Freelance Unbound

I recently reported a minor traffic spike from a bookmark on Reddit, which rekindled my interest in social bookmarking sites. 
So imagine my excitement when I got an inbound referring link from StumbleUpon, which is one step better at number three in the social bookmarking rankings. 

“One of our members added your page to the Writing topic on StumbleUpon. Each time our members who are interested in Writing “stumble upon” your page using our toolbar, it will record an entry on your referral logs.”

Great, I thought. I wonder who did that. And what my StumbleUpon link looks like.

I’m still wondering, as it happens. Because, you know, the thing about StumbleUpon is that its search function is utter rubbish. 

Seriously – for a site that “helps you discover the best of the web”, it has the least helpful search I have seen for a long while. With hundreds of thousands of sites to trawl through, there’s minimal filtering and very little guidance on how to find the category I was looking for.

And, stupidly, the notification I got from StumbleUpon didn’t actually send me directly to the link. Why not, for heaven’s sake? It’s the screamingly obvious thing to do.

The main message from StumbleUpon was that I should advertise on the site to drive even more readers to Freelance Unbound. But, since I can’t actually find myself there, I don’t think I’ll bother.

Just in case I’m being really dim, though, if anyone manages to find the link to my post there, do please let me know…

Back to the grind this week, but just time to wonder what’s up with “video sharing site” Livingscoop.com.
Like other journos, perhaps, I received an email invitation to “register my interest” in the site a few days ago. In slightly strangled English, it claims to be: 

A very good place for training, improving and to promote and value your creativity, skills and audaciousness whether you are a journalist
(student, rookie or experienced), a reporter or a simple witness of what is happening in everyday life whatever the country you are in.

I have to say I’m a little suspicious. There are no details other than the slightly florid mission statement, and there’s no email contact address. Is this just a strange bid to harvest email addresses for some future scam?
If so, I can think of better paid potential targets (London Underground drivers, for example).
But even if it’s not some dubious piece of web fraud, is there a point in having a new video-sharing vehicle? 
YouTube may have the eyeballs, but it’s true that you have to sift a vast number of videos to reach anything serious. And a genuinely journalism-focused user-generated video site could be a useful showcase and meeting point for established and would-be journalists. 
In the bold spirit of exploration and journalistic enquiry, therefore, I’ll give it a go. And since they seem to have my email address already, I guess it won’t do too much harm to “leave freely [my] email address”.
Expect updates as the contents of my bank account are siphoned off to some mafioso in Nigeria, Russia or points east…

The final part of four pillars of freelance success should be up on FleetStreetBlues today. Normal service on Freelance Unbound should be resumed next week…

Your third pillar of wisdom should be online at the fine FleetStreetBlues today. Meanwhile, I am enjoying art and other fine highbrow things in St Ives…

Still in Cornwall, still minimal internet access. But part two of four pillars of freelance success is over at FleetStreetBlues. Enjoy…

This is what I’m dealing with at the moment. It beats newsletters about hedge funds. This is Mevagissey harbour. It’s very picturesque…

Right now I’m in Cornwall, getting away from journalism, work and, given the lack of reliable internet access where I am, the modern world. 
But just so you don’t feel all neglected, you can pop over to Fleet Street Blues to read a series of guest posts by me. With luck, they should be running through the week – offering a four point guide to freelance success in these tough economic times. 
If I get the chance, I’ll try to hunt down some choice examples of local journalism to post here. Or not – you know how it is…

Just because it’s Friday and I’m taking it easy, here’s a link to my newly published feature on prediction markets for Director magazine.
It’s nice that I can start pointing to some reasonably high-profile material on the web in my portfolio. For some reason much of the rest of my work of the past two decades has been buried in trade press supplements – or just buried. 
It’s an interesting topic – using the wisdom of crowds to make business decisions. Apparently the results are mostly as good as or better than the wisdom of experts. A sobering thought – at least for experts.

To celebrate a tiny milestone in the progress of Freelance Unbound – the 100th post – here’s an item by a journalist who has gone over to the dark side and set up a site whose purpose is – gasp! – to make money from web media.
Julia Scott left a newspaper job to set up a personal finance blog, and in the process learned some hard truths about the business of journalism.
Writing about the experience on Journalism 2.0, most tellingly she says:

Independent journalists (the fancy term is news entrepreneur), must think as businessmen. My readers don’t pay me so my business side dictates they are no longer my primary focus.

This doesn’t mean she discounts her readers – without them she has no site. But it does mean accepting the commercial reality of her publishing model.
It’s a lesson that a lot of old-style journalists actively resist learning. But if there’s to be any future in digital journalism, we have to set aside our repugnance for grubby commerce.
But at least someone out there seems to be getting it.

Press Gazette reports on the Government’s determination to “sustain local journalism”. It’s all part of the government’s glorious five-year plan to secure Britain’s place at the forefront of the global digital economy – otherwise known as the Digital Britain report.
Apparently, earnest culture secretary Andy Burnham said: “Citizens need content produced to high journalistic standards. The internet in my view will not replace that.”
So, just how does the Government plan to facilitate this? (Given the inevitable structural change that is reshaping media away from what are seen as “high journalistic standards”.)

“Lots of this does not need legislation but it’s likely that some of the proposals will.”

Oh, great. The Government will just pass a law that says local news media will not die. Maybe there will be a rule that requires us to buy a local newspaper every week. Luckily they’ll be able to track our purchases using our new ID cards to make sure we comply.
Perhaps it’s more likely that the government will simply pour some of our taxes into publishing local newspapers. (Just for the record though – that won’t necessarily make us read them. Take note, social engineers.)
Frankly, I think the Government, and its Opposition, have done quite enough to boost journalism over the past few weeks.
Seriously – just put your feet up and leave us alone for a bit…