Rachel Soothill | Resources,Technology
If you are creating your own website there are a lot of factors to consider besides the look and design. There are certain elements that are repeatedly used among successful sites which have been tried and tested. Here we give you a rundown of the major elements that you should bear in mind when planning and developing your website
Was one of your New Year resolutions to be more productive and grow your business? Digital Dragonfly believes you need good IT systems in place to do both. If you spend all day working on your computer read on for 7 ways to develop healthy tech habits in 2012.
Jen Stakes Roberts | Resources,Technology
I’m noticing over here on the other side of the Atlantic that the British freelancer community seems less enamoured by Google Plus than their US counterparts. I could speculate for hours why that might be: probably some mix of American enthusiasm for anything new and shiny, British cynicism of bandwagon-leaping, and perhaps just something pessimistic in the water at the moment.
Media darling and social mega-destination Facebook recently rolled out their COO Sheryl Sandberg at the DLD Conference in Munich to wax lyrical about the economic benefits Facebook is bringing to Europe. To entice the UK’s freelancers, contractors and small businesses into the Facebook ecosystem the firm has organised a “Facebook for Business” roadshow.
Although Google+ has been getting a lot of buzz in the tech press and recently announced it has amassed 90 million users, it is still seen by many as a social media also-ran, having been unable to break into the public psyche in the same way Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn have.
Pinterest was launched in March 2010, and has really blown up in popularity over the past few months. Pinterest is an online pin board / social network – and despite what you may have heard is not just for fashion and food bloggers!
Jon Norris | Review,Technology
When Google debuted their Chrome operating system, there was lots of excitement about the prospect of a web-only OS. You could do away with pesky updates, niggling security worries and annoying software installations and fully embrace the web, at the same time benefiting from the increased speed that a virtually non-existent OS brings.
Rachel Soothill | News,Technology
Good news for all you retailing freelancers out there plying your trade through Etsy or your own online store – recent research has shown that online shoppers choose to buy from smaller retailers with personality rather than larger online stores.
New research carried out by our parent company Crunch has found that usage of Microsoft’s universally-loathed web browser IE6 spikes massively during working hours – seemingly indicating that corporate IT departments are failing in their duty to ensure a compliant and safe web experience for the employees they are charged with looking after.
Jon Norris | Getting a Job,Technology
Every so often a new invention or technology pops up that fundamentally changes the way people interact. Whether it be the Gutenberg press or Facebook, both have had a profound impact on the way information is shared and how easy it is to access. Along with any new technology also comes a healthy dose of new business opportunities and hype – and the hype comes no bigger than that surrounding social media.
Rachel Soothill | News,Technology
According a new US study, it has been revealed that consumers who follow brands on the popular social network Twitter are much more likely to purchase from that brand or recommend their products to others. The social media marketing study which was carried out by Constant Contact and research firm Chadwick Martin Bailey, analysed the behaviour of 1,491 consumers aged 18 and older.
Rachel Soothill | News,Technology
At the beginning of the week Google announced the launch of its Google+ Pages. Specifically designed for companies, the pages allow them to set up profiles for their brands. There are also a host of business related features that they can benefit from.
If you have your own business website, it might take the form of a blog, or at the very least have a blog section. Content is king, as they say. If you want to be king, you’ve got to have content. Blogging is a great way to start a conversation with potential customers, improve traffic to your site, and keep visitors coming back.
Recent research has claimed that a full third of small- and medium-sized business that have to close down due to data loss can be chalked up to human error. The problem has been highlighted by an IT specialist, who also found that almost two thirds (64%) of employees had received no IT security training
One of the hardest things to get your head around when using Twitter is the hash tag. What are they? What do they mean? Where do they come from? A hash tag is simply a way for people to spread information and make it easier for people to search for tweets that have a common topic.
You are not alone if you are confused about cloud computing – recent research has shown that nearly half of those not using cloud computing don’t know what it means. Whether you are worried about security or how you would access your data without internet access read on and see my answers to the common questions which people ask me about cloud computing.
TimothyTim | Guides,Technology
OK, that’s it. I’ve had it with sloppy internet stupidity and moronic marketing strategies from site owners. Here are my top ten (alright, eight) moronic things you’re doing to your website that dramatically hinders your ability to sell stuff.
Most freelancers would agree that a broadband connection is the one thing that they couldn’t do without. No internet access means no web-based research, no social networking, no staying in touch with colleagues: no job. So what should home workers and freelancers look for in a broadband package?
Rachel Soothill | News,Technology
Last week the world was in mourning after Steve Jobs, the founder and visionary behind the Apple computer, iPod and iPhone, died from an eight-year battle with cancer, aged just 56. I for one cannot live without my iPhone, especially since I’ve become a full-time freelancer and so here, I would like to pay a small tribute to the man who helped revolutionise the way we communicate.
Picture the scene – there’s a big important meeting, many miles away, you’re tired and it’s snowing. Do you get out of your nice warm bed four hours early and travel to the site, or simply stroll downstairs, log onto your PC and send in your virtual self via robot?
