Those great people at Common Craft are back to their paper explaining ways. We had previously seen their work with Twitter in Plain English and now they are explaining Social Media in Plain English.

While those well ensconced in the blogosphere may understand the appeal and the mechanisms behind such social media as blogs, podcasts, and video sharing services, the mass populace may not be quite as familiar. To help explain the phenomenon of social media, Common Craft uses the analogy of selling ice cream.

In the beginning, we came to rely on big ice cream stores (traditional media like the New York Times) for all of our information and entertainment. As the ice cream industry (Internet) matures and becomes more personal, smaller stores (individual web users) have the opportunity to sell their own unique flavor of ice cream. Some flavors are more unique that others, some will be more popular than others. Some people like panda-flavored ice cream, whereas others may disagree. And that’s the beauty of ice cream social media. There is a flavor (and a voice) for everyone.

In any case, check out the video below from Common Craft. No longer are you restricted to vanilla, chocolate, and strawberry. There’s pickle-flavored ice cream too.

[Flash/Javascript needed. If you can't see the video, go to Beyond the Rhetoric.]

If the video isn’t working for you, it has also been uploaded to Youtube.

As I mentioned earlier this week, I’m on my way to Taiwan to attend the Computex Technology Trade Show. This is the first time that I have ever visited Taipei, so it should prove to be a pretty interesting experience. We will likely be relying heavily on Sarah (John Chow’s wife) for interpretation purposes, because I don’t speak much Mandarin beyond “I don’t know” and “I don’t understand.”

Researching a bit about Computex before my trip, I discovered that it is the second largest computer expo in the world. It’s even bigger than the Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas and that was already pretty massive. To outdo Computex, you’d have to head over to Germany for CeBIT.

Although this is not a vacation in the strictest sense, I still have to prepare for the trip to Taiwan in much the same way. Because there will be no shortage of Internet access, I should still be able to find time to write blog posts here and maintain a certain level of continuity with most of my freelance clients. I intend on doing some Computex coverage for Mobile Magazine, for example.

In terms of what I’m bringing along, the list is pretty much identical to what I brought to CES. I’m still lugging my trusty Canon S3 IS digital camera, Dell Inspiron 640m laptop, HTC Wizard smartphone, and a travel mouse. I’m also bringing a Microsoft webcam, though I don’t think I’ll be using it very much (if at all).

Taiwan’s relationship with Mainland China is always up for debate, but the long and short of it is that I do not need a Chinese Visa to visit the island. Also, although I wasn’t able to skip the lineup at the airport last night (I’m on the red eye to Taiwan), I will be able to take advantage of my NEXUS pass coming back. The NEXUS pass is so worth the $50 fee (it lasts five years).

The weather forecast in Taipei calls for rain and 30 degree days. Hot and wet. That doesn’t sound pleasant at all. Hopefully, the free swag will make up for it.

Running a freelance writing business is really not all that different than running any other kind of business. You need to get in contact with your clients on a regular basis, communicating with them to ensure that you are staying on track and delivering exactly the product that they desire. Writing for a technology blog on a daily basis is definitely not the same as ghostwriting a book on how to make money online.

Most freelance writers, myself included, make extensive use of email to communicate with clients. While it may be true that email can stunt your productivity, it is still the most efficient and convenient way to exchange information. Because accurate records are kept on both sides of the conversation, you can minimize the number of disputes down the line. Contrast this to the lack of records typically associated with phone calls and you’ll see why email can be so useful.

Fax Provides Paper in Hand

Living in such a high-tech society, some freelancers and other business owners may be wondering if they still need a fax machine. Email is great and all, but some customers still want a physical piece of paper in their hands. This is especially true when it comes to forms and signatures. In addition to the fax machine itself, you’ll still have to deal with toner and paper. Is it still worth it to invest in a fax machine that you may not use all that often anyways?

I did make use of a fax machine as part of the process to get my business card done. Even so, it would have been much more convenient for me if I could just handle that side of things through email instead. I also use my fax machine for courier-related documents from time to time.

Fax Machines Go Virtual, Online

An interesting service that I came across recently was eFax Plus. In a nutshell, eFax Plus provides you with a virtual fax machine. There’s no need for a physical phone line or fax machine, because all faxes can be sent and received via email. From the customer’s point of view, it’s as if you have a regular fax machine, because you can associate your eFax Plus account with a local phone number. It seems pretty seamless and easy to use. Best of all, there’s no maintenance.

To get things started, they offer a 30-day free trial. After that, the monthly fee (for Canadians) is $12.95. That’s cheaper than a regular phone line. If I didn’t already have a physical fax machine and if I had more fax volume (I’ve only sent two faxes in the last six months), I would seriously have to consider signing up for this virtual fax machine service.

Yay or Nay to Freelancer Fax Machines?

