How do you decide what you should do from your to do list? You have a free hour: should you write a blog post? Prospect for clients? Code a new feature? Instant message your boss? Take a nap? In other words, what are your priorities? It […] Read more »
It used to be only graphic designers and fine artists played with color professionally. Now everyone with a website gets to choose color themes and schemes. But where do you find help and inspiration? Here are three resources you might want to check out if you […] Read more »
There’s no shortage of articles published about how to take control of your email; we’ve contributed quite a few ourselves. This week, I’ve seen the extremes of email management approaches, from very simple to incredibly complex: Plain. Gina Trapani of Lifehacker offers Empty Your Inbox with […] Read more »
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We could already be suffering a recession in the U.S., and the tech industry is not immune, as potential Yahoo! layoffs show. What should you be doing now to protect yourself? Keep building that online persona. Share who you are and what you’re about online — […] Read more »
I bet some Web Worker Daily readers can see themselves in Seth Godin’s description of the passionate worker: The passionate worker doesn’t show up because she’s afraid of getting in trouble, she shows up because it’s a hobby that pays. The passionate worker is busy blogging […] Read more »
If you work from home, you may be wondering if you can deduct costs related to your home office — a part of your mortgage payment or rent, for example. But unfortunately the U.S. tax law in this area doesn’t recognize the work-life blend that most […] Read more »
Coghead, like DabbleDB and Zoho Creator, allows you to quickly create a hosted database-backed web application without programming. But unlike DabbleDB and Zoho Creator, Coghead wants to create a platform not just for web applications but for web businesses, and they’re doing it on top of […] Read more »
While perhaps only our geekiest readers have a favorite programming language, it’s a useful question since so many web workers do know how to code, even if it’s just hacking up JavaScript and PHP on a WordPress installation. Java, the choice of enterprise IT shops everwhere, […] Read more »
If you work remotely from your colleagues — whether you’re a telecommuter or a freelancer or entrepreneur joining with other entrepreneurs loosely across geography — it’s helpful to let associates know what you’re up to on an hour-by-hour, day-by-day basis. In the presence of ubiquitous connectivity and absence of facetime, use workstreaming: publishing work-related activities and events to your remote colleagues, usually via RSS but sometimes in other formats and ways. Read more »
What’s the limit to the number of people you can maintain relationships with? What about online relationships? British anthropologist Robin Dunbar suggests that 150 is the maximum number of people with whom any one person can maintain stable social relationships. That theoretical limit is known to […] Read more »
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Blogger and journalist Nick Carr, in his new book “The Big Switch,” describes the move to utility computing and argues that it will shrink the workforce, lead to increasing income inequality, and destroy the middle class. But this big switch can also be seen as a good thing, in that the many will benefit by gaining access to opportunities previously reserved for a privileged few. Read more »
What does the new way of working look like? Maybe something like Alpine Access, a Denver-based virtual call center. I spoke with Chris Carrington, Alpine Access CEO, about how he’s growing this business — #17 on Deloitte’s Fast 50 for Colorado — using experienced home-based workers, […] Read more »
The Wall Street Journal’s CareerJournal offers tips about talking politics in the workplace, including “If you do want to share your opinions, don’t bash those with whom you disagree” and “Don’t assume people feel the way you think they do.” That’s even more important to keep […] Read more »
If you’re self-employed or thinking about it and you live in the U.S., one of your biggest concerns is likely to be health insurance. Most people in the U.S. — about 60% according to the National Coalition on Health Care — get health coverage through their […] Read more »
I love my Google Calendar, but I also like the physical experience of planning my days, weeks, and months using a paper calendar or planner. Here are three possibilities for when you want to manage your life with pen and paper instead of using an online […] Read more »
The key to using Google Docs (GDocs) document editing effectively is to understand that it’s a web word processor rather than an outright replacement for full-featured desktop word processors like Microsoft Word. Shift your word processing into web mode with these tips for using Google Docs, from HTML editing to wiki-like version control. Read more »
If you’re a digital bedouin who works out of WiFi cafés, you get to drink yummy drinks while you aim for inbox zero. But make grande mochas a habit and you might start looking pretty grande yourself. Starbucks wants to help with a new set of […] Read more »
As more people work out of their home part- or full-time, they’re looking for offices or dedicated workspaces in their houses, according to The New York Times: But by 2006, according to data collected by the Dieringer Research Group, a marketing research company in Brookfield, Wis., […] Read more »
As you may know, Web Worker Daily is part of Giga Omni Media, an online news network founded by Om Malik. Today Om shared some personal news on GigaOM, the main site in the network: Happy New Year. As you may have noticed, my byline hasn’t […] Read more »
