More web-working Stories
loading external resource
Subscriber Content

By
toolbox

The enterprise collaboration space has entered an exciting new phase of collaboration. New software and applications are coming to market, as are new concepts for how to work and communicate in the knowledge age. From consumer-grade apps like those from Box.net and Huddle to software from long-established players like Microsoft and Oracle, these tools are taking collaboration technology past the traditional IT decision-making process and changing the way we approach the workday. Additional companies in this report include Skype, Huddle, Jive, Moxie and Yammer. For a full list of companies, and to read the full report, sign up for a free trial. Read more at GigaOM Pro »

By
1318569_bright_autumn

Last weekend, I disconnected from the web completely. Unlike a holiday, though, I still needed to go about my ordinary activities. This experience revealed to me how much I’ve come to rely on the web, and highlighted some unexpected ways it’s changing my lifestyle. Read more »

By
worker-macbookair

The iPad is a pretty nice mobile web working tool. But the new MacBook Air, with more processing muscle, better graphics and access to OS X and all the applications that go along with it, is the better tool for the road warrior. Read more »

By

The return of daylight savings time often brings with it a flurry of complaints about losing something web workers treasure most: time. Here are twelve ways to claw some if it back: Read more »

By

It’s Friday afternoon. You clean up and get ready for respite. Surprise, surprise … within an hour of checking out for the weekend, a phone call comes in. What do you do? Ignore the call? Pick it up? Read more »

By

I’ve already expressed my opinion on what would make the Apple tablet a significant part of my day-to-day web working habits, but Amazon seems keen on positioning itself in or around the same space in the market, so it’s only fair I turn my attention to the Kindle, too Read more »

loading external resource

By

The beginning of a new decade is a great time for retrospectives and looking back at what brought us to where we are now, but it’s also a good time to pause and reflect about where the next ten years might take us. Specifically, how might […] Read more »

By

I recently came across a video by Jon Larkowski entitled, “The Way I Get Things Done,” in which he outlines his personal productivity system. He offered several useful tips for increasing productivity, but the two phrases that really stuck out to me were that you need […] Read more »

By

Last week I woke up to find that my partner had rearranged my home office. She spent the better part of the morning turning it into our home office. I shouldn’t have been surprised — I’d told her earlier in the week that we might become […] Read more »

By

Being a web worker can mean learning to handle many facets of running a small business, including dealing with difficult clients, which can often be one of the biggest frustrations that come with the territory.

But how do you know if your clients are abusing you? Here are a few telltale signs and tips for how to fix and avoid these situations.

The work keeps creeping in. You start with one description of what is to be done and end up doing something entirely different or something that’s way more involved than the original task.

How to Fix/Avoid It: Have a contract and a clear and agreed-upon scope and schedule for each and every phase or project. Outline exactly what is to be done and when it’s due.

The client expects immediate responses or complete availability. Occasionally, you’ll come across clients who want 100% of your undivided attention. They expect emails to be responded to within an hour and work to be completed at an unrealistic pace.

How to Fix/Avoid It: Set expectations from the start. Explain when you’re available to clients, how quickly you tend to reply to communications, and how you prefer to communicate. You may also wish to explain how you work. For example, do you generally devote a set amount of time to each project or client per day? If so, explain this to clients on the front side so that they know what to expect. Read more »

By

It’s a strange thing, but in times like these, when prospective clients have fewer dollars to spend and when there’s more competition in the marketplace due to higher unemployment rates, instinctive responses have a tendency to take over our business decisions.

It’s easy to get trapped in a cycle of instinctive “fight or flight” response, so how do we break that cycle? Read more »

By

nim·ble : quick and light in motion; marked by quick, alert, clever conception, comprehension, or resourcefulness.

Being a web worker has its advantages, and one of the biggest is that you can build a very adaptable and nimble business. Here are a few of the ways we stay flexible. Read more »

By

Starting a business can be a huge undertaking, but fortunately for the aspiring web worker, it doesn’t have to be. The really great thing about starting a web working business is that it getting set up can be easy and low cost. Read more »

By

Web working is not for everybody. Those who do it tend to have traits and personalities that fit the web working life. For others, it means making sacrifices they don’t want to make. “I don’t really understand why people would like to work at home. It’s […] Read more »

By

Our favorite NewTeeVee hater has the floor again. Online video is a “disappointment” because Google is subsidizing YouTube’s bandwidth, said Mark Cuban at the D Conference yesterday. Here’s the video (I sure hope that BMW pre-roll paid for my bandwidth!): Read more »

