Photos online...

If you would notice in this blog, some of my photos are missing. This is because instead of saving the photo itself, what I do is I just copy the link of the photo and paste it in the blog - to save space for the blog. 

Due to this, I guess, if some of the websites will put down the images so does the link or if they change the code of the link, it does not link it back to my blog. 

This is the reason why I sometimes do not post photos anymore because I do not like the hassle of re-linking the photo or sometimes trying to look for it (or worse, search for a substitute!). 

However, I also read last night about the ways to get your blog noticed and one of the things highlighted was to have more visual - meaning more photos. 

At time, people tend to see the aesthetics first before reading the content of the webpage or blog. I need to make my blog more appealing to my viewers and also so that I can gain more positive responses on my freelance working as well!

I had a Photobucket account which I used before but that seems to fail me as well (boo!)... I just saw the post from Sharon's website (Get Paid to Write) about working environments and saw that she was using Flickr. This made me think about my Photobucket account. 

Should I just switch to Flickr instead?

I am unsure if this will resolve the issue about posting photos in my blog(s) - yes, I have this dilemma on all of them!! Probably, I need to investigate more on what I should use and see if this actually fits my purpose of what do I need / want to do with the photos.

or

Maybe you have any ideas for me? :)

Odesk: Helping companies get their work done and freelancers be paid for a job well done!

The internet has been one of the major and successful invention by mankind. It has served its purpose and more. The internet was initially used for research until it has now evolved into this social communication tool that allows you to connect with your friends and loved ones all over the world, be informed about the current situation of countries that are a thousand miles away from where you are and a lot more. 

The internet has also been a means of creating income for people by freelancing over the web or by monetizing on their blogs. 

Odesk was founded in 2003 by Odysseas Tsatalos and Stratis Karamanlakis. 

 

 

 

 

Look and Feel

Being a part of Odesk myself, the user interface of the website is very straightforward. It tells you the notifications or messages you receive from potential employers or from Odesk itself. It also shows you the pending transactions you might have, the teams you are in if you are currently doing a project.

It is easy to browse through the available projects as it is sorted depending on the categories they fall in.

If you feel like you are missing out on something in Odesk, you can always go on the right hand side of the page where they offer assistance in case you have questions about the website, the terms of payment, the work diary, etc.

 

Protection for Jobseekers

It is a mandate for all freelancing websites to make sure that their contractors are legit and will pay the jobseekers proper compensation. Of course, this is sometimes being waived when the applicant agrees to the 'one-time payment' clause which prompts jobseekers when the project is not on an hourly basis.

Apart from this clause, Odesk (I believe) investigates the validity of the project by setting criterias on considering projects to be posted on their website. Even if you have already submitted your bid on the project, they send notifications that the project is cancelled because it did not meet Odesk's requirements (Internet Police huh!).

Over-all, Odesk continues to be a tool bridging contractors and online freelancers.  

 

images courtesy of:- 

http://www.clipartof.com

http://stealwp.com

Distractions

Writing can be hard sometimes most especially when you need to focus on what you need to write. I mean I’m pretty sure writers / novelists and the like do have these moments when they know what they need / can write but gets distracted.

Here are just some of the Top 3 distractions:-

1)   Facebook

This social network site has been around for more than four years and I have a feeling that i

t is here to stay. Previously, it was just a website where people can comment on each other’s status, give each other gifts (either a care bear hug or a starbucks coffee) and post quotable quotes from famous movies or television series (e.g. Sex and the City, Friends, etc). Now, this site has transformed the idea of social networking. It has incorporated games so that friends can now interact via their kitchens, farms, etc.  

Image via Wikipedia

It has gone a long way and is most important objective is for people not to leave the site and kind of use it day and night!

2)   Twitter

Another social network site that makes you stay in front the computer all day and night. As you read statuses from people you follow – it can be your friends, movie stars, love gurus, etc. A never ending banter of words can take place in this site which can also lead to interaction with other people whom you can consider to be your new friends – virtually.

Image via CrunchBase

3)   Games

Aside from the games you play in the social networking sites, you, at times, engage into either a downloaded game or an online game. These types of games can be addictive and will definitely consume most of your time, if taken lightly.

There you have it my friends, the distractions that can break you from writing a paragraph or even a sentence. I guess, the solution (in case you want to work without distractions) is to pull the plug of your internet connection. Try collecting all your thoughts and have a draft in place. Knowing us writers, we always need to do a little research on the piece that we are writing about. By doing this, you will be one step away from completing your article.

Image by Rennett Stowe via Flickr

Starting Over

Yes for the nth time, I have changed blogs for the past few years.

I did manage to park my thoughts in one blog for a long time but then since the Web is now gaining popularity, I thought of building a website of my own.

Unfortunately, I did not succeed.

So, instead of spending more and more money, I decided to earn first and the same time use this blog as my 'training ground' of doing reviews, feature articles, etc.

I hope you'd be there to help me achieve my goal!

Let's start the ball rolling!