There has been a lot of back-and-forth about the effectiveness of social media for generating genuine business leads in the last few weeks. A study by Forrester found that commerce activity on Facebook was still lacklustre compared to other marketing avenues – a claim swiftly rebutted by the giant social network.
Yesterday we ask if you could live without email given the rapid rise of social media. Today, based on the results of a study by the Pew Research Center, we’re asking can you live without your smartphone?
A new survey from technology market research specialists Radicati.com says the average corporate email user sends and receives around 105 email messages every day and that nearly 20% of these are spam or ‘greymail’ i.e. unwanted newsletters or notifications.
Although the iPhone may still be the dominant force in the smartphone world, Android is quickly catching up – and with more users come more apps. For the worker on the go there are a number of apps that can range from handy additions to complete lifesavers.
Online productivity is becoming increasingly popular, but there is still a need for offline suites. Which is the best? Microsoft’s all-conquering Office, or open-source upstart Open Office?
Rachel Soothill | News,Technology
Hot on the heels of the launch of Google+ Facebook has introduced a Facebook For Business portal in an attempt to encourage businesses to choose their giant social network over the competition.
Rachel Soothill | News,Technology
A new global survey has revealed that branded apps are failing to take the world of smartphones by storm. The new research, carried out by Deloitte was based on an analysis of apps published on iPhone, Android and BlackBerry by big healthcare and consumer brands.
Rachel Soothill | News,Technology
Google’s new attempt at a social network, Google+, launched three weeks ago and already has over 18 million users. Presumably envious of Twitter’s sea of celebrity users, Google+ has now embarked on a mission to ensnare celebrities to help build on its early success.
Rachel Soothill | News,Technology
Research into online marketing has revealed that two thirds of marketing managers still rely on email to deliver their online campaigns. The survey, which was carried out by eCircle, is part of a larger study on European Social Media and Email Marketing.
Selina Murray | Getting a Job,Technology
The last year has seen a rise in UK companies using social networks to win new business, says a new global survey from workplace provider Regus. In 2010 Regus found that 33% of UK firms were successfully winning new customers through social networking activity. A year later, the proportion has risen eight percentage points to 41%.
Jon Norris | Resources,Technology
As Twitter becomes more and more widely used by businesses both large and small, more time and brainpower is being poured into finding out what makes the social service tick, as marketers everywhere try in vain to find out what it takes to make something “go viral” (hint: you can’t). Of course, the secret to success on Twitter lies in the retweet – users passing your message on to their followers.
Although many businesses both big and small still struggle with shaking the snail mail, a new report has claimed that the great hope of the paperless office, email, is on the way out already. It is surmised that email will be replaced within a few years by private portals which allow users to post messages to a “wall” and tag individuals, essentially giving corporations their own private Facebook.
Jon Norris | Lifestyle & Time out,Technology
Every website should have a blog. Content is king, as they say, and you’ll need some kind of Content Management System (CMS) to keep that content organised.
Jon Norris | Review,Technology
As you may have noticed, Microsoft is currently in the midst of some quite pronounced marketing gesticulations to promote their new cloud-enabled productivity suite, Office 365. Aimed squarely at the droves of Office users fleeing the good ship Microsoft in Google’s direction, Office 365 purports to have brought the functionality of Microsoft’s world-beating Office software to the web.
Rachel Soothill | News,Technology
Cookies, aside from being delicious mid-morning snacks, are small files places on your computer by websites. They allow sites to remember and recognise visitors and information such as log-in details, browsing history and ordering information. Many websites function using cookies, as does Analytics software and third party advertising such as Google’s AdSense.
Rachel Soothill | News,Technology
Research published by PC World Business has revealed that UK small businesses are adopting tablets for use in the workplace, with many more looking to do so in the near future. According to the research nearly 25% of small firms are using tablets such as iPads and Android slates to increase the efficiency of their business.
Rachel Soothill | Legal,Technology
A free online tool has been launched to help small-businesses comply with employment regulations, including recruitment, discipline, grievance procedures and the Working Time Directive. Developed by ACAS, who aim to improve employer-employee relations, the Modern Workplace tool lets employers assess their management techniques and offers practical advice on maintaining good employment relations.
Good website addresses are like gold dust these days. All the good ones are taken, either by people with the same company name as you, or by soulless URL squatters who want to charge you exorbitant amounts for them. For example, I recently enquired about buying thebomb.co.uk, which I discovered was available for £500 – and since then the price has gone up to £600!
Rachel Soothill | Guides,Technology
Now we have established what a powerful communication tool social media has become, the next step is to learn how to harness that power and use it for getting your business and key messages out there. Social media is rapidly becoming the chosen channel for businesses to communicate and share ideas, and should form a strong part of your online marketing strategy.
Rachel Soothill | Guides,Technology
With around 600 million users worldwide, Facebook is the largest social media platforms that exists. It has pageview rates and engagement metrics that blow away the competition. If you are not using Facebook as part of your marketing strategy you could be seriously missing a trick!
