------- Clearing Up the Confusion E-Zine ------- Vol 2, Issue 4 Sometimes the well of my enthusiasm to work on my business runs a little dry. Whether Kaylie has kept me up a little past my bedtime (4am is definitely past my bedtime -- or it should be), or I've just had a frustrating day of working *in* my business, sometimes, I just want to quit the struggle and go back to corporate work. OK, it's never gotten that bad, but you know what I mean. To help fight the malaise, I've surrounded myself with a wonderful support group -- blogs. I read them every day and rarely does a day go by when I don't pick up some great new idea. I've picked up some new ones lately, so I thought I would share what I've found in case anyone else out there needs a little inspiration. ---------------------------------------------------------------- In This Issue... ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Article: Blog Role Call 2. Blog Posts 3. Shameless Self-Promotion 4. The Fine Print ---------------------------------------------------------------- 1. Article: Blog Role Call ---------------------------------------------------------------- I love blogs. There I said it, and I'm proud. I'm amazed by this phenomenon where people provide so much information at no cost other than my attention. I'm also amazed at how they've caught on. I just checked Technorati (http://technorati.com), a service which tracks blogs and my blog is ranked around 1.6 millionth -- which sounds like it must be pretty low. Then you look at the fact that they are tracking over *70 million* blogs and it doesn't look so bad. Anyway, I've been reading a few new blogs lately which have instructed, inspired, and entertained me. I thought I would share a few of these here in hopes that you might find them worth your while, too. * The Freelance Switch (http://freelanceswitch.com/) -- For those of us who are off running our own businesses, this is a great resource. It has "how to" articles, advice, links to a podcast, and even its own comic strip, "Freelance Freedom". This blog and its associated website are clearinghouses of great information. I think I've found at least one useful take-away idea every time I've visited. I also love their podcasts for those times when I'm not able to sit down in front of the computer. I can get in a little education while I'm shoveling the driveway. * Write to Done (http://writetodone.com/) -- As my good friend Scott Ginsberg always says, "Writing is the source of all wealth." It's not always easy, of course, but, really, it is necessary. For those of us who are still struggling in our writing careers (and I'm definitely still flapping my wings like crazy down here) sometimes it helps to read the stories of others who may be struggling with our same challenges. Maybe they even have an idea or two about how we can knock down those obstacles which block us from our Muse. * Lifehack.org (http://www.lifehack.org/) -- Where the previous two recommendations had a fairly specific niche (freelancing and writing, respectively), Lifehack.org offers up tips, tricks, and ideas on how to lead our lives more effectively. My only compaint about this blog is that it sometimes has *too* much information. When I'm reading it, I often browse through the article titles and just read those which catch my imagination. * NametagTV (http://www.nametag.tv/) -- This is the newest venture by Scott Ginsberg, the Nametag Guy. It's also a little different from the above offerings. In this case he has created a video blog. He's produced a series of short videos talking about various aspects of approachability. As with most of his stuff, Scott delivers a lot of great information. Almost without fail I walk away with some nugget of an idea on how I can better market myself or just make me and my business more approachable. * Indexed (http://indexed.blogspot.com/) -- Cartoons for those who love Venn diagrams and graphs ... written on 3x5 index cards. No, really, it's a lot more fun than it sounds. It's just hard to describe. My only compaint about this one is that it seems to confuse Google Reader, so I have to view it on its site or on my cell phone. Well, there's my line-up of the recent additions. Give them a try. You might like them. Drop me a line with a few of your recommendations, to. I'm always looking for new reasons to procrastinate. Copyright 2008, Greg Peters ---------------------------------------------------------------- 2. Blog Posts ---------------------------------------------------------------- Links to posts on the "Clearing Up the Confusion" Blog from the last year: Thursday, February 21, 2008 -- Jott Updated http://clearing-confusion.blogspot.com/2008/02/jott-updated.html "In one of my recent e-zine issues, I wrote about the service called "Jott". It's a neat tool which allows you to call up a toll-free number, leave a voice message, and have that message transcribed and sent to anyone on your contact list. It is a great way to send yourself little reminders if you don't have a pen and paper handy...." Wednesday, February 13, 2008 -- Keeping on Track http://clearing-confusion.blogspot.com/2008/02/keeping-on-track.html "CreativeProOffice is a free service (I'm not sure how they pay for it as there don't seem to be any ads). With it you can track clients, projects, tasks, files, and even submit invoices. It's a remarkably complete service. It's not perfect for me, but I could easily adapt it...." ---------------------------------------------------------------- 3. Shameless Self-Promotion ---------------------------------------------------------------- The "Clearing Up the Confusion" E-Zine is a production of Greg Peters, owner, chief cook, and bottlewasher of Cyber Data Solutions. CDS has been helping website designers develop better web presence for their clients for more than a decade. Visit us on the Web at www.cyberdatasolns.com to see how we can help your webmaster. ---------------------------------------------------------------- 4. The Fine Print ---------------------------------------------------------------- Subscribe: You can subscribe to the "Clearing Up The Confusion" E-zine at: http://www.cyberdatasolns.com/ezine Questions: If you have any questions, concerns or comments regarding the Clearing Up the Confusion E-zine, please email Greg Peters at: gpeters@cyberdatasolns.com This content may be forwarded in full, with copyright and contact information intact, without specific permission, when used only in a not for-profit format. If any other use is desired, permission in writing from Greg Peters is required, with notification to the original author. We never send the "Clearing Up the Confusion" E-zine uninvited, and we NEVER share, sell or rent our mailing list to anyone. Your privacy is safe with us.