Subscriber Content

By

Since the ’80s, telecommuting has been championed as a better way of working. The phenomenon, which has been somewhat slow to catch on, is called by many names: remote working, telecommuting, teleworking, web working and open working (to name a few), but it’s increasingly being adopted ... Read more at GigaOM Pro »

By

In the web world, we tend to associate the word “agile” with software development, but in this ever-changing world, it’s not a bad idea to apply the basic principles of agility to our busy professional lives. Does this mean you have to be some kind of […] Read more »

By

As organizations and businesses loosen their geographic borders, their teams will be composed of members from all over the globe. From a small web design group to an entire staff of offshore workers, we’ll soon find ourselves working with people from different time zones. But working […] Read more »

By

The U.K. press is reporting this morning that online networking may be damaging to your health. A few articles, including a particularly sensationalist piece by the Daily Mail, “How using Facebook could raise your risk of cancer,” are reporting the latest findings from every luddite’s favorite […] Read more »

By

Technology propels society forward, and web workers are more keenly aware of that than anyone. In just the last five years we have made leaps and bounds in terms of how connected we can be, how quickly we can receive and disperse information and how we […] Read more »

By

I called one of my friends earlier this week and asked her if we could have lunch on Sunday. I was surprised that she said she couldn’t make it, since she had to work. “What kind of evil forces are making you do this?” I asked […] Read more »

By

One of the things that I struggle with most when I’m working from home is wrapping up and finishing for the day. Quite often, I’ll mean to finish at, say, 6:30 pm, but then another email drops into the old inbox, or I’ll move onto “just […] Read more »

By

I no longer work in an office, as you might expect of someone who works in tech. But now, even my mother accesses her work emails and does work from home. Are we all web workers now? Read more »

By

My recent look at Appigo Notebook for the iPhone and iPod touch had me reevaluating my choice of task management app for the platform. Conveniently, Appigo also offers Todo ($9.99, App Store), one of the leading task management apps in the App Store. While the “integration” […] Read more »

By

A friend of mine recently told me that she wanted to try web working.  Her biggest problem, though, was getting clients.  They didn’t seem to think that she was a “real” person, and not a team of scammers planning to run away after they’ve sent the […] Read more »

By

When I was a freshman art student, there came a day when I realized that my favorite paint colors were running out.  The problem was that I didn’t have the money to replace them.  No ultramarine blue, cadmium yellows, or alizarin crimson.  I was stuck with […] Read more »

By

During my creative writing classes in college, many of my classmates dreaded the workshops.  These workshops required us to send each other a copy of our work, then, the following week, we’d tear each other apart.  We used to spend hours spotting mixed metaphors, grammatical errors, […] Read more »

By

One of the downsides of web working is that you’re prone to distractions at home, whether it’s the snacks calling to you from the fridge or a toddler throwing tantrums. I experience these distractions everyday and have found ways around most of them. My most important “weapon against mass distractions”, so to speak, was to wake up at 2:00am and work while the rest of the neighborhood sleeps.

Except for my new neighbors, of course. They moved in last week and, since then, it’s been one loud evening after another. Read more »

By

It’s hard work to set up and supervise a teleworking team for some projects.  In the web content service I run, I need to gather work-from-home writers together and help them work as a team.  This is especially important for projects that require group cooperation and […] Read more »

By

When I started freelancing, I worked with every potential client who contacted me.  This is normal for someone who is starting out.  After all, you want to get all the experience you can get your hands on.  But after a while, you’ll realize, like I did, […] Read more »

By

As I’m writing this post, I’m in a small hut in the jungles of Bohol, a small island in the Philippines. The past week has been part of an experiment for me, trying to see how far I can take this digital nomad thing. Here’s the […] Read more »

By

When clients call you and hear a baby cooing or a kitten meowing in the background, they can’t help but remember that you’re human. You’re not just an invisible web working slave that does their bidding. You have a life, a family, and pets. Your clients […] Read more »

By

In today’s turbulent economic times, it’s important to have lower expenses and increased income – especially for teleworkers. While many independent contractors are getting more business, it’s still wise to make deliberate efforts to thrive. Here are some ways we will be able to do that. Read more »

By

Updated: I was mildly surprised by the news reported in the Wall Street Journal this morning that Google was in talks with Verizon Wireless to get its search bar embedded on the home screen of Verizon’s phones. Google would love such a deal — the company […] Read more »

12page 1 of 2