Welcome to the July 4, 2008 edition of working at home blog carnival. This weeks Carnival has, as always, some really good articles. So, Sit Back and Enjoy.

And Here We Go…

advice

terry dean presents Price Point Strategy posted at Integrity Business Blog by Terry Dean.

Cindy King presents Sunday Book Review - Mastering Online Marketing posted at Cindy King, saying, “Mastering Online Marketing starts off with a few of the principles in The E-Myth. There is a Business Mindset Self-Assessment Test and a Marketing Mindset Self-Assessment Test. At the end of each of these chapters a check list helps you to clearly identify your action plan. Your action items are business focused.”

business

Carol Bentley presents a simple action improves your business and home life posted at Carol Bentley.

Matthew Paulson presents Customer Service Communication Tips posted at American Entrepreneurship.

Hendry Lee presents 7 Non-Sponsored Beautiful WordPress Themes (No Sponsored Links Required) posted at Blog Building University, saying, “Making money online requires that you have a professional web presence. This non-sponsored WordPress theme allows you to do that without spending a dime!”

Melanie presents 10 Questions to Never Ask a Reporter posted at Rembrandt’s PR and Writing Blog for Startup Success, saying, “Discover how to use the power of the press to boost sales!”

Fiona Lohrenz presents Tips For Marketing Your Day Care Locally posted at Child Care Only.

Kenton Newby presents What Would You Do If You Weren’t Afraid? posted at KentonNewby.com.

Kathleen Gage presents Internet marketing! It’s driving me crazy! posted at Street Smarts Marketing & Promotions, saying, “Although the Internet is a great tool for building a business, it is not for everyone. Far too often people see it in a light other than it really is. Find out if you are meant to use the Internet in your business and in your marketing. Discover what one top Internet marketing learned along the way.”

Dr. Joe Capista presents The Role of Customer Service in Business Success posted at The Success Triangle, saying, “Business success is dependent of many factors; namely a realistic business idea, an outstanding business plan, a superior marketing strategy and great customer service. Although you may tend to put customer service in the same category as marketing, it has its own purpose in making a business successful. Find out the difference and how that difference can impact your business.”

Steven Lohrenz presents Bid High If You’re On A Budget posted at Steven Lohrenz, saying, “Getting the best value out of AdWords”

general

James Lee presents Massive Action… TO COMPLETION! posted at Online Business Freedom.

Diego Norte presents Buying Product Rights posted at Internet Business 101.

tips

GP presents Get Pumped to Hit the Road posted at Innstyle Montana- Come on Inn, saying, “Tools you can use to hit the road more efficiently”

David B. Bohl presents Success: Are We There Yet? posted at Slow Down Fast Today!, saying, “What’s your perception of success? No matter what your thoughts on success, one thing is certain: if you don’t know where you’re headed, you’ll never know when you’ve arrived.”

Jennifer Johnson presents Stay At Home Moms posted at MommyABCs.com, saying, “Tips for Stay at Home Moms and Working Dads”

Neelakantha presents How to Turn Your Network into Fort Knox: 100 Tips + Tutorials posted at Internet Service Deals.

Traffic2mypage presents Traffic2MyPage.com » Using OPB to build your web traffic - Introduction posted at Traffic2MyPage Blog, saying, “this is about how to increase web traffic to your site by using OBP… ‘Other People’s Blogs’ to redirect traffic to your page.. a step by step guide and a 6 part series”

Steve Mitchell presents Marketing Pro Info posted at Marketing Pro Info, saying, “Free tips & ideas to help you make more money working from home”

work

Mike King presents Promoting Employee Engagement in the Workplace posted at Learn This, saying, “There are a number of things that can help to get people more engaged with others and I wanted to outline some of the ones I’ve learned from my experience and what I’ve encountered reading and discussing the topic with others.”

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In her new ebook: The Secret to Writing a Successful and Outstanding Blog: An insider’s guide to the conversation that’s changing how business works Liz Strauss asks two key questions of her readers:

• Can you Hear The Internet?
• Can the Internet Hear You?

The first section addresses the question Can you Hear The Internet?

• Community - like minds, Us and them,
• Listening - are you listening?
• Business
• Conversation
• Connections: 10 reasons to write and publish every day!
• That first hello

The second section looks at the question Can the Internet Hear You?

The focus of this second question is on how to achieve great writing:

• an effective internet writer
• Finding compelling idea
• Writing voice
• Have you got writing rhythm?
• Word power
• Secret rules of online writing
• Great SEO info and more

Liz has high standards:

” A truly successful and outstanding blog also has meaning…… you might call that spirit. You might call that direction or focus. I call that soul.”