Rachel Soothill | Lifestyle & Time out,Technology
If we didn’t appreciate the power of social media previously, the latest news headlines have confirmed just how influential platforms such as Twitter and Facebook are. Twitter in particular has hit the headlines recently after making a mockery of England’s privacy laws. While I couldn’t care less about who Ryan Giggs is bonking, the situation has grabbed my attention as it highlights the effectiveness of social media communication.
Rachel Soothill | Guides,Technology
As the biggest social networking site for professionals LinkedIn is a no-brainer for all freelancers looking to broaden their horizons. With over 6o million members, it is a great starting place for finding and connecting with potential new clients and also for being found.
Here’s something you don’t see often – the Government making appreciable, concrete strides towards a more user-friendly, useful web portal. Under the guidance of web brainbox Tom Loosemore, Alpha.gov.uk is a test version of a new Government portal that is supposed to eventually replace Direct.gov.uk.
Andy White | Guides,Technology
We’ve discussed planning and recording your podcast, now we’re going to explore how to make sure people can listen once you’ve produced it. Using some simple technology you can make it easy for people to subscribe and listen to your creation – let’s talk about your options.
Jon Norris | Guides,Technology
It’s all well and good designing and building a website to promote your business – but how do you know if people are actually visiting it, and what they’re doing once they’re there? Luckily, Google is on hand to provide anybody with free, relatively in-depth website analytics.
Sebastian Powell | Guides,Technology
For some, just the thought of getting started with Google AdWords makes palms sweat and knees shake. The somewhat steep learning curve all too often results in ineffective campaigns with little return on investment; a big no-no for freelancers and small businesses with limited financial resources.
Jon Norris | Review,Technology
Have you checked a calendar recently? It’s 2011 – officially the future. Where are the jetpacks? Why can’t I eat my lunch in pill form? Lots of the magical technologies we were promised as children have failed to materialise, however one of the few technologies that has mode it from the screen to our sweaty palms in wireless charging.
Jon Norris | Getting a Job,Technology
The explosion in popularity of Facebook over the last few years combined with Mark Zuckerberg suddenly realising he needs a decent revenue model has seen a range of bizarre (and depressingly, often successful) tactics employed to try and leverage money from the social network’s 600million of so subscribers.
Chris Barling | Guides,Technology
Freelancers are generally folks who sell their expertise and services rather than products, but what if you write a book, develop a software package, produce a training video or create an e-learning programme? If so you probably have a shopping cart element to your website and whether you’re new to selling online or an old hand, it’s never a bad time to brush up on the essentials of ecommerce.
Andy White | Guides,Technology
In Part 1 I talked about conceptualising and planning your podcast. In this post we’ll explore how to record, edit and prepare your first episode for public consumption, and what equipment you’ll need to do it.
Mel Dixon | Lifestyle & Time out,Technology
At this time of year, fans become an essential item in any home office. No-one works well when they’re overheating on the job, so ensuring you keep cool in the summer months is crucial. So, which fans are the best? I don’t know, but these are pretty cool.
And it looks very scary indeed. It’s yet another one of those online portals where small businesses and freelancers provide the Government with ideas. This time it’s about finding business solutions which will help the Government provide services more efficiently.
Speaking on Monday at the launch of Start Up Britain, a new campaign backed by several big companies to offer help and support to those looking to start their own business, David Cameron announced that, with the help of small business “we can make this decade one of the most entrepreneurial decades in our history.”
Mel Dixon | Lifestyle & Time out,Technology
Many of us have read theories about what constitutes best practice when it comes to social media, but what is the reality for UK freelancers? From my own experience I’ve identified five main ways that freelancers use social media.
Jon Norris | Resources,Technology
External hard drive? Those things are heavy. USB stick? So last year. These days the vital and thrusting freelancer uses cloud storage to keep themselves mobile and ensure their work is backed up. But which service is the best? We’re looking into the benefits, drawbacks and intricacies of the main contenders to let you know your options.
The degree of activity in social media depends on an individual freelancers personal requirements. Freelancers who have a steady stream of work, for the present and forseeable future, may not see social media as a priority. However, those freelancers who are struggling for work, will, or at least should, see social media as an opportunity to engage with potential clients and source work.
Mel Dixon | Resources,Technology
A new report by SEO specialists Clickscene, has revealed that 40 per cent of commercial businesses in the UK are ignored by search engines. Further to this, 91 per cent are not using pay per click services and a third don’t get any traffic from search engines.
Virtual businesses are brilliant because they employ freelancers and stuff. A virtual business can be defined as any business that is online and doesn’t have a permanent physical base – and they can be maintained from any location with an internet connection.
If you’re a freelancer operating under a limited company, more than likely you’ll have had some kind of dealing with Companies House. The organisation are the record keepers for all public companies in the UK, and as such are what you might call a fairly widely used service.
As a freelancer you’ve probably had to get someone to repair your computer at some point. If you haven’t yet, then drop us the brand name and model number. When the time comes for technical assistance, you will need to find someone who can diagnose the problem and then hopefully repair it.
