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There Has To Be More To Life

There Has To Be More To Life by Frederick

In the humdrum of everyday chores,
We sense neither pain nor pleasure.
In the cacophony of Hi’s & Bye’s,
We can’t hear ourselves think.
We seek company to escape silence
Where everyone babbles, none speaks.

There has to be more to life,
Than chores and babbles.
There will be more to life,
With articulated thoughts ,
To a company that listens.
There is more to life,
In seeking silence amidst commotion
In seeing purpose amidst chaos
In knowing friends from acquaintances.

We all have our highs and lows
And the blows that make us bow
Lets ignore cynical chatter &
Take notice of meaningful whispers.
This I believe will pave the way, for
There has to be more to life, &
There certainly is more to life.

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Zoho Creator Tutorial – Part 4 ( premade Form Fields , Zoho Creator does the validation for you)

What is Zoho Creator | The Basics| Design & Share Custom Forms |Using prevalidated Form Fields |

If you had been following this tutorial closely, you should be able to perform the following based on last week’s post,

  1. Create a new form
  2. You should be able to design your form.
  3. Add fields that are relevant to you.
  4. Rename the fields for display and scripting
  5. Embed the form within the blog website ( Hint : -Form’s Live mode – More ction – Embed in website – Access without login – Get code – paste in your blog )

I guess you would also remember me telling that Zoho Creator has provided with ready to use fields based on their data types.

Field types Can be used for They are all so self explanatory, I am just listing them here.
Single line Names , one liners up to around 300 characters.
Multiline As the name suggests, can be used to get “paragraph” type info from your readers / clients.
Email Eveything is automatically validated. Incorrect entries will not be accepted by the system. Take it from me, this kind of validation used to be a grind, but not

anymore
Url
123 Number
0.1 Decimal
% Percent
$ Currency Set the currency type ( USD / INR / YEN.. etc. Pick the one that suits you)
Drop Down Here you can give a custom set of values of your choice.
Radio / Option buttons You can provide any number of options, but only one will be selectable by the user
Eg: Male / Female
Check box This comes handy when you have multiple options & the use also need to select more than one from what you have provided
EG : A Person can like Red , Blue & Green
Multi Select This is more like a list box, from where the person can click and select
You can choose to display the list sorted out in alphabetical order
Date
Date – Time Gives you a timestap along with the date
Look up ( also called as Pick List) This allows you to call data from one form into another form. (We will be dealing with this shortly.)
Formula This computes values for you based on the values on other fields.
Eg: Formula will do MathScore + ScienceScore , where in MathScore & ScienceScore are numeric fields .
All you have to do is give the fieldnames & + operator Advaced computations are made easy by the formula fields
Image You can actually collect images without the fear of overloading your inbox. You can as for the URL / Alternate Text / Source etc all using the zoho creator form.

Plus you also know who submitted what and when .. if you would add the date & Name field to such a form
File Upload This can be used to gather any file type. Automatically gives the browse button so that reader can upload from their system.
Add Notes Use this as sticky notes, something that you want your viewers to know. ( notice the welcome text in the form below)
Decision Box This can have only one answer YES / NO Most commonly used as disclaimers.

I have modified the guest book forms and placed the code here. You might notice that some fields have a * attached to them. This means these are mandatory or compulsory fields. If you try to submit the form using blank data for these fields, then the submission will be not processed. This is catch those wary visitors who are not attentive enough

How to Set up compulsory fields

  1. As soon as you place a field by click and Drag ( or) Edit a certain field
  2. Click on Options
  3. Notice the check box that says “This is a required field” – Click it
    The field becomes compulsory.

Similarly you can set up if you want to have a Hidden field / Disallow duplicate enties. I have embedded my guest book form above. Feel free to come up with your own version of your guest book & give me your link. I shall surely drop by and will be glad to see your progress Your appreciation is my motivation

What is Zoho Creator | The Basics| Design & Share Custom Forms |Using prevalidated Form Fields |

From Deepa’s Template Tips

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Happy Holidays – Holidays does not mean you have to be incommunicado.

EzineApprovedIts holiday season and I believe an extended break is a welcome change. But many of my friends are wary of going in for a break for the fear of loosing out on new clients, or not being able to provide timely response during this break. We all have a schedule to follow and deadlines to meet. Holiday season is definitely not an excuse to extend the deadline. But, this also does not mean you have to put in a double shift.

