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Short message writers proliferate in China
The huge popularity of cell phones and their and multi functions have made for the creation of new professions, think of ringtone composers and now, China is experiencing a proliferation of text message writers, according to an article in China View. "The screen of the cellphone, small as it is, is turning into a battleground where some of China's emerging creative talents duke it out to attract public attention, reap a nice profit, and, in the process, "make 'em laugh" as Donald O'Connor would sing. [...] Like Hallmark Cards, some telecom and Internet firms in China have hired professional writers to churn out more polished messages that fit a variety of moods and occasions. It is estimated that Beijing has over 100 short message writers, the highest number of wordsmiths for this particular purpose, and Shanghai has about half of that. Some of them are full-time employees, but most are "special contributors" who are paid by how much they can write and how popular their messages turn out to be. Some companies have designed very complicated pay scales, with the writer's take varying according to different brackets of user popularity for each message. Overall, media experts put the monthly income of a full-time short message writer at 4,000-5,000 yuan (US$483-604). Some star writers earn much more because their compositions tend to attract the highest number of customers. Su Renyu works for Guangzhou-based Tom.com as a short message scribbler. His biggest dream is to produce messages that are so catchy that they are turned into slogans for the masses. The 28-year-old has worked on his craft for two years. Some of his earlier pieces have become sort of classics, such as this lottery winning notice: "Congratulations on winning our grand prize. Please pick it up at a bank near you. And please don't forget to bring your gun and your mask." |
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