Update
I’m still pumpin’ the keyboard for Cisco.com, but between writing assignments I’m furiously adopting Adobe Creative Suite CS5.5 Master Collection as my primary platform. It’s a creative wonderland.
Fellow marketing writers, this is worth a look if you’re still locked into the black and white world of word processing.
Is “Competing with Creative” Making a Comeback?
Freelance web writing is my professional craft. But my roots are in advertising agencies working in creative teams. So I think conceptually and visually, and I’m delighted to see a very lively digital dance picking up pace. Somebody hit the accelerando button, and suddenly digital creative content is the new tune. It’s fast, colorful, engaging, and jumping out at us everywhere.
From what I can see, the power of creative communication “as a competitive factor” is coming back. But unlike all previous creative revivals, we now have the analytics to prove and improve its value. And Adobe is my new hero.
The accelerando button definitely has their fingerprints on it.
The integrated tools of Adobe CS5.5 (cloud subscription) software let me write copy within templates, retouch photos, create or add graphics, and edit video in a smooth, engaging workflow. Every tool is filled with new “Oh Wow!” surprises for creative folks.
Adobe Creative Suite (CS5.5) will definitely extend your horizons to see more of the digital universe clearly, in vivid color.
Business Catalyst for Full-Fledged Site Builders
Adobe Business Catalyst is also very interesting. It’s a complete, seemingly end-to-end business web site solution for web designers and small-to-medium size businesses. It integrates with Adobe’s other products nicely for planning, building, staging, and hosting live sites. That includes Adobe’s site hosting and world-class analytics.
Best of all, Adobe Business Catalyst comes with a growing, enthusiastic community of technical and digital content experts of every type. 
That could make it much easier for freelance technical and creative teams to collaborate, plan, create, present, revise, publish, and track digital content for small business clients together. I have to check it out.
More later – JB
