What is serious blogging? I'm not really sure. I have been exploring blogs in a new way, looking for the answer, ever since I started to write them. I look at the topics, the length, the content, the links, the number of writers, the photos, and whatever else is noticeable... including advertising and the ability to print.
It seems that advertising becomes the main income source for blogs. At least, that's my impression. I'm not too fond of advertising that doesn't have a direct connection with the topic it's associated with, or that digresses into smut. It is a rude shock to link to a page on crafting and find photos of practically nude men or women, or profanity as normal and acceptable language.
This separation of value systems will lead to some kind of separation of access in the internet. How, when, I don't know. I know I already am pulling away from many of the media choices we have to choose from. Moral boundaries are very important to many, even though it is popular to degrade them. Finding some way to separate from the objectionable parts of internet life may become our only option for avoiding the conflicts and terrorism we are enduring now.
Back to advertising :: Since I have been going to Facebook, I have had the unfortunate experience of following article links to sites that are so overwhelmed with ads that have to load onto the page constantly, you can't reach the information you went to the site for. Their ads may make money for the blog site, but I'm not sure why anyone would want to fight their way through the process. I have been creating a long list of links I never want to visit again.
Even so, these browsing experiences are helping me move toward the kind of blogs I want to create for Working Together and myself. The internet is how we get a lot of our information now, and may become the only way in the future.
Printing is another important blog element for me. When I can't stay to read, or want to remember the information I find, I try to print the blog or page for reading later. Finding the little print icon can be a major challenge. Lots of times there aren't any.
One of the most important lessons I learned as I browsed sites was how many webpages don't have a reference to their web address in the printable text of their blog page. I have printed many blog articles for reading later and then discovered I don't have a way to find the site again without a lot of time and trouble. It has caused me to look for the best way to include all the necessary information in the text of a page.
It is a challenge to learn all these things, but it is important.
Monday, 24 AUG 2015 :: Internet control of our lives
I think they call it "flexibility" -- having to reorganize your plans when something doesn't work out. Sudden illness over the weekend, and no Etsy connections all day today... I think they qualify.
I'm not sure what happened with the Etsy connection, but I am guessing it has something to do with the Etsy website being down. I tried to find some other source of information about the website, but didn't find any. I really didn't know what to do to find out if a website is down, but I was at Twitter, so I searched for #etsy to see what would happen. I discovered lot of other links, but nothing about the problem I was having connecting to my Etsy shop.
It isn't a problem I can fix, so I am waiting for now.
In-between my Etsy connection efforts, I went through my other online activities... checking emails, linking to other places, reading, saving, printing... listening to the news about the stock market falling.
While I was browsing, I rediscovered http://handmadeology.com -- a blog site that is dedicated to handmade crafts... like Etsy sellers, but probably crafters from any site. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, I just wanted to explore their topic headings. I went to several photography posts, and then to some on selling tips. My first visit was to a post about Etsy stocks. I finished my time there on a blog about holiday selling hints. Guest bloggers are also linked to the site.
When I was new to Etsy, handmadeology was a newish site. I went there looking for information to help me understand selling at a site like Etsy. It has changed quite a bit since that day, and looks like it has organized and expanded. It is worth a check.
It is 10:30 pm PST now, and I am still not able to get into the etsy.com website. I hope this changes by tomorrow. It is a difficult problem to have.
I am not fully recovered from whatever was wrong with me over the weekend, so this will be a short entry.
The goal of separating my personal activities from the everyday needs of Working Together continues. I have been trying to work out problems with my mailing address and to find a permanent office for Working Together, and praying for GOD's best answer to my living situation.
In GOD's time all things are provided.
Waiting is hard, but it always has a purpose in His Plans.
See you tomorrow, GOD willing. :-)
I'm not sure what happened with the Etsy connection, but I am guessing it has something to do with the Etsy website being down. I tried to find some other source of information about the website, but didn't find any. I really didn't know what to do to find out if a website is down, but I was at Twitter, so I searched for #etsy to see what would happen. I discovered lot of other links, but nothing about the problem I was having connecting to my Etsy shop.
It isn't a problem I can fix, so I am waiting for now.
In-between my Etsy connection efforts, I went through my other online activities... checking emails, linking to other places, reading, saving, printing... listening to the news about the stock market falling.
While I was browsing, I rediscovered http://handmadeology.com -- a blog site that is dedicated to handmade crafts... like Etsy sellers, but probably crafters from any site. I wasn't looking for anything in particular, I just wanted to explore their topic headings. I went to several photography posts, and then to some on selling tips. My first visit was to a post about Etsy stocks. I finished my time there on a blog about holiday selling hints. Guest bloggers are also linked to the site.
