If you’ve got “Create Content” as a 2022 goal but aren’t sure how to start, consider the Packet Pushers’ Community blog or our Human Infrastructure newsletter. We welcome articles from folks in networking and IT who have ideas to share or the inclination to write, but don’t have the interest in setting up their own blog. Or maybe you have your own blog, but you’d like to explore a new outlet.
You can scratch your content-creation itch whether it’s a one-and-done, an occasional post, or an ongoing series that rivals War and Peace in length and breadth.
Here’s a few FAQs about the blog and newsletter:
How do I write for Packet Pushers?
Contact me (Drew) with your idea. If it’s a fit for us, we’ll figure out the best place for it. You can email me at [email protected] or you can find me on Twitter.
What’s the difference between the Community blog and the newsletter?
Posts on the Community blog live on Packetpushers.net. These posts are searchable on our Web site and online, and readers can comment. We don’t pay for posts on the Community blog.*
The newsletter gets emailed weekly to more than 6,000 subscribers. We have a newsletter archive, but the individual posts that go into it may not be as easy to find online. That said, you’ll probably get more eyeballs on a newsletter article. We pay for posts in the newsletter. That’s because we make money directly from the newsletter, so we want to share it around.
Posts on the Community blog tend to lean toward technical subjects: how-to articles, technical deep-dives, engineering and design issues, troubleshooting stories, market analysis, etc. The newsletter focuses on the human side of IT, such as intersection of technology and work, career development, work-life balance, and the impact of technology on our lives (privacy, surveillance, and so on).
However, these categories are not mutually exclusive. A good work-life balance story would be great in the Community blog, and a short but technical piece is welcome in the newsletter. But in general we try to keep the newsletter focused on the human/technology intersection.
Length is a factor. We want newsletter pieces to be pithy—500 words is great, 800 or so and you’re hitting the upper bounds. Community blogs can be as long as you want.
*There are paid opportunities as columnists writing unsponsored technical content for the site. These opportunities are typically by invite from the Packet Pushers, but if you’d like to be considered, please contact me.
Who owns the content I write for Packet Pushers?
You do. We don’t claim any ownership or copyright to anything on the Community blog or in the newsletter. All we ask is that you don’t post the same content somewhere else because then it looks like we’ve copied and we get punished by search algorithms.
If you write something for the Community blog and then decide later on you want it for something else, that’s fine. Just let us know and we’ll take it down on our site and you can do with it what you like.
If you have your own blog, you’re welcome (and encouraged) to link to something you’ve written on our Community blog or in the newsletter. Again, we just ask that you don’t duplicate the post.
Are there content or topic guidelines?
Yes. We don’t tolerate racist, sexist, or abusive language; vulgarity; ad hominem attacks; or any hostile language. We reserve the right to remove any post at any time for any reason. Further details on community guidelines are here.
Also, the content should have something to do with information technology. Your Boba Fett fan fiction might be terrific, but this isn’t the place for it.
Will there be editing?
If you’re writing for the newsletter, probably. I try to make it as painless as possible by respecting your voice and perspective. You will have the opportunity to review and approve all edits.
If you’re writing for the Community blog, we’ll edit you only if you ask. That said, please note that if we see something or hear from someone about a problem with a post in the Community blog, we’ll step in and review it, and then work with the writer to address any issues.
When should I start?
How about now?
