By Cambridge Who’s Who Contributing Author Jenny MacKay

In tough economic times, streamlining a business is a cruel necessity. This could mean carving out departments and letting employees go, which often places new burdens on the remaining staff as essential projects get shuffled elsewhere. The result could be an overworked and disgruntled workforce where creativity and enthusiasm are squelched under the weight of the daily grind.

Freelance help could remedy this situation. In many industries, freelancers have always been a mainstay to doing business. But when layoff rates are high, talented and skilled professionals in every industry can find themselves in a position to become self-employed. There is no time like the present to tap into this freelance pool to supplement and enhance your operations.

What Is a Freelance Worker and Why Hire One?

Freelancers are self-employed individuals who provide services on a per-project basis. They work as independent contractors and, traditionally, have been most common in creative industries such as writing and photography. These days, freelancers abound in other occupations, too – web design, computer programming and graphic art are a few fields that have become freelance dominated in recent years.

The benefits of hiring freelancers are numerous. As a freelancer’s client, you pay only for the specific job you need done and are not responsible for benefits, Social Security, Medicare or workers’ comp. Freelancers usually own their equipment and software and work remotely, eliminating your need to provide office space and the technology needed to complete an assignment. A freelancer becomes a satellite employee for the duration of a project. It can be a very flexible and convenient relationship.

Another benefit of hiring freelancers is their enthusiasm. They typically work hard to please their clients and hold themselves accountable for the quality and timeliness of their work. As specialists in their fields, freelancers can also bring in new vision and expertise.

Will My Company Benefit from Freelance Help?

Almost any industry could potentially benefit from relinquishing tasks to freelancers. If you recently have had to downsize your business, it may be worthwhile to consider freelance help to fill in the gaps. If you have been putting off a project or company goal because you feel that there is no one on your staff who has the time or experience; and you do not have the resources to hire a regular employee, a freelancer may be a very good option.

Ask colleagues, fellow business owners and your own staff for suggestions of people who may be interested in a freelance opportunity with your company. If you recently had to lay off someone or may do so in the near future, this individual may be amenable to a freelance relationship. You can also search for freelancers through the same channels you would use to fill any new position in your company. Just be sure to mention that this will be a contract job.

Hiring Freelancers

Professional freelancers should be able to provide references of current and former clients. Also, ask to see portfolios or samples of their work, or ask if they will take tests that demonstrate their skills (freelance editors, proofreaders and transcriptionists expect such tests as a reasonable part of a client’s consideration process).

Once you have chosen a freelancer, you will need to negotiate a contract that outlines the specific job duties, payment (hourly or flat fee), job duration and quality parameters. Confidentiality, non-disclosure and non-compete clauses are other protections often written into a contract to prohibit freelancers from revealing company data or taking business away from the company. It is wise to seek legal counsel when drawing up and negotiating a freelance contract. This will eliminate many of the concerns and uncertainties employers often have about hiring freelancers.

Freelancers and businesses can form mutually beneficial relationships, and the advent of telecommuting technology makes this a more viable option than ever before. If you are a business owner, now may be the time to consider working with freelancers.

Jenny MacKay’s Biography

Cambridge Who’s Who member Jenny MacKay is a full-time freelance writer, editor and book production coordinator. Her expertise is in – but not limited to – creative writing and copyediting of science, technical, medical and social science journals with proficiency in AP, APA, Chicago, MLA, CSE and AMA styles. Ms. MacKay also specializes in creating content for academic, scientific, educational and fiction publications. Her contributions have appeared in books, scholarly journals, magazines and newspapers.

In 2000, Ms. MacKay received a bachelor of arts in English education from the University of Nevada. A stay-at-home mother of two, she pursued an occupation in freelance writing while her children were still young. Her career flourished, as she authored numerous articles for magazines and various clients on a national scale. A love for her profession and the flexibility it affords has enabled Ms. MacKay to excel in her industry. She has worked for several leading publishing companies including Sage Publications, Cengage Learning, Linworth Publishing and Gannett.

Ever since she can remember, she has maintained a longstanding interest in children’s literature. In recent years, she became a frequent contributor to Lucent Books, which publishes nonfiction page-turners aimed at educating high school students. She has authored seven enriching titles for the company, including “Criminal Profiling” (Crime Scene Investigations), “Fingerprints and Impression Evidence” (Crime Scene Investigations), “Phobias” (Diseases and Disorders) and “Amnesia” (Diseases and Disorders).

