Julie R. Neidlinger: Lone Prairie Art Works

Templates.

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Google Docs (which I've talked about before) now has just over 300 templates to use -- for free -- for spreadsheets, word processing, desktop publishing, and presentations.

There are some very cool options.

The resume templates fascinate me, mainly because I can't help but believe I'll never use a resume again, what with my perpetual self-unemployment. But, it's nice knowing the option is there, should I need it. That is, if I still have an internet at that point, what with the assumed living in a cardboard box under an underpass and all.

Definitely check out Google Docs and their new templates.

Labels: internet, supplies

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Scribd.

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I've written about Scribd before, so you can read that for the background on what it is.

I've been working on uploading all the documents that I have available on my own site into my Scribd account (since they're free here, already, but a little hard to find sometimes). I also made it so you can subscribe to my Scribd feed (even by email, if you want) so that you know when something new is added.

Scribd is an odd place. There are all kinds of crazy documents on there... One thing I like about Scribd is the ability to embed documents into a web site in a way that is less excessive than the behemoth that is Adobe Reader. Scribd uses something called iPaper, and it's pretty cool. Scribd's blog seems to feature different ways people are using iPaper. They also have an app for Facebook, though it's done in a way to appeal to teachers/students.

I'd be curious to know if any of my readers have an account, or what they think of Scribd. In particular, I'd like to hear thoughts on concepts of information sharing, copyright issues, and so on.

Labels: free stuff, internet, links, promotions

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Success with Etsy.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 1 comments link this post

My friend has a store on Etsy, the web site that features handmade and original items of all kinds. I have a few items on Etsy myself, though I haven't made the decision to jump fully over to Etsy. I haven't decided the ifs and hows of keeping a store on my site versus having it on Etsy. Or, if I should move all of my "craft" type items to Etsy and maintain my art gallery on my site.

I've written about Etsy on this blog before, albeit briefly. Its low listing prices and great help with graphics, stores, marketing, and forums (plus a public forum where people list things they need someone to make for them) make it something akin to a huge art fair.

Regardless, Etsy is a favorite place of mine to visit and shop. And, for some, it has really been a path to online, home-based success. An article in the Minot Daily News (April 14, 2008) featured Jenna Lou Dauer. She makes absolutely fabulous purses and wallets and sells them (with great success) on Etsy.

Check out Jenna's store. She has great taste in fabrics, colors, and design. She's also begun to gather attention on other sites. Jenna Lou also has her own blog, and is part of a Minnesota group of artisans tied into Etsy.

Personally, I prefer the higher-priced handmade, not-from-sweatshop stuff. I've gotten a few purses from Yukiko Sato for the simple reason that they are delightfully made and very unique. I've gotten a purse to give as a gift from Amani Ya Juu, a company that features African women and helps them earn a living making really great purses. As I go through my closets and work at remaking and reusing clothing, I realize how the cheapness of things has contributed to not only excessive consumerism and greed, but the abuse of the people in countries forced to make things for so little pay. A $40 purse might be more than the similar $15 purse at Target, but I can promise that when you buy it from a person and make a connection to the person who made it, you're less likely to just toss it away next season.

And so, I encourage you to shop Etsy, and sell on Etsy. If you really want something unique and not cookie-cutter common, that's the place to go.

Labels: internet, links, marketing, selling

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Google pages.

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I'm having a lot of fun tweaking my free Google pages web site. You can see it here. I haven't got a clear idea of what I want to do there, but I have a sense of it being kind of like the "extra" file on my desk, the file where I throw in all kinds of random ideas that I may want to use later but that I definitely don't want to throw or mix in with the "serious" files. So, stuff I don't want on my main Lone Prairie site I could mix and mash over there.

I'm not sure.

Google has provided lots of easy to use templates, with an interface that is similar to all of the free services they now offer (Google docs, etc.) so, if you're using those, it should seem familiar to you whether or not you're up on web site creation or not.