Mel Dixon | Lifestyle & Time out,Technology
Presentation tools are pretty handy, whether that’s for live physical presentations or online demonstrations. On the whole they’re versatile pieces of software, and can be used for both professional and hobbyist purposes. Recently, I’ve been trying out some of the best on the market…
Much is written about the art of engaging consumers via social media and what constitutes best practice. For freelancers, communication via social media arguably comes more easily than it does for sizeable business entities. Though there are fewer pitfalls for the flexi-worker, who for the most part just needs to bathe in a flattering light in front of current and future clients, for those a little more demanding of their social media results it’s important to understand why people disengage.
Chrome is the up-and-coming star of the browser world. Already used by the tech-savvy and speed-loving developers and designers of the world, it is slowly finding its way into the general populous. On Freelance Advisor, Chrome has just surpassed Safari and now the third most popular browser.
Jon Norris | Getting a Job,Technology
Last week, AOL was left with a fairly red face as their CEO Tim Armstrong’s grand plan for taking the company forward was leaked to Business Insider. Formerly the world’s biggest ISP, AOL has recently pivoted their strategy to focus on content, and now owns many popular internet destinations such as Engadget, Joystiq, and TechCrunch.
The government has been talking BIG regarding a five year drive to create new economic growth in the UK through a renewed spirit of entrepreneurialism and hi-tech innovation. It was a BIG launch in more than one way. BIG actually stands for British Innovation Gateway, the name they’ve given to this plan for growth which sits neatly alongside plans for an East London Tech City.
Andy White | Guides,Technology
Identify your passion This is the most crucial thing you need if you want to produce a podcast or indeed other forms of online content. Passion. I’m going to make a bold statement, but one that I believe to be true. Podcasting your passion is 10,000 times easier than podcasting anything else. If you truly [...]
Jon Norris | Resources,Technology
If there’s one thing the internet is good at its democratisation. Whether it be Wikipedia, file sharing, or blogging, the web has put a great deal of power back in the hands of the people. Now that same ethos is starting to filter down into services that would traditionally have been from one huge, faceless, costly provider.
Although the importance of social media is well established in the UK, we still trail a long way behind the US. However, that is all set to change in 2011 according to a new report by freelance work portal Office Cavalry. In fact, the findings are particularly positive for those freelancers specialising, or hoping to specialise, in social media marketing.
Here’s a breakdown…
Steve Stark | Guides,Technology
Email is a major sap on time, energy and resources. Learn how to manage it better to reduce stress, free up time and get more done. We generally have an unhealthy relationship with our email. Our inbox is a Pandora’s Box enticing us away from what we are meant to be doing and distracting us with a world of things we have not done.
As you may or may not have heard, today is Data Privacy Day. While ordinarily I would dismiss this as the same pointless guff as Talk Like a Pirate Day or St. Patrick’s Day, this year it is actually fairly pertinent.
It’s Friday, January 28th, which can only mean one thing: it’s international Data Privacy Day! Cue ticker tape and hastily draped bunting in the town square. Or perhaps not. This is, after all, a private affair.
Starting a business is a time-consuming and difficult task, which generally means getting down and dirty in all areas of the business. With so much to do every day, developing an optimised workflow becomes more than a just a ‘nice thing to have’ – it is essential to your business’s success.
Software used to be so simple. You’d go into a shop, buy a box with a floppy disc in it, and that’d be it. The software was yours. These days, with the proliferation of mobile devices, different operating systems and different distribution models, sometimes it’s difficult to know what you’re actually getting. Here is a handy breakdown of popular software terms, and what they mean.
Many freelancers and contractors have their own website which is either a fun hobby-horse or an online space for promoting their expertise and getting work. In such instances you probably don’t want to spend much time, let alone money, on attracting web traffic. The most effective way of achieving this is to promote it socially. This can be done online and in the physical world – social networking shouldn’t just happen in the online space.
What follows are a few simple tips on utilising key social tools to help increase web hits.
When you’re surfing the net and only want the bare bones of a new story or article, wouldn’t it be nice to press a button marked ‘summarise’ and have that content neatly displayed in a compact form. Well that’s effectively what tldr.it (an acronym for Too Long Didn’t Read) does.
How it operates is pretty simple.
The iPad has been a hugely popular way for people to get online, consume information and play Angry Birds. For freelancers and contractors, its strength has been in enabling the user to find out stuff, fire off quick emails and generally perform online tasks without having to boot up a computer or be restricted by a miniature screen. It has created a happy medium between mobility and functionality.
It seems that Yahoo is doing away with ‘Delicious’ the social bookmarking tool. However, there seems to be doubt about whether the service will be picked up by another company or killed off in its entirety. The Delicious blog has published a post which suggests it will live on in some form…
Jon Norris | Guides,Technology
Remember the days when you could go out and leave the front door unlocked? When you could walk to the supermarket without fear of ending up buried in a bathtub full of sand? Unfortunately, those days are no more. These days if you’re going out you better take your stab-vest. Security, both off and online, are becoming increasingly important.