Do yourself a favor and give Liz a - one day late - birthday present).

This book is an outstanding guide for every blogger wanting to build their blog’s prominence.

I for one I will be paying much closer attention to the why and how of what I am writing.

Some other reviews and mentions for this book on how to be an outstanding and successful blogger.

ShareThis

There are many jobs that enable you to work from home, from internet marketing to photography to massage therapy services. With new online search engine like BeautyJobs, there are beauty industry jobs listed, connecting beauty professionals to business partners. Job seekers can use the site to find potential employers in other states and cities and explore other career growth opportunities.

If you aren’t computer phobia, you may like to learn more about how you can work from home and earn money online.

A Malaysian scientist has discovered a revolutionary method of producing aerogel using waste rice husks. Known for it’s ghostlike appearance, aerogel has many possible applications including insulation and as a shock absorber. The strong, light weight substance (it’s 99% air) is made of silica, which composes 20% of the weight of rice husks. Using husks as the source of silica for Aerogel drastically cuts the cost of production.

Treehugger reports:

Aerogel was invented in 1931. But at $3000 per kilogram, it’s use has been limited to visionary projects and unique structural applications like reinforcement of tennis raquets. But that could change soon. Halimaton Hamdan, a Cambridge-trained professor of chemistry at the Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (Technical University of Malaysia), has announced the discovery of a cheap process for turning waste rice husks into aerogel. Actually into “Maerogel”, as Hamdan has dubbed the “Malaysian aerogel”.

The translucent, smoky material weighs only three times as much as air. It is, in fact, mostly air; air cleverly trapped in a silicon matrix which gives the material insulating properties 37 times better than fiberglass. The image demonstrates the insulating capability as a layer of aerogel prevents a blowtorch from burning the hand below.

Aerogel can also bear mechanical pressure of up to 2000 times its weight. The combination of low weight and strength make aerogel a multifaceted green construction material.

[via Treehugger]

However, a lot of webmasters restrained them from going out for site-wide links.

But think about it from a different perspective - Would you buy a painting by Picasso unless it is signed by him! Or, do you think that a painter would leave the opportunity to sign a masterpiece!

If you are a web designer or contributed to develop or promote a website, what is wrong in getting a link from them? It is important for your branding - not just for the link value. If Google says ‘no’ - it must think twice.

At the same time I would like to say there are also a lot of sayings that you must get links from related websites. Now, tell me another thing - which websites fall under the category of similar websites for a web designing company or a web development company or a web marketing company or a seo company!

They can simply move forward and try to get links from any domain (even P 0 R N - if you design those websites). However, before you start getting such links think twice if your business domain support such a wide category - just try to establish a logical relation and move ahead?

But does this mean that site-wide link is good?

In my opinion, one link from one domain is good enough - simply enough. Don’t put the link on the common template.

But, if all your incoming links are site wide links, this is not a good or healthy sign. This actually develops a pattern - if you are a good website, you would get natural links from different websites - content based, forum posts etc. You must create a versatile link jungle. The same rule applies to reciprocal link building too.

And I can show you many SEO or web designing websites who are ranking high for different competitive keywords and they have huge pull of site-wide links (they have other links too).

And the last point - do not use the word “website design by NBB” in all the websites as anchor text - this is spam. And if Google thinks you are spamming, you have nothing to complain.

Toronto based street artist Posterchild has produced series of artworks that continues his Mario Blocks theme. Combining vintage video game iconography with gorilla gardening, he’s created a batch of flower planters that look like fire flower power up blocks from the Super Mario Bothers video game. Nice way to inject a dose of fun and beauty into plain city streets.

Turns out it was a full 6 months before she thought she would be able to take that freelance leap.

Since I’ve been a freelancer myself in the past, and I knew what an accomplishment she just achieved, I asked Selene if I could interview her about what steps she took and how pulled it off. Not surprisingly, Selene worked her tail off - here’s what she did to go from cubicle slave to self-employed freedom in 6 months’ time.

Selene, you have been hanging around my site now for around 9 months or so, and I’ve watched you grow from anonymous blogger (WAH(Web)Mommy) to ‘freelance moonlighter’ blogger, and now to full time work at home freelancer. I know you sometimes struggled with some decisions along the way, too. How long have you wanted to run your own business from home, and what were the reasons why you wanted to do so?

To be honest, I’ve probably always wanted to run my own business from home. I officially started my web design company, iDesign Studios, back in 2001 - but I had been doing freelance work prior to that even while still in college. I think it’s pretty common for people in my field to at least moonlight on the side, if not freelance full time.

