The field of computer science and technology is much younger than most industries, compared to the likes of logging, construction, or even becoming a pro athlete. But in the last few decades, computer science and technology have proven central to most industries today, and nearly any business (large or small) will need to outsource labor for creating and maintaining websites, data servers, and even social media profiles. Some companies have in-house talent for this, but often, they turn to web design firms, SEO firms, app design agencies, and more for custom web design that appeals to consumers.
After all, marketing is vital for any business or industry, and computers and the internet are proving to be a vast frontier for new marketing and advertising opportunities. Though young, this field is growing fast, and most companies recognize the power of online marketing. This ranges from visual design to technical or copywriting to programming and audio visual technology. Computer Arts magazine is one example of how fast this industry is growing since readers of Computer Arts magazine will find a vast depth of material that can aid them in their own careers. How might this work? How can someone make a career out of this sort of work?
Art and Computers
At first, “art” and computers seem like very different arenas. How might a painting or a statue have any overlap with programming, web design, or IT work? Art, however, is more flexible than that, and it’s not restricted to the more traditional sense of the term. Indeed, art is famously abstract in definition, and it can be expressed through any medium. Ever since the 1980s, if not sooner, people have been creating and sharing art with computers, and this endeavor is easier now than ever, especially with the likes of Computer Arts magazine to provide an artist with more ideas. It is named “Computer Arts magazine” for a reason, after all.
Many statistics are being kept to track the current state of the art industry in the United States, since art can generate a lot of power in the economy and provide jobs for many people, especially through nonprofit organizations. Some readers of Computer Arts magazine are professional artists who make a lot of money and make art for official products, while others are young enthusiasts looking to hone their craft. For example, according to the Bureau of Labor Statistics, experts believed that the need for digital artists would grow rapidly throughout 2018, and this trend will probably continue through 2020 and beyond. Many video game and computer game companies, and app designer companies, require digital artists to create the visuals for their products. Many of them might have been inspired or motivated by the contents of Computer Arts magazine or the like. What is more, an estimated 2.1 million Americans report that being an artist is their primary work, and they are often self-employed freelancers. Artists are three and a half times more likely to be self-employed than laborers in any other field.
This may not come as a surprise, since a computer-based artist will need the internet and a computer device that can create art, and not necessarily much more than that. Thanks to the Internet and certain websites and services, it is not only possible but also practical for employees to work remotely and digitally send files to and from their co-workers and bosses. This is often done for office workers, but it is also a great idea for digital graphics artists. Such an artist can use a Mac, a PC, laptop, or even specialized tablet computers to create their content, and share it with an employer or a client through email and specialized websites and services, such as DropBox or something similar. Often, these artists never even come face to face with their clients, and they can make their own schedules and work wherever they choose. In many cases, this sort of freedom and flexibility can inspire creativity, which can only be a boon for that freelance artist. Such an artist could sit right down at a coffee shop or at a park’s bench to create some material, or catch up on the community, such as browsing Computer Arts magazine or its kin.
Computers and Digital Marketing
While artists are responsible for visual elements of websites, digital games, and even commercial products, there is plenty of work for other creative computer users as well. Computer Arts magazine may inspire not only visual arts, but text-based material, such as keyword-dense SEO articles, as well. The internet is an excellent resource not only for videos and music, but also for something to read, and all sorts of fiction and nonfiction can be found for just about any audience on the Web. So, a freelance online writer can get ideas from magazines like Computer Arts magazine, and if they are involved in more than one field of digital marketing, all the better. A person does not have to dedicate themselves entirely to one form of digital content creation.
Now, what is there to know about text-based digital content creation? A client company or website will often post material that freelance content creators have written, and this content can cover a wide variety of topics for any reader. A good writer can be informative, accurate in detail, and create an entertaining narrative, all at the same time. Having an appropriate tone and choice of words can also help, ranging from casual and spirited topics about pop culture all the way to more straight-laced topics on financing or law.
Ultimately, while well-written content is pleasant for a person to read, the content must also work well with search engines. After all, the Internet is a famously huge and diverse place, and it is only with search engines that a Web user can find the sort of websites or content that they want. So, a company or brand will urgently need their website and social media accounts to be easily found via those search engines. Having digital content that is optimized for search engines can greatly increase exposure, and this field is known as search engine optimization or SEO. SEO can take more than one form, but often, it is text-based, as well as based on videos or images. Learning from Computer Arts magazine how to create appealing images can boost SEO value on image searches, but text content is not to be neglected.