I’m your typical freelance writer: I love procrastinating. My clients hate it, but that’s another matter. Recently, I distracted myself by looking up online tools that I might find useful; hopefully you might find them useful too…
I’m a freelance writer. I’m not a web designer. Yet, I’ve always felt that an understanding of the basics of HTML would be very useful. At the moment I do a lot of my work via Wordpress which is a very easy way of publishing articles and formatting them in the desired manner without having to manually encode them <>like this</>.
Social media isn’t going to be around forever, but it’s going to get a lot bigger before it goes away – it’s a pretty big deal at the moment. If you don’t have a Twitter presence for your brand then you’re a sucker, and if you don’t have a Facebook fan page then you’re a chump.
I recently wrote a piece on showcasing your services online, the importance of brand identity and the minimum requirement for an online presence – and no, it really ought not be time-consuming or something you need to constantly update. Though it does have to be ‘up-to-date’.
We’ve taken a look at services like Keebo in the past – most notably ReceiptFarm – that take over the arduous task of managing your receipts and expenses for a small monthly fee. Keebo are the new kids on the block, having just launched in the last few weeks.
We’re all about peace and harmony here at FA – we believe you should love thy neighbour and high five strangers in the street and all that good stuff – but we also like a good fight. Every Friday we’re going to be pitching a couple of heavyweight competitors against one another in a battle royale with cheese to see who comes out on top.
As a freelancer or contractor, you are the brand. It’s a horrible word and nobody wants to refer to themselves as a brand – it makes you sound like a brain dead idiot from The Apprentice – but unfortunately that is what you’ve become.
And, as with any brand you need to ensure that it’s alive, easy-to-find and well maintained in the online sphere. In other words, the two PR’s are essential – public relations and personal reputation.
I’ve recently been trying out a new tool which enables you to scrawl all over fully functioning websites and store the results.
‘MarkUp’ is aimed at anyone who wishes to present suggestions as to how a website could be done differently. The service is still rather basic, but its simplicity is impressive.
A great many businesses (too many, in my opinion) still use old-style POP3 email systems. This means all your email is managed through Outlook or a similar email client. The problem with this is that if you want to access your email from outside the office, you have to set up a separate client, or sometimes even go in through your employers VPN, which is a process so harrowing it’s on the verge of being classified a crime against humanity by the UN.
I’m only guessing here but you probably use a whole host of software to manage your workflow. I personally use a heady mix of GMail, Google Docs, Google Calendar, Wordpress, Twitter, Facebook, Disqus and Tweetdeck.
Last week we looked at how to scan your documents and digitise them, providing you with handy, editable copies to email or backup. This week we’re going to look at ditching the paper entirely.
Michael Rose | Technology,Working From Home
The Lexmark Pinnacle Pro 901 wifi printer is an absolute delight to use — it solves so many problems it feels like an Angel has descended into my home office. It’s also a bit of a monster.
Its dark brooding looks help hide some of its bulk, the footprint is large so I had to place it on the bottom of the bookshelf rather than having it hanging ominously in mid-air. But the size is understandable as there seems to be nothing this machine cannot do.
Although we may not willingly admit it, most of us have, at some point, searched for ourselves on Google to see what our virtual alter ego looks like. Few people, however, review the results from a professional perspective.
Microsoft has unveiled a brand new cloud-based product which they hope will win over the business community.
Office 365 will bring together Microsoft Officer, SharePoint Online, Exchange Online and Lync Online. Instead of having to install it on your computer, you can simply pay for and access the service online. Or, ‘in the cloud.’
The term OCR probably sends a shiver down your spine – and you’re not quite sure why. The term usually pops up in places such as exams or driving tests – it stands for Optical Characters Recognition, and, simply put, it means teaching computers to recognise written characters.
I’m always on the lookout for new online tools which are user-friendly and hopefully fun and maybe, just maybe, practical for my needs.
So, I randomly googled ‘lovely online tools’ and lo and behold came across Lovely Charts which promises to enable you to ‘create professional looking diagrams of all kinds’ that will ‘impress, convince and seduce – even if you don’t have the slightest design skill.’
As a freelance copywriter I often need to add images to the articles I’ve written. For a while now I’ve been using Skitch – a free picture editing tool for Mac users.
It’s a tool I’d recommend to any freelancer who regularly needs to play around with images.
So, you’re running your own business and feel ready to plunge into the world of blogging in order to relay your expertise to a global audience.
Blogging can be a very effective tool for self-marketing, but what kind of blogging service should you choose to host your ramblings?
Jon Norris | Guides,Resources,Technology
Software comes in many different flavours these days. The majority, from Microsoft, Apple and the like, is closed source – meaning the developers don’t release the source code their software is based on, which helps them protect both their intellectual property and bottom line. A growing percentage of software, however, is Open Source, meaning the developer releases the source code for anybody to poke around in and change as they see fit, and, most importantly for you and I, the software is almost always free.
New research has shown that over a third of SMEs use social media on a daily basis to promote their businesses.
For many freelancers and contractors, utilizing free networking tools is clearly a no-brainer, but which is the most popular?