Google has made it so you can also include Google gadgets, tweak the HTML to your own liking, and manage your page(s) easily from the dashboard.

If you're a writer or artist and need a quick web site just to refer people to, or perhaps just to get your feet wet on the internet, you might want to check it out. I could think of lots of ways this could be useful. It's much better than the early years of Geocities and those free sites.

Labels: art life, internet, writing life

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Postcrossing.

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In light of a recent post about post cards on this blog, and my excessive mentions on all of my blogs about how I love getting mail, the importance of handwritten letters and notes, etc. -- Postcrossing.com looks intriguing.

Essentially, Postcrossing lets people exchange post cards from around the world. Not electronic post cards, but the real thing. It keeps track of sending and receiving via post card ID numbers, almost like some giant chain letter (except it isn't) where you send out at random and receive at random. You register sent and received post cards in your account. Personal information is kept private to a degree, and each person is sent/assigned an address to send the post card to via email.

Postcrossing is...kind of like the non-heartbreaking more-private version of Post Secret, maybe. You can read more about it on the FAQ page at Postcrossing.

My sister Jacqui was the one who sent me the link, neither of us having yet tried it. At first I was thinking how I hate to start another account on another site with good intentions only to let it dwindle and die. But still...

It looks fun, so I've signed up and asked for the first address.

Labels: internet, links

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Using spam for your artistic benefit.

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I already talked about using spam for your writerly benefit. How about for your art?

A friend emailed me a link to some wonderful images on Flickr in which spam one-liners are used to create colorful, fun art. Check them out: Spam One-Liners

I rather like the ideas that come to mind.It's kind of a new "poster art" in a sense. I think I may need to make some spam poster art for my own room...

Labels: art, internet

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A kind of book depository where no one will get shot.

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Tacky title. Sorry.

But, Scribd is kind of a depository. A document depository. And I signed up for a free account, because that's what I do. [my Scribd profile]

So far, the only documents I have available are PDF's from the projects and such already on my Lone Prairie School blog. I doubt that I would put documents on Scribd that I don't also include elsewhere on my site. However, since most people don't read every blog or go through every page on this site, Scribd will be a great way to have access to all of the documents I make available for free.

I like the idea of people sharing the documents they have on their computer, though, I suppose, I'm a little Utopian in thinking that such documents are all going to be interesting. I was thinking of other possible uses, beyond the ones Scribd lists. Top of my mind, right now, is NaNoWriMo. Scribd could be a great way to provide long excerpts if you didn't want to end up with a huge number of long blog posts.

I've already used Google Docs (an absolute favorite of mine that I'm finding I use nearly every day) to publish information such as meeting minutes or meeting summaries that need to be read by multiple parties. I simply send them the link, the click it, and it matters not what kind of computer or security settings or software they have at their disposal; the link takes them to a fine, easily read and printed page on the internet.

I suspect that Scribd could be used in a similar manner for sites that are continually uploading PDF files and then manually linking them, but perhaps for more complex documents. For example, on the NRN-ND site that I manage, we have a document section with things like forms and applications. I link to the documents back here, which I manually uploaded and stored on this site, since I don't have the storage I'll eventually need for the free WordPress account. Scribd could be a handy solution for this, and save me some bandwidth issues on LonePrairie.net.

I'm rambling a bit. I am easily enthralled by the services available on the web for free, particularly when they seem to dovetail nicely into current needs for projects I'm involved in.

If you have a Scribd account, or an opinion on the service or how it could be used/abused, please leave a link or discussion in the comments section of this post. I would love to get some links and have a look at what's out there. If you're a writer, in particular, I'd like to hear your thoughts on such services as Google Docs and Scribd. I'd also like to know of other web sites that offer similar services in regards to documents and tools that would be handy for writers or people with information to publish.

Find out more about Scribd here.

