Clipmarks | shaine's clips

10 Essential Free or Cheap Ways to Market Your Freelance Work

Wed, 01 Aug 2007 13:35:55 GMT

clipped by: shaine
clipper's remarks: Standard disclaimer: for more information, read the article.

Luckily, marketing skills aren’t that difficult, once you learn some basic ideas, and for those of us on a tight budget, there are some free or cheap ways to do that.

1. Blog.

2. Email friends.

3. Email publications.

4. Guest writing.

5. Collaborate.

6. Partnerships with other freelancers.

7. Teach.

8. Join organizations.

9. Create buzz.

10. Contact potential clients directly.

Tags: freelance, work, marketing, advertising

14 Numbers Your Cell Phone Can't Live Without

Wed, 01 Aug 2007 04:49:17 GMT

clipped by: shaine
clipper's remarks: I don't have most of these. Do you?

Clip Source: blog.crankingwidgets.com

Local Fire Department

Local Police Department or Law Enforcement

Nearby Hospital(s)

ICE (In Case of Emergency)

Taxi Company Dispatch

Water and Power Department

Doctor and/or Pediatrician

Poison Control

Animal Control

Coworker or Boss

Your Next-Door Neighbor

Tow Truck Company

Car Insurance Carrier/Broker

Pizza/Chinese/All-Night Take-out Food

Tags: mobile, phone, numbers

Finding Your Best Mentors

Wed, 01 Aug 2007 04:46:19 GMT

clipped by: shaine
clipper's remarks: Here are some ideas on finding a mentor.

Clip Source: blog.penelopetrunk.com

However the majority of people I know are not great at seeking out and developing these relationships. What I have learned in the past few months is it’s easier than you think! Here are three things I have done that have helped me develop very rewarding relationships with mentors.

1. Find the right network

2. Reach out

3. Think in terms of frequency

Finding a true mentor can take a long time, but almost everyone will offer advice and guidance if asked politely. Corporations creating cultures that encourage collaboration between young and old are absolutely necessary, but the responsibility of developing these relationships is in the hands of young workers. Reach out to someone. Take a chance. The details will work themselves out.

Tags: mentors

10 Steps to Becoming a Better Writer

Fri, 27 Jul 2007 05:40:56 GMT

clipped by: shaine
clipper's remarks: This is so simple, yet profound.

Clip Source: www.copyblogger.com

Write.
Write more.
Write even more.
Write even more than that.
Write when you don’t want to.
Write when you do.
Write when you have something to say.
Write when you don’t.
Write every day.
Keep writing.

Tags: blogging, blogger, writing, writer

5 Ways To Be Better At Self-Promotion

Fri, 27 Jul 2007 05:10:36 GMT

clipped by: shaine
clipper's remarks: You really need to read the whole post to appreciate the tips more.

Clip Source: blog.penelopetrunk.com

1. Specialize, which means saying what you don’t do

2. Stay the most focused when things look the most difficult

3. Be the tortoise, not the hare

4. Mitigate the fear of starvation

5. Know yourself, really, so you know when to shut up

Tags: self, promotion, marketing

Simply Invoices

Fri, 27 Jul 2007 03:40:48 GMT

clipped by: shaine
clipper's remarks: I don't know about you, but keeping track of invoices and doing the accounting was a big pain in the A for me when I was in business. This would be a great service for me when I get back in.

Clip Source: www.simplyinvoices.com

Tags: billing, invoices, business

Why Minimum Wage Laws Should Be Killed

Fri, 27 Jul 2007 03:30:17 GMT

clipped by: shaine
clipper's remarks: All I can add is that it's election season.

Clip Source: www.johnchow.com

The challenge is to highlight the new Fair Minimum Wage Act which came into effect today in the U.S. The new minimum wage is $5.85 per hour and will increase to $6.55 per hour next year and $7.25 the year after that. Jobacle.com feels the new wage level is a joke and disrespectful to employees.