So, Google has released it’s latest update which claims to make online searches quicker and easier than ever before. A useful update? Yes. A search engine revolution? Not quite.
In fact, a lesser known alternative has been around for almost two years and it does pretty much the same thing. And more.
Time to hit the keyboardr!
Michael Rose | Resources,Technology
I can’t count the number of times I’ve needed to know the exact dimensions of a piece of A4 paper. It’s not something I need all the time, so it’s not in long-term memory, and it’s certainly not worth printing out and keeping by my monitor.
If I’m at my laptop I usually Google for the answer it but its always frustrated me that I can’t just have everything I need in one place.
International Paper Sizes is an ideal resource for looking up a variety of paper standards. It’s ideal for anyone working in graphic design, illustration, printing, export and packaging. And me.
Michael Rose | Events,Technology
If you like geeky events, conferences and meetups (for work or play) then the brilliant new social conference directory Lanyrd.com is doing absolutely everything it can to connect you, and your friends, to the events that really matter.
I’ve recently discovered a handy online tool that allows you to create an email address which then self-destructs in ten minutes.
It’s just what you need for those services which make it Mission Impossible to unsubscribe from their constant dribble of updates.
I recently stumbled across a simple online tool called Wridea. It’s a tool which could be particularly useful for freelancers or start-ups who have ideas which they want to arrange simply and effectively on an online interface.
The idea behind the site is to ensure that people don’t forget the ideas they’ve previously come up with. Unless they want to of course.
You probably dread coming back from holiday to hundreds or thousands of emails.
The thought of spending the first week dealing with them all and feeling that you’re having to catch up all the time. Here are a few quick steps to help you deal with the backlog.
Michael Rose | Money,Technology
Are slow payers crippling your cash flow? Are you spending too much time chasing overdue accounts and stifling your productivity? Spending more of your valuable time chasing payments than new customers?
There’s an app for that.
Despite hopes of its upcoming demise, IR35 is still alive and dangerous and remains a major concern for many UK contractors.
That’s why it’s great to hear that a new online tool has been created which gives contractors an opportunity to discover whether or not they are IR35 compliant.
74 unread emails! Since last night? Are you kidding! We all know what email overload feels like, especially if we’ve been away on holiday or if our American cousins don’t realise that Bank Holidays are sacred. It’s hard enough working out what work has priority but even worse when client email are hidden within an inbox cluttered with newsletters, calendar reminders and “special offers”.
If you use Gmail you might be interested to know that Google are working on the problem.
Gmail is great at filtering out spam but today the Google gmail team announced that they will use similar technology to automatically sort your emails by importance.
I’ve existed on social networking sites like Facebook and LinkedIn for a long time now. My participation however has been somewhat minimal. My idea of social networking usually involves pubs and actually meeting people.
Nonetheless, I was intrigued by the idea of websites which enable you to build your own social network. So, I decided to try one out.
Portfolio To Go is a fantastic iPad app for artists and photographers who use Flickr.com to showcase their photographs online.
Lovingly created by Brighton-based freelance developer Nick Kuh, easily allows freelance photographers, graphic designers and artists to present their portfolio offline to clients — perfect for use with a wifi iPad.
Just sync and go.
Ofcom has recently revealed the results of its latest broadband speed tests and it makes interesting reading for any freelancers looking to achieve the swiftest possible broadband connection in their home office.
I’ll be honest, I’d never set up a VoIP phone before. So I decided to try out a Cloud Net telephonic solution which enables you to make calls via a broadband connection. The good news is, it was pretty simple to set up and provides an effective service for small businesses.
There was, however, one small problem which every prospective purchaser of a VoIP needs to keep in mind before they make the leap…
If you’re like me – a freelancer who occasionally works from home and who happens to live in an old, listed or converted flat – you’re no stranger to fluctuating wireless signals, and the headache they can cause when you’re trying to work.
Thick concrete walls, organic (horsehair) insulation and poor telephone infrastructure make working from home in these types of flats something of a struggle. It makes matters worse when the one room in your flat where you get the most work done just happens to be out of range from your wireless router. So, when you run a business that relies heavily on a stable internet connection, what’s a freelancer to do?
If you use Skype and have an iPhone then this week’s announcement via the Skype blog will come as very welcome news.
Thanks to the new update, available on iTunes, calls now go over 3G so you no longer need to be at home on a wireless network to make and receive calls.
Michael Rose | Lifestyle & Time out,Technology
Teux Deux is a super-simple, sleek and stylish to-do list manager. If you like great design with a tiny pinch of minimalism then this might be for you.
Built entirely for the web you just sign up for a free account and start typing in your to-dos. To add a task you just type and hit return. That’s it.
Earlier this week we featured online presentation tool Spiceynodes as a great way to present information to clients or customers, in person, on a screen or directly embedded on your website. Today we look at a few tools for making quick website wireframes, prototypes and mockups.
From simple, free rapid drafting and prototyping tools to more complex and outright technical offerings we give you a quick overview of the options for freelancers needing to quickly create a mockup for a website or landing page.
