Telecommuting

I’ve been following this great spending, I mean, stimulus bill and waiting to see how it could possible help out the majority of people in trouble.  I’ve also been reading other people’s blogs, facebook and MySpace to see what people, in general, are saying about it.  I don’t know what planet the legislature is living on (oh, yeah, planet Washington D.C., where the congress and senate forget who put them in those positions- it must be a Dr. Who mind-erasing thing when they take office).

To me, under-funding the small business sector is one of the biggest mistakes being made with this pillaging of the American bank account.  I think it is perfectly ridiculous to say that building roads and bridges (if I hear this one more time I’ll scream, I swear) is going to save us.  Just how many jobs, in reality, will be created by this?  And even if the jobs come to your area, not everyone is physically able to work on a construction crew.  What about all of those out of work construction workers?  Won’t they be the first to be hired, not someone with an MBA?

In my opinion, a better strategy would have been some forgiveness on mortgages and student loans, just for starters.  After all, the government now owns many of those mortgages after the TARP spending bill.  Wouldn’t that have taken the heat off people struggling to get by and on the verge of losing their homes?  How about all of those government student loans and the relentless collection calls being made to those unemployed people’s homes.  (Pay your loan now or we’ll, let’s see, file a tax lien against your home, any future tax return and everything you own).  Instead, let’s fill people’s head with false hopes about landing a construction job.

Frankly, I’m disappointed in this stimulus bill.  It smacks of a payoff to democrats who backed the president during his campaign and it is being touted to the public as a do-this-or-die measure.  I’m sorry, but the days of Roosevelt and Lincoln are over.  You can’t recreate the wheel and resurrect programs from the past whose days have already come and gone.  We’re pouring money down a rat hole.

Obama needs to focus on relieving the stress on American families this month, instead of 6-12 months in the future.  There’s no telling how many people will fall into the depths of despair and do something horrible, before anything from this stimulus bill will take effect.

I was hoping to bring you a few new telecommuting jobs today, but alas, they seem to be suspiciously missing.  Maybe we’re hitting a new all-time low in the job searching venture.  I have a few leads for tomorrow, but I don’t really have anything new to post today.  However, there is one place that I’ll give you a heads-up about- Online Jobs Galore.

I even applied for a job through this supposed online job service.  I even got an email back about a job I had applied to.  Then, I was directed to apply for the job postings through a paid site.  While there is nothing really wrong with going to a paid site for job listings, I do hate the cat-and-mouse thing of thinking I’m applying for a real job, then being re-routed to “really” apply for the job, only after I pay a fee.  Yuck!

I’ve run across quite a few of these jobs now being listed as coming from Online Jobs Galore.  Save yourself the aggravation, unless you want to pay for a fee-based job search site.  I guarantee you’ll find most of those same jobs on free websites, such as Dice, Indeed, Monster and many of the other large job search websites.

I don’t know about you, but I need to save all of my nickels and dimes!

~~Gregg

There is a theory on ProBlogger.com that people who write blogs, and expect longevity, should include a little spice, vitamins and a little sweetness when they write.  Basically, a little argument here and there, some real content and a little human interest- alternating these on your blog, of course.  What I notice lately (and you know who you are), is a whole lot of spice, not much content and no sweetness goes unpunished.

Since I promote a lot of blogging jobs on this particular blog, I’d like to remind people to remember to include a little of the vitamins and sweet stuff and to use a little less spice.  I’m not stupid- I know a good argument will drive people to your blog faster than a fly on a steaming pile of horse crap- but you’ll probably never “see” those people again.  The other downside is that you may actually alienate some of the people who actually do read your blog.

Keep your blogs pithy and to the point.  You’ll keep readers, maybe attract a few new ones and you’ll be less likely to receive a virus bomb in your email.

I’m not sure how many of you work from home, but if you do, how many times have you heard, “But writing isn’t a real job, is it?”  My wife gets this all the time, and she works writing and editing from home full time.  I just started doing this a little over a month ago and I’m still met with, “yeah, but aren’t you looking for a real job?”

I think I’m beginning to see why women are viewed as not pulling their weight when they work from home.  It sounds like a cushy job; after all, they don’t have to punch a time clock or deal with ditzy co-workers or a difficult boss (or do they?).  However, I don’t think people really understand how difficult working from home really is.

Just consider the following (assuming there are a few kids in the picture):

• The kids are always wanting something, from food and attention to reading a book, all on demand
• When kids are around, don’t expect to make any or take any professional calls, at least until the kids can understand the words, “be quiet, or else!”
• It is hard to work when the kids are blasting the television, radio or Wii.
• Even if you have to work from home, you still have deadlines.
• You may still have to answer to a boss, even when you do work from home.
• Expect to be called on the carpet when things don’t turn out right.
• Not every client is easy to please.
• There are days when your computer is going to crash or your Internet connection is disrupted, throwing your online world into chaos.

So, based on all of this, I’d have to say unequivocally that writing is a real job, whether you do it in the comfort of your own home or from a cubicle in NYC.  It is all relevant and according to the Federal Government in the U.S., it is taxable- just like a REAL job!

This may well be the last month you’ll find this blog on Today.com.  While I know technology is ever changing, the majority of us bloggers will be lost in the dust with the new main page format of Today.com.  The only blogs that will be highlighted are those that are either snarky or have been in the top 10 forever, and they’ll stay in the top ten because their links are on the main page.

I understand that we all must plug our blogs elsewhere, and I haven’t had much time to get this done before the new format change.  This is a new blog.  I’m afraid that even if I do get more ads and links up on other websites, it will be too late.

I’m sure many of you are in the same boat and I wish you all well.  I’ll continue to post until the end of January, and at that time I may have to move to another blog site.