Presently, Ms. MacKay also works as a freelance content and development editor for American Book Publishing. She is a published member of the Society of Children’s Book Writers & Illustrators, an organization that caters to creative types (e.g. writers, illustrators, etc.) who work in children’s publishing. Additionally Ms. MacKay is an active member of the Nevada Region of the Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators. As a contributing editor for Zephyr – their quarterly newsletter – she helps pool writers and edits submissions. In her spare time, Ms. MacKay reviews children’s books, writes freelance articles and enjoys cooking. She hopes to teach college level writing classes and publish children’s books in the future.

For more information about Ms. MacKay, please visit her Cambridge Who’s Who Connect Profile: Jenny MacKay. She can be reached at jopm@sbcglobal.net.

Cambridge Who’s Who Resource Center Article(s) by Jenny MacKay

• The Business of Hiring Freelancers New!
  

By Cambridge Who’s Who Contributing Author Bruce Deitrick Price

Here’s an odd thing to confess: I have been writing about education for 30 years. It has been an exciting adventure; it has also been at times totally mystifying.

We have grown to expect that there are faster, more pleasant ways to accomplish any task; conversely, there must be slower, ineffective ways of doing so. It is the second methodology that the education establishment seems to prefer. Our public schools appear almost intentionally designed to perform at a mediocre level. How can this tendency be explained?

When you look at the statistics and surveys, you will notice that they paint a consistently bleak picture. We spend billions every year on public education, yet SAT scores continue to fall. Our top students do not compete well with top students from other countries. The general public seems to know barely enough to read a daily newspaper. And then there is the really big mystery of 50 million functional illiterates. Who let this tragedy happen?

To answer these questions, I researched further back in history. I tried to understand how the early educators from a century ago looked at life, children and this new field they had created. The unexpected reality is that they were not primarily focused on education as most of us understand the term, but were preoccupied with social engineering. Education was a set of tools with which they intended to build a new, more leveled society.

Many of the articles I have written attempt to explain where and why our educators got off track. I have been especially fascinated by the Reading Wars, a significant conflict in American education and a clear illustration of what can happen when elite educators lose their way. Basically, phonics was scorned; a flawed method called whole word was enshrined and literacy promptly started to decline.

As I gained more understanding about the damage caused by bogus reading methods, I began to have a clearer sense of what we need to do across the board to improve our public education system. We simply have to identify the failed ideas and get rid of them.

Education reformers typically try three other approaches: spend money, recommend new policies or point out best practices. I do not think these techniques will work now. The problem is that the education establishment is married to its bad ideas; these people are set in their ways. We need an intervention.

Oddly enough, we are engaged in an education war with our own educators. I want to persuade the public that this is an intellectual war – we must fight the bad ideas with good ideas. I do not think we have any hope of improvement unless we confront what happened to American education: namely, that our schools were made ineffective by design.

So now we have to move in the opposite direction: discard the gimmicks that were smuggled into the system; then restore basics and academics to their proper prominence, albeit taught in the most ingenious ways. Our first job is to zero in on the dozens of overhyped “progressive” innovations that turned out, in practice, to be destructive and regressive. We will be better off without Whole Word, Reform Math, Constructivism, No Memorization, Self-Esteem, Bilingual Education, Cooperative Learning, Fuzzy Anything and a dozen others.

Many people like to believe that our educators are clumsy or befuddled by fads. No, I am afraid not. You would have a much clearer sense of what happened if you were to imagine a bunch of guys like John Dewey seated around a table discussing their ideological goals, devising tactics, and trying to keep the public from interfering. I know people who shy away from the word “conspiracy,” but let’s be realistic. This track record goes back nearly a century. Let’s show respect for those 50 million functional illiterates who spent their lives in a twilight zone, thanks to John Dewey and his pals. You cannot create this kind of disaster in a few years or by accident. No, the perpetrators have to keep plugging away, decade after decade. I think the evidence proves that our education establishment did just that.

It is painful to deal with such an unpleasant history, but it is also very liberating. Suddenly, everything makes sense. Dewey and his friends were socialists; they were trying to create a socialist America. This goal is clear in their writings. For them, the obvious first step was to reduce individualism and to raise more cooperative children. How do you do this? Dewey’s answer–and it is still in play–is that you drastically limit the time spent on reading, writing, arithmetic, geography, etc., while giving much more time to group activities. And when you do teach substance, you teach it in muddled, ineffective ways. There is the whole agenda in a nutshell. It is only a matter of time before everybody knows a lot less and thinks much less clearly.