Do freelancers still need a fax machine? I’d say that it depends on the nature of your freelance writing business. If the majority of your clients operate online, then you may not need one. On the other hand, if you have clients who need forms faxed and they prefer to deal with you on an offline basis, then a fax machine may prove useful. A virtual fax machine could be even better.

Earlier this month, I did a freelance Q&A session for an edition of What’s Up Wednesdays. Readers could send me any questions that they had about the freelance writing business and I tried to answer them to the best of my ability. Naturally, I don’t write in a vacuum and I draw inspiration from other freelancers. Here are a few posts from others in the ‘biz that may prove interesting to you.

Bob Younce has a rather major freelancing confession to make. As it turns out, he was once a work-at-home mom. Writing for parenting and pregnancy websites as a Jewish woman from Atlanta is a little easier than, well, writing as anyone from the male gender. Have you branded yourself into a corner?

Chris Bibey realizes that there is a lot to track when you run a freelance business and that’s why organization is essential. Chris keeps track of invoices and other matters both electronically and on paper, just in case. What do you do to stay organized?

Sharon Hurley Hall has managed to make quite the name for herself both in the blogosphere and in the world of freelance writing. Part of this success can be attributed to her dedication to self-promotion. Who is going to toot your own horn quite as loud as you?

James Chartrand sees that freelancers are still trading hours for dollars, so he’s working to achieve freedom from freelancing. How can you separate yourself from your brand? What about passive income?

Daily Writing Tips wonders how short can you go when it comes to writing a short story. Strictly speaking, a short story is anything shorter than a novel. DWT challenges its readers to write a complete story in under 100 words. Can you create a compelling narrative under such a restriction?

What? If saving time is pointless, why do we even try? Let me explain.

Technology is advancing at a breakneck pace and all of these modern conveniences are supposed to save us time. The advent of email was supposed to save us so much time, because it meant that we could send detailed messages — complete with supplemental files and attachments — in a matter of moments.

Email is a heck of a lot faster than sending something through a postal service, the latter of which is now affectionately known as snail mail for its comparatively slow pace. Ironically, though, email could be stunting your productivity instead. Instead of serving as a means to save you time, email could be wasting your time.

And it doesn’t stop at email. Other modern conveniences that are supposed to save time could instead be contributing to the “not enough hours in the day” syndrome that afflicts so many people in our increasingly connected and wired society. For many of us, it seems like there is never enough time, no matter how hard we try to cut corners and save time. Why is this?

Time Cannot Be Saved

When you take a dollar and deposit it into a bank account, you can withdraw that dollar and spend it at a later date. Money can be saved, because its value can be deferred to tomorrow.

Time, by contrast, cannot be saved. If you manage to complete a task ten minutes ahead of schedule, it’s not like you can “bank” those ten minutes, utilizing them at a later date when you may need an extra ten minutes on a different project. The value of yesterday cannot be spent tomorrow. As a result, we inevitably have the tendency to fill any time “saved” with additional tasks, additional projects, and more things to do. And then we try to shave a few minutes off those additional tasks.

Time Can Only Be Spent

I understand that we are motivated to be productive, but when we try to pack in as much work as possible in as little time as possible, we set ourselves for the dark cloud of burnout. We all know that burnout can’t possibly be healthy and it’s something that we should all avoid.

Time cannot be saved, because it can only be spent. You may spend your time commuting to work. You may spend your time playing Guitar Hero. No matter what you do, you will inevitably spend your time on a continual basis. The ultimate path to happiness, then, is choosing how you spend your time rather than how you may try to save it.

Saving Time is Pointless, But…

It’s not 100% accurate to say that saving time is pointless. If you can manage to be more efficient in what you do, that’s a good thing and it’s a goal that you should work toward on an ongoing basis. However, be careful not to spend that “saved” time with added duties that may be unfavorable. Instead, spend that saved time doing things that you love, things that you enjoy. Therein lies the very philosophy found in The 4-Hour Workweek. Save time so that you can spend it better.

Last Tuesday, I announced the best comment contest, looking to see who would be able to come up with the best comment of the week out of the Beyond the Rhetoric community. I said that commenting on any post was fair game and all comments posted between Tuesday and midnight last night would be included in the contest.

The prize for the contest, pictured above, was a Gelaskins decorative skin for the 3rd-generation iPod nano. The skin is basically a 3M sticker that will protect your iPod from random bumps and scratches. I have one on my DS Lite, but I thought I’d share the iPod version with my readers.

After sifting through the comments that have been posted in last five days or so, I have chosen a winner. The winner of the best comment contest is…. Betshopboy!

In response to the post Who Keeps You in Check?, Betshopboy wrote:

“Behind every successful man is a woman, behind her is his wife.” LOL!!

Behind an average joe like myself is a capable wife, who helps maintain my sanity in this crazy little world.

A hearty congratulations goes to out to Betshopboy. Please use the contact form to send me your mailing address and I’ll have the iPod Gelaskin shipped out your way. Thanks again to everyone who participated. You can probably expect more contests when I get back from Computex.