Will Kelly

Do I miss Freelance Writing?

I was talking with an old colleague the other night and they wondered if I missed freelance writing. In some ways, I really do miss freelancing but considering where the economy is going it looks like I need to diversify my income again.

Freelance writing was such a rich educational experience for me and contributed to the professional I am today. While freelancing, I was exposed to leading edge technologies and got to interview some really smart people. Writing articles did wonders for honing my writing and analytical skills.

Authority

Spending much of a my career as a freelancer, contractor, and consultant has really left me with a problem with authority. I am not saying this in an ooh ooh I am sooo cool and a maverick sort of way. It's a personal development I am not very happy with right now.

The thing is our current economic downturn and general corporate dysfunction shows the IT industry and corporate America in general is in a leadership crisis. Projects, productivity, morale, and corporate earnings suffer everyday undermining American leadership in the world marketplace.

Taking Sides

I've had cause to reflect on my professional career as of late and the lessons I've learned working inside so many diverse organizations both large and small.

Sheer dysfunction and stresses like the current economic downturn are driving a wedge into many cross functional teams as managers and departments seek to cast themselves in the best light to senior management often at the expense of their coworkers in other departments.

Things your Technical Writer or Requirements Analyst isn't Telling You

Executives, programmers, and engineers may think they are exclusive castes but there are many tell signs that technical writers, and requirements analysts know.

1. You don't know as much about our technology as you portray. This is not a bad thing. However, you make it suck because you aren't willing to sit down with the people who know and educate yourself about technology. Your underlings are willing to help if you would only ask. You can't hide forever.
2. Your emotional blustering and posturing only serves to degrade your credibility.
3. You are phoning it in and have been doing it for sometime.
4. You lack problem solving and analytical skills.

More Fun with Google Labs

My relationship with Gmail began with it as an article topic and a throw away account for site registrations and email newsletters where I didn't want to use my willkelly.com email address.

Although, Gmail has grown on my considerably and I find myself using it for more and more personal email.

Offline Mode in Gmail and Google Docs

I was excited when offline support was added to Google Docs through Google Gears . Even more exciting to me was when Google added offline support to Gmail .

Checking out Google Sites

I switched  back and forth often between PCs during the normal workday back when I was freelancing. As such, I like to have secure online sites where I can cache documents that I need access to during the course of doing business whether I was  on a client site, in my home office, or sitting with my MacBook Pro down on my living room couch.

Perhaps I've been too dismissive of Google Docs

While I am a believer of the Web Office suite concept, but I always deemed Google Docs a little behind the curve from the ubiquitous Microsoft Office suite .

Through the course of some personal writing projects, Google Docs has been my word processor of choice because I can access my personal writing from multiple PCs.

Reflections on Eating Out Alone

Whether I am traveling or working from home, I like to go out to eat alone and have a lot of observations on the experience.

When I was freelancing, going out to lunch was a much needed diversion and getting out of my home office though I frequented one of my normal haunts so the bartenders and other staff knew me.

While on business trips my experience with dining out alone has been somewhat different