I should mention, by the way, that I never criticize teachers. I am concerned only with top education theorists, administrators, etc. These people are responsible for what happens in American education. Teachers are as much the victims of these educators as the children and parents are.

—
Bruce Price deals with all of these topics on his website Improve-Education.org and in his fifth book “THE EDUCATION ENIGMA – What Happened to American Education.”

By Cambridge Who’s Who Member and Contributing Author Lisa Parker

The last thing an expert will ever call themselves is an “expert.” Rather, they will tell you that they learn something related to their line of work every day, particularly when providing a service or applying knowledge they have gained throughout their career. The key to gaining recognition as an expert is not just knowing the right answer, but also knowing how to utilize the resources available to obtain the right answer. An expert can always be relied upon to use sound judgment and persevere in the face of mounting challenges.

“The creative approach of being open minded in the pursuit of knowledge will always leave room for improvement.” – Lisa’s Wisdom

“Positioning oneself as an expert” is a goal that the majority of professionals strive to achieve. Only a few of us will ever become experts; at best, the most we can hope to become is a subject matter expert. This journey for excellence can be challenging, rewarding, even frustrating; and overcoming the competition may seem downright impossible at times.

The foundation of personal success and recognition as an expert can be found alongside the sincere desire to excel in whatever area of expertise you choose to pursue. By setting out to gain success and broaden your knowledge base, you are well on your way to building a reputation that will augment the many assets you already possess.

The value you portray while providing a product, service or other function will ultimately serve to heighten your level of recognition as an expert in your career field. Experts can be found in all walks of life and, contrary to popular belief, may not always be those individuals who possess a lengthy list of credentials and educational background on which they base their expertise.

Some of the most relied upon experts are those who garner their wisdom from the “school of hard knocks” – otherwise known as real life experience. A lot can be said for the resident expert who relies upon personal experiences, combined with trial and error in the development of a reliable product, business or service.

The word expert, as defined in Wikipedia®):

An expert is someone widely recognized as a reliable source of technique or skill whose faculty for judging or deciding rightly, justly, or wisely is accorded authority and status by their peers or the public in a specific well distinguished domain.

An expert, more generally, is a person with extensive knowledge or ability in a particular area of study. Experts are called in for advice on their respective subject, but they do not always agree on the particulars of a field of study.

An expert can be, by virtue of training, education, profession, publication or experience, believed to have special knowledge of a subject beyond that of the average person, sufficient that others may officially (and legally) rely upon the individual’s opinion. Historically, an expert was referred to as a sage. The individual was usually a profound philosopher distinguished for wisdom and sound judgment.

Experts have a prolonged or intense experience through practice and education in a particular field. In specific fields, the definition of expert is well established by consensus and therefore it is not necessary for an individual to have a professional or academic qualification for them to be accepted as an expert.

Expertise consists of those characteristics, skills and knowledge of a person (that is, expert) or of a system, which distinguish experts from novices and less experienced people.

By combining your life experiences and educational background with a strong willingness to learn, you will be well on your way to becoming an expert. Today’s world provides unlimited online research tools and networking opportunities for professionals around the globe who represent a wide array of career fields. In most cases, any challenge or situation that you find yourself facing has probably been addressed and resolved in some form by others individuals. So, one of the most valuable assets that cannot be ignored is networking. Here are some ways that your network can help you to achieve expert status:

Challenges – Discuss situations or tasks that are the most complicated for you with professionals in your field who have earned your respect. Many of your colleagues will embrace the opportunity to assist you in overcoming obstacles. In turn, as you conquer challenges in your pursuit of success, return the favor to another colleague in need of assistance.

Rewards– Whenever you gain recognition for excellence in the provision of services, share the news with your friends, colleagues and customers. Realizing a sense of accomplishment serves not only to make us feel proud and confident, but it also provides the encouragement we need to conquer new opportunities and challenges. Moreover, achievement piques the interest of prospective clients and provokes a desire within others to be on the receiving end of such high quality service.

Networking– Never underestimate the value of communication. Your level of expertise will be measured in many ways, starting with your approachability and availability to your customers or potential clients. The quality of the service (or lack thereof), and the overall value or reliability of product you provide will serve to generate the most common form of recognition – “word of mouth.“

Visibility– Shaping others’ perceptions of your professional service or level of expertise though effective advertising and marketing is priceless. If the local community is not aware that your service or product is available, then you have placed enough time and effort in publicizing it!

Essentially, you may not know exactly when you become an expert in your particular career field or area of interest. The best clue may be when others let you know. The praise and gratitude expressed by your peers, clients and colleagues based on your genuine concern, sincere approach to providing unprecedented service and/or reliable guidance on a particular subject matter is a good indicator that you are well on your way to positioning yourself as an expert in your field of interest.