When I was new to Etsy, handmadeology was a newish site. I went there looking for information to help me understand selling at a site like Etsy. It has changed quite a bit since that day, and looks like it has organized and expanded. It is worth a check.
It is 10:30 pm PST now, and I am still not able to get into the etsy.com website. I hope this changes by tomorrow. It is a difficult problem to have.
I am not fully recovered from whatever was wrong with me over the weekend, so this will be a short entry.
The goal of separating my personal activities from the everyday needs of Working Together continues. I have been trying to work out problems with my mailing address and to find a permanent office for Working Together, and praying for GOD's best answer to my living situation.
In GOD's time all things are provided.
Waiting is hard, but it always has a purpose in His Plans.
See you tomorrow, GOD willing. :-)
Thursday, 20 AUG 2015 :: Notes on several topics
- Christmas begins in AUGUST!
Small businesses need a little bit of time to prepare for the holidays, right? :-) Not really. The smaller you are, I think, the more you have to plan for the whole year. Of course, I am aware large companies have to pay a lot of employees with their profits, and if there are no profits, the employees have to go. I guess we ALL have to plan our holiday selling strategies... sales, coupons, advertising, marketing, social media efforts, free advertising, and any other efforts you might make toward increasing your sales.
I understand, from last year's studying on the subject, that you have to submit possible product suggestions for holiday columns to individual writers during the summer... that is how far ahead you have to be on that topic!
Today I read some articles about
- Turning your hobbies into businesses/income.
This is what Etsy does for creative craftspeople who are searching for a sales outlet.
It is what fiverr does for other skilled people who want to expand their reach.
It is the goal of everyone looking for extra income.
Doing what you love in order to provide what you need to live, that is employment heaven. :-)
I found a saying in an ad somewhere (a long time ago) and I taped it to my checkbook. I says a job you love is never work.... good comparison.
- I was also looking into a secured credit card.
Today I discovered all the fees.
Not good.
The first fee is the annual payment... $29 a year on my info sheet.
If you pay your charges in full before the deadline, there is no interest payment... BUT the due dates seem to vary from 24 to 30 days... no first of the month or same day each month. I see why there is so much to complain about. I am wondering if the due date is calculated for each individual purchase. If I buy something on the first of the month, is that payment due by the 23rd???
It may sound funny to all you credit monsters for me to be wondering this, but I haven't had a credit card before... I have no idea how it works. I only know what I have read in the papers or heard on the news. :-) I guess I should include the internet in that equation. No one says credit cards are great, they say they are a survival necessity, required suffering.
For the card I was looking at, the annual interest rate is 18.99% for normal transactions, and for cash advances it is 23.99%... ALL the interest rates vary according to the Prime Rate... and, the minimum interest is $2. So, what it is saying is that for every $100 I borrow/use, I pay $20-$25 a year for the privilege...at least, that is what I think it is saying.
If you are late making a payment, they will charge you $38. With an irregular payment due date, that can become an expensive detail. And, if there is some reason your payment gets returned (?), you will be charged up to $35 for that trespass.
I read one suggestion along my path of discovery that said it was a good idea to just send in the payment as soon as you can. I can see how that would avoid any problems for the cardholder.
For this card, you can't attach the payments to any existing account you may have at the bank. No automatic payment option to make sure there are no late payments or returned payments that can be corrected.
There is no going over the amount you have secured for the card either...no overdraft options. I think this is fair... you don't have a good financial history, and can't get credit through the normal channels. That makes the annual fee less objectionable, too.
Looking at the high fees for cash advances, I don't know why anyone would do that... I hope I never do. If I have it as my emergency fund, it may become a solution, but I think it would have to be a last resort.
A lot of small business adventures are started with credit cards. It isn't something that was available to me. A secured card was the only possibility, but I was never able to save enough money to get one.
For me, it was a way I could buy a computer, a smartphone, a better camera...
At one point, $500 would have been enough. Now I would need a lot more. You can't buy a smartphone for $500... or a decent laptop... or a great camera for uploading things to the internet. And the software you need is a LOT more than that. I think I will need at least a $1000 limit, but would be better off with $5000. I wonder what the monthly payments are on a $5000 credit debt.
- Becoming a Working Together Member
Monthly payment options are important to me. I wanted to have an office set up for processing them, but haven't been able to get that far. Online payments are an important part of the outreach for WT products and services. Auto-payments would be a great solution.
I need to figure out what I can do in my situation... how to best process payments and deliver the merchandise that comes with each purchase.
Updating my pricing is the first step... costs have changed since I did that the last time. I don't have a financial back-up. Fees will have to cover expenses... and I am not sure how much online activity requires. I have read that it can equal a big part of a business budget.
I want to create a better description of what fees will cover, too.
This is all in the process of being done.
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