Although this is something that I’ve wanted for years, it wasn’t until this last year that I finally had the drive and determination to want to run my own business full time. The primary reasons for taking the plunge were time, family and money - as well as just having the entrepreneurial spirit!

This last year in particular, I have been working a LOT in order to be able to take my business to the next level. It has been a big strain to work my day job 40 hours a week, run my business 20-30 hours a week, and of course have time for my family (which is heavily centered around my almost three year old).

In juggling both jobs, I was missing out on so much time with my husband and daughter. Yes, I worked at home, so I had been able to spend a lot of time with them. The juggling act really took me away from my family though - I finally had my “AH-HA” moment a few weeks ago - I posted a very heart-felt article about that on my blog.

Of course money played a big part in the decision, too. As an employee, you’re almost never going to make as much as you could working for yourself (unless you’re in a big metropolitan area, which isn’t the case for me). When you know there are so many things you want to do with your life and for your family, but bringing in a small employee salary is just not going to cut it… well then you have to think of other ways to get there.

Aside from this, I just have that entrepreneurial spirit! There’s a drive behind running my own company that I didn’t have as an employee. The entire process from marketing myself, getting new clients, making sure they’re happy, etc… as well as doing the actual work of designing and developing web sites is something that I find incredibly fulfilling.

As an employee you only have a certain role - you’re not involved in the entire process, and therefore aren’t quite as vested in the entire project. There’s something “more” with owning your own business that you can’t get from being nothing more than someone else’s employee.

When you finally made the decision to work for yourself, what was your plan of action to transition from employee to self-employed? Did you create milestones for yourself, and if you did what were they?

There was definitely a lot of planning involved - mostly dealing with money. I had been freelancing for seven years at this point, so I already had several steady clients, with new ones coming up from time to time. However, I knew I needed to be able to bring in a more steady stream of new clients on a regular basis.

On the financial front, “they” always say you should have at least 3-6 months of savings in the bank - at the very least enough to replace the steady paycheck that I was about to give up. This was my #1 milestone, as well as to pay off a few credit card debts in the process.

What helped me a lot was to setup a few extra savings account. Each month I would divvy up my freelance income: 60% went straight to the six month emergency savings fund; 30% went straight into a tax savings account (because as a self-employed professional, you have to make estimated tax payments on a quarterly basis); the last 10% remained in the main business checking account - to be used for business expenses.

What were some of the ’surprises’ along the way? Did anything pop up in this process that you weren’t anticipating?

Honestly I’m most surprised by my drive and dedication! Looking back on it now, I honestly have NO IDEA how I made it through the last six months working as hard as I did. I guess it’s somewhat of a survival instinct… “you gotta do what you gotta do” and all that.

The last month before taking the plunge, I realized I had reached a point of complete and total burnout. Some days I physically, mentally and emotionally just couldn’t carry on any longer. Something had to give, and I was lucky enough that it was the day job that I was able to let go.

I’m also incredibly surprised by how well I did. I had planned on it taking an entire year to save up six months of savings in the bank so that I could “safely” take the leap. But every month when I looked at my totals, I was astonished to find that I might be able to do this a month or two sooner than planned. Well, those “month or two’s” ended up being six months early!

Did you have your husband’s support during the transition? How did that influence the process?

Yes, I definitely had my husband’s support, as well as that of my family, friends, clients, and even general acquaintances. The encouragement I received from everyone definitely had a big impact on my success.

Taking the freelance plunge is obviously a BIG change - and change is scary! My husband and the rest of my support team has been behind me 100% to reassure me that this is something that I can and should be doing. They stressed the fact that I deserve to be earning a lot more for the work that I do - more than I was making as an employee.

It’s their support that helped keep me up when I was down, and helped me realize that this was a move I finally needed to make

What role did blogging and social media play in reaching your goal?

Blogging and social media actually played a very big role in reaching this goal. In fact, I’m not sure that I would be here today without it.

You mentioned my anonymous profile, WAH(web)Mommy. I started blogging under that name about a year ago, basically as an outlet to write about my goals and to post my progress - nothing like “putting it all out there” to help keep you accountable!

I “met” so many great people through that blog. It came to a point, though, where I realized an anonymous blog could only get me so far. I was anonymous for obvious reasons (I didn’t want to risk my employer finding about my goals before I was ready to take the leap). But being anonymous meant that I couldn’t link to my portfolio - without this, I had no real credibility as a web designer.

