May 21, 2012

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Musings from the Blog Better Boston Conference

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Blog Better Boston

I spent Saturday at the first (and hopefully annual) Blog Better Boston Conference. Boston’s a fantastic city and all, but I admit I have a bit of conference envy, since we don’t have big ones like BlogHer, South by Southwest, or ASJA. When I heard about a one-day blogging conference at Google’s Cambridge offices, I jumped on the early bird registration page (and good thing, because tickets sold out).

The conference was a whirlwind of networking, livetweeting (I had two browsers open, tweeting to two different accounts), note-taking, business card-exchanging, and chatting with over a hundred super-friendly and enthusiastic bloggers. It was heartening to see that you don’t always have to travel to New York or San Fran (or pay hundreds of dollars) for that kind of immersive experience. And several of the panelists came from out-of-state, including an editor from RealSimple.com.

Here are some of the themes that emerged from the panels and discussions with attendees.

  • You can’t do it all. The more ways there are to promote a blog or brand, the more overwhelmed we get. In addition to updating our blogs, now we have to stay active on Pinterest, Twitter, and Facebook, and keep up with other blogs in Google Reader. Or do we? Several panelists stressed that not all social media platforms work for all bloggers, so it’s smart to focus on what works for you and ignore the rest. Lillie of Around the World “L” compared each social media platform to rooms at a party where you can’t be everywhere at once. And as far as Google Reader goes, it’s just not realistic to read every post from every blogger you know. In fact, I find it cathartic to periodically declare “RSS bankruptcy,” mark all as read, and start over from scratch.
  • Stay true to your voice and brand. This is especially important as bloggers start monetizing through affiliate links or partnerships with brands. Notice I said partnerships, not sponsorships, a distinction that the hilarious Nirasha of Mommy Niri was adamant about, because bloggers need to approach brands from a position of strength, not supplication. Niri also cautioned against pimping products for a brand. Instead, it should be about capturing the feelings behind a brand that you’re truly proud of and creating unique experiences for readers. I’m super-picky about affiliaties and brand partnerships because of journalistic ethics, but I’ve written about talent agencies working with bloggers for Portfolio.com and interviewed Jen Singer of Mama Said for a post about brand ambassadorships for Ebyline.
  • Community matters more than stats. Bloggers tend to obsess over stats: Twitter followers, Facebook likes, page views, click rates, and so on. But the real measure of how you’re doing is how engaged your community is, a point that was driven home by the panels on Monetizing a Blog and Traffic and Community. Companies with affiliate programs want bloggers with a loyal following of readers who will actually buy the items they recommend. And when it comes to creating community, offline events and conversations can be powerful ways to build community. As Renee of Eat.Live.Blog put it, “If you can’t find the community you’re looking for, create it.”
I hope to go back next year, and for those blog readers who are local, I’d certainly recommend Blog Better Boston. If you’re not in the area, maybe there’s a similar program in your neck of the woods? Either way, I’d love to know what you think of the ideas above. Leave a comment and let me know!
Filed Under: blogging

Freelancing Around Doctor and Dentist Appointments

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One of the major downsides to self-employment is that you don’t get paid sick leave. I’m fortunate that I’ve never been seriously ill, but for various reasons over the past month, I’ve had least two or three medical or dental appointments per week during business hours. That paired with travel time and wait time seriously cuts into my work day. Trying to meet deadlines on an abbreviated work schedule is no picnic. In fact, I nearly called to reschedule tomorrow’s appointment but reminded myself to make my health a priority and that I’m lucky to have health insurance so I should use it when I need.

Yes, I can work extra hours on the evenings and weekends to catch up, but most sources and clients want to schedule phone calls during business hours, and I can’t very well interview someone while the oral surgeon is poking around my mouth. And burning the candle at both ends isn’t good for my health either.

I realize I’m a wuss and that you could be dealing with weekly chemotherapy session or some chronic illnesses that I’m fortunate not to have. If you have experience in this area, please leave a comment below with any tips or wisdom! Here are the strategies I’m using.