Labels: internet, writing

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The fastest web site ever.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 0 comments link this post

I can't think of any faster way to build a web site: Jottit.com

Here's mine.

Hat Tip: Eric.

Labels: internet

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Internet business success: No free lunch. Really.

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My first rule of thumb when it comes to any product or service that someone is trying to sell me in regards to the internet is: before I pay you anything, let me do some research of my own.

I don't know how many times I've gotten enticements in the mail or my email that sell programs and seminars and all kinds of fabulous tools for the low low price of $Too Much. Gimmicks, offers, freebies -- all to entice me to spend my money making someone else's business a success. There are so many free and low cost services and information available on the web that it is foolish to pay hundreds or thousands of dollars for someone to collect it and print it out for you at a seminar.

Up front, let me say that very rarely do I pay for web site services that I use as a webmaster. And, if I do, I certainly don't shell out thousands. I do research to find the best tools at the lowest price. In no way am at the point that I do that yet. My web site, my client list, and my income has slowly but steadily grown over the years.

So, it was with eight years of experience and all the above thoughts that I attended a StoresOnline seminar with my employer at my very-much part time design job. The seminar promised a free lunch, a free business planner, and an introduction to internet marketing. Rather than rehash the hard-sell for their product or theorize what they were or were not about, let me point you to this page. You can also do a simple Google search on StoresOnline and find the first page of hits to be full of negative reports. Take that for what you will.

What struck me was the make-up of the audience: hard-working people with multiple jobs, many elderly and retired people, and a high number of disabled or people obviously experiencing medical issues. In other words, people desperate for an additional income. StoresOnline was using Marketing 101 to sell their product to this select audience:

Offer something for free.
Offer just enough information to whet appetites but do little else.
Raise the intensity and pressure level to spur people to act or else they'll "miss out."
Offer a selective (i.e. time-based) discount.
String them along for further "rewards" (discounts).

StoresOnline -- and other companies like them -- have customers who have had success. Though they specifically state that results aren't guaranteed, that these are not the normal results, and that there is no such thing as a "get rich quick scheme", they only speak in terms of success and getting rich quick. The way they are selling their product seems to perpetuate the myth to a very hungry and desperate group of people that the internet is the answer to all their independent income needs.

The StoresOnline speaker suggested that these were the six highly successful tips and secrets needed for people wanting to start a business online:

Top the search engine lists
Strategic linking
Permission email marketing
Vertical portals
ePublishing
Target marketing
Affiliate programs
Drop shipping

The speaker also listed three "crucial" steps that must be followed in order to prevent business catastrophe:

The right knowledge and training.
The right tools and support.
Take action.

You can see how these would fit nicely into their own marketing plan and encourage people to do business with them. I can't say that the three steps are out of line or out of order, but I would like to extract them from a specific sales model and say that the right knowledge and training, as well as the right tools and support, are available from more than just a company like StoresOnline.

High-pressure sales tactics do not work on me. In fact, they create a reverse outcome: I am less likely to buy from anyone using them because they do not allow me time to think. I won't act on anything I can't first think about. The more I am pressured into buying or deciding without a seller stepping back and giving me time to think about it or research it on my own, the more likely I am to simply walk off and get away from the pressure. It is that reaction that led me to research StoresOnline, which led me to discover many heartbreaking letters and stories of people who dropped a lot of money into the hopes of reaching internet sales success. That led me to try to write a post on a topic -- having a successful business on the internet -- that I still am grappling with on my own. I hope this helps. Someone.

----------

What about that list? Are they right? Are those things the key to internet success?

