I was recently asked to write an article for iStart magazine, an Australian business software and IT solutions publication. The result is the following article, “SEO Career… The Newest Profession?“. The pdf version of the article can be downloaded here. Alternatively, the text version of the article is displayed below. It is a little history of my working life. I feel slightly embarrassed by parading my career highlights, but hopefully I can inspire some people who desire to enter this field of work. Happy reading.
When I was in my final year at High School in 1990, the world wide web didn’t exist. Search engines hadn’t been invented and the role of Search Engine Optimisation Consultant (SEO) hadn’t even been heard of. Computer classes were barely on the school curriculum as it involved a group of 30 students surrounding a monitor and keyboard, each taking a turn to type basics on screen. It was hardly the ABCs of computing.
My first full time job was at Queensland University of Technology as a computer assistant trainee. The job was to backup humongous mainframes the size of three to six large refrigerators stuck together. Each evening, we would pull out and insert new reels of tape. Screeds of paper would spit out from the dot matrix printer with numbers and text that I did not understand. All I had to do was find certain numbers and write them down in a book. It was all very tedious which lead me to great boredom.
One day in 1991 I was introduced to “news groups” at the University. To my delight, this kept me entertained for hours at a time. I was amazed that people from the other side of the world would leave messages according to their topic of interest and others would respond. I didn’t know it then, but this was the beginning of the Internet. It was about people, connecting with one another, sharing information. (more…)