It is at times such as these, I get to hear, “it is good to work at an office, coz you clearly know when the work stops, and when your response is expected. With the work from home scenario, the dividing line tends to get blurred over time.” Some often remark, ” when I am not doing chores , or helping my kids with their study”, I instinctively reach out for the pending tasks at my project desk”.

In all this, we are constantly “at work”, completely forgetting the fact that we need some “ME-Time” too, eventually all this translates into the double shift that I had mentioned earlier. Going on holidays or taking a break does not necessarily mean that you are incommunicado, or you “have to be” incommunicado. However, if you choose to be completely cut-off, then set up an auto responder with a message as to when the sender can expect your response.

So, what can you do ( or not do) to avoid coming across as inaccessible during holidays?

  1. Spend only 1 hr to check & respond to mails. For mails that require more than “this or that”, provide a quick reply that you will get back with a detailed response after [date].
  2. DONOT get tempted to “let me do one little thing” with your project. This is like quick sand, you never know when you will get sucked into your work-mode.
  3. Try not to connect to the internet via your palmtop, mobile etc. Learn to disconnect at least during this holiday season.
  4. If there is nothing else to do, stretch yourself, don’t reach out to your laptop.
  5. Have a wallpaper that says you are on vacation if that helps.

Of late, I have been busy hectic with a Custom Application at Zoho Creator, writing tutorial posts and helping my parents in law to “learn computer”. Christmas holidays have begun and new year is not that far. So, eventually I have decided to take the long awaited vacation along with my family. Though we haven’t decided what to do this holiday season, I guess discussing this over dinner is where the mood of holiday really sets in.

Merry Christmas & Happy Holidays to all of you.

Deepa’s
Virtual Assistance
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Zoho Creator Tutorial – Part 3 ( Design & Share Custom Forms)

What is Zoho Creator | The Basics | Design & Share Custom Forms
Be the real world, or the virtual world, have you ever wondered how prominent forms are? The very act of handing over a form translates into to some kind of “organised” activity. (How organised is it really… is a subject of debate). What is the first thing you do when you get connected to the internet ? … Of Course!, check the mail ( what a dumb question .. isn’t it ?). But hey !, wait there is much more between that. As soon as you connect to the internet, you open your browser ( IE / FF / Safari / Opera). Then you view your signing in page for the mail. Now STOP!. What do you see… A FORM that asks for your UserID and Pwd. It is only after this you get to reach your inbox. So you see, there is no escaping from Forms. If you intend to collect data , then you need an interface to collect them. Forms provide just this. So, gear up to design your custom form.

Designing the form using Zoho Creator :-
Remember :-

  1. Forms accept data & Views display the data
  2. Both above actions happen only in live mode.
  3. Designing Forms takes place in edit mode.



As soon as you login at zoho Creator, you will be greeted by your dashboard which lists all your applications.

Zoho Creator not only allows you to create your custom forms, but also reduces the work load by providing ready-to-use fields for specific data types.

Say, the 123Number field-type will only accept numbers. Any Text will be rejected by the system (without you having to write code to validate.)

Earlier, there was just one field NAME. Now lets customise the guest book form with some basic elements.

Feel free to explore the possibility of using other field types such as Radio – for Male / Female , ADD NOTES – to have a standard piece of text by way of explanation etc etc.

If you wish to edit the existing fields ( Change NAME –> To –> YOUR NAME )
Another EDIT EXERCISE: – Edit the Blog URL field & Remove the tick mark from “Link name required”.

We have experienced those moments of ” OMG! .. I Forgot to Save”. Not anymore. Coz, zoho creator does it for you without having to click on any “SAVE Button”. ( … actually… you wont find any save button).

Once you are satisfied with you form’s design, fields etc, go to the live mode using the ACCESS THIS APPLICATION link.

  1. Go the form in Live mode
  2. Add few data and submit the form
  3. Locate the view for this form ( don’t remember how, Read again )
  4. Confirm if all the data you have entered are seen

Now that you have designed the form & have tested it, it is time to test it in real time.

