUpon/del.icio.us

These social bookmarking sites can be a huge time suck if you surf passively. But if you use StumbleUpon and del.icio.us actively--marking your favorite places on the web and spending a few moments to write up a paragraph or so summarizing them--you'll find yourself getting much, much better at thinking on your feet. Again, like Clipmarks, try to imagine the person on the other end who'll be coming across your item: how can you describe what they're about to see so that they'll want to click through, and not feel cheated when they get to the other side?

4. Listography.com

I've written about Listography.com, the wonderful list-making site before, but it bears a repeat mention. Nothing will sharpen your brain like giving it a structure in which to be creative. Writing in lists forces you to look at elements of your life in an entirely different way. And once you get a little bit better at it, the real fun begins: coming up with crazy-fun ideas for lists. It's like a DIY verbal sudoko--a little tricky to grasp the initial concept, but once you do, the endless variations and increasing skill levels available keep it fresh and fascinating.

5. LinkedIn.com

Yes, LinkedIn is a glorified resume-and-networking site. But it can also be the place you learn to look at your skills a whole new way. See if you can't rewrite your boring, old resume in a style that's fresh and fascinating. If you need some help getting started, check out Guy Kawasaki's excellent post on buffing up his own LinkedIn, including before and after shots. Truly inspirational!

6. Illustration Friday

If you've been subscribing for a while, you may have noticed that each issue of communicatrix | focuses features a small, pen-and-ink sketch at the top of the right sidebar. This issue marks the first commitment I've made to Illustration Friday, a terrific site/project that exhorts everyone to draw (by whatever means necessary!) something on the week's topic, then upload a link to share.

What does drawing have to do with communicating? Simple: it's another way-in, just like writing, design, speaking, dance, etc. I'm no artist, but I do like to play. And playing, especially within confines, can be a great way to stretch your creative brain.

I know that drawing is as scary for some people as public speaking, but trust me: dip a toe in the water, give yourself permission to be bad, and you never know what wonders you'll learn! 

7. Blogs

When I meet people who want to find their writing voice, the first thing I suggest is a blog. That's because the secret to finding your voice is to write a lot and get good feedback, and blogs excel as a means to get both of those things. 

Focusing will help make blogging more useful. If there's a hobby or interest or issue you're passionate about, start with that, and try to stay on topic. If you're just interested in journaling out loud that's great, but if you're not in the habit of journaling off-line already, you may find it harder to stick with.

* * * 

I haven't even touched on the skills one might gain by becoming, say, a regular commenter on a shared information site like MetaFilter, 43Folders or Lifehacker, much less really hunkering down and contributing to something like Wikipedia on a regular basis.

Of course, you can learn all of these skills by playing around with pen and paper, too. But for me, anyway, there's something about sharing information with a wider audience that makes me work a little harder to do a good job. Maybe it's the desire to be as useful as possible. Maybe it's just fear of looking stupid. 

Whatever it is, it's helped me turn what might otherwise be passive, "wasted" time on the 'Net into continuing education.

And hey, the price is definitely right!