I decided it was time to let go of my WAH(web)Mommy persona, and start blogging under my real name. This of course meant I had to give up a huge part of my blog - I could no longer write about my dreams and goals - however I was able to blog about issues relating to web design, small business and marketing, etc. Most importantly, I was able to link to my resume and portfolio - and nothing shows a web designer’s skills and talent like their portfolio!

Through social media, I’ve been able to communicate directly with many of the bloggers whose writing I follow closely. I’ve formed relationships that you can’t form from the comment section of blogs alone. I haven’t officially singed any new clients through social media (yet), but have formed such good relationships with several people that I’ve been referred to several times. There are a few potential new clients that might come from this form of networking. I’d say it is a good business move, and I’d be lying if I didn’t say it was fun, as well!

What resources did you use to research, gather information, and prepare yourself for running your own business?

There are so many great web sites, but I drew the majority of my information from blogs - some of my favorites are Freelance Folder, Freelance Switch, Itty Biz, ProBlogger, Remarkablogger, Shane & Peter, Inc. and Sparkplugging.

I’ve also found great success with the book “Get Clients Now!” by C.J. Hayden. This book goes lets you create a variety of 28 day marketing programs and stresses the fact that you need to place a major priority on self promotion. It serves as a great reminder, because I often find that my own marketing efforts get set on the back burner whenever client work comes in.

Naomi Dunford of Itty Biz was a HUGE help to me. I’ve hired her for her home business marketing services several times so far. Our first consultation, in particular, was incredibly motivational and gave me so many suggestions that I’ve implemented. I honestly don’t think I would have reached my full time freelance goal so quickly without her help!

Now that you are truly “free”, what advice would you give to other people looking to make the jump into full time freelancing?

The number one bit of advice I can give, is to be prepared! You don’t want to just jump into something like this without first having a solid plan in place. You should definitely work out a financial plan first, being sure to have the recommended 3-6 months of savings in the bank before taking the plunge.

Also know that it might be a bumpy ride, but with determination and support from your friends/family, you can definitely succeed and your dreams will come true!

You can find Selene at iDesign Studios - We help you stand out from the crowd
You can also view her web design portfolio or catch up with her on Twitter.

Congratulations, Selene - welcome to self-employment!

A growing number of designers, however, are beginning to question this headlong pace and its relevance to the way we live, instead promoting flexible, seasonless collections… Brian Janusiak and Elizabeth Beer of Project No. 8, a discerningly merchandised fashion and design outpost in New York’s Chinatown, also believe in seasonless garments. In addition to stocking Kostas Murkudis’ 96 dresses, a collection of chic frocks meant for all seasons that’s been covered in these pages, the duo also have their own seasonless line under the Various Projects umbrella. “What excites us about the seasonless approach is that after decades of forced obsolescence by design in retail, people are beginning to rewrite the rules on what is an acceptable rhythm in the fashion cycle,” says Janusiak.

…While it would be easy to view these initiatives as strictly anti-establishment efforts, there are compelling signs that a truly seasonless fashion future may be on the horizon. First and foremost, global warming is rendering seasonal temperatures increasingly unpredictable. At the same time, subtler shifts are occurring, such as retailers placing increased importance on resort/cruise collections. As Diane Von Furstenburg did in her s/s ‘09 resort outing, a number of designers are beginning to include more seasonless pieces in their collections to give their jet-setting customers more flexibility. Soon, a truly global, all-weather lifestyle could be within our reach.

JC Report

First, who are you and what do you do?

Hi. My name’s Amit Gupta. I am a creative, hard-working, honest young man who likes to create fun things online.

I run a company called Photojojo, we’re the world’s awesomest photography newsletter.

We’re also working on a book that will be published by Random House next year, and some new ways for people to have fun with photography online.

I’ve started a lot of different projects and companies, and am always working on something new. Most recently, I started a casual coworking event called Jelly while living in NYC. Since then, it’s spread to 20 cities around the world and been on the Today Show, Wired, NPR (twice), etc.

You’ll be speaking on our “San Francisco Snapshot” panel. Can you explain what you find inspirational about the Bay Area and why? What makes it different than any other place in the world?

People here are not afraid of failure.

There’s a great entrepreneurial spirit here, and startups seem to grow like weeds, but it has less to do with the weather, the proximity of venture capital, or history, and more to do with the culture. Here, it’s okay to try something and fall on your face. You just get up and try again. That’s not normal anywhere else.

Some sites that provide you with inspiration:

Mostly these days my inspiration comes from my friends, almost always through one of these three:
Tumblr
Flickr
Twitter

Thanks, Amit!