How to put Zoho creator form in Webpage / blog ?
Once you are in the live mode of the form, notice the More actions link at the top of the form & follow 1 & 2 as directed below

It is wise to share the forms using the url that is generated after Access form without login. Use the code and paste it in your blog.

You can use the HTML/Javascript element & paste code. If you want the form to appear right inside the post, then write a new post, and paste the code snippet in the EDIT HTML mode of the post.

Invite your friends to sign your guest book. See your form in action.
If you have any problem, drop me a word, I shall be glad to help.Your appreciation is my motivation Thanks in advance for linking to me at your blog.

What is Zoho Creator | The Basics | Design & Share Custom Forms

From Deepa’s Template Tips

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Zoho Creator Tutorial – Part 2 (The Basics)

What is Zoho Creator | The Basics | Design & Share Custom Forms

Welcome back ! I believe that by now, you would have your zoho creator login so as to proceed further. I will not be surprised if some of you have already started to explore its interface, get to know the workspace etc. Way to go !..

So, lets start from the beginning. As I have mentioned in my previous post, Zoho creator allows you to create forms & store the data obtained via these forms, and also do scores of other things. Before we start on those, it is essential to know the elements associated with zoho creator. This is get used to the terminologies. But before you start, open up Zoho Creator and login with your User ID and Pwd in another tab / window.

Applications :-
It is much easier to realate Zoho Creator Applications as Excel work books. Understand that you are allowed to create only 10 Applications (~workbooks~ notice the red bar on the top that says this) with free membership. However, with paid membership, you can have unlimited applications. From what I have seen, 10 applications are more than sufficient for individuals and small business owners.

Inorder to create an application, use the Create New Application link in your dashboard.

Lets start off by naming it as “My Personal Application”. As we progress with this zoho creator series, we will be using this application to add forms and do other stuff.

Zoho creator allows you to create 10 applications for free. Please lend me one, during the course of this zoho creaor series.

Forms :-
After creating the application , you will be automatically redirected to the My Guest book – form area where you can design your form. Although we will be seeing this in details in the upcoming posts, lets start of with a single field.

Do you notice the INSERT FIELDS in the left & Drag and Drop fields on the right. … So it would be appropriate to say here that You are in the EDIT MODE of the form.

Add a single line field , & give the Label Name as NAME

For the moment, lets have only one field . We will be adding more fields in the upcoming posts.

Live Mode :- (Run the form)

From here, things begin to get technical. There is no need to get perturbed, you will get used to it in course of time.Now, you have your first form ( with a single field NAME).It is time to use this form to gather date.

Use the ACCESS THIS APPLICATION link in the top to go into the LIVE MODE.This will take you to the LIVE MODE where data is entered into the form.

Go ahead, Enter a few names and click submit. AS soon as you Submit the form, you should notice a message that says “Data added successfully”.

Views :- Where does all the data go ?

Zoho creator uses “VIEWS” to strore the data collected via forms. Views are nothing but tables that are automatically populated with data is added to a form.

Every form by default has its view. The name is usually [FORM-NAME] & View. Just as in this case “My Guest book View”. The View displays the data only on Live Mode. In the upcoming posts, we will be learning more about how views behave in the edit mode.

Now, that you have located your form’s View, Go ahead and click it. You should be presented with something that looks like this


Lessons Learnt :-

  1. Create a new application & name it as “My Personal Application”.
  2. Create a new form & name it “My Guest book”.
  3. Add a single line field to above form and name it “NAME” — This happens in the edit mode of the form
  4. Use the ACESS THIS APPLICATION link to go into the LIVE MODE
  5. Add data into the form and click submit… “Data submitted successfully” confirms the submission
  6. Locate the view that is autogenerated for the form , It is named as “[ FORM NAME ] & View”
  7. See the data entered via form in a tabular format.

Things to Remember.

  1. Zoho allows 10 free applications
  2. One application can have any number of forms.
  3. Data can be entered only in Live mode
  4. Entered Data can be seen only Live mode …. Use VIEWs for seeing the data.
  5. You can also Add / edit / delete data from the views directly.

It might take a while for the information here to sink it. If you feel overwhelmed, take a break and come back again. I assure you, once you get the hang of things, it will be next to impossible to let go. Your time will be worth every second while you aclamatise yourself with zoho creator.

