Creative Independence

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 1:06:02 — 90.7MB)

In this episode, we conclude our discussion of LinkedIn by leaving the realm of the personal profile and looking into the many features that Linked In offers for network, for promoting yourself, for promoting you business, and job searching.

Topics covered this episode:

• Inviting your friends and colleagues.
• Finding people on LinkedIn
• Using LinkedIn’s Search
• Setting up contact options
• Finding and Joining Groups
• Starting Groups
• The Creative Independence group on Linked In
• Job Search
• Job Posting
• Questions and Answers
• Setting up your company profile
• Polls
• Quick overview of the Account Settings

Have any tips that we missed in these two episodes? Please swing by the Linked In group and drop your answers in the Linked In Tips discussion there.

Feel free to swing by and connect with both Bob and Chris on LinkedIn, and while you’re at it, if you like the show, drop us a recommendation on our LinkedIn accounts.
http://linkedin.com/in/aithene
http://linkedin.com/in/bobostromstudio

The CI Group on Linked In:
http://www.linkedin.com/groups?home=&gid=2489632&trk=anet_ug_hm&goback=%2Ehom

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 46:16 — 53.2MB)

Chris and Bob take a look at Linked In. This episode is the first in a two part series showcasing the many features available on Linked In.  Once you’ve listened to the show please visit Linked In and join the CI group . Don’t forget to let us know you heard us on the show. As always thanks for listening and Pod On.

In Part 1 of our in-depth discussion on setting up yourself on Linked In, Bob and Chris walk through a number of key features including:

• Signing Up
• Setting up your Business Card
• Setting up your Profile
• Importing your contacts
• Requesting and Giving Recommendations
• Using your contacts to connect to colleagues and friends who are already on Linked In
• Using your contacts to invite friends and colleagues to join you on Linked In
• Tweetdeck integration w/ Linked In
• Multi Language profiles
• Custom URLs
• Linked In Applications

Coming up in Part 2 we will cover:

• Connections more in-depth including Searching, Browsing, Introductions and sending InMails
• Groups
• Questions & Answers
• Job Boards
• Company Pages
• Account Settings

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 21:59 — 30.3MB)

As Bob and I continue to roll out the new Creative Independence Network, we’ve reached a point where if we wanted to split the Creative Independence feed from the Answers for Freelancers! feed, that now would be the ideal time to do it. So, we did. Overall, things are looking good. iTunes has updated the feed to not only point to the new location, but the show is also indexed correctly in the iTunes directory. Our new site, also a bit on the bare-walls-and-no-paint side, is also up and functioning.

You may notice that this isn’t a standard WordPress install. Because we have multiple blogs that we want to keep up and running, and because we’d like to add more creatives to the contributors list moving forward, we’ve chosen to go forward with WordPress MU (multi-user). For the most part, it works much like the standard WordPress package, but it has a few differences in the back end.  We’ve also installed BuddyPress which will allow us more social media options moving forward, including starting groups, forums and the like as we choose to roll them out.

4 Main Areas of the Creative Independence Network pre-launch (and subject to change):

1. Creative Independence Podcast (you’re here right now).
2. Answers for Freelancers (currently archives. Might it continue as a show?!?) – http://answersforfreelancers.creativeindependence.net/
3. Bob’s CI blog – http://bobostromstudio.creativeindependence.net/
4. Chris’ “Aithene Multimedia” site http://aithene.creativeindependence.net/

We were also visited briefly by our old friend, Ken Perkins. Actually, he and Bob had been chatting on Skype when Bob called me to record this episode, so, we spent a few minutes just saying ‘hi’ and seeing what Ken was up to. Unfortunately, Ken wasn’t expecting to record, and forgot to use headphones, so you you can hear Bob and Me in the background, which means we couldn’t marry out audio up with Ken’s without getting a wicked echo effect, so we trimmed it down and just used Ken’s audio as it, which explains the quality of the opening.

That being said, if you want to catch up with Ken or see what he’s been working on lately, you can find his portfolio here – http://kenperkinscreative.com/. Its another great example of using Apple’s very simple to use photo gallery’s as a portfolio.

Please let us know if you experience any strangeness with our feed, or if you see any broken or unupdated feed listings on any directories. Thanks!

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 36:40 — 42.0MB)

Chris and I talk a little bit about some of our favorite podcasts and what we like to listen to when we’re not up to our eyeballs working on Creative Independence. We hope you’ll check out these out if you haven’t already.