Photojojo

Amit Gupta

To hear more from Amit come join us at PSFK Conference San Francisco 2008!

In response, Gawker has posted a funny if characteristically snarky post clarifying some of that obfuscating language (such as ‘unpublished’) being thrown around by all of us in the blogosphere when we’re trying to cover up what’s really going on (or what we really mean). Some highlights:

- Brand advertising = Bad clickthroughs. “We have a clickthrough rate of one in ten thousand, but we’re more of a brand destination.”

- Update: Fix. On a blog or in a program, an update means something was broken.

- Experimental: Failed. Everyone secretly hopes their projects take off, so they can say “Oh, it was just a fun little project!” More often, the project gets just the attention it deserved: none.

- Platform: Vague idea. Instead of a useful tool, a tool for other people to make useful tools. Possibly a cash cow, but boring. (For a geekier set, a platform is for those too lazy to code; an API is for those too lazy to write a platform.)

- Beta: Broken. For some web services, “beta” is as regular as PMS until Google buys the company.

- Viral: Cheap. Of course, sometimes that’s the kind of ad a brand deserves. Note which brand was faster to jump on viral videos: Not Coke, but Mentos.

- Contextual advertising: Bottom-of-the-barrel ads. What’s left over after “brand advertising” and served with “user-generated” content.

Gawker: The 15 Most Useless Internet Euphemisms

For some reason this morning I had my good citizen cap on my walk to work down Broadway between Union Square and SoHo I went into two stores to complain that they had their doors open and their air conditioning on. The reason I chose these two stores rather than the Best Buy or Urban Outfitters was that these brands (American Apparel and Body Shop) both trade on their conscious credentials.

There’s an element of ‘doing good’ in both retailers’ brand values. Body Shop has a ‘Protect Our Planet‘ mission. American Apparel doesn’t talk much these days about it’s eco credentials but it has major concerns for what it considers as the community.

Some of you might not know but there is a strong debate in New York about stores that leave their doors open while their air conditioning units were going - and some officials in New York have suggested a law against it. Saying that, maybe the debate is all in the media and none in the street: when I asked the assistants in both stores if anyone had complained before about their open doors and they said no. The Body Shop girl seemed fairly concerned about the idea, the American Apparel girl and her manager seemed to just see me as somebody ten years too old in the store and not minding his own business. Well, at least some brand values ring true.

Ricoh is building an nature powered billboard, scheduled to go up in Times Square this December. A first for New York, this solar and wind powered giant ad is only the third in the world. The other two are Pacific Gas & Electric’s in San Francisco and Ricoh’s original eco billboard in Tokyo. The ad’s lighting will be powered by 45 solar panels and 4 wind turbines. Strangely the system lacks any kind of back up power source. If there’s a cloudy day with no wind, the ad will not be illuminated.

[via Live Science]

Opening tomorrow (July 4th) on Montague Place behind the British Museum in London is a new temporary cultural space designed by Carmody Groarke Architects. Called the Sky Walk, the installation is the centerpiece of the Bloomsbury Hub of the London Festival of Architecture. Sky Walk is a series of elevated ramps that take visitors on a meandering journey exposing them to new views of the architectural details on the surrounding historic buildings. Over the next three days, Sky Walk will serve as a backdrop for performances, and exhibition, and a continuous picnic of locally produced food.

Sky Walk was constructed over the past three days out of reusable staging components. It’s covered in a translucent black mesh. The ramp reaches a height of over 13 feet at it’s tallest point.

The event is the first step in the total transformation of the street into a usable public space and a destination in its own right. The design firm of Burns+Nice have already developed proposals to redo the street and surrounding areas.

[via WAN]

A series of interviews with VW researchers and designers unveil their visions of electric-driven Single Occupant Vehicles, holographic projections, gesture controlled dashboards, and emission free automobiles.

While the entire site is in German, it’s still worth having a look at their future scenarios.

Volkswagen 2028

From Trendhunter:

The Tag Heuer Meridiist mobile phone is made from watch-making stainless steel and has two unscratchable 60.5 carat sapphire crystal displays. It displays the time in a 96×76 monochromatic OLED screen in the upper part of the phone and comes with a 2.0 megapixel camera, MP3 player and bluetooth technology.

It looks pretty nice, and judging by the attention to detail with which watchmakers approach their craft, one would imagine that the Meridiist is built to exacting specifications. At the same time, as Gizmodo rightly points out, when you take a good look at the phone’s specs, there’s not much that you can’t get elsewhere. Which leaves us wondering what the $6100 price tag really gets you, besides a really fancy way to tell time.