Feel free to share your thoughts, I shall be gald to respond.
Your appreciation is my motivation

What is Zoho Creator | The Basics | Design & Share Custom Forms

From Deepa’s Template Tips

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Work From Home – Booby Traps That Kill Your Time

“Work From Home” has somehow become associated with women who are unable to attend office for personal reasons (child care tops the list). When this idea is pitched into our actual corporate environment, it gets highlighted as “telecommuting”. Well.. it all means the same eventually, work from home!

Tell me, how many times you have come across classifieds that say “Work from Home” in print & over internet. Very tempting isn’t it? Especially, when fuel prices, traffic woes & road rage, flash across our minds. But is it really all that sugar and honey? Does “work from home” truly translate into bliss and feeling of gratification?

The fact that we work from home, on one hand saves up on office setup & installation costs, drastically cuts down our fuel bills, & for some wardrobe bills too. While on the other hand, we fail to consider the frequent interruptions & distractions that arise purely based on the fact that we are at home. This could be a unannounced guests, neighbour who shows no sign of leaving, unsolicited sales representatives etc. Not to mention the temptation to succumb to “I will do it later” –syndrome.

The greatest strength and also the greatest drawback of working from home is that, “there is no one watching over you”. Sometimes, we do need someone over our shoulders to tell us when we are drifting away. Working at home is not a wonder therapy and one-size-does-not-fit-all. It requires some amount of grit and determination to get it work for you, just right. Watch out for the

  • Booby traps listed below. Discover what works for you best.

    1. Booby Trap 1 : – Time Factor

      • Have strict timings to “attend work” & allocate time to “do other things” in your computer. Need I say more???
      • If it is neither your “working time” nor your “other time”, stay away from your system. At the end of the day, it is still a machine.
    2. Booby Trap 2 : – Space Factor

      • Separate physical space will trigger the “serious mood” required to work.
      • Eventually, this will tune the family “not to interrupt while at work”.
    3. Booby Trap 3:- Phone calls & Visitors.

      • Make a note of phone calls & visitors.
      • Return the calls when you are “not at work” & gently explain your routine.
      • After a couple of similar calls, they too will begin to respect your time.
    4. Booby Trap 4- Emails & Social Networking

      • These are the silent time stealers. Unless you lock them up completely it is impossible to “be at work”.
      • I respond to official mails before I begin work & after I complete work. (any mails that arrive later is responded the next day). Perhaps you can come up with your own routine.
    5. Booby Trap 5- Commit things to writing

      • Our memory is not a dumping yard & there is no overload indicator.
      • I use a 200 page notebook with separators to write down tasks associated with my ongoing projects. May be you can try and get to know what works for you.
      • I also use sticky notes for meetings & project delivery, a new set every week.
    6. Booby Trap 6: – Family time is truly for family

      • Churning codes in your head while helping your kids with homework is something I would not recommend.
      • Isn’t it for the sake for family you decided to work from home? So what is the point if you are mentally glued to work even while with family.
    7. Booby Trap 7: – Take a walk

      • Working from home could lead to isolation in your neighbourhood.
      • You mind & body needs sunshine and human interaction for a healthy well-being.
      • Walk the dog, or take a stroll… what is important is to “stay disconnected”.

    Wile working from home, it is indeed a challenge to draw the line between work & non work hours. It is even a greater challenge to get this message across to friends and family. You work from home does not mean that you are at everybody else’s disposal, and, you time cannot be taken for granted. But before you can explain this to someone else, YOU need to respect YOUR TIME and not stray from your routine.

    The moment you are able to discipline your mind & actions towards this, then its only a matter of time, practice & patience, others get the message.

    Deepa’s
    Virtual Assistance
    • Posted on

    Zoho Creator Tutoral Series – Coming Up

    I hope you remember my earlier post 5 months back, Zoho Creator :- Only intuition, no programming. (You couldn’t have missed it, coz I didn’t really post anything after that). As promised, I am here again with the intention having a zoho creator series for all those who are not afraid to try.

    Not all are programming experts and not every one can say the difference between relative fields and relational databases I get confused more than i am credited for .. thats the way it is . So, this is for the common man, who can read write and understand English. You see.. Zoho creator is in english & I am blogging about it in english…Oh!.. btw, they have a Japanese version of the sitetoo.. but “iie – arigato gozaimus” .. I don’t speak anymore than this in Japanese.