I believe the minimum wage laws should be killed off and wages should be subjected to the laws of supply and demand. I’m sure my position isn’t very popular but I think politicians will eventually have to recognize that minimum wage laws just doesn’t do what it was intended to do.

Minimum Wage Law Hurts The People It Was Designed To Protect

Minimum Wage Laws Are Unfair To Workers

It’s Self Defeating Model

We Are In A Global Economy

You Are Where You Want To Be

For more information on the true effects of minimum wage laws, read the Fraser Institute report The Economics of Minimum Wage Laws.

Tags: wages, legislation, money, laws, economics

Sketchcasting

Fri, 27 Jul 2007 03:17:00 GMT

clipped by: shaine
clipper's remarks: This seems like an awesome way to convey messages.

Clip Source: sketch.basement.org

Screen recording tools:

Drawing Tools.

Video Hosting.

Hardware.

Tags: podcast, video, service

Are You a Courageous Blogger?

Fri, 27 Jul 2007 03:03:05 GMT

clipped by: shaine
clipper's remarks: Wow, this is a good statement on being a remarkable individual.

Clip Source: www.copyblogger.com

What does it take to be a leader in your niche?

Courage.

You need the courage to alienate the wrong people in order to resonate with the right people. You need to stick to your convictions when people tell you you’re wrong simply because your knowledge doesn’t mesh with their opinions.

Blogging by consensus is a recipe for failure. Your success will be determined by the execution of your vision. Think about it… if your audience is more qualified to write your blog than you are, why should they read what you say?

The fact is, if no one hates you, you’re doing something wrong. Trying to please everyone is the goal of mass media. That’s why it sucks. We’re supposed to be smarter, right?

Focus on the right people, and let the wrong people say what they will. It makes for great publicity when the sanctimonious blast you simply because they don’t realize that things have changed.

Leadership is not about genius. It’s about courage.

Tags: blogging, courage, controversy, success

Girl could give birth to sibling

Wed, 04 Jul 2007 00:47:59 GMT

clipped by: shaine
clipper's remarks: This is a bit awkward. I can follow the donation being similar to giving a kidney. The girl has half her mother's DNA and the egg would have half as well. But the other half would be the girl's husband's contribution? That would make him a dad/uncle. If seeking another sperm contributor to reduce confusion, why bother with Mom's eggs?

If it were a man giving his genetic material to his daughter's reproductive endeavors, wouldn't that be incest? I can't wrap my head around this completely.

Clip Source: news.bbc.co.uk

Melanie Boivin's daughter has a genetic condition

A Canadian mother has frozen her eggs for use by her seven-year-old daughter, who is likely to become infertile.

Should the girl opt to use the eggs and gain regulatory approval, she would effectively have a baby that was her half-brother or sister.

The girl, Flavie Boivin, cannot have children naturally because of a chromosomal condition called Turner's syndrome.

"We were concerned about the ethical questions - would I look at the child as my grandchild or as my own? We were also concerned about the financial impact, the physical impact on me and the emotional impact on the family."

"I told myself if she had needed another organ like a kidney I would volunteer without any hesitation and it is the same kind of thought process for this."

"In psychiatry we are hearing more and more of children suffering from identity problems, and specifically a condition called 'genealogical bewilderment'. Could it possibly get more bewildering than this?

Tags: reproduction, surrogate, mother, eggs, ethics

Smashed iPhone "not so cool looking"

Wed, 04 Jul 2007 00:32:00 GMT

clipped by: shaine
clipper's remarks: Where's that laughing kid from the Simpsons?

Clip Source: www.engadget.com

What happens when a shiny new iPhone meets the edge of a table? You guessed it -- that nasty piece of business up above. Fans, we know it looks painful, and haters, we know you're loving it, but we should all have a little sympathy for the unlucky guy who made this mess completely by accident when he tried to answer his phone while it was still plugged in, causing the short cable to whip Apple's glass-screened device right out of his hands. Don't fret too much though, because the kind folks at Apple apparently replaced the smashed phone for free, and as far as we know, the gentleman learned several valuable lessons.

