World’s oldest meme
February 2, 2012 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
Funny that an age of advanced technology one of the Internet’s biggest functions is to circulate the meme, everything from cute to grating. I’m reminded of it particularly on Groundhog Day when what I think of as one of the world’s oldest memes pokes its head yet again. I mean really, we are all gathering around a furry creature for predictions about the weather? Sometimes I think of human follies in terms of, “what would aliens think if we told them our so-called civilized world did X.” I think this one would have them scratching their heads.
According to Wikipedia, source of all things, the tradition has pagan connections and emerged in modern form in the 18th and 19th century, or could also represent the clash of two calendrical systems, see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Groundhog_Day
Like Internet memes from cat related to “shht people say” this is endearing because it’s a fun and silly break from the everyday.
Okay, so get to the point. Is winter going to continue?
Phil says yes
Willie says no (and Sam agrees)
Blue Monday
January 16, 2012 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
I didn’t realize until recently that today was known as Blue Monday, and we’re supposed to be upset. Apparently the combo of dropping resolutions, holidays over, bad weather, and other factors adds up to the most pensive day of the year. Here’s a chat on the BBC about it, trying to put a positive spin on the day:
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-scotland-16576438
I guess it is also good that tomorrow it is over and we can get on with the rest of our lives. Or at least back to work.
Happy New Year
January 4, 2012 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
The new year has seen me come down with a heap of boxes, a case of Toronto, and a bit of a cold. I’ve also finished my PhD (pending defence) and returning to freelancing full time while teaching a course at York University on the History of Publishing in Canada. Lots of change, so resolutions also become paramount. Looking for inspiration, just saw this via Twitter:
Couple via Google:
http://allfreelancewriting.com/2012/01/03/freelancing/general/2012-new-years-resolutions/
http://www.freelancewriterscafe.com/2010/12/10-new-years-resolutions-for-freelance.html
Also liked this ’stop doing’ resolution circulated on a freelance list I belong to:
http://www.marcandangel.com/2011/12/11/30-things-to-stop-doing-to-yourself/
Connecting and reconnecting
December 13, 2011 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
I’ve been thinking about the process and practice of connecting with new clients lately, and how they connect with us. The world of reaching out for new business relationships is changing so much these days–I’ve responded to opportunities posted solely on Twitter or Facebook, and LinkedIn is becoming almost mainstream.
Beyond that, so many opportunities are not even advertised, and in spite of the think there is some concern and question about how to find good people on both sides. Directories like writers.ca or others provide leads and testimonials abound these days but it is still a long shot sometimes in making that connection. Often picking up the phone to connect in person seems like a more solid path towards real human contact, beyond the flow of the Twitter stream.
A couple of links I’ve come across recently have been really interesting reading when it comes to making those connections and getting started on relationships:
http://www.copyblogger.com/7-marketing-links/
And inside that, a bit about social media:
http://www.openforum.com/articles/7-unwritten-rules-of-social-media
Working at writing
December 5, 2011 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
This week I’m starting a new series of posts about the business of freelancing and working with clients.
First, we begin with questions. As a freelancer, I start new projects all the time and it always starts with questions. On my end, I like to begin with gathering lots of information a new client:
What kind of writing are you looking for?
What is the scope of the project?
What is your deadline?
How many revisions would you like to see?
How do you like to communicate about the project?
Is there a style or tone that you’re looking to capture?
What do you want the project to accomplish?
What audience will be reading it?
I like it when a new client asks me questions too, whether it be how and what I charge (usually by the project), how I like to work (lots of communication), what kinds of writing I’ve done in the past (I usually direct them to my portfolio) and whether I have any creative suggestions for their project (I really like that one).
Asking lots of questions helps us to get on the same page and minimizes surprises along the way.
Here are some other postings about the question of questions, from Freelance Folder
http://freelancefolder.com/42-questions-every-freelancer-should-ask-their-clients/
And a more introspective take from Guerilla Freelancing
http://www.guerrillafreelancing.com/questions-for-clients/
Reading this week
November 23, 2011 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
A few things I’ve come across worth sharing:
Great article in The New Yorker about the Occupy movement origins
http://www.newyorker.com/reporting/2011/11/28/111128fa_fact_schwartz?currentPage=all
A best of 2010 for writers to follow (have to investigate these)
http://robertleebrewer.blogspot.com/2011/10/best-tweeps-for-writers-to-follow-2011.html
And CBC reads list just came out
http://www.cbc.ca/books/canadareads/
Freelancing again
November 10, 2011 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
I’ve recently submitted my PhD thesis and am back to full-time freelance work again. Diving back into this pool is both exciting and unnerving. Thank goodness for the friendly editors who have already welcomed me back.
