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Reality Check

Quoted at SXSW, Vic Gundotra of Google+ responded to criticism about G+ and its popularity, or more pointedly, lack thereof.

“Make sure you’re using it correctly,” the man joked.

It’s not the public’s responsibility to use a service in a way it was designed to be used. It’s a service company’s responsibility to adapt to the ways in which its public uses a service.

By staunchly refusing to open its API to innovative pioneers who long to bring some sort of functionality to the service that already exists on other websites, by closed-mindedly limiting the few ways in which one can use the website, by refusing to bring uniformity to its layout and making people guess in what way they’re supposed to use something that’s presented, you’re really killing your own audience’s enthusiasm.

It’s been a year, Google. Do something while you still can. Otherwise, G+ is doomed.

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Links, Gigs, and Biz!

I’ve been adding a lot more freelance gig-getting websites to my blogroll. It’s been a slow time for short-term freelance assignments. One of my long-term clients has been giving me small assignments, editing video, photos, and website administration. I’ve been able to do most of the work on my iPad (first generation, no 3g)–I can’t tell you how much of a relief it is to be able to pick up the iOS tablet and wander around the house, sitting on varied surfaces besides my computer chair, or going to wherever there’s another pocket of WIFI, at the watering hole nearby or the grocery store when I want a change of scenery.

If it were not for the car repairs I’m saving up for, I would have totally purchased the second generation 3g iPad 2, to be truly untethered by location and to be able to do even more with the onboard cameras on the device. I even had the tablet in my shopping cart the other night, shipping calculated, and personal information shared, all ready to hit the “buy” button. Practicality prevailed, for now. The cost is just too much. Heck, I got this iPad 1 on deep discount through one of those one-deal-a-day websites. I’ve been scouring Craigslist for any iPad 2, only to find that any individual selling theirs wants the same unreasonable rate. I’ll wait.

There are more photos and videos to be edited for my longest-held client. I’m also spending the week recoding a website for a local food business who wanted more social interactivity along with their updated menu, hours, and other info. I’ll probably volunteer to do some webwork for a nonprofit, just to give myself something to do.

I asked my husband about a hair-brained idea I’d thought up the other day, and he gave his assent, so I’m poking at it. I’m starting a new business venture, designing the website for it, and getting a framework of electronica built up to assist me. He and I have been sharing a phone ever since we met; that’ll change when my new Android phone arrives, wherein I can receive professional queries and assignments on my own line. Again, found a great deal on a phone I couldn’t pass up. I required my husband’s input on the business idea, because it will involve relocation, and I asked him how badly he wanted that. He’s quite open to the idea, and it won’t cost us much to try, so I’m going for it. I’m going to see if I can set up some temporary employment for both of us while we get resettled. I found that he and I really do want to relocate to my former hometown, even if it is not through the means we thought we would have been, when an opportunity came up a year ago that we’ve been chomping at the bit to see realized since. And that’s a very clunky sentence, I apologize, it’s the middle of the night.

I purchased some fabric for a nifty sewing project in mid-November, though by the time the fabric arrived in the middle of December, I was deep in retail employment and couldn’t find the time to attack the project before the winter holiday arrived. With things as slow as they are, I don’t see a problem with getting started on that project as well, though I need to purchase more fabric, as I’d well-underestimated how much I’d need for the items I want to make.

I will someday learn how to work this sewing machine–haha, yet another project on my wild array of burners.

The cat has interjected himself on my lap, and I can’t think of anything else that’s come up that I feel like updating about, so I will now tend to him. And brainfart today’s goings-on.

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Google Minus

I deleted my Google+ profile. I got it about five months ago when it became available to the public, and I wanted to see what it was about. I added some of my Facebook friends, added other individuals I was curious about, and I waited to see if I’d grow as attached to that as other social networks.

I have to say that the service is redundant, offers nothing that another social network doesn’t already fulfill in my online pursuits, and their features are comparatively scrawny and uninspired. I posted this graphic after about a month of being on there:

I’d have to say that sums up my experiences. It was common to see friends’ updates from a month ago still hovering near the top of the page. Perhaps the friends I roll with just prefer Facebook, but nobody I was following updated very often. It was hard to entice anyone I knew to use G+ in addition to or instead of Facebook.