Top search engine lists. Yes, this is vital. They are absolutely correct in stating that poor search engine ranking will really, really hurt. Unless you have incredible word-of-mouth success, search engines are how customers initially find your site. If people can't find your site, what's the point? Search engine optimization (SEO) has volumes written about it on the internet. It's a fluid topic, with the things I had to understand when I first put up my site in 1999 being very different now. The internet grows and changes and the search engines change to adapt. SEO requires constant vigilance.
Strategic linking. I discuss links in more detail below. This is tied into SEO, as well as into networking (also discussed below).
Permission email marketing. Again, I talk about marketing below and this will be covered. Basically, this is very different from the idea of blanket marketing, but instead marketing to those who are interested and have asked for you to include them in your marketing efforts.
Vertical portals. A vertical portal is basically a site targeted to a specific audience, customer, or consumer. StoresOnline, and businesses like them who are selling you web sites, encourage multiple web site purchases. Each site would have a different focus or product. Obviously, this works well for them since they will do better in sales. There is a place for vertical portals, but that isn't necessarily a given success/failure issue. Some sites have a variety of products and services and manage to market or arrange their site in a way that customers with a specific interest have no problem finding what they want (Amazon.com, for example). Other sites have too much variety and haven't found a way to "direct traffic" to the proper places. [See also Vertical Portals.]
ePublishing. Publishing without having to deal with paper and printing costs is obviously a help. Instead of paying postage to send out newsletters and such, you can use your target audience or current customer list to send one out via email. ePublishing is important. You need to keep your web site front and center with customers so they don't forget about it. You need to let them know of sales, offers, new products, changes, etc. This ties into the concept of keeping your web site content fresh, which is discussed below.
Target marketing. Target marketing is vital to small business or companies that don't have the budget to blast ad campaigns to a large general audience in hopes of picking up a few customers here and there. Target marketing makes sense, and with all the tools available on the internet that will help you discover your market is, there is no reason to not keep this in mind. The key here, of course, is that first you must know who your market is. Is it geographically based? Product-based? Age-based? You can't target them if you don't know who they are. This requires you to both know your product or service, research who uses it, and go from there. [See also Target Marketing]
Affiliate programs. You can find a pretty decent overview on how affiliate programs work here. Again, like target marketing, with the technology available and the fact that you are using a medium (the internet) that encourages such programs, it can be vital to your internet business should it apply to the product or service you offer.
Drop shipping. StoresOnline's program heavily relies upon you finding a manufacturer with goods you sell on your web site. The key is drop shipping. You never handle the goods, but the orders are forwarded to the manufacturer who fills the order and ships directly to the customer. It is for this reason I'm not sure StoresOnline, and other businesses like it, are a great option for people with their own product to sell. Drop shipping is something I, as an artist and "manufacturer" to people looking to just what StoresOnline is advocating, refuse to do. (I have it on my ordering information page that I will not drop ship, and may blog about the reasons why later.) Drop shipping isn't a key to internet success. There are all kinds of businesses out there that do not require it. It is just one aspect of being able to nearly fully automate your web site (which is one of the selling points of StoresOnline) since you neither fill orders nor create the merchandise. This all depends on the web site and business you have. [See also Drop Shipping]

I don't know anything about web sites. What can I do?

Start. You can at least get something started. For free. Read here on how to do that.
Software. There is software available to help you design a web site using a WYSIWIG interface. A great one is Dreamweaver, although MS FrontPage is also popular. There are also many free software downloads or online services that help you create a web page in this same manner.
Web host-provided services. Many of the web hosts offer decent template or store services in their package already. My host, Readyhosting.com, offers a free minimal store with the basic package purchase. You can upgrade this to offer more products. And it requires no HTML or other coding knowledge. GoDaddy.com also offers such services. Find a host that offers automatic web-creation and/or store services.

What steps to I follow to get started with a web site?

Buy a domain name.
Find a service to host your web site.
Build your site.
Pay for a shopping cart service or use a free option.

What about payment options for my customer?

Merchant account. If you have a brick and mortar store, you most likely have a credit card merchant account already. You can use that to enter credit card payment information.
Free options. If you are a new online business or a private individual just getting started, you can use PayPal, Google Checkout, or similar services at no cost. These don't even require a shopping cart, but can use the free "buy" buttons.