There are a million great podcasts out there and unfortunately we could list them all on this episode. If you have any suggestions for podcasts we haven’t listed here or mentioned on the show please add them to the comment section after this article. Don’t forget to leave a brief description and a link to where we can find it.

• Creative Independence: I like this show because the hosts are just plain hunky…
• The Story: Dick Gordon is a fantastic interviewer and can find an interesting story most anywhere.
• The Accidental Creative: Helping artist manage the create on demand world.
• Chris Oatley’s Art Cast: If you are an artist (especially illustrators) this podcast is for you.
• Dani Jones Illustration: (Video) Screen capture digital art.
• Gary Vaynerchuk: (Video) If this guy can’t get you fired up nobody can.
• Marketing Over Coffee: Great pod-cast all about you guessed it… marketing.
• Small Business Marketing Blog- Duct Tape Marketing: (One of Bob’s favorites) All about small business marketing.
• This American Life:- By Ira Glass you may have heard this on NPR
• JC-Hutchins: Super nice guy, fantastic writer. Check out the 7th Son trilogy. We were fortunate enough to have JC on the show (ep2-11 of Answers for Freelancers!)
• Scott Sigler: New York Times best-selling Sci-Fi- Horror novelist Scott Sigler has been podcasting without fail since 1978… er sort of. (Check our favorite, The Rookie)
• Seth Harwood: We had Seth on our show in eps 2-9 and ep 3-1 of Answers for Freelancers! It was a blast interviewing him. Real funny guy and a great writer too
• Art and Story: Specifically for those who are into cartooning and comics, but really, for anyone who marries illustration with words to tell stories.
• Escape from Illustration Island: Thomas James runs a blog with a number of freelance illustration resources, and his podcast echoes this passion thru interviews of other freelance illustrators.
• Hometown Tales: Gene and Brian explore the many tales of the world. From tales that are unique to certain towns to tales that every town seems to think is there’s alone.
• Managing the Gray: C.C. Chapman explores the world of new media marketing and PR. This is for those of us who are looking to promote ourselves using these new-fangled new media tools.
• Podcast Answer Man: Cliff Ravenscraft of the Generally Speaking Podcast Network (GSPN) shares the knowledge he’s gleamed since 2003 while producing roughly 20 hours of podcast content PER WEEK!
• Radio Adventures of Doctor Floyd: Fun for the whole family, join Dr. Floyd, his protege Dr. Grant, and their alien computer companion C.H.I.P.S. as they track the (somewhat) evil Dr. Steve and his sock-shaped assistant Fidgert thru time and space, and foiling his attempts to steal historical artifacts to sell on eBay.
• Decoder Ring Theatre: The folks at Decoder Ring Theatre spin their 1930′s radio show inspired stories in 2 main titles; superhero action in The Adventures of the Red Panda, and detective noir thrillers in Black Jack Justice. Also, every summer they release a number of unique tales in their Summer Showcase series.
• Podiobooks: A collection of podcast novels for free download.
• Philippa Ballantine: A wonderful writer, Philippa has the ability to spin a great story, and then produces a great audio drama to present it. Seriously, I could listen to her read me a technical manual. Actually, that’s not a horrible idea…

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 48:42 — 37.4MB)

This episode, Bob and Chris talk about the business applications of social media: promotion, networking, community and lead generation.

The social media scene is so big that there’s no way we can touch on everything, but we can definitely talk about some of the more relevant types of tools available, and we can certainly list a bunch of them below. The categories below are very general guidelines, especially when you consider that many of the tools really blur the lines and could easily fit into more than one.

Broadcast Media:
If you’re looking to broadcast your ideas or message, its a 1-to-many conversation. Even though your audience can communicate with you through comments and trackbacks, for the most part its a one way medium.