Tags: iphone, broken

Giant microwave turns plastic back to oil

Thu, 28 Jun 2007 06:00:48 GMT

clipped by: shaine
clipper's remarks: This is awesome technology. It goes on to talk about using it for autofluff, all the fibrous stuff left after a car is stripped. It is supposed to extract enough oil to run the machine from the autofluff removed. Thus, metals can be stripped clean of organics with little additional energy.

Clip Source: environment.newscientist.com

A US company is taking plastics recycling to another level – turning them back into the oil they were made from, and gas.

All that is needed, claims Global Resource Corporation (GRC), is a finely tuned microwave and – hey presto! – a mix of materials that were made from oil can be reduced back to oil and combustible gas (and a few leftovers).

Key to GRC’s process is a machine that uses 1200 different frequencies within the microwave range, which act on specific hydrocarbon materials. As the material is zapped at the appropriate wavelength, part of the hydrocarbons that make up the plastic and rubber in the material are broken down into diesel oil and combustible gas.

Watch a video of tyre powder being reduced by the Hawk-10.

Tags: plastic, oil, microwave, recycling

10 Essential Steps to Get to the Top of Your Field

Wed, 27 Jun 2007 15:03:32 GMT

clipped by: shaine

Clip Source: freelanceswitch.com

Every freelancer can get better, but only a handful are at the top of their field — the best writers, the best designers, the best marketers, the best tech guys, the best artists, the best photographers. That’s where you want to be, if you want to succeed in your field.

Be the best, and someday others will be emulating you.

Learn from the best

Read up

Practice

Get feedback

Analyze

Practice some more

Edit

Focus

Experiment

Reflect

Tags: steps, freelance

Facebook: Evolvgin beyond being "Just a Social Network"

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 16:46:51 GMT

clipped by: shaine
clipper's remarks: Indeed, by opening the API, Facebook allows one to import from other services. Adding Twitter to the Facebook apps was genius. Later, I may be able to import my Flickr photos and check my gmail. Facebook was a curiosity at best for me prior to opening up the API. Now, it is a useful means of connecting to people.

I think they could improve the service by not requiring users to double-upload their content. If they could facilitate share from anywhere, it would go a long ways.

Clip Source: pulverblog.pulver.com

Something significant has been happening over at Facebook ever since they opened up their APIs. The result of which is that Facebook is now quickly becoming a new destination Internet Portal which people actually want to spend time inside of.

As more and more software developers integrate their applications with Facebook, Facebook has become that much more valuable…especially when the third-party applications add to the overall end user experience.

When friends of mine who are not into social networking decided to join the Facebook community and are inspired to think about how to best leverage Facebook as a platform, I take notice.

Will a mass immigration of non-students to Facebook mean that there will be some fallout and push back from the core community of people who have been there from the start? Maybe. And by the way, how can it be that something that is cool for kids can also be cool for adults?

Tags: facebook, social networking, aol

Paring of the News Feeds

Mon, 25 Jun 2007 03:36:25 GMT

clipped by: shaine
clipper's remarks: I went back and thought my fellow clippers would like this post of mine.

Clip Source: www.shainemata.net

The problem is that I’ve moved on to new things, but the feeds stayed. So, I’m figuring out what it is that is important to me now and have started cutting back on the feeds. Here are the ones that are getting cut:

Feeds to Cut

Feeds that no longer apply to my current life situation

Feeds that post too frequently

News

Feeds I don’t get

Feeds for stuff I can easily Google

Feeds to Keep

Friends

Local feeds

Feeds that are relevant to my life now

Exploratory feeds

If you liked this post, buy me a beer.

Tags: rss, feeds, news, internet