What brings search engines to my site?

Content. It seems obvious, but so many people miss the point. If your web site has little to no content, and if it isn't constantly being kept fresh, it starts to sink. Keep your content fresh and relevant. I often encourage people with web sites to start a blog or news page on it which, if done well and regularly, fits the bill perfectly. [See also Web Feed]
People linking to you. Links to your site tell search engines to take you "seriously", that others on the web are linking to your content and your site and that not only are you not a spammer, but probably have some degree of relevancy to whatever topic is getting linked. Links from highly reputable and well-visited sites carry even more weight. Link popularity is important, though I personally do not take too much part in actively seeking and trading links, particularly with sites that aren't relevant to what my site is about. [See also Google Bomb; Link Popularity; Reciprocal Link]
Patience during your gradual building. Don't wait five minutes after uploading your site and then start fuming. New web sites are made every day. Even with work dedicated to making yours stand out, it doesn't happen in moments. Some search engines take longer to "trust" your site. [See also Sandbox Effect; Supplemental Result]

How can I market my web site?

Find customers who want to be found. Think less along the lines of shotgun marketing, spraying a wide audience and hoping to hit a few who are interested -- works great if you're a huge corporation with the money to burn, but if you're small, like me, I need to be a bit more targeted in who I market to. [See also Permission Marketing].
Be creative. I've written about marketing in other posts. You might find a few ideas in those posts. Some of the ideas are low-budget and small-scale, but they are creative. Try something new. Don't just take an ad out in the yellow pages and call it done.
Network. The grand old 1980's and 1990's buzz word. If you think you should do it through some form of a social networking web site, try it. Join online forums with connected interests and do make your web site your signature. Leave comments on blogs that are relevant and bring people back to your site to see what you're about. Get started on social networking sites. The internet is a place of connections, of links and clicking and discovering new people and things. That's why it's called the "web." Network, make people want to connect with you and your web site, but...don't spam. [See also Viral Marketing; Word of Mouth Marketing; Social Networking]
Don't spam. Don't leave comments on blogs that do nothing but tell readers to check out your site. Don't collect email address from people when they don't give you permission to use them for commercial purposes. Don't leave comments on forums clearly trying to harvest clicks and links.

What can I expect if I do as you suggest?

Saving money by doing something yourself will cost you time at the beginning. You will make mistakes. You will have to learn by trial and error. You will have to do some research on the internet and find out what the new, hot tools are, what the new trends, software, and technology is. Decide if it's for you, and see how you can go about making it work for you.
You can't remain happy in your ignorance. You're going to have to have a little computer knowledge, and a little internet/web site knowledge, too. If you turn everything over to a designer, you have no way of adding tools (such as Google Analytics, as described below) on your own. You will have to wait until your designer can do it. Find ways to build, manage, and control your own site as much as you can without it becoming a burden.
Probably not millions. You may or may not find success. But, for certain, you won't have shelled out thousands and found disappointment or dashed expectations. My main point here is that what many of these companies are selling is already available for free, with a little work. If you would rather not be bothered by all of this, by all means, sign up for a company like StoresOnline and see what you get. You may be a success. You may just lose your money. I can't give you any better odds than that, anyway.

-------------------- LINKS and RESOURCES --------------------

General and Website Marketing Links:
Learn what others have to say about internet marketing.

ePublishing Services and Resources

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) links:
Learn what other people have to say about increasing search engine traffic on your site.

Stat Analysis links:
Learn who is visiting your site, what brings them there, and why they stay.

Keyword and Link Research:
Learn what keywords are being used on the web and more.

Labels: internet, links, marketing

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Artists and web sites.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 0 comments link this post

When I first started LonePrairie.net, back in 1999, there weren't a lot of options for people who wanted a web site other than building their own. The internet changed a lot, though. At this point, anyone can have their own site for free.