Over the last few days I’ve been fiddling about with a new online tool which could provide a fun new way of presenting information on your website, or alternatively, help you with some online brainstorming.
The interactive service offers a range of potential uses, but can it really be more than a fun diversion for freelancers and contractors?
Michael Rose | Technology,Working From Home
If you occasionally work from home then getting a decent broadband connection can really help you get your work done effectively.
Thanks to modern-day technology, working from home is no longer a second-rate way of staying in touch with clients and colleagues and broadband has become a vital lifeline for many home workers, allowing them to email or browse the web in comfort while also being able to send and receive large files with ease.
If you’re not up to speed with Broadband at home Chris Marling of Broadband Genie gives you a a few things to consider.
For those who are trying to find ‘the killer concept,’ perhaps the following will be of interest…
Concept Feedback is a handy resource for freelance designers and anyone who’s in the business of creating a logo, website or brand concept. The idea of the site is to create a professional online community where designers and visual creatives offer feedback on the design projects of others. It’s particularly useful for freelancers who are not in a position to gather feedback from their own personal sources.
Online security is a pain. If you have more than one bank account, multiple email addresses and numerous subscriptions to online services like Amazon, eBay and the rest, keeping track of your passwords becomes a real chore. We’re told not to write them down, and we’re told not to have anything too obvious that can be found in a dictionary.
Security experts recommend we have unique, strong, passwords of at least 12 characters including lowercase, uppercase and numbers. Generating random complicated passwords isn’t too hard… but remembering them is.
Freelancers and contractors in the UK are well-versed in the business benefits of social networking sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. But one service they may not be so familiar with is Ecademy – a business network which in many aspects is similar to LinkedIn.
So what can it offer the freelancing community?
Michael Rose | Technology,Working From Home
Brother MFC-255CW – Wifi Multi-function Printer
If you’ve got a wireless network at home then a Wifi printer is a no brainer. With just one wire for the power supply the Brother MFC-225CW can sit anywhere — I had mine out of the box and sitting on a shelf, ready to print within just 5 minutes.
PROBLEM: You have limited, often fragmented time to meet clients and contacts. You might have a free spot for two hours this afternoon, time between finishing one project and starting the next, and it’d be great to generate some new business in that slot — if only people knew you were free to talk.
Setster solves this problem beautifully — perfect for consultants or small businesses.
If your website IS your business and it’s offering products, services or information then it might be something that you might seriously consider.
However, if your business website is just ABOUT your company then it’s probably not such a good idea. There is of course a thin line between the two, so another way of judging whether you should take advertising is by looking at some of your competitors and seeing what they do.
Checklists are an essential part of finishing any project and when it comes to website launches there are a whole host of checks, fixes and tests that need to be done to make sure your project is firing on all cylinders, with valid HTML, CSS and javscript, that works in every browser, at different resolutions and on all platforms.
Launchlist.net is your one stop web checklist. Simple enter your details, project name and your clients email address, then set to work checking all the boxes.
David Howell | Technology,Working From Home
If the underneath of your desk looks like a bird’s net of tangled cables, power bricks, and distribution sockets, now is the time to tame your wires and create a tidy environment in your home office.
Here are a few quick ways to tame those cables…
I’ve long advocated Dropbox as the absolute best file-sharing tool for Freelancers, Contractors and just about anyone who needs to backup their important work files and share content across multiple machines or locations.
But the best of the best has just added a killer new feature.
With the threat of BT strike action looming, the communication facilities of small businesses may be in peril if a fault develops on a business line with no BT technicians on hand to save the day.
But instead of being at the mercy of industrial pay disputes, freelancers and contractors in the modern age have a whole range of alternative telephonic technologies which can be accessed online.
Let’s take a look at what’s out there…
A few years ago getting heard on Twitter was easy. When I first joined there were less than a million users and it was easy to find friends with common interests and it was even possible for a couple of friend to create a trending topic.
Now with 70m+ users (sending 50m tweets a day) the story is a little different…
If you need to quote for a job and want to get a slick proposal back to the client before the end of the day then Quote Robot is your fantastic, futuristic, proposal-producing pal!
As part of our #GreenOffice series we’re looking at neat tips and technology for keeping costs down and running an efficient eco-friendly office.
While most new PCs come with a decent keyboard and mouse these days (Dell’s keyboards are still a personal favourite of mine) the Solargizer package has all you’d expect from a keyboard (you know, keys with numbers and letters on them, all in the right places) but adds a nice little ‘solar powered’ feature for anyone concerned about chewing up batteries.
The guys and girls at Cloud Engines are my new best friends! As a roaming freelancer (working on contracts in other people’s offices, working from home and, sometimes, working from bed) the problem of where to keep my data has always been a difficult one to solve. Not any more.
Pogoplug is a great solution. It’s got 4 USB slots and it connects to a home WiFi router and, yes it really is that simple, now I have access to my portable hard drives wherever I am in the world.