I got No Response, Ok, I got one comment from Deb, but she doesn’t use her Blog for business so she thought it wouldn’t be accepted.

So, I figured I would just ask all of you…

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If you would take the time to answer the poll, I will learn even more of Your Preferences for Future Contests.

Thanks,

Joe

For those of you reading in RSS, please use This Link to take the Poll.

J.

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Replating is the term coined by design studio Language In Common for the simple act of giving away leftover food by leaving it on top of garbage cans. Sort of a small scale version of City Harvest. The replate idea is being spread by their website and with downloadable posters and stickers that explain the process. They started this open source food activism campaign as an easy way of channeling this potentially wasted food to the homeless and others that may desperately need it. There are some potential problems in the widespread roll out of Replating such as the food drawing rodents, or the lack of flat surfaced garbage cans in New York City. Overall a good concept, and a step in the right direction.

Replate

[via Neatorama]

* 20plus30
* Boomer
* Aging Fabulous
* Time Goes By
* Libido & Health
* Changing Aging
* The Boomer Blog
* The Boomer Chronicles
* Older But No Wiser
* Aging Maven
* Always Question
* Auxiliary Memory
* GenPlus
* Aging Hipster

PSKF recently completed some consultancy for a client on the subject of Baby Boomers. Here are some of the best blogs we monitored for inspiration…

French clothing company APC has come out with new jeans that are either innovative or ridiculous depending on your point of view. The “Butler Worn Out” series are weathered, not by the traditional sandpaper method but rather by humans wearing them. This unconventional and time consuming method produces the desirable marks and soft feel of old jeans. To anyone considering these buying these (probably really expensive) pants, I have a suggestion: try a used clothing shop, lots of human pre-worn jeans there.

[via Hypebeast]

Perhaps, now, when Google is able to crawl flash based content (thanks to Adobe), the fight should end in one front (though you have lots of issues yet to be solved with your designer) at least. As a SEO, all you need to do is to tell your designer to follow the list provided by Google on Flash design.

Anyways, web designers get ready to create more flash based designs and developers get ready to add more interactivity within the flash content.

There is a reason why I pointed interactivity in the last paragraph. If you read the tips (or FAQ) provided by Google, you would find that, they will be crawling only the texts in a flash file (it is still weak in reading images). As they put it - “We’ve developed an algorithm that explores Flash files in the same way that a person would, by clicking buttons, entering input, and so on“.

What does it mean?

It is time to be more and more interactive with the target visitors.

HTML or Java has their own limitations. Java is better than HTML to make a site interactive but Java cannot provide you the edge over search engines as the normal HTML.

In the same way, videos or slideshows have there own limitations - you would still need to use texts to optimize a video clip or podcast or slideshow for search engines.

With this latest update in Google’s algorithm, you can somehow overcome all these problems. You can interact more freely with your target audience and guide them as you wish throughout the process. At the same time you can remain a search engine friendly website.

And guess what, Flash designers and visualizers would be in great demand for next couple of years until Google starts reading images.

However, I would like to point out one thing - do not make your Flash file to heavy and do not use Flash unless it is very important. Plain text is still the best option for the information seekers and web is full of them.

Kudzu is an extremely fast growing plant, usually considered a weed that can grow up two two inches a day. A native plant of China, it was first introduced to the USA in 1876. It was planted extensively in the southern United States to prevent soil erosion. Fast forward to today, and Kudzu is everywhere in the South, growing out of control and messing up the local ecosystems.

The good news is that the Kudzu plant is a great raw material to make ethanol. The roots are the size of sweet potatoes and contain all the right elements to produce the (currently) corn crop hogging fuel.

[via ESPN]

Kids today are increasingly prone to social, mental and environmental stresses that lead to hyperactivity, ADD, frantic multitasking, and distraction. How can this tide be turned? A program in Bangkok, Thailand called the “Mind and Self Grooming Day Camp” is helping children deal with these problems by teaching them meditation. Using a custom tailored approach that cuts the meditation exercises down to easy 15 to 20 minutes segments, the camp turns meditation into games that kids can enjoy and relate to. The program has helped students deal with problems at school and to stay relaxed and focused amidst our fast paced over stimulating modern society.