As you embark on this path to establish your reputation as an expert in your field of interest, remember that there is always a bit more to be learned around the next bend. Times change, people change, strategies change and concepts continue to evolve. Strive to retain and build on the knowledge that substantiates and sustains your level of proficiency when noted as an “expert.”

By Cambridge Who’s Who

1. Write prose that is snappy and easy–to-read. Avoid bogging down the reader with hard-to-grasp terms or words that only an industry-insider would know. If there is an easy way to say something, use it. If not, define the term in a sentence or two – especially if it is repeated several times. Your readers will appreciate the time they saved not having to look it up elsewhere.

2. Use hyperlinks in your article that direct readers to other websites containing relevant information. In the event that your article covers one particular topic, hyperlinks will provide supplementary details without detracting from your voice, tone or overall theme. Additionally, research online communities comprised of individuals who share similar interests or areas of expertise with you. Post links from these sites alongside your article in order to help your audience further explore the topic you are presenting. Linking to expert blogs, articles written by industry authorities, images and videos will raise your credibility and visibility. Moreover, remember to include links to your own websites since people will want to know about your background and experience – especially if you are providing advice. If you are a Cambridge Who’s Who member, you can create a public profile on Cambridge Who’s Who Connect – our new online network – and feature a link on it to your article.

3. Even though there are less limitations on word count when writing for the Web, do not overwrite and turn your work into long, dull and boring pieces. These may never be read. Determine your point of view and stick to it; write engaging, inspiring and exciting prose. Adhere to a personal word count and do not exceed it. You will find that your personal word count dictates how effectively you get your message across. As a guideline, try to have at least 600 words in your article.

4. Drive your point home by adding multimedia such as audio and video. Content of this kind will add context or explain missing pieces in your article while making it more engaging. Utilize podcasts to broadcast your information on the Internet. Podcasts are digital media files that may be accessed simply by downloading or streaming them from a host site. Also provide RSS Feeds to keep your audience informed up-to-the-minute of any new material that you make available online. Standing for Real Simple Syndication, an RSS Feed notifies subscribers any time a podcast, blog post or other form of multimedia is updated.

5. Use unique and relevant keywords to make your article easier to find – whether on a particular website or major search engine like Google, Yahoo! or Ask.com. This will raise the likelihood that your article will be found as people are surfing or searching the Web. Keywords also clue readers in to what the article is about without them first having to read the whole thing. This enables your audience to determine whether reading the article will benefit them. After you have identified several key words and phrases that succinctly embody what the article is about, put the major ones in the title, and description. Then, use all terms throughout the body of the article. Finally, if the sites where you are posting your content provide a separate field for tags or keywords, be sure to enter your keywords there as well.

By CambridgeWhosWho.com

Introduction:

Far-gone are the days when people distrusted the Internet’s wide-open approach to obtaining, presenting and sharing information. With reliable resources now calling the Web home, there is more validity to the content found there, and people are generally looking to the Internet as a dependable source of information. Knowledge-sharing incentives such as Wikipedia have also grown, enabling people to write biographies and record history together while fact-checking each other. Along with increased confidence, there comes the comfort of convenience and accessibility. In the past, travel limitations or a shortage of resources may have made a trip to the library an undesirable way to spend a Saturday afternoon. But nowadays, vast amounts of information from trustworthy sources are available at the click of a button in your own home.

Print media still remains a viable outlet, but as advertisers continue to figure out ways to monetize the promising digital frontier, they will spend considerably less on traditional publishing channels. Additionally, there has been a movement towards the Web by many publishers, editors and writers, for obvious reasons. Easy-to-use blogging platforms have ushered in an army of would-be print writers to the Internet, ready to cash in on the online social media bandwagon. The costs of maintaining a website are far less than that of a print publishing operation and universal access to the Web reduces restrictions on the access to content.

Anything submitted online – a press release, article or online book – that is readily available and not just distributed in print format is considered online publishing. If you are a published author or professional, online publishing is a viable way to establish your credibility and expertise. It also enables you to custom design your brand by creating unique content that showcases your personality and emphasizes your forte.

