As an aspiring writer in college, I took every literature and creative writing course that could possibly fit into my schedule. I had high hopes of putting my English degree to good use. I could write the next “Great American Novel.” But after reading War and Peace and countless other never-ending books, I was sapped of my passion to read and, thus, produce great literature.

“What about library science?” I thought. (The idea seemed relevant, as many fellow English majors pursued careers in that field.)

At annual holiday gatherings, family members I hadn’t seen in a long time always made a point to ask about school and my career goals, “So what are you going to do with that? Teach?”

Teaching? That’s it! Eureka!

But that idea quickly faded, as I learned state accreditation was necessary, which ultimately meant more schooling. (After receiving a Master’s degree in history, I wasn’t open to the idea of rejoining the classroom again; after all, being a student makes for a lousy-paying full-time job.) Furthermore, I questioned if I possessed the patience to uphold in a classroom.

Then, Al Gore invented the Internet.

Kidding aside, the Internet changed the face of writing, and it has given hope to promising writers looking to make names for themselves. But this renewed hope took time to come to fruition. As the story unfolded, Web writing was still on the distant horizon.

Early on, few businesses embraced the World Wide Web, and they had lackluster sites with basic shopping-cart functionality. But at that time, the Internet was much different than it is today. We called it Web 1.0, which didn’t necessarily impress by today’s standards. At the outset, many held reservations about the Internet and its full capabilities. That’s why online writing didn’t really become part of the equation until much later. For the time being, writers like me would have to cling to hopes of penning modern novellas.

But with the advent of Web 2.0, more businesses alerted to the promising future of interactive media on the horizon, ushering in a new age of marketing and advertising. Consumers began embracing the Web, and businesses followed suit soon after, migrating where their customers were gathering.

In 1998, Google was a little start-up; today, it, along with other search engines like Yahoo! and Bing, is enhancing the ability to quickly and easily find information at the click of a mouse. It seems new search features are released daily, posing challenges to keep pace in a rapidly evolving landscape.

Now, your Internet clicks create an on-screen experience. Paid-search ads appear alongside your search queries for relevant keywords. Improved search-engine optimization (the organic kind) is constantly changing the PageRank algorithms of search engines, altering the way these engines crawl and index sites. Initial algorithms focused mainly on keyword meta tags and keyword density. More than a decade later, SEO is a culmination of on-site and off-site factors, from hyperlinks and meta data to site structure and navigation.

Even more, the online experiences has progressed with personalized search, behavioral targeting, search results based on search history, real-time search, mobile media, social media, mobile-social search, local search, local-social search, local-mobile search, local-mobile-social search…

Ahhh!

But at the heart of the matter, all these opportunities are providing once-hopeless writers with, well, hope. The unfortunate reality is that many institutions, from high schools to colleges and universities, have neither caught up to the technological changes nor embraced Web writing as a new form of expression worthy of instruction.

When I attended college, courses were unavailable in the fields of social media, SEO and the like. Today, the scene remains little changed (with a few exceptions, such as the occasional chapter in marketing books). How long before we see social-media majors, Internet-marketing minors or SEO-certified graduates?

While the world will continue to need compelling authors to fill the aisles at Barnes & Noble, the Internet (or should I say companies) will continue to place a growing emphasis on the need for emerging writers. If you write, this is your chance, your day to seize.

Customer service, product development, marketing, brand monitoring — these are all done via the Internet today; companies will need writers to serve on the front lines as brand ambassadors, responding to issues, promoting messaging consistently, and producing quality copy that resonates with buyers and that reflects positively on the organization.

Moreover, as the debate continues over whether content is truly the king, the truth of the matter is that content is critical to a company’s success. It is this content that helps businesses get recognized by search engines, assisting searching consumers in brand discovery online. Without a searchable online presence, a business stands little chance for survival in today’s digital marketplace.

In fact, statistics suggest that consumers research brands online prior to determining purchase selection. Based on their research, they go offline to buy. But if your brand is not easily found online, particularly within the top-10 search results, you may as well not even exist.

Why? If consumers can’t find you, they can’t research you, meaning they won’t consider you in their purchase decisions.

I guess what I’m trying to say (in a rather lengthy way) is, “Thank you, Internet, for recreating the importance of the written typed word and for reestablishing a lost focus on content.”

When I journey home every so often, I still get asked about my job. It’s often difficult to explain what it is that I do, especially to my grandmother, because of the ever-evolving Internet. I tell her that I love what I do. But it’s not just because my career choice allows me to practice my passion for copywriting. If I wanted to write that badly, I could do so in a journal.

My job is both an art and a science. What that means is that I get to produce original, creative content that lures in readers. It can be catchy, flashy, funny, witty or emotional. At the same time, I write copy that satisfies the demands of Google, Yahoo!, Bing and the ever-changing Internet, so that my copy is found. But interactive writing has instant rewards — it can be instantly published, recognized and spread virally.

My job is more than just writing. It’s content production (not to be confused with copy production, as “content” refers, in the broad sense, to everything on a Web page). That means:

• Networking
• Virtual socializing, tweeting and updating Facebook
• E-customer service
• Website usability
• Linking
• Commenting
• Blogging
• Participating in forums
• Conversing in cyber communities
• Conceptualizing video concepts and webisode scripts
• And so much more

Recently, I read a blog post about how today’s Web writer is the modern-day salesperson. The writer, easily teachable, is at the forefront of inbound marketing, customer engagement, lead generation, inquiry follow-ups, customer-crisis response…

And the list goes on…and on…and on.

It’s a collection of everything that I love.

Yes, the Internet changed both business and consumer worlds — how we live, shop, work and communicate. I’m in that group. But, for me, it changed my life in more ways than most, affording me the opportunity to live and flourish as a copywriter content producer.