I bet that when Nintendo came up with the idea for Wii Fit and the Wii Balance Board, this isn’t what they had in mind.

After hearing through the Twitter-vine that both Stephen Fung and iPhone Gary picked up Roomba robots to do a little cleaning around the house, I immediately thought of a modification that someone did that effectively lets you control the Roomba using a Wii Remote. In my search to find how to do that, I came across something so much better. This is seriously epic… leave it up to the Japanese to wow us once again.

In the video below, you’ll see a kindly fellow control his Roomba using none other than the Wii Balance Board. As he shifts his weight slightly forward or slightly backward, the Roomba responds accordingly. The cheesy Beach Boys music playing in the background just makes this clip so much better.

Happy cleaning, Stephen and Gary! On a side note, I bought Wii Fit recently (but not a Roomba). Maybe it’ll help rectify that balance issue responsible for my Segway and scooter, um, “incidents”.

As a freelance writer, I make my living by writing for others. While my freelance writing business certainly makes a lot more money than Beyond the Rhetoric ever has, I still feel that having a personal/professional blog like this is of great value, especially to freelancers like me.

There are many reasons why all freelance writers should have their own blogs. In fact, anyone running any kind of freelance business — whether it be freelance web design, website coding, or photography — should have a blog. It doesn’t have to be particularly spectacular, but having a blog can do wonders for your business.

Personable and Approachable

One of the major advantages to having a blog, perhaps as an accompanying feature to your business’ website, is that it offers customers an inside look at the person (or people) behind the work. They can see you as more than “just” a freelance writer or “just” a freelance artist. They can see you as a complete person with real interests and hobbies. This is one way that you can stand out as a freelancer, because you’re not just a content-creation machine; you can more easily build relationships with clients in this way.

A Dynamic Portfolio

Generally, a potential client will want to see some sample work before they will hire you as a freelance writer or artist. They want to see what you can do and the best way to do that is to seen what you have done. Most freelancers’ websites have a portfolio section, but having a blog can effectively create a portfolio that is ever-expanding and public. A client can not only look to my official portfolio, but they can read posts like these to see how I handle feature articles. If you’re a freelance photographer, you can use a blog too, highlighting some of your recent work. The same goes with web designers, graphic artists, and so on.

Exploring Personal Interests

When you write for others, you have to adhere to the specifications provided by the client. They want you to write about XYZ topic in a XYZ style. When it comes to a personal blog, however, you have complete freedom (relatively speaking) to write about whatever you want. For example, I explore quite a bit about personal development on this blog, although I don’t write about that topic professionally for any clients. By exploring these personal interests, it is possible to earn passive income and to develop a portfolio in an area where you may not have any writing samples.

Practice Makes Perfect

Do you know what is the best way to improve your writing ability? That’s right: practice! The more you write, the better writer you will become. Again, this applies to other kinds of freelancers as well, because you’ll be practicing the craft of taking pictures, developing artistic concepts, and so forth. Also, because you’re exploring your own personal interests, you should be more motivated to keep at it.

Building Your Reputation

As a freelancer, it’s important to make a name for yourself in the business, not only in terms of improving your ability to find more work, but also to maximize your freelance income. Having a blog can make it a lot easier to connect with potential clients and it’s a lot easier for potential clients to find you.

If you run a freelance business of some kind, consider adding a blog to the equation. You can thank me later. Or, you can thank me now by nominating Beyond the Rhetoric for an award.

Excuse me as I address my ego for just a moment. I came across a post on WritingWhitePapers.com where they are accepting nominations for their third annual Top 10 Blogs for Writers. I subscribe to a number of blogs by other freelance writers, because they are great sources of valuable information. I hope that you feel the same way about Beyond the Rhetoric.

Yes, I know that this blog does not focus exclusively on freelance writing, but I’ve been told by some readers that this lack of exclusivity (or presence of variety?) is part of the reason why they enjoy reading Beyond the Rhetoric. With this in mind, I humbly ask you, my valued reader, to nominate my blog. All it takes is a comment and I need at least two nominations to make the voting list.

Click here to nominate Beyond the Rhetoric. Thanks for your continued support!

The story of how I got involved with Dot Com Pho is a little convoluted. Basically, I’ve been involved with a local car enthusiast forum for a number of years and that’s how I got to know Ed Lau. We both started our personal blogs at around the same time and we happened to post about our blogs on the REVscene forums. As Ed got to know about my freelance writing business, he mentioned my name to John Chow and then Chow got interested in hiring me to write for his tech website.

John Chow invited me to join him for lunch one Saturday at Pho Lan in Richmond, but I didn’t know that lunch was going to involve so many people! I learned that this lunch gathering was a weekly thing and I was invited to attend on a regular basis. While my Dot Com Pho experience started with John Chow, it quickly expanded to discussions with the rest of the attendees. Initial conversations may lean toward the world of blog monetization, Internet marketing, and happenings in the world of technology, but we’d also talk about other current events, the Vancouver real estate situation, and whatever else came to mind.

