This morning I was getting started on the day, fired up Twitter and immediately saw that Chris Brogan had a new post. One that hits home to an issue I’ve been having as a consultant or freelance professional. The post is a great resource for those starting out freelancing, or re-launching their personal brand.
The biggest thing I took away from his post was the importance of blogging. That is the piece that I’ve struggled with for several months. Most of the other parts, I’ve been working on for some time. But the most important part is blogging.
Without sharing your ideas, or expertise, or passion on a topic, people can’t gauge how interested or engaged you are in your profession. When you write about your profession or interest, you are sharing your knowledge – your expertise on the subject and providing content that attracts the attention of others.
That is the point I wanted to reinforce in Chris’ post earlier today. While all the points are very important, providing the content and networking with peers are the top two things that you can do to help show who you are and why potential clients should choose you over another freelancer.
It’s contract renewal season for me, and I’m kind of “heads down” working on what comes next. So I’ve been kinda distracted from sharing ideas and discussions with everyone.
I’m continuing my evolution into cloud computing, shedding local software as I figure out my approach. I’m lucky enough to have access to excellent coverage by T-Mobile, albeit EDGE only, plentiful free WiFi and T-Mobile HotSpots available to me as I go through each day. So I’m always able to be connected, most all the time.
The first step has been dropping Microsoft Outlook. This was a the biggest step of all, as it’s been my email client for over a decade, and a damn good one at that. Just a quick note on usability – much nicer to not have to wait for all the IMAP folders to sync! GMail is… well GMail, and has it’s own peculiarities to adapt to.
Now that I’ve got that one figured out, and completed, it’s on to the next steps. I’ve got hundreds of Microsoft Office documents that I need to review and move into the cloud. Reviewing them will not be the problem, and getting them into whatever service won’t either.
But… which service to move these to? Google Docs & Spreadsheets because it’s tied to all my Google account stuff? Or should I go for Zoho Office? I’ve used both for almost the same amount of time (~2 years) and find pros/cons to both. There’s also ThinkFree, which may be most like the native Microsoft Office environment.
That’s going to take some thinking… in the meantime I’m going to sort through several hundred megabytes of documents, some quite dated to be quite honest. It’ll be nice to trim down to what’s actually valuable and relevant.
Probably the biggest Microsoft Office app besides Outlook that’ll be hard for me to replace is OneNote. Since the release of Office 2003, this application has been a staple of my note taking. For all sorts of things, like projects, seminars, meetings, online research, etc… It’s become indispensable and its really hard to find a replacement, but I think I may have it. Zoho Notebook is the closest I’ve seen of anything, so I’ll be working with that for the next few weeks to see how viable it is as a replacement.
So there you have it, an update on where I’m at. I still have more questions than answers, but I’m finding many more online solutions than a year or so ago when I last really considered doing this. It’s now actually feasible to migrate online. With the critical components of connectivity and software services, I’m well on my way to reducing my dependence on legacy software.
Have you bit the bullet? What’s worked for you? Heck, what headaches have you had that may have pointed you back to locally installed software?
It’s time has come, or passed rather… at least for me. I’m sure I’ll cross paths with my favorite email client and PIM in the future. I’ll either have a change of heart (unlikely) or a future client will insist that I use it for internal email at their location (very likely).
For all those anti-Microsoft folks that love to hear things like this, I simply have to say that it has little to do with the product. It does have everything to do with the way I work. As I transition much of my work online, I’m finding that I use more than one or two computers. Since it’s much harder to sync all the data on all these machines, and the fact that I simply can’t do this on some, leads me to world of cloud computing.
This is nothing new for me, I’ve been an advocate of leveraging the cloud for years, but it’s the first concerted effort to simply migrate my data and shift my app usage online. Yes this includes office productivity solutions as well. I’ll be using a lot of both Google Apps and Zoho Office. Both have their strong points and I’m aiming to leverage both for different reasons.
I’ve got most of my data on either XDrive or SkyDrive for differing reasons, and use Box.net as well for some always accessible drivers, tables, code snippets, and such.
I’ll keep MS Office Pro installed, but it’s use is limited to supporting my clients – nothing more. So join me, if you wish, and see how well this works out! I’ll share my frustrations and my wins equally with you.