Nice try, Google. Next time, give us features no other website has. Sometimes Google really has their fingers on the pulse of what people want. Othertimes, like this, it leaves one scratching one’s head.

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This Week’s Goings-On

This week, I decided to do a bunch of tasks through Fiverr at the cost of $5 per task, just like the website advertises. I tackled a bunch of new WordPress installs, including themes, for people who were interested in such (their domain and webspace were already there, or purchased separately), and did a few whimsical banners for those who were searching for such. There was one person who wanted a theme customized beyond what I considered to be mild tweaking, and so we negotiated an additional $5 for that. lol I have a list of plugins for WordPress that I group into different packages, depending on the client’s website needs; for example, a band would need to show booked events and showcase their music, while a realtor would require a consultation request form and a gallery for photos and layout diagrams. I love WordPress.

I’m about halfway through my current volunteering assignment, a social media campaign for an international nonprofit; Twitter is gaining a lot of momentum in the form of @replies, personal messages, and new subscribers, and the Facebook app has proven very popular. I’m not associated with the Adsense advertising also going on, but that’s also garnering a lot of web traffic for the organization. I get an email whenever a new ad goes up, and I watch the statistics spike as more and more people either click a link, or use Google to search for more information on the organization. Very fun. This would be the same firm for which I initially created the social media accounts, mentioned a few weeks back. The vice-chairperson I have the most contact with has expressed his approval of my work so far, and has asked me to train an English-speaking volunteer in France to continue the work I started. The vice said specifically that he’ll keep my contact information in mind for future projects regarding the various social networks out there. I am always pleased to gain another repeat customer.

My calendar of events is now virtually unlimited–for a couple of years I have had set hours due to the various real-life demands on my time each weekday. For example, I transport a friend to and from work. I gave her notice that with the recent changes to my household, it would be difficult to coordinate her schedule on top of everything else that is going on. My last day of transport was this Friday last. I don’t feel as frazzled about juggling online and offline responsibilities now.

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Charitable Goings-On

I’ve been busy again!

Recently, I finished up a Facebook app for an organization for underprivileged kids in India. I was given two weeks to incorporate custom social media links to Twitter, Blogger, and a few other major websites, create badges for subscribers, and create a portal script through which the public, the fundraising organizations and major corporation representatives, and the Indian organization could communicate, share ideas, develop and participate in contests and fundraising campaigns. It was a really ambitious project and I wasn’t sure two weeks would be enough. Constant contact through Skype and Yahoo, and a little subcontracting on my part for the easiest, most time-consuming portions, and the project was completed just this morning.

I love my informal team, my cohorts are always willing to step up and help whenever I ask, especially on these unpaid ventures. We’re all professionals, some of whom work from home and some of whom are just connected to the internet seemingly 24/7 for professional purposes. Thanks, guys and gal!

Also on the volunteer front, I had a small influx of fresh photos and descriptions for animals to be listed on Petfinder. I’m usually told when an animal whose profile I developed has been adopted, if only to update the adoption status and depreciate the profile. Seven of the eleven animals, four cats, a puppy, and two birds, have new homes. Another two cats have promising leads; their fosters will let me know what comes of them.

I was looking at some of my other domain names, and wondered if I might make a personal blog out of one of them. I keep wanting to write about my offline crafting ventures and ideas, but I don’t really think zingiber.us is the right place to put those thoughts. There are a few entries that could be cross-posted to both blogs, but I’m thinking it will be a largely separate entity. I’m still brainfarting about that one.

Oh! I have a standing engagement to write weekly posts regarding another charitable company’s goings-on, copying the info on a few different social networks, for eleven weeks. They forward me their emailed conversations, so that I can glean some sort of overview of what’s going on, and try to encapsulate the weekly news tersely and accurately. It’s what I call “spinning“, wherein I flex my writerly muscles and summarize what the client wishes for me to convey to the public. As a subset of that, I’m in charge of @replying those who take the time to comment on the company. I’m wearing my social media manager hat for that.

I’ve been spending a few hours of each day off the computer, sewing of all things. My SO’s been listening to an audio book in the only room with good lighting; I’ve been considering listening to podcasts while I do my thing, so that I’m amused. It’s not that the audio book is boring, but I don’t want to listen to that every day. But enough about that non sequitor. I think about more projects I could be doing online, and I write them down if they seem especially important or attention-getting.

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