    The idea is to walk you through the process of building an application using zoho creator from scratch.

    Walk with me.. let me know if I can be of assistance.

    Zoho Creator – What is that ?

    Before I answer this question, tell me how extensively do u use MS Excel?. The reason I ask is, a layman’s concept with zoho creator is somewhat based on based on this. Hmm.. lets see… the rows and columns reduce half the work load. The auto filter in excel allows you to sort / organise your data. Perhaps you are even familiar with using formulas ( basic math – to – advanced formulas). Lets say we have an excel sheet like this & call it Guestbook.

    Date Name Email BlogUrl Comments
             
             

    But, if you want to gather data using excel, then you would have mail it as an attachment ,OR share it as excel sheet with other users using some file sharing platform. This will work great, if you know who is going to use them. Plus, you have to be sure that the people who are using this excel are within your network and trustworthy… That is to say, the “data is private among trusted users ” & “there is no way to gather data outside this small network of friends”…

    So, ….Are you with me so far ????..

    Now, think about this. You have a Form & this form reflect the “structure” of the YOUR excel sheet.


    This has all the elements that you want the user to add. Yet, none of them can see the actual data. Now, this is your “web form” that you have customised to suit your needs. So what happens next, You can either embed this form within your website As Shown above , or share the permalinks of the form via email. (There is more to sharing.. .lessons follow…)

    What zoho creator does is to “allow you to create forms” using their WYSIWYG editor. (.. lessons follow..) And, this also allows you to view / edit the data collected via these forms at Zoho Creator. ( .. lessons follow…)

    In short – Zoho creator allows you to build custom database application using WYSIWYG editor.But, inorder to start, you need to Signup with Zoho Creator. So go ahead, Register yourself and get a login, You may also signin wiht your Google Account.

    Thats pretty much for the introduction,
    See you soon with your login at zoho creator.
    Your appreciation is my motivation

    From Deepa’s Template Tips

    Posted on

    Custom Branding – The soft nudge

    Every business-idea is the seed of a concept. It is only after careful deliberation by the founder(s), does this germinate into a business venture. So, it is only understandable that they put their heart and soul into this venture to make this a success. Successful ventures already have a “Brand identity” in place , while the upcoming ventures strive to achieve the a certain level of excellence with their “Brand identity”. So, what’s with custom branding and success of a business venture? Well, it is so much and so less.

    As a business owner, I would guess that you want that your organization be remembered amongst your clientele and most definitely, your business process would be steering towards excellence in the chosen field. But, if you ( or your business) is just a “Name”, then it is only wishful thinking that the client remembers you when a similar project comes along. The fact is, you are one of the many business associates from the client’s perspective. He (the client ) is most likely to remember the details of those with whom he has a project in progress, or those who have made a remarkable difference to his (client’s) business.

    There is nothing to loose heart about here. Face it! ..that’s just how the human mind works. But like everything else, there is a work around. There are subtle ways of reminding the client, that you are well in business, grown wiser over the years, and have acquired new levels of competency without having to shout from rooftops. Make good use of “Custom Branding Solutions”, both online and offline. It is likely that you are already familiar with this, but just didn’t realise the term up until now.

    What is Custom Branding?

    Ever noticed those “Company Mails”, that land in your mail box both in paper & paperless offices?. Even before you take a second look, you are able to recognise the sender, from the unique stationary that is being used. Such correspondences usually have a water mark with their company logo, accompanied by their contact address and the actual message printed over this stationery. Well, simply put, it is the company’s “Letter Head”. See!, you already knew it.

    Why Custom Branding?

    The company could have printed ( or emailed) the actual content in a plain sheet of paper ( or a word / pdf document). Instead they have chosen to “Customise” for the fact that , this customisation is expected to trigger an offshoot of thought reflecting your association with the said company. Well, it worked .. didn’t it ?, Hence Custom Branding.

    Corporate Identity – A Pre-requisite.

    In order to begin with Custom Branding, it is essential that you ( your company) have a “Corporate Identity” to customise. By “Corporate Identity, I am referring to your Company Name, Company Logo & Unique Marketing Tagline , if applicable. Your company ceases to be “just another Name “, once you have these three entities in place. Rest is just a matter of affordability in time and money.

