The term freelance worker refers to a person performing tasks for an individual or corporation without an employment agreement extending beyond the completion of the job. The term freelancer also implies a person working solely for himself/herself. As his/her own boss, a freelancer is, of course, in complete charge of their scheduling and allocation of effort and resources, including to high tech devices.
Successful freelancing is often associated with competence in riding the current technology wave to hasten work and broaden mastery. It is clear that the Internet is a vital time and effort saver for all freelancers, and one of the most convenient ways to access it is through the newest e-book readers. These devices allow users to track what others say about books, current events, issues, and developments in most fields.
Monitoring relevant Internet forums and checking out the homepages of interested parties is a powerful way to catch up and keep up with daily changes in public preferences and opinions. Visiting sites related to unfamiliar subjects offers a ‘quick and dirty’ education in a new field. These regular visits are accomplished easily with an e-book reader.
Such portable devices also allow people who often are separated by miles and oceans to pass information from one to another. While the temptation to share gossip is powerful, these e-book readers, with their portable web access, are also a vehicle for sharing professional advice and hints, tips, and tricks.
Looking backward, a ‘generation’ in technology, other devices, and facilities have become almost de rigor. It is really difficult, for example, to envision a freelance writer surviving for long without email and Internet access these days. Writing companies and clients expect a freelancer, whatever their specialty, to be available online, more or less around the clock. They may need to receive email alerts, to communicate with customers and staff, and to be able to upload documents promptly through a website or directly through email.
Mobile phones freed freelancers from being chained to their landlines, stuck inside waiting for callbacks, or calling into their company’s headquarters to find out about orders! Even companies that encourage writers to work from home sometimes need to coordinate in person. Fortunately, cell phones can reduce the amount of time and stress involved in attending in-office meetings.
For freelancers, their home often becomes their office, often resembling the proverbial “boiler room.” A mobile phone, especially one with some advanced features, can extend the reach of the home office, both in terms of distance and function. A cell phone may even make a vacation feasible if the device is equipped with Internet browsing features, SMS, voice mail, and a camera. Most issues can be resolved; communication lines remain open, and work progresses seamlessly.
According to data gathered by ResearchWritingCenter.com, from internal reports and with the help of Google Analytics:
- In 2009: 28.3% of all visits to the site were performed through mobile devices.
- In 2010: 56.5 % of all visits to the site were performed through mobile devices for just the first months.
These numbers are predicted to increase as devices increase in power and flexibility, helping writers and other freelance professionals to accomplish more in less time, and stay connected with each other and with the wider world.
Losing or fatally damaging a high-tech gadget (and it does happen – rain, swimming pools, hard floors, kids: all are deadly!), once one has arduously entered one’s whole life’s information into its memory chips, is a potential disaster. Good sense suggests retaining a backup of all this personal and professional data on a laptop or desktop, kept safely at home. The laptop or desktop can be updated with each day’s new work or information.
The synergistic combination of the flexibility and mobility offered by hand-held devices and the immense computing power contained in the newest models of laptops and desktops can catapult a determined, disciplined, creative writer into higher salary and promotion.
These days, even a smart, capable writer needs to know how to use and exploit at least some of the modern technological equipment to succeed. You still require superb qualifications, of course, good communication and people skills, deep knowledge and expertise, and a professional attitude. Companies may nonetheless say a regretful “No” to individuals who fumble and hang back when it comes to the new necessary devices of everyday working life.