My Fifteen Minutes of Fame?

Andy Warhol stated that everyone would be famous at some point in their lifetime, if only for fifteen minutes. It was not intended to be a time limit. Donald Pennington is working hard to make sure that you, as an Associated Content writer, will have more than fifteen minutes of fame.

In February of 2008, I answered an invitation to write articles for Associated Content. A friend, Debby Alten, had been reading some blog entries that I had written on Yuwie.com. She felt that I might be able to earn a little extra cash by writing for AC. After accepting the invitation, I immediately set to work on writing articles. Of course, I could write thousands of articles, but it doesn't really matter what I write if no one is reading it...

Enter: Associated Content's "Subscribe" Feature

It is written, "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you." - Matthew 7:12. A lot of people misinterpret this simple passage and read it as "Do unto others as they have done unto you." The difference between the two statements is like night and day. The former asks us to treat others the way that we would like them to treat us - i.e. be kind, considerate, and supportive or whatever other ideals you have for the way that you want to be treated. The latter basically says it is alright to be mean, nasty, and inconsiderate of others because that is the way that they treat you.

Being fairly quick on the draw, I soon realized that I could increase my readership by reading and subscribing to other AC Content Producers. After all, I would like people to read my articles, just as other writers would appreciate it if I read theirs. So off I went to do some reading...

Enter: Donald Pennington

One of the CP's that I stumbled upon was Donald Pennington. I learned that one reason, probably the primary reason, that he is writing articles on Associated Content is that he wants to make a better life for himself and his children (read: Divorcing for the Kids' Sake, published Oct. 4, 2007). Though with a different motivation, this guy shares similar goals with me.

I subscribed to Donald's content. Shortly thereafter, my inbox was blitzed with messages, "Donald Pennington has been published on Associated Content!" A vast majority of the messages had to do with interviews that Donald had done with other AC Content Producers. My initial thought? "Well, that's kind of cheesy!" However, as I began to read these interviews, I realized that Donald was, in fact, doing for others what he would like people to do for him. He was giving people, fellow writers, a chance to become better known. By increasing his readership, he was also increasing the readership of others. You can look at the interviews as brilliant self-marketing, or you can look at them as resulting from a desire to help people like you and I get our articles in front of more people.

As a result of reading all these interviews, I began to wonder if I would ever get an invitation to be interviewed...

Enter: Getting Exposed by Donald Pennington

I didn't have to wait too long. Donald published an article, Getting Exposed by Donald Pennington. Ah ha! So, this is how it works! Simply click the link to another website, answer the questions on the site, and 'presto!' You, too, can be interviewed by Donald Pennington! This was my invitation.

I took my time and gave some thought to the questions on the site. Shortly after, I submitted the interview. Painless! For me, this process was a whole lot easier for me than it likely was for Donald. I did not feel pressured to come up with witty answers to the questions on the fly. The questions are provided on a website. You can take as long as you like to answer them. For me, this was great, as my knee-jerk response to just about any question, unless it has a clear-cut, logical answer is, "I don't know."

Enter: Introducing Greg: Profiling an AC Content Producer

There it is; my interview with Donald Pennington. Before I even received the email notification that the article was published, three other Content Producers had contacted me telling me that they had read my interview. In turn, I went over to read some of their articles - not because I had to, but because I wanted to. As a result, I found some very talented writers that I would not otherwise have found.

You know what? It really works. Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Somebody really knew what He was talking about when He said that.

Enter: My Invitation To You

I invite you to head over to Donald's page. I invite you to read the interviews that he has done. You are likely to find you new favorite writer. You are also likely to find writers that are diametrically opposed to your ideals. That's OK too, but if you never seek, you will never find. You might also be inspired to accept Donald's invitation to be interviewed. If you are not already writing for Associated Content, you just might be inspired to start! While you are there, be sure to comment on the articles and let him know that you appreciate his hard work. As well, take a jaunt over to the pages of the interviewees. Whether our motivation is to support our families and children, pay for the medication for our sick dog, pay the rent, or offset the high cost of gas, we are all working hard to have our material published. You never know, you just might find the next Pulitzer Prize winner!