    You might already have your “Company Name” registered. Perhaps you already have your tagline in place, just did not realise it. Go ahead! call a General Body meeting and conceptualise on the look and feel of the logo, rest the Graphic Designer will do it for you. An experienced Graphic designer should be able to provide you with a Logo (Graphic) that looks great in Print , Web , Colour , Greyscale ,and Completely Scalable Vectorised format.

    Best Practices in Custom Branding.

    As I mentioned at the start of the post, the idea is to provide that little nudge to jog the memory, not push him (client) overboard. So, subtle the better.

    1. Office Documents :-
      • The header should include company logo, address, phone & email of the executive in charge , and url to company website.
      • The footer should include things like “Private , confidential , page numbers ” etc.
      • An unobtrusive logo as watermark is welcomed, but if this hinders with the viewablity of the text, then it’s a strict “No”.

    2. Shared Applications
      • With the strides in technology, geographical boundaries have shrunk tremendously. This can be attributed to the hoards of web applications made available for multiple users.
      • If you are using any of these applications, take a second look. There might be a chance that you have missed out on customising the look and feel of this application to match that of your website, such as upload company Logo, update company profile , Customise signature etc.

    3. Printed Stationery
      • Items such as envelopes, scribble pads , pens , pencils can be embossed / engraved / printed with your company logo.
      • Very effective during client meetings, where a set of stationery is provided to the client.
      • Printed mugs, Tee-shirts, Daily Planner, are costlier stuffs, which are usually “gifted” during Christmas and other occasions.

    Think about it, you have a Word Template in place for business correspondences with the header, watermark and footer in place. All that need be done is to reuse it , instead of having to include every item separately for every document. Same goes for official presentations ( ppt slides). The graphic, and color schema is all in place, except to add content.

    Custom Branding is a bit of “extra work” to start off with, but nevertheless, pays dividend in the long run.
    PJ – 🙂 Do you think I can apply for “Trademark”ing the term “Custom Branding ” :-).. what do you say ?

    Deepa’s
    Virtual Assistance
    Posted on

    oDesk and Me

    A Couple of years ago, I would have brushed off any thought on freelancing if anyone had mentioned this as a career choice. I was happy with my 9 – 5 job, and life was going on (as it should be , with acceptable highs and lows.) Later, when the “wakeup call” hit me, it hit me hard. I decided to take a sabbatical from work, and turned to blogging to keep myself busy. Oh! Boy, I am hooked to blogging. I came across interests that I never knew existed in me. I could get in touch with few long lost friends, and make some new friends along the way. I was an 8 year old when I actually met my Blog-friend.( call it the new age pen-pal / blog-pal).

    I was tired of getting typecast into Cooking – family-childcare-type of posts that were expected from a female blogger. I wanted to offer something different in my own special kind of way. It was during these times, I was searching for information on freelancing to make a blog post. So, in an attempt to gain first hand knowledge of the freelancing industry, I signed up at all major freelancing sites, oDesk , Va4U , Elance and several others (that’s from a spectrum of 10 -15 sites). I was awed at the kind of talent pool just waiting to be harnessed at all these sites, and now I was one of them.

    You might be familiar with the phrase “Performance Based Incentives”. Well, I got a first hand experience of this at oDesk , one of THE BEST freelancing site ( from my own spectrum), I have come across so far for the same aforementioned reason. To prevent overbidding by service providers ( and flooding the buyer’s inbox), every oDesk user starts off with 5 bids per week. However, he can increase his / her quota of bids by taking skill tests with oDesk , ie at the end of 5 skill tests; you have about 20 bids per week.Moreover, These skill tests also put the provider on the buyer’s radar when a matching job is posted.

    Although, seasoned providers don’t actually use more than 20 bids in an entire month, this matters a lot to newcomers, especially when they have to “apply for as many jobs as possible”, to get their foothold. But this is just one of the many aspects at oDesk that impressed me. Providers who stay and Buyers who come back at oDesk are professional in every sense. Others signup on a whim and expect a plum job to be handled over in a platter. It has more to do with lack of conviction and the rest is meaningless noise.