Documenting persistence and passion
September 30, 2011 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Comments Off
I just came across on BoingBoing the trailer to a new film about the guy who is muppet Elmo’s “human,” and it looks really charming (apparently did well on the festival circuit and due for wider release on October 21st). Here’s the YouTube trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=dlNZo10pCts.
This reminded me of seeing Bill Cunningham, New York in theatres a few weeks ago, here’s that trailer http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NYqiLJBXbss (there’s a great rep theatre here in Ottawa called the Bytowne online at www.bytowne.ca). I thought this doc was the best I’d seen in a while because it provided a glimpse into a life that has been so singularly focussed and about someone with great passion about his work. The Elmo doc seems to showcase a similar determination.
Seeing both docs appear relatively recently makes me hope they are part of a trend as I really like these sorts of biographies that follow someone passionate about a particular project.
My dissertation focuses on nineteenth century magazine editors who tried to create their literary magazines in a relatively quiet cultural environment that was already being served by huge competition from more mature industries in the US and Britain. Their tenacity to try to start something in the face of such competition is one of the elements that I like so much about these editors and their magazines (which often failed after just a handful of issues, a fact that in some ways makes their persistence even more admirable).
Back to blogging
September 23, 2011 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
After a hiatus to finish up my PhD thesis (almost there), I’m back to blogging. This blog has seen a few iterations, mainly devoted to my freelance interests. When I left off I had been blogging about “good,” a topic that is still a great interest to me and that I’ll continue to pursue, but I’m pulling back on that to blog more generally about this business of writing.
Today I’m “attending” www.internationalfreelancersday.com and getting some good new tips and reminders about being a freelancer.
Story on Dress for Success for Openfile.ca
January 5, 2011 | Filed Under Uncategorized | Leave a Comment
I recently wrote a story about a great new non-profit, Dress for Success (helps disadvantaged women), for a great new journalism project, called Openfile.ca!
Here’s the link: http://ottawa.openfile.ca/ottawa/file/2010/12/wellington-wests-newest-boutique
And the story:
Wellington West’s Newest Boutique
Around the corner from the growing number of funky bakeries and galleries on Wellington Street, women are helping women re-join the workforce in style.
Dress for Success is a non-profit organization that promotes the economic independence of disadvantaged women by providing them with professional clothes to help them land their next job. In late November, Ottawa became the country’s newest chapter when it opened its doors for a trial run of its new boutique. The shop will open fully in January, with regular hours two days a week by appointment.
Visnja Zaborksi Breton, the chapter’s director of marketing and communications, says the organization’s first clients, both women in their early twenties, were really excited about their new work wear.
“It was fantastic to see their demeanour – shy and reserved coming in the door, but you could just see as they progressed trying on their clothes, their faces lit up. You could see the transformation in their body language.”
Clients are referred to the organization through women’s centres and employment agencies, including groups like Northern Lights, the Ottawa Community Immigrant Services Organization and The Anti-Poverty Project.
Volunteer wardrobe consultants help clients to put together the perfect look, complete with accessories, handbags and shoes. Each woman receives two outfits. Once they land a job, the organization also provides them with a week’s worth of separates to mix and match.
Women are also offered the opportunity to rehearse for the interview process through a mock interview with a volunteer HR professional – complete with security check to mimic the real-world process – in order to get feedback on their interviewing skills.
As a next step, the organization plans to start a professional women’s group to provide employment retention skills workshops, including seminars with life coaches, financial planners, and experts in work-life balance.
“It breaks the cycle of ‘get a job, lose a job,’” says Marlene Floyd, the organization’s chair and director of operations.
Started in New York City in 1997, Dress for Success now has over 113 affiliates worldwide, including five other Canadian branches in Toronto, Vancouver, Halifax, Regina, and Red Deer.
Plans for the Ottawa chapter began a year ago, and since then the organization has seen over 100 volunteers sign up. Both Floyd and Zaborksi Breton are quick to point to the volunteer efforts as key to the chapter’s success.
The organization has also experienced a warm reception from the Wellington Street community, which it chose for being central and accessible to the Transitway.
“We did consult with referral agencies to see where clients would be coming from,” says Zaborksi Breton. “People in the neighbourhood have been super-supportive, and we fit in there nicely.”
Go check out more community minded stories at www.openfile.ca