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AI is making huge waves among language professionals. As reported by Slate, Europe’s literary translators are pushing back against AI. In their Statement on Artificial Intelligence, they express grave concern about the spreading use of the technology in the publishing industry.
Derek Sivers wrote a very interesting piece titled Walk and Talk, about his experience on a 100-kilometer hike through northern Thailand. He made the seven-day journey with a dozen people, five of whom were authors Derek had loved for years. He shared his highlights in the article:
“It’s one of the best things I’ve ever done. Very healthy for your brain, body, and friendships. I highly recommend it for anyone.”
American Matthew Fenton has been working as an independent consultant since 1997, and he also writes the beneficial blog Winning Solo.
A while ago, he summarized his first 25 years of freelancing in a comprehensive article, recapping 25 things he got both very wrong, and mostly right as a freelancer.
In general, he places great emphasis on playing the long game, building a good name, and stresses that he never thought of freelancing as a stopgap, a flight of fancy, or a mere hustle:
“I never take it lightly. 'Fake it ’til you make it' is one of the biggest bits of nonsense foisted upon us by the personal-branding types. Our reputations are at stake. So are our clients’ investments. Experienced people can smell a fake a mile away.”
Nigel Rawlins recorded a great interview with Elina Jutelyte, the founder of Freelance Business Community and organizer of Freelance Business Month. The interview is honest, very pleasant, and quite insightful about her ways of doing freelance business. Check it out!
Here’s a friendly reminder, ahem, article: You're Not Building a Personal Brand; You're Just Posting on LinkedIn — besides naming the downside of LinkedIn as a go-to marketing strategy for individuals, the straight-to-the-point essay written by Deepika Pundora also makes the correct distinction between a personal brand and that person’s actual reputation:
“Personal brand is how you want your audience to see you and talk about you. Unlike reputation, it’s not about what others think of you. It’s about the image you’ve cultivated and how others relate to this image.”
A couple of English interviews with Robert Vlach were recorded in December after our international freelance meetup in Sofia, Bulgaria. One longer interview about The Freelance Way and the business side of independent professionals, hosted by the well-prepared Stan Slavev, has just been released on his freelance podcast:
The latest survey State of Independence in America 2023 by MBO Partners offers a rare insight into freelancing and the broader gig economy in the USA, based on a statistically representative data sample.
Its wide scope covers freelancers, independent professionals, and solopreneurs alongside semi-independent gig workers. However, thanks to a simple three-tier segmentation of Full-Time, Part-Time, and Occasional Independents it allows for better understanding which trends observed in the data are most relevant to regular freelancers.
The full 28-page report is arguably the most remarkable in the 13 years these studies have been produced. Here are the 3 most interesting highlights:
Upwork has released yet another disappointing Freelance Forward 2023 survey of freelancing in America.
In short, the research report lacks many statistical details present in their older annual surveys done in collaboration with the Freelancers Union. This is particularly evident in the absence of distinction between full-time, part-time, and occasional freelancers, who represent a majority of the broadly defined freelance population.
The drop in quality of Upwork’s annual surveys is almost as jaw-dropping as the downfall of Upwork stock, down 75% from all-time-high.
Mozilla has launched an AI website builder for solopreneurs, freelancers and independent professionals. Solo (still in Beta) is freely available at Soloist.ai.
The no-code app can import text and reviews from your Facebook, Yelp, or web page, and attach a booking calendar, contact form, etc. It suggests both visual and textual content optimized for SEO, and the resulting microsite is mobile-friendly. Overall, if you don’t need any extra features, Solo might be a useful tool, especially for early-career freelancers.
We rarely share paid freelance online events, but we make an exception this time. Our favorite U.S. writer on freelance business, Sarah Duran, offers a virtual workshop series the 2024 Freelance Flightplan with an early-bird price of $297 until Dec 31. Sarah has a history of great writing for freelancers, so this is an opportunity to kickstart the new year with some guidance from an experienced independent professional.