I'm sure you've recently seen the article on your social media feeds that derides Odyssey. I am going to touch upon it, but on a larger scale, I'd like to touch upon something that's more important: the act of ignoring something that you dislike.
Just a few months ago, I remember scrolling through Facebook and seeing so many well-written articles by my peers. Shortly thereafter, I did some research and ended up applying to be an Odyssey writer. Since my major in school has nothing to do with writing, I assumed that I wouldn't be considered for the position, until I got an email from my now-editor-in-chief. After an extensive interview process, I was given the opportunity to become a staff writer for Odyssey. I wrote my first article and was ecstatic that this organization gives writers a chance to be published on a weekly basis. That being said, I like to think that I have grown and developed as a writer, and that I have gotten to know my audience better as I have written more articles.
Something to keep in mind is that, as writers for Odyssey, we can write about anything that we want. We, unlike other staffed writing organizations, do not have specific assignments each week, but rather an article due by the end of the day every Saturday. That being said, there is an extremely broad spectrum regarding what we will write about.
Some writers do take certain routes, knowing that they will get a plethora of shares on an article if it's relatable. However, there are many writers who tackle personal issues, world issues, and a myriad of other topics. Odyssey is a social content platform on which writers can express themselves and share their views and experiences with an international audience. Whether or not you agree with a certain writer's choice of topic is completely irrelevant.
The author of the article referenced stated that "the site's writers are basically early 20s privileged white college students." For a person who just spent so much time (incorrectly) debunking a statistic regarding sports, you'd think they'd also have the time to do their research and learn that this isn't true. Anybody can apply to be a staff writer for Odyssey.
That being said, I am now going to transition into the bigger picture. Clearly, the author of the aforementioned article, who does not speak very highly of Odyssey, is not very happy seeing the content. The goal of Odyssey is to get our articles out there; they're meant to be seen by a large audience. But if you don't want to read the articles, then don't. It's seriously that simple. If you don't want to see someone's photos or statuses on Facebook, you simply ignore them or take measures to have them removed from your newsfeed, so why are Odyssey articles any different?
It's quite saddening that, at this point in time, people feel that it is necessary to attack an organization that can simply be ignored. Social media has become such an important aspect of our day-to-day lives that articles on the Facebook newsfeed bother people when they can simply be scrolled past. The great thing about sitting behind a computer screen is that you can ignore anything you want to instead of having to face it as if you were with someone in the flesh.
Odyssey can be utilized in a multitude of ways, depending on the writer. Odyssey writers must meet weekly deadlines and go through an extensive interview process to even obtain the position. There's no certain demographic that all of the writers can be grouped into either. If you happen to not like any of our material that we put out, that is completely fine. Just know that you can scroll past it and go about your day.
