A Computer That Works

A Computer That Works

Many might be put off by the thought of working at home online. Some might think that it requires the latest computer with all the bells and whistles on it. I would say that it depends on the kind of work that you do online. The work you do must match with the hardware or else the situation can get very problematic. There are many categories you can go into to find some home-based work and most of them do not really require the fastest computer. It is required though that what you have as a computer must be capable of doing the work you have chosen to do, I cannot stress that enough. I for one prefer a machine that can do several kinds of tasks, instead of just one. This allows me to take on a variety of jobs on oDesk that might be available at a certain time. 

The computer I use is a Gateway machine with a Pentium 4 Intel Processor chip that supports Hyper-Threading technology. It is packed with 1 GB of DDR ram, a 200 GB hard disk, a built-in Intel Graphics Media Accelerator 900 and it also comes in with your basic computer ports and peripherals. This computer that my sister-in-law gave has worked well for me and managed to provide my family a means of livelihood. Compared to the new computers today, its capabilities are, in the computer world, slightly antiquated.

We have, since then, bought a second-hand Samsung machine with similar specs which my wife uses for her oDesk contracts. It is actually faster than mine and it is way too much for the kind of work she does - data entry and non-voice administrative support. We bought it as a complete set at less than P6000 and this investment has thus paid back double in its first month of use.

In future posts I will discuss a bit more on the kinds of jobs that are available on oDesk and the kind of machine one must have. For now, think about joining in, find work, get paid and join the online work revolution. Get a computer that works.

Skype and Yahoo Messenger on oDesk

Skype and Yahoo Messenger on oDesk

In my experience working on oDesk, Skype has become the choice for many employers as the medium for communication. Skype, according to Wikipedia, “is a proprietary voice-over-Internet Protocol service and software application originally created in 2003 by Swedish entrepreneur Niklas Zennström and his Danish partner Janus Friis.” 

In the time I have spent working on oDesk, I think only a couple of clients have asked to communicate using Yahoo! Messenger. Yahoo! Messenger, as defined by Wikipedia, is an advertisement-supported instant messaging client and associated protocol provided by Yahoo!.”

I would consider both as essential tools when working on oDesk projects. It would be best to have full Skype and Yahoo! Messenger capabilities like voice, video and chat to have the means to respond to the client’s communication preferences. In some cases the jobs themselves may require an oDesk contractor to use these services to accomplish the oDesk employer’s tasks. 

I use the free services and they have worked well for me. I have also tried the paid services and they work perfectly for jobs that require you to make calls. A number of small scale BPO’s I have worked for in the Philippines also use Skype and prefer it to other VOIP services. It is slightly more expensive but the quality is impeccable. It provides a better experience for unsuspecting marks that you are targeting on cold calls and provides an edge for you to close that sale. There are a lot of opportunities on oDesk that are in the market for customer service and sales people and it may suit contractors to use these services to snatch up those clients. One thing I like about Yahoo! Messenger is it being a built into feature in your Yahoo! Mail. If you happen to be using a Yahoo! email for oDesk your set, you do not need to install software. 

Both are tools every oDesk contractor must have, if not for all situations but maybe for those times the client requires it. Have it and use it when you need it instead of not having it when you need it. Be ready with your Skype and Yahoo Messenger on oDesk.

Time To Get With The New oDesk oConomy

Time To Get With The New oDesk oConomy

Snapshot of the New oDesk oConomy page

Analysis of the oDesk market place used to be static when you click on the oConomy link. It shows you categories for jobs that are available and how these statistically count in the entire oDesk job market. A few months ago they launched a new and more dynamic source for data on how things are going in the oDesk economy. The oDesk Research team has come up with some pretty exciting ways for everyone in the community to learn and sort through the data and help them with the strategies that they need to implement to be competitive in the oDesk freelance market. Certainly, it is not reserved for those who are there to get contracts for work but it is quite essential for those as well who would wish to hire talented freelance individuals on the oDesk community. These online workers are in over 180 countries and the data that can be collected at the moment can be slightly localized for a lack of presets but it is still monumental. One can for example chart the worker activity for a select number of countries during a work week. This data was not available in the previous incarnation and I do not even know if it was possible to get such information before the Country Dashboard went up. You can also select portions of the map and check the number of active registered oDesk workers in that country. The most I am impressed with is its potential for real-time data that can be crunched and its potential for user specified data points tailor fit for their needs. It is young by most accounts and we will have to wait and see where the Research team takes it. I, for one, am quite happy with the numbers I see in the job category of Writing and Translation. A large majority of the total 165,019 projects completed were in the Blog and Article Writing subcategory. They amount to a total of 22,809 or about 14% of the entire market and with that I hope I can do more writing. Many have taken on my services and I hope I can only get better at it as time passes. I do feel though that with me knowing the data, I know I am focusing on the right oDesk market subcategory.  You can try experimenting with it on the new oDesk oConomy page. Play with it, learn from it and it will help you with a plan to get a job or get some work done. Maybe its time for you to get with the new oDesk oConomy. 

Keeping it Up

Keeping it Up

 
E-books happened to come along and I did draft a few. According to Wikipedia an e-book  “...is a book-length publication in digital form, consisting of text, images, or both, and produced on, published through, and readable on computers or other electronic devices. Sometimes the equivalent of a conventional printed book, e-books can also be born digital.” From self-help and motivational e-books to health related e-books, I collaborated with others on some and wrote a few solo for cleaning up by a supervising editor. I never thought I would get this far, the fates have smiled upon me somehow and things are going well.