Online networking is a byproduct of the Internet’s growing interconnectivity as more people gravitate towards virtual communities. The emergence of powerful social networking platforms such as Facebook and MySpace has enabled more people to share information readily and spontaneously. Furthermore, companies such as Ning and KickApps are offering ‘white-label’ platforms for people to create and customize their own social networks. This is where your works that are published online come into play. Online communities make for great audiences. Instead of simply e-mailing a document to others, people can post it to their blogs and social networks, add links to it and voila! Your post can receive vital attention and web traffic, especially if it is viral, e.g.: easy to understand, simple to distribute and share, and provocative.

In many instances, Online Publishing can be more valuable than Print Publishing. Here’s why:

• Your articles can be archived online indefinitely. Depending on how viral a post is, it may become widely circulated by others. If the people who read your published article online tell their friends and colleagues about it, the impact of your message grows stronger. In the print industry, once an issue has been distributed, much of the content soon becomes dated or obsolete, diminishing the relevance and scope of your work.
• Content that you create for the Web is readily available to readers. The potential for your work to reach your target audience is much higher because it is not restricted to the pages of a magazine – your reach is no longer limited to a publication’s circulation or newsstand life.
• There is a low cost attached to publishing online as you do not have to worry about typesetting or printing your work. But beware of administration and maintenance costs.
• Once your words are committed to the Internet, the online article can be edited in real time. In most cases, text can be improved, mistakes corrected and inaccurate information deleted.
• Online publishers have the advantage of posting breaking news and exclusive content immediately. By tracking content that is gaining the most footing and reader responses, online publishers can refine and enhance their material or adjust their uploading schedules.
• You now have the option to supplement your online contributions with interactive media, including audio, video and animated/PowerPoint presentations. This is an important benefit because until recent years, it was difficult to integrate multimedia without the use of (oftentimes expensive) uploading applications.
• There is more flexibility when it comes to word count. While you should keep some general guidelines in mind when preparing your online content, you will have more freedom to decide the length of your contributions because you will not be restricted by page count or typesetting issues.

About www.CambridgeWhosWho.com

CambridgeWhosWho.com is an exclusive membership organization that recognizes and empowers executives, professionals and entrepreneurs throughout the world. Our accomplished members and extensive online database make CambridgeWhosWho.com a premier resource for global networking. CambridgeWhosWho.com delivers the recognition and competitive edge you need to make contacts and do business more effectively. To learn more, visit www.CambridgeWhosWho.com.

Bruce Deitrick Price’s Biography

Cambridge Who’s Who member Bruce Deitrick Price is an outspoken artist, novelist and education advocate whose numerous creative works can be viewed online. He is the owner of Word-Wise Advertising, a creative and intellectual consulting firm based in Norfolk, Virginia, that he founded in 1980. Services offered by Word-Wise Advertising include copywriting, corporate identity, brochures, mailings, logo designs and marketing consulting.

For his site Improve-Education.org, Bruce Deitrick Price has written approximately 40 articles on education-related topics. While education reform is the main subject of many of these essays, he also writes about robots, sophistry, Latin, phonics, George Orwell’s 1984, Ivan Pavlov, English usage and design. One of his favorite themes involves “the foolish things that our elite educators do,” although he is quick to point out that he is not criticizing teachers. For his Cambridge Who’s Who Contributing Author article, Bruce Deitrick Price explores the negative impact that flawed education ideas have had on today’s schools.

Lit4u.com is Bruce Deitrick Price’s creative writing outlet; it showcases his ability to compose original short fiction and essays. There you can find information about “Too Easy,” his novel published in 1994 by Simon & Schuster. Additionally, you can read excerpts from two of his unpublished novels, titled “In the Shadow of the White House” and “Two Will Die.” He is particularly proud of his long poem “Theoryland.”

Throughout his artistic career, Bruce Deitrick Price – who received Honors in English Literature from Princeton University – has presented original work in more than 40 exhibits. He is known for his abstract, modern and hip approach, as best witnessed in his collection named Small Universes. “The goal is that each [painting/construction] should contain the maximum amount of creativity, energy and beauty, i.e., each is a universe,” he describes.

For those interested in viewing Bruce Deitrick Price’s work as an artist in the traditional and digital disciplines, you can visit http://www.artnorfolk.com. If you are in the Norfolk area, be sure to visit his art gallery, Word-Wise Modern,which was recognized as the Best Place to Discover New Art in the Spring 2008 issue of Hampton Roads Magazine. Bruce Deitrick Price, who is well-versed in digital art, has curated a major show featuring the work of other digital artists.

To learn more about Bruce Deitrick Price’s education crusade, visit his blog: “Education Improved”

Cambridge Who’s Who Resource Center Article(s) by Bruce Deitrick Price

• Exploring the Education Enigma New!
  

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