Because of its recent return to my working methodology, I want to take a moment to single out a very low-tech web working tool for praise. I’m talking about the sketchbook, that handy little tome in which we can capture and generate some of our best ideas. Not to be confused with the writer’s notebook, mind you, which is a great tool, too, but a different kind of beast.
The sketchbook is a free space for your ideas to play, unbound by lines and ruled margins. It’s a laboratory, a playground, a testing facility and a sounding board. And perhaps best of all, it requires no batteries and can go pretty much anywhere you do. Here’s why I love mine so much, and why any web worker would do well to have their own on hand. Read the rest of this entry »
So you’re a web worker, but you still meet people in meatspace that you want to network with, and making them type an email into their phone or handing them a plain jane business card either feels awkward or isn’t getting results.
There are other things you can do, things that are far more representative of your trade than a lifeless rectangular slip of paper with some contact information printed upon it. That’s not to say that all rectangular slips of paper are without merit, just that most traditional ones just aren’t getting the job done like they used to, following the demise of the Rolodex. Here are some alternatives you may want to consider. Read the rest of this entry »
Here at WebWorkerDaily we’ve written a lot about Twitter and its increasing usefulness for productivity, business and networking. As it grows in popularity, there have been a multitude of businesses that have been formed around the service. One such service is Idea Anglers, a community for entrepreneurs looking for help in shaping their business ideas.
It’s been a real pleasure to watch Idea Anglers take form right before my very eyes. Founders Neal Rohrbach and Bradford Shimp met in a weekly Twitter chat and began exchanging occasional tweets in the weeks that followed. An off-handed comment by Bradford about being an “Idea Wrangler” led Neal on a domain search, and thus the business was born.
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If it takes a village to raise a child, it’s possible that it takes a vast digital village to raise a teleworker. Whether we’re conscious of it or not, our work habits, tools and business perspective are at least partly influenced by the people and ideas we encounter online.
Take a moment to think about the blogs you regularly visit, the high-profile professionals that you consider your mentors, and the groups you interact with online. How have they shaped your work? What extraordinary ideas have you learned from them?
As I pondered this myself, I identified the most important ideas that have helped me as a web worker. Read the rest of this entry »
Facebook is a great tool for web working. It makes networking simple, offers loads of opportunities for promotion, and it boasts a massive user base. Still, it’s not designed to foreground your work, and sometimes it can be a little difficult to draw attention to the things you want people to take notice of using only your basic profile options and Facebook’s native Page and Group tools.
My Web Portfolio is a Facebook application that’s designed to help web designers at least strut their stuff on the popular social network. Just as the name implies, it allows you to build and share a portfolio of your web sites and share them with other Facebook users.
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Darrell Etherington recently came up with a list of holiday gifts, and I wanted to add some ideas to the mix. I’m more of a gadget gal, myself. I like tangible items that I can unwrap and hold in my hands, marvel at the construction and hope, of course, that they are intuitive to use since I hate to read instructions.
Here’s a list of gift suggestions I’ve come up with ranging from $10 to $500 to accommodate any gift-giving budget.
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If you’re like me, the beginning of December means one thing: regretting not having started your Christmas shopping earlier. The malls are packed, Black Friday has ravaged store stock, and you don’t have a clue what to get anyone anyway. I hope I can help with at least one of those problems, with this list of great gifts for that web worker on your list.
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Web Work 101: How To Escape The Cubicle
