Dave Allen’s Pampelmoose blog hipped me to this long, interesting article on social media. Worthwhile reading.
Tag Archives: blogs
Top Five Timewasters
A week or so ago, I posted my top five productivity enhancers for when I am feeling the need for a major boost to hit that rapidly approaching deadline or kick out yet another round of queries to my favorite editors. Now I present my favorite time-killers– those web sites I visit when I need a mental break from the writing game. Beware, these sites WILL sap valuable time from your day and are too much fun not to explore in depth. The way I see it, the time I spend on these sites is the time I would spend in the car doing a commute if I was slaving away in an office somewhere. It all balances out, right?
Writing Advice From “Ask Pud”
Phillip Kaplan’s Ask Pud blog is one I come back to from time to time for no other reason than it’s amusing and gives me a break from writing-related stuff for a few minutes. I ran across an interesting post recently that definitely applies to writers.
Just take out the phrases “professional musician” and “rock stars,” insert the word “freelancer” or “writer” and you’ve got the gist. You can safely ignore the snarky bit about heroin–that’s a musician thing, not a writer thing. Besides, what freelancer has time for THAT nonsense? What follows is quoted from Ask Pud:
Harry Miller’s Technical Writing Blog
Harry Miller’s blog does what I think all writing blogs (including ours) should do–a podcast. Actually, this site seems to be “all podcasts all the time”, relying on them more heavily than print pieces. I am a big believer in the podcast format for many reasons–when they are done right, they are engaging visitor magnets that add a lot of value to a website or blog.
Miller’s podcast is fully produced, with intro music, interviews, and commentary. He does quite a professional presentation and is definitely doing it right, at least for my money. If you want to learn more about the business of technical writing, Harry Miller’s site is worth the time investment. The sad thing about this site is that it hasn’t been updated since August of 2007–a shame since the potential for this blog is endless. The content on the site is archived for two years so you can glean a lot about technical writing.
For some, Harry Miller’s Technical Writing Blog probably loses some points for being in limbo, but in my mind that’s offset by the large volume of information available. I feel safe in recommending this since you can learn a great deal from what’s there now.
Why You Really Need to Start a Blog
According to a Freelance Switch survey, only 15% of surveyed freelancers write a blog. To the 85% of you who are not writing blogs, I say a hearty thank you. Thank you for making my quest for more paying gigs that much easier by taking yourselves out of the race. Self-promotion is one of the most important parts of this crazy business of ours, and by not promoting yourself, your expertise, and years of experience in the game you seriously cut down the competition for yours truly. You guys are awesome.
When I read that 15% factoid as reported in Mike Gunderloy’s post at Web Worker Daily, I admit I was fairly surprised. I would assume a much higher figure. Any freelancer who wants to get paid should be taking a serious look at how they market their number one asset–themselves. If you aren’t pushing your skills, you sell yourself short. Doing a blog is not going to drive employers to your virtual doorstep in droves, they won’t be beating down your door just because you have your shingle out. But any time you apply for a new gig, you should use every tool at your disposal, every advantage over that other 85%.
Anywired Advice For Your Home Office
This great blog got my attention today thanks to a fantastic list of links, resources and advice by Skellie called Your Home Office Library: 45+ Home Office Tips, Hacks and How-Tos. This piece is packed with info on setting up, organizing, and working at home. Anywired is a blog for anyone who wants to make money online, but in this case that phrase does NOT apply to “work at home” scams or other dodgy programs.
Skellie writes for freelancers, telecommuters, web business owners, anybody currently earning a buck with a net connection. I am seriously loving this blog. I get a lot of satisfaction from any blog that knows enough about the game to put “making money” and “finding work” in two separate categories. Cheers, Skellie–you’ve got new fans here. Anywired is tops with us.