In a sense.

Which leads me to artists having their own web sites. And blogs. My advice for any artist (or other person, for that matter) who wants their own site is to use some of these free blogging sites. This is anything but uncommon. To avoid having to include a "blogspot" or "wordpress" URL, purchasing a domain name and then forwarding it onto the blog is the easiest solution.

Case(s) in point:

The Nicaragua Resource Network - North Dakota is my latest use of just such a system. The old site, while perhaps a little better looking (the downside of this is the use of obvious blog templates, though you can modify them to a degree), did not have the ease I found necessary to constantly update. As NRN-ND gets more involved and the information needs and frequencey of news became more involved, I found being the webmaster a real drain.

Blogs, with their database way of working, should make this much, much easier. New content? Easy to put up, categorize, and accessible from any internet connection.

For artists or people selling things, a simple PayPal or Google Checkout account, uploaded images in each post, and a "buy now" button will do the trick.

My current personal preference is Wordpress.com. Lots of features, including static pages. I personally buy my domain names from GoDaddy.com just because...I do. They're cheap and have great customer service.

So:

Sign up for a free blog account (Wordpress.com).
Sign up for a PayPal/Google Checkout account.
Buy your domain name (GoDaddy.com)
Forward your domain name to your blog URL.

Done.

What the heck. Get some free business cards at VistaPrint.com with your new web site address and call it a day. Minimal investment and ease of use. It's a fine start. Maybe not the final answer if your business grows, but a good way to get online, at least.

Labels: blogging, internet, marketing

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Most don't look like anything special.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 1 comments link this post

The title of this post is the money quote in a USA Today article that talked about artist-bloggers who were making a living using their blogs and eBay.

Still, for most dealers, gallery owners and museum curators, artist/bloggers are just not worth their interest.

"Most don't look like anything special," says Howard Rehs, co-owner of Rehs Galleries in New York. Dealers work with buyers "who are looking to build collections that have some relevance, importance or meaning." The bloggers are just "a little blip in the art world, something that will fill a niche for those people who want to buy something real and not just a poster."

Maybe, but it's a niche that is growing. People such as Togel of ArtByUs.com see the artists' roles almost as educators for art-buying neophytes. Buyers "can make their mistakes; they can grow, learn what is good, what isn't, what they like, don't like," he says. "After you bring art to the masses, eventually some of them are going to go to galleries to buy."

That is how you write "sour grapes" in three paragraphs instead of just two words. I would say that any buyer who shells out a few dollars for an original painting think they are special, and that's all that matters. As with newspapers and other media, people are finding they don't need the middleman (in this case, galleries) to tell them what they want or to help them get it.

I've had Duane Keiser, the artist featured in the story, on my Lone Prairie blogroll for over a year now. His art is fantastic, despite what the snootiest art gallery owner might say.

I tried selling via eBay about four years ago, to no avail. I don't know if times have changed or if I'll be able to get a foot in the door on this trend. I have no idea if it's on the waning cycle or not. Nevertheless, I've started to list paintings for sale on eBay, and you can check them out here.

Links from USA Today article:

Labels: art life, internet

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Barnes and Noble Book Clubs

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Great news for readers: Barnes and Noble has started Book Clubs.

Now, I'm not naive enought to fail to comprehend that this venuture, like the free Barnes and Noble University, will help them sell books. I'm assuming that since the Barnes and Noble University is discontinued, this new book club effort is intended to fill the gap. Whether it's to sell books or get people reading, I'm all for more book discussion.

For those of you looking for an online book club if there's not a book club near you to join, this might be the thing. Or, you could join The Librarium, which I am a part of. I think you'll find an unusual, non-typical book selection that will stretch your reading selections there. Either way, if you're longing for a book club, there are plenty of options to choose from online.

For more book and book club links, check out the Lone Prairie Library.

Labels: books, internet

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Linkage: Reviving the old.