[via Bangkok Post]

Anyone interested in a change of scenery can reserve a room or desk here. Space can be booked in 2 hour blocks between 9.30am and 6pm.
[via Pocket-Lint]

Hirst is a rare breed–both artist and salesman. This isn’t the first time he’s stunned the art world with his business savvy (and his dead animals). Back in November of 2003, the artist bought back 12 of his seminal pieces from benefactor Charles Saatchi for $15 million. By owning his key early work, Hirst sought to control his own market, deciding which pieces to hold on to or place in museums or collections. Were these works to be sold en masse, as Saatchi is known to do, the value of his works could have taken a substantial hit. This February, he opened a store on High Street called Other Criteria, designed to “democratize” art–or at least commoditize it.

His former rep Larry Gagosian isn’t showing any outward ire. He has already said he’ll attend the Sotheby’s auction in September, paddle in hand. Hirst is hoping to set some new sales records at the two-day affair, titled “Beautiful Inside My Head Forever,” where enough art to constitute two gallery shows will be on the block. The pièce de résistance will be a bull submerged in formaldehyde—head crowned by a solid gold disc, hooves and horns cast in gold—inside a gold-plated stainless steel and glass box. The work, called “The Golden Calf,” is expected to fetch at least £12 million.

[via Slam X Hype]

[via notcot]

We’re looking forward to having Mark Lewis, strategy director at DDB, join us at PSFK Conference San Francisco. On our “Using It” panel along with Adrian Ho (Zeus Jones), George Parker (AdScam), Lynn Casey (Team Noesis) and Rohit Bhargava (Ogilvy 360 Digital Influence), Mark will be discussing how companies can use social media to enhance consumer dialogue, evolve product offerings, and, yes, improve sales.

First, who are you and what do you do?

I’m a strategy director at DDB in San Francisco working on brands ranging from SunPower (one of the largest solar panel manufacturers) to Brita to STP. I’d define my job as introducing interesting things or ways of thinking to people in the hope of inspiring them to do things a little differently.

You’ll be speaking on our “Using It” social media panel. Can you sum up your views on how you are seeing companies and organizations leverage social media to enhance consumer dialogue, evolve product offerings, and/or improve sales? In what direction do you see Social Media taking brands in the future?

While it is great to see companies beginning to use social media and engage in the web in a new way, the number of companies that have truly grasped the true model shift created by the social web is relatively small. Brands have to figure out how to engage consumers in a dialogue where they have something to give beyond entertainment (because very few brands can do that well over the long term) – where their marketing becomes an extension of what they do.

Four sites that provide you with inspiration:

PostSecret
Pandora
Google Labs
GigaOM

Thanks, Mark!

DDB

Have you bought your tickets for PSFK Conference San Francisco yet?

A recent article from the New York Times reports:

Perhaps the summer’s most visible change is occurring in the downtown strips of small towns where, for decades, cruising on Friday and Saturday nights has been a teenage rite of passage. It is a peculiarly American phenomenon — driving around in a big loop, listening to music, waving at one another and wasting gasoline.

“We’re not cruising around anymore, with gas costing $4.50 a gallon,” said Ewelina Smosna, a recent graduate of Taft High School in Chicago, as she hung out the other night at the Streets of Woodfield, an outdoor mall in Schaumburg. “We just park the car and walk around.”

NYT: As Gas Prices Rise, Teenagers’ Cruising Declines

Think about it. With a home office, there’s no commuting - which saves time, stress and money. Working from home means you can have lunch with your kids every day. It means you can take a half-hour and roll around with them in the yard. And if you’ve had a late night, no worries. You can roll out of bed minutes before your first appointment and still make it on time. The advantages go on and on.

But, there’s also some major challenges with working from home.

For instance, if you were working in an office building, it probably wouldn’t take your 15 minutes to use the bathroom because your kids are jumping all over you the minute you leave your office. Or, in our case with my wife being a stay-at-home-mom, your spouse thinking that it’s all right to interrupt you 67 times a day. Okay, it’s actually closer to 68.

Before my wife and I married and had kids, I’d worked from my home office for seven years. When we got married, I had no idea the challenges I would face. I figured she just understood that when I closed the door to my office I was unavailable. Nope. Same with the kids.

