Info Adept » Business

40 Free and Cheap Stock Photo Sites to Punch Up Your Blog Posts

Laura — Fri, 29 Feb 2008 21:25:34 +0000

It's a common rule of thumb that using images as part of your blog posts helps draw attention to them and illustrate what you're saying. Finding and creating these pictures can be difficult if you aren't a photographer but there are plenty of places on the Internet where people are sharing their own photos for free or low prices. You have to watch the Terms of Use though, particularly if you are selling the article.

Second Life as a design outlet

Laura — Wed, 27 Feb 2008 17:31:50 +0000

A number of graphic designers have successfully converted their expertise into Second Life businesses. Everything made in Second Life relies on textures… pictures made in an image program like Photoshop… to not only make it look like what the creator wants it to be but to give it depth and reality. So an orb becomes a basketball and an undershirt becomes a tattoo.

Because of the ease of entry (software-Gimp is free, upload fees-10L each, 400L for $1, and time), Second Life has a thriving home-grown fashion market. There are people making a living just making virtual doll-clothes and accessories.

Real world fashion businesses are taking notice of the money and interest being spent by this circle of fans and are coming into Second Life to create a presence for advertising purposes- and are not doing well.

The most memorable of these is none other than Armani. When Armani announced that they were building an in world store there was great deal of anticipation. They hired a good, experienced builder and got a nice store but apparently left the creation of their items (only 10) to their regular designers who presumably didn't have the time to really learn the built-in Second Life tools. The result is a too small collection that the very people Armani was hoping to attract took one look at and said I can get twice the quality at a third of the price.

They aren't the only ones though. A famous athletic shoe retailer created a "build your own" factory that doesn't see much use because the resulting shoes take up too much computer and server resources to render.

American Apparel has a store as well. They at least have more than 10 items and what they have is ok but when you're options include a leather trench coat and being a dalek, very plain colored t-shirts and khakis don't have much appeal. It's also a well-documented effect that you have to release new items regularly to keep traffic (and sales) up, which American Apparel has never done.

Doing it Right

There have been successful transitions. Most notable is a canadian couture designer named Nyla who has a set of shops where she has taken her real creations and remade them in Second Life. Because she took the time to learn the tools and the customer base her products are excellent quality and well-priced while still remaining in her style.

The japanese also have good ideas about in-world advertising. Treasure hunts for freebies are always popular and the word of mouth affect is very strong in Second Life.

Now that IBM has given a demonstration at the National Retail Federation on using Second Life for prototyping, there may be more mainstream fashion companies coming into Second Life but independents who can devote the time to learning the environment will still have the advantage for quite a while.

Help on learning to use the Second Life templates, scripting language and building blocks can be found on the forums. Marketing guidance can be found here.

Research on the Web

Laura — Wed, 20 Feb 2008 17:34:29 +0000

The Internet is a decent place to do research these days. The idea that "everything is online" is still not true but it becomes more so every day. The problem for everyone is that much of this information costs a lot of money to access for large institutions much less small organizations. Help is often available in the form of the public library. Tennessee has a project called the Tennessee Electronic Library, which provides access to a number of databases for any Tennessee resident through their school or public library.

There is plenty online for free though.

For instance many government departments have websites ending in the .gov domain. Useful at this time of year is IRS.gov where you can download the forms or fill out a free electronic submission form (you can't have made more than $54,000 to use Free File though). They also have information meant to make filing your taxes easier and a "Where's my Refund?" system.
The first and fastest growing area of free information is medical. Pubmed.gov is the government's free portal to its database of medical journal articles (Medline). Medline is the foremost database of medical citations in the world. These are the articles written by scientists and doctors for other scientists and doctors, where they publish drug trial data you hear about in commercials. Doctors like PubMed because they can get into it anywhere. It can be difficult to understand for those without a medical degree though. MedlinePlus.gov is produced by the National Institutes of Health and the National Library of Medicine. Searching it gives results in journals, medical dictionaries, encyclopedias and selected websites.
The New York Public Library has posted an extensive Digital Gallery of scanned images that are free for noncommercial use.
The American Kennel Club (AKC)'s website is a font of information for prospective and current dog owners including a directory of breeds and a list of registered breeders.
Open Vault: WGBH Media Library and Archives (MLA) provides online access to materials produced by WGBH public television station. The database currently houses more than 50,000 audio, video, and film masters.
TRIS (Transportation Research Information Services) is a comprehensive source for published transportation research on the Web from the Bureau of Transportation Statistics and the Transportation Research Board.
Directory of Open Access Journals (DOAJ) covers free, full text, quality controlled scientific and scholarly journals.
Open J-Gate is an electronic gateway to global journal literature in open access domain. Launched in 2006, Open J-Gate is the contribution of Informatics (India) Ltd to promote OAI. Open J-Gate provides seamless access to millions of journal articles available online.
In 2003, PLoS (Public Library of Science) launched a nonprofit scientific and medical publishing venture that provides scientists and physicians with high-quality, high-profile journals in which to publish their most important work, while making the full contents freely available for anyone to read, distribute, or use for their own research. The PLoS journals are run by professional editors, trained scientists, and physicians, in close collaboration with editorial boards. Papers published in these journals are peer reviewed using a uniquely consultative process between editors and experts in their field, and are produced to the highest editorial and production standards. Under the open access model, PLoS makes all published works immediately available online, with no charges for access and no restrictions on subsequent redistribution or use, as long as the author(s) and source are cited.
AGRICOLA is like Medline but for all aspects of agriculture, including nutrition and veterinary science. Unfortunately, it's also the National Agriculture Library's catalog so you have to be aware of whether you're searching the books or the journal articles.

