Free Work: No Longer
One of the things I have decided for 2007 is that I am not going to do as much “free” work this year. In 2006, I took on many projects out of the goodness of my heart, and didn’t get the same in return from others.
I have a few projects that are basically done, and they are all me doing free work for other people that don’t do anything for me. It can be hard to say “no” to friends, and even harder to people that could help advance my career, but 2007 is going to be as much about meeting some financial goals as it is about networking and whatnot.
My recent promotion in Bloggy Network has taken me a bit out of what I consider to be the limelight as I work on things in the background, rather than working on what I consider building an image of myself, something that all bloggers, especially professional bloggers basically have to sell. You could be the greatest programmer in the world, but if no one knows who you are, then it’s all for naught.
Being one of the few probloggers in Canada, you think that would have some sort of celebrity status attached to it, but alas, it seems like having at least one other amazing talent is needed before getting any attention, and I am still figuring out what that other talent is for me.
That brings me back to my main point, and really how this whole thing started. I love to write, I’d love to be a better programmer, designer, or focus more of my time on WordPress and its great community, but if I do that, I have to take time away from something else, and my “free” time is really finite.
Catch you all in 2007. Hopefully, its a banner year.
5 Responses to Free Work: No Longer
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Joost de Valk Said,
January 1, 2007 @ 8:09 am
I can SO imagine… I’ve always been building sites for friends and family members, yet I didn’t earn much doing it, even my own blog and css3.info don’t earn me any money, so I’m rethinking what I should be doing with all that too…
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Jonathan Snook Said,
January 1, 2007 @ 8:30 am
Trying to work on free projects is always difficult when you’re busy, and annoying when other people don’t appreciate it or you don’t get much else in return.
As to claiming fame for problogging, I believe much of that comes from having your own identity. If your only identity on any of the sites you write for is your byline (especially when your byline just says ‘David’), you are going to have a tough time gaining any notoriety or attention. To establish your personal brand online, you need ways for people to be able to identify who you are. Just look at Darren Rowse…he’s got his photo and about link sitting in the sidebar. Anytime you go to his site, you know who he is.
Having your own site like you do here is an important step but I’d see if you could include your full name and possibly a photo as an article byline on any of the sites you write for.
All the best in 2007!
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David Peralty Said,
January 1, 2007 @ 3:14 pm
Hey, thanks to both of you for commenting. Joost, I e-mailed you. So check your inbox.
Jonathan, I have gone ahead on BloggingPro and put my full name up on my posts.
So now it says David Peralty. I do also have a link to DavidCubed in the footer, which is nice. I have also added a photo of me to my about page, and I am continuing to work on my portfolio page.
Identity seems to be really hard to create sometimes, at least I am having a fun time trying to establish a brand or identity. I’d love to see a post on Snook.ca on how you have been able to establish yours.
I couldn’t imagine putting my photo next to any posts I write though… scary thought…lol.
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Jonathan Snook Said,
January 1, 2007 @ 9:08 pm
This might be a little depressing but probably the only thing I’ve done is recognize that I have a personal brand and work towards keeping that brand consistent. I’m always “Jonathan Snook”, my site is always black and green, my site will always have fixed comments, and I try to take advantage of the opportunities I have to use my brand elsewhere (favicons, gravatars, forum avatars, rss feed image).
That’s it. About the only thing I’ve been doing recently is trying to capitalize more on the Snook name. It’s something that I didn’t really care for as a teenager (I think we all just want to fit in) but it’s become the way people recognize me and talk about me. I’m not “Jonathan”, I’m “Snook”. As a result, I no longer have quick links, I have “Snookie Cookies”. I no longer have book reviews, I have “Snook’s Book Nook”. It’s creating a uniqueness that’ll stand out in people’s mind.
Everything else has been incidental.
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AhmedF Said,
January 6, 2007 @ 1:12 pm
Brand is over-rated. People in the well-to-do can recognize handiwork, and will seek out who did it.
In one industry (that I have since left) I did quite a few mea culpas. Not a single person in the general audience/public knew who I was, but *every single* player in the business did. It had nothing to do with me branding or what not. Do a good enough job and people *will* whisper about you (often times because they want to be associated with the great work you did).
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