  • Combine appointments.
    Each individual appointment eats up travel time. Choosing a nearby provider can help but of course there are many other factors to consider: cost, expertise, comfort level, insurance, etc. I try to combine appointments when I can; for instance, seeing the dentist and his colleague the oral surgeon on the same day or having tests done while I’m there. Sometimes you can reduce copays this way, but other freelancers might prefer to space out appointment so they’re not away for a whole afternoon.
  • Schedule strategically.
    Some people like to schedule appointments first thing in the morning to get it out of the way and hopefully avoid long wait times. I prefer the last appointment of the day when possible, because I’m not a morning person and I don’t want to start my day in a waiting room. Appointments often run late (even if you’re numero uno) or traffic causes delays so I can’t count on getting home by a certain time. I’ve also learned the hard way that if the eye doctor is involved, it’s smart to schedule for the end of the day so I’m not struggling to read my computer screen through dilated eyes.
  • Calm yourself.
    Some people take a Xanax or Ibuprofen pre-emptively. I listen to piano music on Pandora through my headphones and wear an eye mask to distance myself from the dentist’s chair. This also signals that while I’m sure you’re wonderful conversationalists, I’d rather skip the small talk and just get it over with. (Oh, and I’m a redhead so could I get a little extra Novacaine over here? Thanks!) After a dental procedure, I like to catch up on Downton Abby and enjoy soft, comforting foods (pudding is a good ice cream alternative if you’re cold-sensitive).
  • Bring reading material.
    Philippa Willitts reminded me on Twitter that sitting in a doctor’s office (which I hate) is a chance to do market research with the magazines in the waiting room. Amelia Ramstead told me she freelances around her autistic son’s appointments and always brings her network to squeeze in a little work. I’ve done both, and I also find that having an iPhone makes it easy to keep up with email while I wait. A friend told me she actually kept reading The Hunger Games while getting a shot to distract herself from the pain.
  • Find a nearby coworking space.
    If I need to schedule an interview during what would normally be my travel time to or from an appointment, I go to a local coworking space on my way and do the interview in one of their conference rooms (the coworking space is walking distance from my dentist’s office). I’ve even rented a ZipCar in the parking lot of a client’s office so I’d have a quiet place to squeeze in an interview. If you have a cell phone and your own car, you could probably do this as well provided you have decent reception. Otherwise, I might hit a coffee spot after the appointment to enjoy a cake pop and answer emails before too much time elapses.

Fellow freelancers, what works for you?

Image courtesy of Grant Cochrane / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Filed Under: freelance writing, time management

Guest Post: How to De-Clutter Your Home Office

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By Angela M. Taylor

The popular image of bloggers and freelancers isn’t particularly flattering—the idea is that, without the discipline of an office environment, bloggers sort of revert to a wild state, slouched over a computer in their underwear, surrounded by pizza boxes. But even if nobody sees your home office but you, it’s still nice to maintain a professional, clutter-free environment. You’ll feel better, create better, and make more money by following these tips to professionalize your home office.

  1. Have a place for everything in your office
    Whether in drawers, boxes, or trays, designate a space for everything you use in your home office. Writing utensils, scrap paper, staplers, small electronics—everything should have a place. One of the biggest offenders in your home office is likely bills and other things you have to take care of—you don’t want to store them or throw them away, because you’ll forget about them, so they just pile up on the desk and get in the way. To solve this, buy a filing cabinet and an in/out box, just like you’d find in a commercial office space. Things you need to handle go in the inbox; things you need to send out go to the outbox; and once you’ve finished, everything goes in the file cabinet under “utilities” or “invoices” or whatever categories you decide on. If you don’t know where you’d file something or what you’d need it for, shred it on the spot. You’ll be amazed at how much cleaner your desk becomes.
  2. Whenever something comes in, try to send something else out
    It’s just like losing weight—the only real way to permanently reduce clutter is to get rid of more than you take in. If you buy a new appliance, get rid of the old one—thrift stores will gladly take these, and you might just help out some fellow struggling small-business owner. If you’re like me, you tend to hang on to packaging for big-ticket items, in case you want to return them, so set a deadline for how long you’ll test-drive something before you decide whether or not to keep it. After about a week, you should know whether that new digital camera is a good fit, and you can probably throw the old box away.
  3. Go paperless whenever possible
    Managing the flow of paper in and out of your office is good, but cutting out paper altogether is better. Set up direct deposit billing (and payroll, if you have employees). Instead of covering your monitor with Post-Its or scribbling ideas on old receipts or whatever is at hand, invest in a clean, classy glass whiteboard—your notes will be in big, bold script, prominently displayed on your office wall, and you’ll never have to dig through a pile of old papers to find them
  4. Eat only at your kitchen or dining room table
    This is a tough rule for telecommuters to follow, but it’s a good idea for several reasons. It’s easy to get into a groove on the job and watch plates and bowls start to pile up around your computer, but for your health, your sanity, and your family, you need to take breaks. Telecommuters, far from being lazy or undisciplined, are often tempted to work way past normal business hours and burn themselves out. Meal time is a good excuse to get away from the computer, make eye contact with a real human being, and give your brain a rest. As you probably know, your keyboard is already a wildly unsanitary thing, and eating while you work will make it worse, and possibly get you sick.