Have you been thinking of doing the same? What are your directions on how you work, looking into the future?
A few of us in Minneapolis met up to share ideas and thoughts on consulting and contracting. Thought I’d share a quick thank-you to @dydimustk, @davehuston, and @taulpaul – all from Twitter btw! Mobile post sent by Rick Mahn using Utterz. Replies. mp3
So for all you T-Mobile owners out there, I’ve found a few fun ways to give your device a new lease on life. It’s true that we are all getting tired of the lack of 3G service by T-Mobile, or maybe the “long in the tooth” look & feel of Windows Mobile 5 and the ridiculous T-Mobile theme that shipped with the MDA.
It’s a good thing too, because right now there is simply too much turmoil in the mobile market to pick a good successor to our trusty little devices. What are the options? Go back to a “dumb” phone? Switch to a non-touch screen Smartphone? Go the Nokia N-series route? Spend upwards of $800 on an HTC unlocked device? Bite the bullet and jump to AT&T and the iPhone?
Well I’ve got some great ideas and news for you that will help pass the time waiting for new devices, and answers to some questions that will make that aging phone more productive and fun.
First, lets start with the one thing that we simply can’t change: 3G. No, there is no way at all to fix that. But there are workarounds: T-Mobile Internet & WiFi HotSpots. I’ve had the full unfiltered Internet & HotSpot service from T-Mobile for nearly two years and have used it extensively. Mostly I’ve used the WiFi with my laptop and really like knowing that I can hit any Starbucks Coffee location and enjoy decent connectivity. It used to be $30/mo. but they changed the pricing on that a few months ago to $20/mo. for customers with a voice plan. If you combine that, T-Mobiles GPRS/EDGEand some free WiFi spots, it’ll cover a lot of a person’s daily stomping ground.
Second, we’ll talk a bit about the user interface. It’s tired, it’s old, it’s boring. The iPhone sure has a great UI. But have you noticed the various 3rd party solutions to this problem? There is the PointUI Home interface, HTC’s “Touch Cube” interface for select HTC devices only, and recently SPB Software House’s Mobile Shell. I’ve chosen this piece of software because of the simple elegance of it, the functionality, and the fact that it’s really darn stable and doesn’t slow down the device. In addition I’ve picked up SPB Pocket Plus which, among other things, adds a touch-based scrolling action to the native applications in Windows Mobile. Too cool! These simple additions make the device much easier to use, easier to look at and FUN!
Third on the list has to be tunes. For this I was recently surprised that the Rhapsody Music Service recognizes Windows Mobile devices as “Play’s For Sure” devices. That means that it can sync any of their DRM’d content to the phone. Sure.. I’ve been an advocate of non-DRM for years – still am actually. However, I’m just not willing to part with the thousands of dollars that I’d have to spend to get all the music I want to choose from. With Rhapsody, I can spend $15(US) and be able to sync any track from their over 4 million strong selection to my MDA. Slip in a larger 2GB (maybe a 4GB…?) miniSD card and I’m pretty darn happy on this front.
So, no it’s not a new phone, nor does it bring a ton of new functionality. But with these hacks, tweaks, and upgrades, it doesn’t compare badly with newer phones. After all, it’s really the services and experiences we’re after. And these darn things aren’t cheap! I made a $400(US) investment in this phone over two years ago – and to think that I still am getting value from it is amazing. What’s more, I keep finding ways to answer my immediate needs demonstrates that the HTC Wizard will long be remembered as one of the most flexible and adaptable phones in mobile device history.
Come on! Share some of your hacks and upgrades in the comments below. What else makes this device still viable in the face of recent competition?
“We are not enemies but friends.” Live your life. Completely. Without fear. Live it with Love, compassion, empathy, tolerance and joy. Treat every person with the kindness, respect and dignity they deserve by the very virtue of being a human being.
So for all you T-Mobile owners out there, I’ve found a few fun ways to give your device a new lease on life. It’s true that we are all getting tired of the lack of 3G service by T-Mobile, or maybe the “long in the tooth” look & feel of Windows Mobile 5 and the ridiculous T-Mobile theme that shipped with the MDA.