I am proud to say that I also participated in creating copy for the growing supplement market. Some would have a dim view of this sector as they are probably one of the most prolific purveyors of internet spam - sites and email. Along with the bad there are some out there that are legit and I would like to think that I have worked for such entities. I provided them with well-researched articles in order for their patrons to have an informed choice. In my mind, I focused on this contract as a way of providing credible information out there and getting the client pleased.

Health supplement articles on a great superfood like the Acai berry, male enhancement effects of Pomegranates and Yohimbe, a component of wine that decreases the incidence of cardiac disease called Resveratrol are but a few of the ones that I did. A large majority though were in the weight loss and the sexual enhancement genres. These have been big business for decades and they are still growing. Though I am biased against pharmaceutical companies like the ones who make Xenical and Viagra, I am quite open to doing any writing job just to keep it up.

Fluke Writer For Hire on oDesk

Fluke Writer For Hire on oDesk

I never thought of myself as a writer but that is what came next on the list of jobs I had on oDesk that I was lucky enough to stumble upon. I was asked to write one article while I was doing a customer support role and their client was apparently happy with the result. I made several writing samples after that and presented them along with my applications for writing jobs. Many got denied for various reasons but I persevered. I was fortunate enough to land some at an hourly rate of $5 and some slightly less. 

The first ones I was hired for were in the industrial sector and material was provided as data sources. Some time later, articles on social media and branding were commissioned. Research had to be made on the social media and branding articles in order to fulfill the client’s wishes. Ghostwriting for a number of clients a media outfit had was next on the list. I had to write a certain way based on the profiles written up by the media company. Fortunately, they were all men and I was able to get in their heads and produce similar content. What I wrote wasn’t perfect but the client and their clients were happy with the work done. 

Things were going well so far and the clients I had were satisfied but as they say, “you can’t please them all.” To this day, this is the only client I have ever had that was unhappy about the results I produced during the trial phase. I was surprised by his reaction but I am OK with it, the expectations he had were far more than I could deliver. I never make any guarantees that the writing job outputs will be as they expect. I only guarantee that I will do my best to try and meet or exceed their expectations. If they are not satisfied that is what trial periods are for, to test the waters. Some of these trial periods were free but for most of them, like this one (the unsatisfied client), they were paid trials. 

You win some and you lose some but working hard not to lose is my modest goal. I do not attempt to blow them away and astound them with the results. I know what I am capable of and I do not present it otherwise. Although there are times when the client is very pleased with the results I thought were only passable. Flukes like that do put a smile on my face and keep me going.

Taking a Home Based Job Outside of oDesk

Taking a Home Based Job Outside of oDesk

I had several places where I looked for jobs online when I decided to work from home. Elance was one of them but I never had any luck landing a job there. Wikipedia states that “Elance is a global online employment platform. Clients can hire independent freelance professionals and use online collaboration tools to manage remote teams and projects. Independent contractors create online profiles and portfolios, submit proposals for jobs, and collaborate and receive payment through the Elance website.” Elance is a cool place to get jobs and they have similar services with oDesk. There were nibbles on Elance but no one ever took me on for a contract.

I even searched countless online classified ads and applied to those with an email address available. I sent tons of email applications that way and I got lucky with an SEO guru who hired me at an hourly rate of $1.25. He gave me a full plate with 40 hours a week on a fixed schedule and had me working even on the weekends. Payments were via PayPal twice a month which were late twice that first month, he was a very busy man.

The VA (virtual assistant) tasks he commonly had me doing included schedule management via Google Calendar, online research, SEO (search engine optimization) article writing, keyword research using Google’s Keyword Tool, and other stuff. I jumped on the chance of learning from a master even if the pay was far less than what I got while I was working for BPOs (business process outsourcing). It was very challenging and rewarding at the same time but after over a month of hard times for my family, I had to take an opportunity that came up. The VA gig had to come to an abrupt end. The new job paid slightly more at $2 an hour and that made a big difference for my family’s well-being.

Google Street View task: My First oDesk Job

Google Street View Task: My First oDesk Job

My very first contract on oDesk was a job that entailed the use of Google Street View. According to Wikipedia, "Google Street View is a technology featured in Google Maps and Google Earth that provides panoramic views from positions along many streets in the world. It was launched on May 25, 2007, in several cities in the United States, and has since expanded to include cities and rural areas worldwide." The work had me going along a virtual highway and marking some stuff on the map. The client paid an oDesk hourly wage of $2.80 which was then later increased to $3.15. The job was completed like he wanted and gave me some positive feedback.

The hourly pay I received as stated have the oDesk cut taken out, it is 10% of the contract. Some might think that this is far too much for them to take - for every dollar earned oDesk gets 10 cents. I for a fact do not mind this fee, I put it on top of the bids I send out for jobs anyway. Some clients do not mind either, I suppose they are willing to pay for service that gets the job done right. The mapping task did not take very long, after 10 hours or so the work was completed and he ended the contract.

My money was held in escrow and later it was made available for withdrawal. It takes about 15 days or so for one to get their hard earned cash. At oDesk one's work week starts from Monday and ends on Sunday. After working that week there is a review period of four days for the employer to dispute or allow payment. A five day security period comes next and then the following day comes payday. At this point one does not have their money in hand yet. I still needed to withdraw my money from oDesk, get it out to PayPal and get it to my bank where I can get my hands on it. That last bit takes about 3-5 days so as I mentioned earlier it is about 15 days. Later oDesk added a way to get rid of the middle-man and get the money direct to my bank via Local Funds Transfer. Sometimes you get lucky with the last part and your cash comes early.

That was the first client I had, he was very nice to work with and he paid well. It was not difficult making the decision to work from home and stay with my family and I know I certainly made the right choice.