I’m sure some of you out there are thinking blogging is a harmless little hobby, a business sideline, a simple way to communicate ideas.  But are blogs really safe?  In researching the blogging biz, I’ve come up with a few real-life lessons in why blogging can be dangerous to your career and your health:

Kathy Sierra - received numerous threats of violence and death on several of her blogs.  She states:

“I do not want to be part of a culture — the Blogosphere — where this is considered acceptable,” Sierra noted on her blog. “Most of all, I now fully understand the impact of death threats. It really doesn’t make much difference whether the person intends to act on the threat … it’s the threat itself that inflicts the damage. It’s the threat that makes you question whether that ‘anonymous’ person is as disturbed as their comments and pictures suggest.”

Sri Lanken Blogger - the same happens all over the world, not just in the United States.  Depending upon your political views, you could be a target as well.  Consider the following on Shaninfor :

“Apart from threats, filth has become common in Sri Lankan blogspehere. The targets invariably are those who question the politica views of Rajapaksa regime. I receive more than my fair share. Beyond Frame, a Sinhala Blogger, who often antagonizes the Talibans, says he receives the everyday. There are also bloggers who use filth in their posts. (Avoid naming them as I have no intentions provoking them.)”

Athiest Blogger - nothing can get a good argument going like an athiest blogger versus a Catholic… only this argument ended with death threats:

“… University of Minnesota biology professor PZ Myers was flabbergasted. A leading atheist blogger, he announced that if readers sent him a consecrated host he’d “show you sacrilege, gladly, and with much fanfare.”

For many, the anoniminity is the only way they can post what they truly think in the blogosophere.  Rarely will these cyber terrorists reveal who they really are because they are quite simply, cowards.  Many bloggers, however, refuse to stop or even play possum- the thrill is in writing that post each and every day, regardless of the nay sayers and bullies.

To those that continue to post their blogs despite the threats, I raise my glass (after carefully inspecting it for poison).

I blogged recently about Demand Studios writing work drying up- however I’m here to say today that things are improving.  If you’ve written for them before and were discouraged by the lack of variety in articles they had available, go back and visit them.  As promised, things have gotten a little better.  You’ll find fewer of the robot and car articles sprinkled throughout the categories and find more articles on a wider variety of subjects.

One way to know what websites you’re writing for is to visit “My Account” and page down to the bottom.  There is a subtitle, “Sites You Have Been Approved to Write For.”  Hopefully, you have at least four or five sites listed in this area.  If not, perhaps you need to cast your net a little wider and pick more categories in the “Topics You Are Qualified to Write About.”  As always, if you are unsure about anything on DemandStudios, check out the forum and post any questions you have.

Another tip I came across in the forums on the DemandStudios site- if you can’t find articles you like, check the site an hour or two after midnight- that is when the articles appear that people didn’t finish on time and are re-posted as available.  While I realize that many people don’t want to stay up this late, there are still those diehard writers that are still up in the wee hours of the morning.

Hope this helps some of you out there scrambling for jobs!  I’ll have a second post today with the recent telecommuting postings - so check back!

It doesn’t matter whether you’re a writer, graphic artist, photographer or an IT specialist, an online presence can help you land future gigs.  Many freelance authors have latched onto this method of self promotion, and with the right keywords, you can get your page ranked high on the search engines.  (Yes- Google and others).

The first step in creating your self-promoting website is deciding whether or not you want to pay for web hosting or opt for a free one.  They both have advantages and disadvantages.  If you pay for one you can probably have a nice bobsmith.com web address, whereas the free one could be bobsmith.whatever.com.  The first is easier to find and remember.  The second is cost.  Hosting can be as inexpensive as $5 per month, or higher, depending on all of the bells and whistles you want.  Finally, how “pretty” do you want your website, and do you want to be able to have whatever you want on your pages?  Do you want it full of someone else’s advertising, or do you want it to just focus on you?  These are the things you’ll have to decide before you put a lot of effort into creating your site.

The following web hosting services are free:

Webs

110MB Hosting - one of the few free no-ad sites

DotEasy - banner-free site

BraveNet

BlackApple - offers 5,000MB space

I’ll be checking out BlackApple today, and if all goes well, I’ll have my site up and ready by tomorrow’s post.

~~Gregg

My wife has been toying with Blog Talk Radio for a while now and she seems to consider it a fun sideline for her writing.  I think the fact that she enjoys it made me want to write about it today- the weekends should have a little fun, along with the drudgery of job seeking!

Whether you’re a writer, blogger or simply want to do something creative, Blog Talk Radio offers something for everyone… and best of all it is totally free.  You get to decide what format you want, when you’ll be on air, how to accept incoming phone calls from listeners and more.  You can even earn revenue from companies that want to sponsor your radio show.

I’ll be looking into doing this today and I’ll report back on whether it works for me or not.  In the meantime, visit their website to learn more- their FAQ section covers everything you may want to know about this venue.

Have Fun!

~~Gregg

I would think that with the economy in an upswing (yeah, right), that there would be plenty of job offerings this week.  Quite honestly, many businesses begin hiring again once they have a new budget to work with.  Judging from the postings I’m finding this fine Monday, this just isn’t true.  I think many people in the U.S. are starting to worry about finding a job right now, including yours truly.  While the search is on, I still have no problem sharing what I find- someone will land one of these jobs eventually.

So, without futher ado, here goes:

Architecture, Home Design and How-To Bloggers - HomeDesignFind - posted today

Tax Accountant - German Clients - Germany PCA Firm - posted yesterday

iStock.com - looking for professional photographers for stock  photos (mainly looking for objects and people doing things, they don’t need any more nature photos)

Ancestry Magazine - looking for writers on a variety of topics- check out their writer’s guidelines here

I’ll be back with more tomorrow!

~~Gregg