As time went on, I learned a little more history about Dot Com Pho and how John Chow, Stephen Fung, Ed Lau, and others have been getting together for years. Along the way, more people joined the “regulars” group like Greg Morgan, Gary Ng, and so on. Of course, newcomers are always welcome.

The initial reason why I chose to go to my first Dot Com Pho was because it was an opportunity to meet John Chow and to discuss how I could work with him on a number of projects. The relationship expanded beyond product reviews for The TechZone, as I started to write blog posts on John Chow dot Com as well. He has also become a good friend.

The primary reason why I continue to go to Dot Com Pho is because I work from home as a freelance writer, so I don’t get the same kind of office co-worker camaraderie that you would experience at a conventional job. There’s no communal water cooler (unless you count Twitter). Just because I run my own business from home does not mean that I want to work in isolation. It’s still about networking, making new friends, and good conversation. Dot Com Pho presents an opportunity for like-minded individuals to get together, share a pleasant meal, and discuss whatever comes to mind. We may not all belong to the same corporation, per se, but it’s almost like we are co-workers striving toward the same common goals. That, and everyone is just good company.

In a nutshell, Dot Com Pho is an opportunity for me to see my “online friends” in person on a regular basis. It’s also a good opportunity to talk about how to make money online, because these people actually understand what I do. The rest of the world doesn’t seem to really understand the online entrepreneur phenomenon. Who needs a day job, anyhow?

Note: This post was originally written as an email to Buzz Bishop for a social media article in 24hrs Vancouver, a local daily newspaper.

Here it is folks. The last What’s Up Wednesday of August. We’re less than a week away from the kids going back to school and the TV getting itself out of reruns. For this week’s edition, we take a look at the relationship between blogging and journalism, Michael Phelp’s first baby picture, and the opportunity to eat raw chicken on purpose.

Hummingbird604, who you may also know simply as Raul, asserts that all bloggers have become a part of the journalistic discourse. There are definite overlaps between blogging and traditional journalism, so where do you draw the line? Do you provide proper references?

Free Money Finance asks whether it is ethical to bring outside food into a movie theatre. I’ve been known to sneak a bottled beverage or a small bag of candy from time to time, but you also have to realize that movie theatres really make their money at the concession and not at the box office.

Jon Lee got just as caught up with the Olympics as everyone else, but he dug a little deeper to find Michael Phelps’ first baby picture. Let’s just say it’s not what you’d expect… or is it?

Derek Semmler has wrapped up another successful month on his blog, doing his usual traffic wrap-up post. In previous months, Beyond the Rhetoric represented the tenth top referring site. For August, I moved up to fourth.

Ed Lau is back in Canada, enjoying Rock Band and Vietnamese pho all over again. While over in Japan, however, he had the opportunity to snack on some raw chicken. Something about avian flu makes me hesitant to try chicken tataki, and I’m usually pretty brave.

I largely got into freelance writing in the first place because of two reasons. First, I like writing and second, because I wanted to enjoy the freedom of self-employment. Unfortunately, freedom and enjoyment don’t pay the bills. For this reason, it is very important that you pay attention to how you can maximize your freelance writing income. You do want to make more money, don’t you?

For most intents and purposes, you can take one of two wide-reaching strategies into the field of freelance writing: you produce a vast amount of “quick” writing or you can invest more time in premium articles.

Get ‘er Done: A Content Creation Machine

The nature of the Internet makes for an environment that demands fresh content on a regular basis. This is especially true of websites and blogs that track a particular industry, because it is so important to be the first to “scoop” a story. If you’re the first site to find official pictures of a new iPhone, for example, you can expect a fair chunk of traffic if the story gets picked up by other outlets. The need for new content also comes up because there are so many new websites being generated on a daily basis and they all need content. They need your writing.

With tech blogging, like I do at Mobile Magazine, the exact quality of the post isn’t all that important. I just have to get the point across, treat the readers to a smattering of specs and features, and provide them with eye candy in the form of a good accompanying picture or two. This may surprise some people, but I typically average around 10 posts a day on Mobile Magazine alone. They’re short — about 150 words — but they’re there.

This is one strategy you can take to maximize your freelance writing income: just produce as much content as possible. You dont’ need to be an exceptional writer; you just need to be efficient.

Methodical and Thoughtful Content at a Premium

On the flip side, you can attempt to make more money writing by producing higher quality articles. These will typically be of greater length, require more research, and come off sounding a lot more polished. This is the approach that I take with feature articles and product reviews. As you’d probably suspect, I charge a fair bit more for these articles compared to “quick” blog posts.

When it comes to writing this “premium content”, it is more important to have a polished approach and a unique freelance writing voice. It is also through these kinds of articles that you can draw on your experience and expertise a little more.

A Little from Column A, A Little from Column B

To keep things fresh as a freelance writer, I tend to dabble a little in both types of writing. I’ll produce quick blog posts for Mobile Magazine and BlueFur, but I’ll also write more extensive reviews and feature articles as well. The former can produce some quick cash without too much effort, whereas the latter tend to be more lucrative overall. It is also through the latter that you’ll have an easier time leveraging your reputation for maximum profit.