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I've often bemoaned the death of the old forms of communications brought about by email and technology. Hand-written letters, postcards, telegrams -- pretty much gone the way of the Dodo. Back before unique paper cards, tags and whatever else is out there was considered ephemera and the media of scrapbookers and collage artists, it was actually used.

As you can tell by my website's look, I love paper scraps and cards and stuff from yester-year. And, as I've said in previous posts, I miss the feel and aura of handwriting on paper. Regular readers know I like real letters, commonplace books, bookplates, dip-pens and anything else that has passed from regular use.

The following links are an effort to provide a marriage of the old and new, a kind of compromise. If you have a site or link to add, drop it in the comments.

Send an old-style telegram via email. It's free, fun, and better than nothing: Retro-gram.
Download free "prop" documents with a 1920's and 30's feel to them at the H.P. Lovecraft Historical Society. Lots of great stuff.
The HPLHS also offers vintage postage stamps. (The HPLHS has done a great service with all of the stuff the offer you online. Check out their site beyond the links I've provided.)
Christian Matzke's site is about making props for the H.P. Lovecraft mythos, but even if you aren't into Lovecraft, you'll still find some cool ideas of stuff you can make and adapt for whatever purposes you might have. Very cool site; Matzke has put a lot of work into it.

Labels: internet, links

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Being writerly.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 0 comments link this post

It's not new by any means, but I finally got around to trying it.

One of the challenges of computers is moving documents from a home computer to a work computer to a flash drive to a friend's computer to finding a way to work on documents on a computer somewhere on the road.

I have to say, Writerly is turning out to be a lot of fun so far.

Yet another online product bought up by Google, Writerly lets you do your word processing through their web site instead of through software on your hard drive. This means that as long as you can get on a computer with an internet connection, you can work on your documents. You don't have to save documents to discs or portrable drives and move them to the computer you're working on. You don't have to worry about finding a Mac or a PC or finding the same software you've been using on the next computer. The talk has been that the next focus of the internet will be to have sits, such as Writerly, which do what regular software does. That is, have online methods of doing word processing and spreadsheets instead of using software off of your hard drive. Probably not exciting news for software developers, like Microsoft, but great news for people who want the convenience of portability and don't want the hassle and expense of constant software updates and other purchases.

Writerly lets you type, save, edit, download, and more. You can blog directly from Writerly. You can even invite other people to collaborate on specific documents.

I'm still experimenting with Writerly, but so far, I'm liking it. I'd encourage you to give it a try, at least, especially if you are a person who works on writing or other word processing from both home and work computers.

Labels: internet, writing

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Online classes here at Lone Prairie.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 0 comments link this post

There's lots to learn and there's lots to teach. If you've ever wanted an online art or writing class and haven't found what you're looking for, I understand. I've found myself there, too. So, would you be interested in taking an online art or writing class here at Lone Prairie? I'm considering offering such a class, but I need your help. Please fill out the survey below so that I can better understand if there's interest and what the class should be about.

I hope to hear from you, and thank you for the time you've spent answering the survey.

UPDATE: I still encourage you to fill out the survey, because it is giving me ideas of what to offer on the latest section of my website: The Lone Prairie School. Check it out!

Labels: internet, promotions

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Stewie tells it like it is. And it hurts.

written by Julie R. Neidlinger 1 comments link this post

A clip from Fox's "The Family Guy" brings the horrific truth to the front of many a would-be novelist. It's the dreaded question, and the perfect way to needle: So how's that novel coming along? The one you've been working on for three years?

Hat tip: Corrine.

Labels: internet, writing

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Scribd.

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Success with Etsy.

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Using spam for your artistic benefit.

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A kind of book depository where no one will get shot.

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The fastest web site ever.

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Internet business success: No free lunch. Really.

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Linkage: Reviving the old.

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Online classes here at Lone Prairie.

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Stewie tells it like it is. And it hurts.