Meet Susan Wagner, AOL Content Creator for Holidash.com and ParentDish.com. She talks about her AOL writing experiences with AOL Living Managing Editor Kristi Anderson.


Susan, refresh my memory. What brought you to the vast and varied world of online content creation?

I started a personal blog five years ago; I got into blogging because being home with small children can be isolating and frustrating, and that community of other mom and dad bloggers was often my only adult contact. Two years after I started my personal blog, I applied to write for both Blogging Baby (now ParentDish) and BlogHer.com, and was hired by both on the same day. I write and edit full-time now, for a variety of places, all online. I get to cover a range of interesting stories and work with really engaging people. It's a terrific job.


What did you do in your former life before creating online content? Were you always a writer?

I taught English literature and theory for 10 years; when my first child was born, I left teaching to stay home with him. Ironically, I never wanted to be a writer; blogging -- and the various related forms of social media that came into vogue at the same time -- offered a way to connect with other parents, and to engage in conversations that weren't just about the characters on Sesame Street. I used to imagine writing as an isolated (and isolating) form of work, but I ultimately came to writing as a career because it was a road to community.

Meet Nick Zaino, AOL Content Creator for Holidash.com, Spinner.com and TVSquad.com. He talks about his AOL writing experiences with AOL Living Managing Editor Kristi Anderson.


Nick, what brought you to the vast and varied world of online content creation?

One of my first jobs out of college was as editor-in-chief of a regional online magazine in Buffalo, NY. It was an interesting job – I wound up writing every section, doing movie reviews, posting local news, sports opinion (for which I attempted, unsuccessfully, to learn about hockey), and features. When I moved to Boston, I got a job on the Boston Phoenix Web team, and without really realizing it, started writing both online and print content.


What do you like most about writing for AOL?

Being able to brainstorm my own ideas and put things in front of people that they might otherwise not have seen or considered. I truly enjoy finding a comedian whose material stays with me, or a band that I wind up following for the rest of their career – it's one of the joys of life. This may sound cheesy, but I would hope that I could point people to something like that, a small thing that they might carry with them. And there's some autonomy in the process to allow for that.

On the other hand, I have also enjoyed the assignments I've gotten from Spinner, for similar reasons. I interviewed PJ Harvey for them, someone who has a bit of a reputation for being cold in interviews. I hadn't really paid attention to her career since I was a college DJ, and found myself enjoying going back and listening to her music to prep. And she was delightful in conversation. We wound up talking about the Daleks from Dr. Who.

Meet Kristen Seymour, AOL Content Creator for Holidash.com, PawNation.com and ThatsFit.com. She talks about her AOL writing experiences with AOL Living Managing Editor Kristi Anderson.


So, Kristen, tell me what brought you to the vast and varied world of online content creation?

I had always wanted to write professionally, but didn't really know how to get started without giving up my steady paycheck. A friend of mine wrote for AOL's That's Fit and had encouraged me to submit a sample. Although I'm very involved in health and fitness on a personal level, I didn't have any professional fitness certifications so I was too scared to apply. (Note to self: Don't ever be too scared to apply for something again!)

However, when she notified me that AOL was launching a wedding blog, I jumped at the chance – I'd worked in a variety of wedding-related jobs and considered myself an expert in the field. I was hired, and wrote after work and on the weekends for a few months before accepting positions at a couple of other AOL blogs, at which point I quit my 9-5 office job to become a blogger.