Now, 6 years later, we’ve worked out a pretty good system for making sure everyone’s needs get met in the family and in my business. All we had to do was create a few boundaries and establish a few rhythms:

• Set office hours - AND KEEP THEM.
  When your office is just down the hall, it can be difficult to set work aside and have ‘off time.’ Yet, it’s really unfair to both you and your family if you’re bouncing in and out of your office at all hours. Establish specific hours on specific days where you’re working. Make this time as though you’re out of house. This is foundational to effectively working at home so I can’t stress it enough.
• Remember your family has rhythms & schedules - AND HONOR THEM.
  One issue we had in our family is that I would need a breather a few times in the middle of the day and so I’d come out of my office and spend time with the wife and kids. This was always on my terms because I decided when I came out and when I went back. And since there was no specific time set each day for me to take these little breaks, my wife and kids would never know when I was coming out of my office. Such, this would interrupt their daily flow and their rhythms. So while fun for me, it wasn’t fun for my wife to deal with after I’d go back to work. So talk to your spouse, if they stay at home, and ask them how your mid-day breaks affect the family.
• Set specific break times - AND KEEP THEM.
  One thing all of us look forward too is eating lunch together. I used to just come out for lunch when I could, which just created chaos. Now, we schedule lunch - as well as those mid-day breaks - so that all of know what to expect. My wife can plan her day and the kids know what to expect - both when the break begins and ends. It’s made our lives much easier.
• Communicate your needs with your spouse - OFTEN.
  It’s highly unlikely your work’s exactly the same every day. Deadlines and problems can lead to all sorts of business turmoil. Or maybe you’re taking on large project that may require extra time. This may change your work rhythms - maybe you need to work a bit more, or maybe there’s going to be more stress. Talk with your spouse about this BEFORE it becomes an issue. If you’re going to take away from family time, be sure that your spouse agrees it’s a good idea, is supportive and has an idea how it’s going to change their life. Sometimes not taking a project that interrupts your life and hurts your family can be the best choice.
• Put a lock on your door - AND USE IT.
  Seems elementary, but it’s wholly necessary. Sure, it’s cute when you’re on the phone with a prospect and your 3 year-old waddles into your office for a kiss. But it’s not so cute when they come running into your office crying while you’re on a conference call with decision makers at a company you’re doing business for. Lock your door and keep it locked when you’re ‘in your office.’ Make it habit.
• Don’t unlock or open  your door during business hours - UNLESS YOU NEED TOO.
  The point of putting a lock on your office door - and using it - is so that your inaccessible just as you’d be if you were working out of the home. That means when your kids or spouse see your door locked, they don’t bother you. If the kids come knocking - and they do - you simply don’t answer. You resist the temptation to open the door. In short order, they’ll get it that when your door’s closed, you’re unavailable. Addendum: You’re also at home and always a parent. So, if you hear your 4 year-old telling your 2 year-old not to touch the hot stove, you quickly go out and deal with it - then return to your office and lock your door.
• Have family meetings before work - DO THIS!
  Inevitably you and your spouse will need to talk about things throughout the day. Of course, if your spouse believes (s)he should interrupt you at every moment there’s a question - just because you’re at home - you’re productivity will suffer - as well as your patience. So create a time in the morning or in the evening - off from work - where you can talk about daily family business. This is the time to make plans, talk about money, pay bills, make decisions on kid’s classes, schedule doctor’s appointments, talk about dinner, remind you to get a hair cut, etc, etc, etc. Then, whatever needs to be talked about has a space and time so that it doesn’t have to be talked about during business hours.
• Use the telephone to communicate during business hours.
  Just as if you were working 30 miles away, ask your spouse - and kids - to use the telephone to reach you if there’s something pressing. My wife and I do this and it works great - even though sometimes I can hear her voice through the door. And the kids can talk to me this way as well. It honors all of our needs while I’m working while allowing her a chance to get questions answered - or to just say ‘I love you.’ (okay, I’m a sap). BTW, IM and email works fine too.

There certainly are other things you can do to establish a home/work environment. The most important things is that you and your family set boundaries that work for everyone. Boundaries that allow you to get your work done while honoring your family’s needs and your responsibilities to them.

Just remember that it’s not all about you getting your work done. You have an impact on them as well. So honor their needs, their rhythm and the ‘work’ they’re doing in and for the family.

As I always say, a peaceful home provides a peaceful home office.

Now you can ride your bike to and from the airport, and carry it with you everywhere. Freeman Transport is putting the finishing touches on their new line of hand made, folding bikes. The all steel frames fold in half and come with a rugged but good looking carrying bag. It’s just the right size to check on an airplane and comes with backpack straps.  The bikes are fixed gear to keep the design streamlined and only require one tool to put it back together.

[via Urban Outfitters]

Techcrunch reports that electric car manufacturer Tesla Motors is going to supply lithium ion batteries to Mercedes Benz. Mercades is using these components to build electric only versions of it’s A and B class vehicles, along with smart cars as soon as 2010. This is a big stamp of approval for Tesla’s sustainable technology. It’s also great to see the upstart company bringing collaboration to an industry that isn’t known for it.

[via TechCrunch]