Angela is a writer, guest blogger, loving wife, and mother of two beautiful twin girls and a standard poodle named Morty. She graduated with her Master of Arts Degree in English from the University of North Carolina. During her time at UNC, she wrote a number of children’s short stories that focus on a set of curious twin sisters and their dog (go figure).

Interested in contributing a guest blog post of your own? Check out the guest blogger guidelines.

Image courtesy of Pixomar / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Filed Under: freelancing Tagged With:

Guest Post: Can I Split an Infinitive? The Story Unfolds

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By Susie Brown

I always thought that splitting an infinitive was a major no-no in English grammar, but it turns out that the split infinitive is not as problematic as I once thought.

Thankfully, the English language is versatile enough that it allows a writer to express themselves in a variety of ways.  But sometimes we all get to that point in writing that, although there may be a number of ways to say one thing, there is only one way to express an idea with just exactly the right words.

For example…

Often splitting an infinitive provides the perfect effect, so not having that option in a writer’s toolbox can be limiting.  For instance the phrase “to lovingly attend to his sick mother,” really makes the point that the attention is full of love.  If I were forced to avoid using the split infinitive, the alternatives would not be quite as effective.  Here are a few attempts to avoid the split infinitive in “to lovingly attend to his sick mother…”

  • to attend to his sick mother lovingly
  • to attend to his sick mother in a loving fashion
  • he gave his sick mother attention and treated her lovingly

None of the alternatives emphasize quite how lovingly he attended to his sick mother.

I wanted to find out whether cutting split infinitives out from my writing diet is really necessary, so I did some research.

What is a split infinitive?

The simplest form of a verb is called an infinitive.  There are two types of infinitive, the bare infinitive and the full infinitive.  An example of a bare infinitive is the word “go,” which in its full form would be “to go.”   Likewise, the bare form of another word like “jump” would become “to jump” in the full form.

As you can see the full form of an infinitive adds the word “to” in front of the bare infinitive verb.  Being as the bare form of an infinitive, such as “go,” is only one word, there is no danger of it getting split apart.  Therefore, the danger of splitting an infinitive only matters with the full form of an infinitive, such as “to go.”  If I wanted to split the full infinitive “to go,” I could say, “to boldly go.”  Perhaps the most famous example of a split infinitive is Star Trek’s famous introductory line, “to boldly go where no man has gone before.”  The word “boldly” splits the infinitive verb “to go.”

What’s the Big Deal About Splitting an Infinitive?

In the English language, the full infinitive verb form always consists of two words.  Let’s look at a few other languages too.  Here are some examples of the full infinitive “to go” in some other languages…

  • Latin- ire
  • German- zu gehen
  • Spanish- ir
  • French- aller
  • Irish- chun dul

As you can see, it is not uncommon for the full infinitive to consist of two words.  In fact, that seems to be case in most “western” languages.

Latin- No Split Infinitives

I would like to call your attention to the fact that the full infinitive in Latin is always only one word, and as a result, it is impossible to split an infinitive in Latin.  Let me just reiterate that point, it’s not that there is any rule against splitting an infinitive in Latin, rather it is an impossibility.

Paying Homage to Latin

One of the historical building blocks of the English language was Latin, and therefore there were linguists who felt that it would be disrespectful to do things in English that you can’t do in Latin.  It is worth noting that there were always linguists that disagreed with this position.  Somehow, the opinion that splitting an infinitive is grammatically incorrect became the rule of choice.

What is your opinion about splitting infinitives, do you think that it’s okay to boldly split infinitives?

Susie Brown is a FastUpFront Blog contributor and business consultant. Fastupfront offers business loan alternatives for existing businesses in need of working capital.

Interested in contributing a guest blog post of your own? Check out the guest blogger guidelines.

Image courtesy of zirconicusso / FreeDigitalPhotos.net

Filed Under: grammar
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