    All of this started with a quest to make a single blog post on freelancing at my personal blog. I admit, I never made that post in my personal blog. Instead I now have a blog completely dedicated to freelancing and an Orkut Community to this effect. Now, who would have imagined that…. ? … ? … ?.

    I no longer hold my 9- 5job, and the pay-packet is certainly not as regular as it used to be. Yet it makes me happy about the work minus the burnt out feeling coupled with the guilt of not being able to attend to family at short notice. But, Let me remind you, before my first VA-Project , I too had interview calls, that never saw the light of the day… but hey!.. don’t these things happen in the non-freelancing/ Virtual genre as well ???

    Deepa’s
    Virtual Assistance
    Posted on

    P2W2 – Freelancing portal with a diffrence

    As a freelancer, I make it a point to visit and get acclimatized to the various freelancing portals on the WWW. This helps me to see the “skills in demand”, and also gives me an insight to hone my existing skills in accordance with this dynamic market place. There is no doubt that VA’s are self motivated individuals who are willing to go “the extra mile” for a project, being well within the reasonable limit, But the work of the virtual assistant scales up tremendously if the buyer is unable to communicate his requirement
    Attention Service Buyers – Is your Project Worth Bidding for ?

    Freelance marketplaces bring Service Buyers and Service Providers together so that both can mutually benefit . But in order to get the best result from the Virtual Assistant , it is of foremost importance that the Service Buyer has a well defined goal and understanding of his project requirement and communicate it as well. Just as a good project description can bring the best out of a mediocre Virtual Assistant, an equally bad project description is undoubtedly suicidal for an expert VA. It is hard reality that some Service Buyers don’t have the faintest idea of putting forth their project requirement, and “good” VAs do not bother to bid for such projects.

    Project Description plays an integral part of getting the VAs to bid for your project

    I understand that not all are capable of putting their requirements into words. Some times I have observed that Service Buyers whose project description is bad (to) worse, communicate much effectively over a voice conference session and are able to articulate their requirement in a more effective manner. But most freelancers do not give a second chance to such buyers. A Freelancer’s mind set says ” If his project description is so lousy, how is he going to understand / appreciate the work I will be doing. I don’t have time to sit through tutorial and walk-through session”.

    P2W2 – Freelancing Marketplace with a difference
    Voice Based Project Description.

    Imagine my surprise, when I came across a freelance portal, which does exactly the same without having to schedule a voice conference between the Bidder and the Buyer. P2W2 – People To Work With is one such freelance market place.

    What makes P2W2 really stand out is their facility to add “Voice Based Project Description” for the buyers. This does not mean “text” is out. The buyer can record his requirement and also point out the most important aspect of the project as text while posting a project. I was awed during my discussion with Chaitanya , CEO of P2w2 while taking a look at this feature..

    By far, I believe this is the only portal that allows “Voice based Project description”. Now, this is what I call “Thinking out of the Box”. Not Stopping at “Voice Project Description”, P2W2 allows Voice recording for feedback and issue tracking. This is a busy world, and shows no sign of abatement. Thanks to technology. So instead of hurriedly typing some “not so meaningful” descriptions, buyers can now speak things out out. It is also noticed that, one tends to give more information while speaking, when compared to writing the same thoughts. As a bidder, I relish this feature. Once this feature kicks off with the freelancing community I am sure P2W2 is going to give other sites a run for their money.

    P2w2 Blog

    It was a lazy afternoon I was browsing through all my visitors who left me a comment.P2W2 blog is something I started off with an intention of a casual glance. But before I realised, I was reading away from their archives.

    Most corporate blog tend to fall into the trap of “frequent updates” and do not give much needed attention to the quality of their content. But same could not be said for P2W2-blog. With an average of 4 posts per month, each post is a content to be relished. If you are in a hurry, read the headlines and comeback when you have time to pay attention. Never have I seen headlines that convey the gist in such an effective manner.

    By reading no more than 2 blog posts, it becomes evident that this blog has “class”. The posts are informative and well researched. But the best part is the presentation is simple and devoid of any technical jargons

    Some Interesting read are :-
    1. How to Lock-in Your Clients – 1: Listen to them
    2. Small business cash flow crisis: Psychology, not economics, is to blame
    3. The changing rules of the game in a small business

    These are my Top3 picks, tell me about yours.

    Deepa’s
    Virtual Assistance

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