My name is Catherine Chea. I’m a writer and content marketer. Although I don’t consider myself a person in science, technology, engineer, math (STEM), these subjects still play a very important role in my career.
The story behind this blog
This post is the first of my blog series for the #STEM4every1 campaign. The mission is to inspire STEM conversations, especially among people who typically do not find this subject matter interesting nor relevant. While we’re not all scientists or engineers, this doesn’t mean we shouldn’t partake in conversations that affect our lives on a daily basis.
As for myself, I lost interest in STEM upon finishing high school and ended up pursuing a philosophy degree at university. While I don’t regret my decision and I’m happy with the choices that I’ve made, I also want to reignite my interest in STEM.
Why is this? Because if you think about it, there’s no escape from science and technology.
So why aren’t more people, especially women, talking about STEM?
I believe one of the reasons why there are fewer women in STEM is not only because of the cultural barriers but because of a lack of interest. But this has to change. And this change can start here.
My goal is to show how relevant this topic is to everyone, even those who do not consider themselves as a person in STEM.
In this first installment, I will talk about how digital technology plays a role in my career as a writer.
STEM and content writing
Before there was Facebook, Google, and the internet, people consumed most of their content through print publications. Today, with the proliferation of content on the web, people choose what they want to consume. Since there’s so much stuff on the web, search engines, such as Google, use algorithms to determine the quality and relevancy of pages. That way, when people conduct a search, only the best results will appear.
As well, because the web is an ever-so-changing landscape, search engines are constantly updating their algorithms and technology to help people find relevant content more easily. For instance, voice and mobile searches are being prioritized by search engine crawlers as a result of its increasing popularity. Artificial intelligence is also undergoing developments to better analyze vast amounts of digital data for search engines.
How does this affect me as a writer?
As a writer, search engine algorithms affects how many views my content gets. If I don’t use the right keywords, or if my content isn’t published on a search engine optimized site, then it would be harder for people to find my content.
While I don’t necessarily know how to develop a website from scratch (at least not yet), it’s important for me to stay up-to-date on digital trends so that I can create content that’s catered to the digital audience. For instance, it doesn’t hurt for me to know a little bit of HTML so that I can add meta keywords and landing page forms. As well, understanding how to use analytics platforms can help me better understand the audiences that engage with my content. All of these require a basic understanding of digital trends and how the web works.
STEM is for everyone
The stereotype that certain STEM fields, such as technology and engineering, is an all boy’s club is misleading. As you can see, technology impacts everyone, even writers.
In the following blog posts, I’ll cover other areas of STEM that affects our lives. So stay tuned and spread the word! #STEM4every1