There are free sources for pretty much any subject, you just have to be careful that they are reliable sources. .edu and .gov domains tend to be good indicators

Looking the Part (Whatever that is)

Laura — Tue, 07 Aug 2007 16:11:27 +0000

It is a fact of the human condition that we are judged on our appearance. We rely on our eyes a great deal in life so the first impression when meeting a new person can be critical in how we view them.

In casual situations, this doesn't matter much but in business it can make or break the deal. Before the potential client or employer has even seen your portfolio or heard your pitch, he or she already thinks of you as professional, crisp, modern, sloppy, late, dim, or bland.

Plus, a well-dressed appearance pays other financial benefits as well by creating a more positive general impression of yourself in the community. Others will have a higher opinion of you and you’ll subtly find yourself in better situations.

Trent Hamm

Obviously, being on time, alert and prepared is a start. But you have to prepare your presentation of yourself as carefully as the you prepare to present your work.

Mentally

you can research the company and/or the industry.
Try to figure out what kinds of questions you will be asked and prepare answers or ideas for answers ahead of time.
Think of questions you can ask. Even if you already know the answer, it makes you look more interested and involved with the process.
Remember to always present yourself in a positive light. I was involved in a hiring process where one very qualified candidate ended up looking terrible because in response to questions he would say "No." instead of "No, but..."

Physically

Get a haircut if you need it.
Make sure your clothing is appropriate, in good condition, clean and pressed.
Gentlemen, shave or trim your beards.
Ladies, yes I know it's un-pc, but this is reality and we're still years away from being able to go to a job interview or meeting without makeup. Even a little bit makes a difference.

Beyond that, if you like you can use your wardrobe to express your personal art or design style. As long as the clothing is in good repair and is flattering as well as professional, it should give you confidence along with giving prospective employers confidence in you.

Buying local is good for your business too.

Laura — Wed, 18 Jul 2007 18:45:14 +0000

Recently I was running errands and noticed a sign for a new local restaurant along the way. Always looking for something to ward off the chain food blahs, I stopped on my way home.

It was nice inside, obviously a new family-run place, busy with what looked like a mix of people dropping in like myself and regulars. A very family-like atmosphere.

After my meal I had the opportunity to talk with the owner when she wasn't overwhelmed with work (It was extremely busy when I first came in). We chatted about how she was redoing the place and building up slowly and I mentioned that I was starting my own small business in web design specializing in small businesses. It flowed from there and I left her with my contact information.

The important points to take from this are:

Local: I was a customer first so it wasn't a cold call. We have to do those too but this way there was an established relationship that made both of us more comfortable.
Timing: She approached me when she had time to talk. Earlier she had been juggling a dozen things at once and trying to break in then would have made a bad impression.
Backup: I was able to describe in detail, off the cuff a situation where a basic website might get her more business immediately.
Relaxed: No pressure sale. It turns out she relies on someone else's advice on computer and Internet matters so trying hard when she was already stressed (Who isn't at the end of a work day?) would have just turned her off.
Follow-up: The information I gave her was put down somewhere and floated right out of her overcrowded mind. Which is why I have to wait a week and call her back. Remind her of our conversation and ask if she's thought about whether she wants me to do her website or not. She won't have thought at all of course, but the phone call will jog her memory gently enough that she'll get her IT person on it.