Facebook has been pilloried for not caring enough about our privacy. But now they face a call to offer data portability, something that could, if not carefully designed, compromise the privacy we so wanted last year. Facebook disabled blogger Robert Scoble’s account after he ran automated […] Read more »
Much like the U.S. presidential candidates, software companies will move to the center in 2008. But the center of software doesn’t lie between conservatism and liberalism — it lies between proprietary and open. Read more »
Can you build a better search engine than Google? Lots of companies want to. But search already works pretty well — pretty well, that is, if you’re sitting at your computer. If you’re on the go with just a phone, it’s not quite so easy to […] Read more »
You don’t have to hire an expensive website design firm or manage your own WordPress installation to make a nice-looking site to promote your business or your personal brand. Here are three hosted website building tools to get you going quickly: Weebly, SiteKreator, and SynthaSite. Read more »
Are you ready to reboot your work life? Then you’ll want to check out Web Worker Daily’s book from Wiley Computing, now available for purchase online and in bookstores. Connect! A Guide to a New Way of Working will tell you how the web changes work — and how you can make it work for you. WWD editor Judi Sohn and I wrote this companion guide to Web Worker Daily to share with you all the wonderful ways the web can make your work life better. Read more »
Answering this year’s question from the Edge World Question Center, computer scientist Jordan Pollack says he has changed his mind about email. It was once a dream, but not any more, and he imagines its replacement: Email is now a nightmare that we have to wake […] Read more »
Are you writing resolutions for 2008? Even if you’re not, you probably have some goals or at the very least some projects that capture your dreams for the future. Here are 7 ways to keep track of the things you want to make happen in your […] Read more »
Do you need a new office chair for the new year? I do. My budget Office Max special has armrests that bump into my pullout keyboard tray. And the chair’s leather (okay, leatherette) upholstery is peeling off. Last July, graphic designer Jason Santa Maria asked his […] Read more »
Last year about this time, I offered 7 web worker wishes for 2007. None of my wishes came true, but that won’t stop me from wishing for more this year. Read more »
Instead of planning your career top down, you might find a bottom up search process more effective. Planning works for well-defined and well-understood situations — for example, following a well-trod career path such as medicine or law. Searching relies on trial and error and adjusting your […] Read more »
The popular 80/20 rule says that 80% of your results come from 20% of your efforts. But the future’s uncertain, so it can be difficult to know which 20% of activities will lead to the lion’s share of benefits. Look to your past for lessons about […] Read more »
Five BBC technology reporters chose their favorite technology of 2007. And the winners are: Facebook. Jane Wakefield says, “it is about communication and people which, for me, is what technology should be all about.” Witricity, a device for delivering energy to laptops and other electronics without […] Read more »
A look back at some of the Web 2.0 stories we covered this year: January. Yahoo bought MyBlogLog. Daylife, a webified newspaper with Jeff Jarvis as an adviser and Craig Newmark as an investor, launched. And browser preview startup Browster bid us good-bye. February. Yahoo! launched […] Read more »
There’s more than one way to find a good airfare online, as the Kayak-SideStep merger shows. But what’s the best way? Is there one site that you can rely on to find the best fare for all your travel needs? Or do you need to visit […] Read more »
Following in Brian Oberkirch’s keystrokes, here are the things that I loved in my web working life this year. As Brian says, listing things that make your life better is a great way of expressing gratitude. What are some things you loved about using the web for work this year? Read more »
Gone are the days when we were in school and got two or more weeks off at holiday time to celebrate and recuperate. Some companies shut down for an entire week or more around Christmas — and their employees probably feel pretty lucky. If you’re a […] Read more »
Jonathan Lane worked side contract jobs as a web developer until he grew his business enough to freelance full-time. Then he moved to Mayne Island, a small island off of Canada’s west coast, a place he had visited as a child. Now he takes on diversified […] Read more »
While many employers ban Facebook, others are looking for ways to incorporate it into their businesses in a way that maintains security and productivity. That’s because social networking isn’t just about poking people; you can use it to work more effectively too. Now there’s a way […] Read more »
The possibility that Amazon’s SimpleDB might be based on Erlang — a 20-year-old language that some programmers find weird — was nonetheless met with excitement in the programming world. Erlang may not be new, but it could offer one new way that concurrent programming can be done. Read more »
Are there tasks you need to do on your computer, on the web, or on the phone that you’d rather not do yourself? Tasks that take you away from more satisfying or more lucrative projects? Maybe you need a virtual assistant — an administrative helper who works remotely on tasks of your choosing. Now you can win the help of one, just in time for the new year. Read more »
PC World calls Vista the #1 biggest tech disappointment of the year. Engadget’s Ryan Block says “it ain’t all THAT bad.” What’s your take? Read more »
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