On Words and Business

For many freelancers, the dream is to have the freedom to work from far off, exotic locations.

While my travel life routinely find me working on the west coast instead of my home base here in the east coast, here’s a freelancer taking it to the next level. He’s been working remotely, traveling around the world for months now. And it’s working for him, so he shares some tips to help the rest of us make it work.

So…if you ever read an entry I posted at 4:00 a.m., stop to think: Am I in Boston and actually awake at 4:00 a.m. or am I in another time zone, living the dream.

Here’s a brief reminder about the importance of taking vacations. No matter if you run your own business or work for someone else.

Please…go away.

On a slightly related note, I was looking for the lyrics to the Go-Go’s song Vacation:”Vacation. All I ever wanted. Vacation. Had to get away.”

Since I recall when the song hit the radio stations and the charts, I was dismayed to find it on Oldie Lyrics.

Now I need a vacation. Oh well, eh!

As information consumers, it used to be fairly easy to identify authoritative resources. If it was printed in the New York Times or Encyclopedia Britannica, we could trust the information. We counted on the publishers who, by reputation, delivered accurate and authoritative content.

These days, the internet, as with all things open to everyone and without oversight, is filled with much content of questionable quality. And, like with most things human, we seek ways to categorize and to trust. Sites like Technorati allow users to categorize content and provide authority by dint of a large number of people agreeing that a site is worthwhile. Bloggers like Seth Godin and Michael Stelzner are trusted because of the expertise and reputution of the bloggers themselves. And groups like the open-source Trusted Travel Blogs Network are created as a way to provide industry specific, independent validation.

Of course, this primarily deals with sites that are free and open to everyone. Traditional publishers who’ve adapted to the new media model are still out there, and still authoritative. And like before, still not free.

What do you think about all this validation and classification? Does it help you understand more about the information you get from a site?

One of the reasons I enjoy traveling so much is that I delight in experiencing local media–what stories lead the t.v. news reports or are above the fold on the newspaper; what kinds of ads are in the local magazines, on buses, or posters. Other than basic French, I only speak and read English, though, so I imagine my own meanings based on the word or two I may know, the graphics, or the product itself.

It’s fabulous to visit other cultures and see what works for them. I have vivid memories of t.v. news reports and free magazines in Japan, and of CNN Europe reporting the 2004 tsunami, and French variety t.v. show honoring Johnny Hallyday. I like to think that these experiences make me better able to consider my audience and communicate more effectively.

Do you find this is a side effect of your travels, too?