Alick Mighall | Getting a Job,Guides,Technology
If you want a website for your small business or to show off your freelancing work AND know what you want then you are almost ready to contact the designers but thinking clearly, focusing on objectives and writing a good, clear brief can make a world of different when it comes to getting a quote.
You’ll not only save yourself time and money but you’ll also make developers and designers like Alick Mighall really happy.
Rob Watson | Guides,Technology
Part three of our guide to Google AdWords for beginners:
Yesterday Rob explained how to set up your first Google AdWords campaign. Today he looks at some of the best practices you should follow.
Rob Watson | Guides,Technology
Part two of our guide to Google AdWords for beginners:
Yesterday Rob explained the basics of GoogleAdwords. Today he looks at setting up your first AdWords campaign and some of the most common mistakes in setting up.
Rob Watson | Guides,Technology
Whatever it is that you (or your clients) do, you can always find new customers over the internet – even if you’re a niche business or you only work in a specific area or region. In this 3-part guide to AdWords Marketing Manager Rob Watson tells us how to increase our clicks
David Howell | Technology,Working From Home
Having your own home office, or a small rented place to do you work is fantastic. It sets you up for the day, helping you create a distraction-free space and a professional venue to meet your clients.
As your business grows, however, unless you are lucky enough to be able to afford new premises then space may get tight, and, if you like gadgets and gizmos then it won’t be long before you’ve got wires all over the place, dangling from your desk and tying themselves in knots.
There are two simple solutions… go wireless… or, when you need power, hide the wires.
ReceiptFarm turns all those horrible scrappy bits of paper with numbers on into a single, online database of your recent expenses. They scan, scrape, sort and send them back to you in a few days and everything, from VAT amounts to payment type are all captured online.
Brilliant stuff!
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The laptop. A useful tool for portable working or an ergonomic time bomb? Nowadays with many of us relying on our portable friends as our main computer, the laptop has thrown up a new set of ergonomic challenges. By its very design the laptop is disastrous for the back, particularly if you use it as it’s meant to be used on a table hunched over the keyboard peering at the screen. At the end of the day you straighten up and wonder why you’ve got backache or neck ache.
If Hollywood sensationalism is to be believed, then every man and his dog are advanced cyber-terrorists who want nothing more than to drain your bank account, max your credit card, and maybe initiate nuclear war with an unspecified superpower. The truth is that the world of computers isn’t actually as dangerous as many people think, as long as you take a few simple precautions against potential threats.
Getting the job done in a timely and professional manner is a combination of both knowing how to do the job, and having the right tools with which to get the job done. If you are carrying around a battered old consumer notebook and struggling with a shortage of processing power or connectivity, then it [...]
If you wanna get ahead, get a headset Bluetooth headsets get a lot of stick from a lot of people, largely because the general public seems to have taken issue with the idea of somebody going about their business with a hi-tech gadget so visibly attached to the side of their head. I wonder if [...]
Jim Hatley | Technology,Working From Home
If you’re freelancing from home on a regular basis a well-lit, well kitted-out office is essential – not just a luxury. Freelance Advisor’s resident gadget guru Jim Hatley takes a look at some home office must-haves. Home office heaven: Screens, scanners, DAB and desk-lamps Last year I have covered a few bits of kit to [...]
Off on his travels again… tech-loving freelancer and electronic evangelist Jim Hatley grabs some essential items for work on the move (and gives us some novel uses for a digital camera). Essential items for your briefcase Continuing on from my briefcase fillers piece of last month, Id like to run through a few of the [...]
Freelance Advisor and author of ‘Spare Room Start Up’ Emma Jones gives us her review of the best applications for freelancers. Top 5 technology apps of 2008 As we enter the month of December, I can’t help but look back at the year that was. The thousands of new businesses started, the people we’ve profiled, [...]
Off on his travels again… our tech-loving freelancer and electronic evangelist Jim Hatley grabs some essential items for work on the move. Essential items for your mobile office Today I am going to look at a few more items that are essential for life on the road. Working from home is fantastic, and is certainly [...]
Resident gadget guru and reviewer for The Times Jim Hatley shares some invaluable advice on disaster recovery for freelancers. If you have a home office and don’t have an IT helpdesk… Who you gonna call? If your entire operating system went belly-up on the first day of an important contract, how would you deal with [...]
Free-roaming freelancer and technology evangelist Jim Hatley has been out and about putting a few mobiles phones through their paces finding out which work best for freelancers and contractors who need to stay connected on the road. Time to upgrade? Two great mobile phones for freelancers Mobile phones are big business, both for those who [...]
Freelance Advisor and Gadget Guru Jim Hatley loves his home hi-fi, but when freelancing work takes him out on the road he needs a powerful portable musical system to keep his music playing at the quality and volumes to which he’s become accustomed. Today Jim looks at how the Bose SoundDock provides a good-looking, great [...]
Gorgeous gadget: the Sony VAIO AW11XU/Q Life on the road can be tough. The contents of a suitcase are certainly no match for the comforts of home, but if you pick and choose your gear with a little care it doesn’t have to be all bad. We all need cutting-edge technology for the work that [...]