This is the domain of SEO writers and copywriters, who often have educational backgrounds in English, journalism, and/or mass communication, and they are quite often self-employed laborers who work remotely. Some of them are known to work at digital marketing firms, and these firms can be contacted by brands and companies who need their air in creating quality content online that will draw in a lot of organic (human) traffic. This, too, is proving to be a young but rapidly growing and lucrative field. As for the work itself, an SEO writer will be asked to create content that is not only pleasant for people to read but dense in keywords relevant to the topic and the client’s own business and marketing efforts. Using many different keywords, and using strong keywords multiple times in a set of text, will allow the host website to be more attractive to search engines that look for websites based on their text content. In short, the host website will say “Look at me, I’m relevant” to the search engine. This, in turn, will allow the website to appear sooner than later in any search engine results page. After all, earlier results tend to get a lot more clicks (traffic) than results that appear lower in the list, and many Web users won’t look past the first few pages or even beyond the first few entries.
This is a big business, to be sure, but readers of Computer Arts magazine can also find work for social media optimization as well. This field is even younger than SEO work for search engines, but it, too, is proving lucrative and popular. Platforms such as YouTube, Twitter, Facebook, and even Instagram are useful not only for everyday users but also for companies who need another means to reach out to consumers and customers at any time of day. So, readers of Computer Arts magazine and the like can create content for clients on their social media accounts, or create and manage the account itself so it interacts with consumers in a meaningful way. Better yet, a social media profile is relatively cheap and easy to use for communicating with consumers, and it may soon attract a lot of followers who trust and like the brand. Accounts like these can share content at any time of day with ease, such as announcements, videos and images, and even interactive polls. Such accounts, especially on Twitter and Facebook, are a great way to quickly respond to customer questions or concerns. Many surveyed Americans say that they appreciate it when a company’s social media profile promptly responds to them in a helpful way.
Other Uses For Modern Tech
Creating digital art, SEO-worthy articles, and social media accounts are some of the largest fields in modern computer marketing efforts, but there are other ways to make use of a college degree involving programming, mass communication, audio/visual tech, and the like. For example, many tech-inclined people may find work as IT professionals, or “information technology.” These specialists often find work at businesses (of all sizes) and at schools and colleges, since computer technology has long since taken root at such places. For example, computer labs in high schools, charter schools, and colleges are very useful for research and writing papers for the students, but experts are the ones who will set up those computers and get them running, not to mention create a private network and server.
And it’s not just for academia; businesses of all kinds, from commercial lenders to the designers of commercial construction project dehumidifiers or solar energy arrays will need a computer specialist on hand to help. Any business will have at least a few computers on hand so that employees can create spreadsheets, send emails to clients or business partners, and maintain a website, among other work, and an IT professional can fix any issues that come up. This may range from removing computer viruses and setting up stronger malware defenses all the way to installing a new computer if the old one was damaged, very old, or lost. If a computer crashes, or if files are lost or corrupted, this could mean serious losses of data that could interfere with the business’s operation, and by extension cost a lot of money. It professionals will help prevent this.
What about data servers and Cloud storage for a larger office? A large business may have dozens or even over a hundred desktop computers in the building, and all those workers need a way to not just create content, but share it with each other and keep their files in safe storage. IT professionals can help with this too, and they will help set up and maintain a data server on the premises. Just what is that, exactly? For those not familiar with the concept, a data server is a collection of hundreds or even thousands of computers that are all set up in one room, and they do not have keyboards, monitors, or mice plugged in. Instead, they sit in cabinets and on shelves, and they are all connected to each other with numerous ethernet cables and switches to form a massive network.
In this way, the computers in the server act as a collective brain, so to speak, and they create a space with vast storage and enhanced processing sped. Desktop computers at the office will be plugged into this server via cables, and these computer users enjoy a private server where they can easily store and share data and take advantage of the processing speed boost. If needed, even more computers and cables can be added to expand the capabilities of these servers, and of the world’s largest servers are expanded practically on a daily basis.
But what about remote office workers who cannot extend a cable that far to plug into the server? This is why IT professionals can set up Cloud data storage accounts for the business, an online-only data sharing and storage account that requires authorization to enter. Hybrid integration is when the physical server and the company’s Cloud storage accounts are seamlessly linked and combined, so anyone can access the same data whether via a cable connection or through remote online access. This prevents anyone from being blocked from certain files, and files can easily be shared by any employee, no matter where they are. If nothing else, the digital Cloud center and the physical data server can each act as a backup for the other, if one of them suffers a breakdown, a security breach, or otherwise becomes compromised.