Video

YouTube
Blip.TV
Vimeo
UStream
Seesmic

Audio

Utterli (formerly utterz)

Text

WordPress
Blogger

Professional Networking:

Linked In

Personal Networking:

Facebook
MySpace
Plaxo

Water Cooler/Chat

Twitter

Image Sharing Communities:

Flickr
Picasa
SmugMug
Photobucket

Start Your Own Community:

WordPress MU
Ning
KickApps

Aggregators:

Google Profiles
Chi.mp

Also mentioned specifically is Dani Jones “Dani Draws Live” UStream channel.
http://danidraws.com/danidrawslive/

Homework Assignments

1. Go sign up for accounts at:
   • Linked In
   • Facebook
   • Twitter
   • MySpace
2. Friend Bob and Chris on Twitter:
   • Bob: http://twitter.com/bobostromstudio
   • Chris: http://twitter.com/aithene
3. Start thinking about our visual branding. We’re going to start implementing visual elements within the next 2 shows, so it would be nice if its ready to go.

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 51:11 — 58.9MB)

This is an interview you will not want to miss. Bob sits down with Carlos Castellanos the co-creator of the syndicated comic strip Baldo. A big fan of Michael Gerber, Carlos talks about his experiences with freelancing and business ownership.

If you are interested in learning more about Carlos and some of the websites he talks about on the show please check out these links:

Baldo Comics Website
Carlos on Twitter
Drawn by Success
Carlos

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 34:22 — 31.6MB)

Bob and Chris conclude the discussion on Mind Mapping your business before you start working on it by asking you to start thinking a bit outside the actual business and start thinking about the type of lifestyle you want your business to provide to you. The bottom line, if you want a certain style of life and your business’ direction doesn’t seem to be getting you there, then we may need to rethink how things are going.

Then moving on, once you have figured out what you want your business to be, the next thing you’ll probably do will be to come up with a name. And of course, once you’ve got a name in mind, you’ll need to making sure its available and that you can get a domain name to match your business. So, using GoDaddy.com as his domain registrar of choice, Bob walks us through the basics of searching for and purchasing your name.

For a discount on GoDaddy domain name purchases and hosting plans, and to help support the show, use this link:

GoDaddy.com Hosting Plans

See our mind map here.

To import the above map into your own account and to edit it for yourself, you can sign up for a free MindMeister account here:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 44:01 — 41.2MB)

Following up on last week’s assignment to find and start playing around with Mind Mapping software, Bob and Chris start putting your newfound Mind mapping skills to use. We go over two fundamental concepts of reinventing yourselves and redefining your businesses; personal influences and business models.

You can see our map here.

Sign up for a free MindMeister account here:

Business Influences:

• Personal Interests
• Personal Abilities
• Spheres of Knowledge
• Personal Networks
• Other People who might join you

5 Fundamental Business Models that are common to many creative businesses

• Partial Service
• Full Service
• Create and Sell
• Build an Audience and Sell
• Just Sell

Find Bob at:

• http:twitter.com/bobostromstudio
• http://bobostromstudio.com
• http://bobostromstudio.com/how2draw/

Find Chris at:

• http://twitter.com/aithene
• http://aithene.mp

Want a bit of free publicity while letting us know you appreciate the show? Send us your “that’s awesome” and intro to: answersforfreelancers@gmail.com

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 43:02 — 49.4MB)

Chris and Bob cut the fluff and get right down to it. Chris kicks off with an update on his site Intelligent Acne Treatment.com. He talks about rebuilding his credibility with his costumers when a competitor posts a questionable review on a public forum. Bob checks everybody’s homework and picks up from where we left off last episode.

What’s in a name? Chris explains the importance in selecting the right name for your business. Bob talks about getting scooped and the cost of re-branding. Chris goes on to point out how important social media is for promoting your business.

A mind is a terrible thing to waste. A mind map is a wonderful way to make sure you don’t waste your time. Bob and Chris talk about their experience using and collaborating with mind maps. Both agree the online program Mind Meister is the way to go. The guys wrap up the show with a new homework assignment. Find a mind mapping program mess around with it and get yourself familiar with the concept of mind mapping.

If you’d like to try out Mind Meister please click the affiliate link below:

Podcast: Play in new window | Download (Duration: 40:43 — 46.6MB)

Chris and Bob catch up on old times. Seems the guys have been pretty busy with Chris launching his new site intelligentacnetreatment.com and Bob hard at work on his (bobostromstudio.com). Bob talks about the tutorial videos he’s been working on with Burning Oak Studio and Jerry’s Artarama. Chris brings us up to date on his new site launch and some of the obstacles he’s overcome to get the new site ready.

The guys talk about future plans for the CI/A4F site and putting together a series of shows designed to help listeners build their own sites. Topics for the next show include getting started, brainstorming and mind mapping.

Bob at Burning Oak