As you may have noticed, I gather together five different blog posts every Wednesday and share these with the Beyond the Rhetoric audience. The blogosphere is not a place where individuals should exist in isolation and that’s why it is in everyone’s best interest if we explore other sites, sharing thoughts and engaging in meaningful discussions. That is the idea behind What’s Up Wednesdays and that’s where we find ourselves today.

Raul Pacheco is probably better known by his Hummingbird604 persona, but the real person is very much involved in academia. In one of his more recent blog posts, Raul reminds us of the the value of storytelling in teaching and in research. Hard facts are one thing, but people relate better to real human stories.

Shane Ketterman has an article up on Copyblogger, providing step-by-step instructions on how to publish your book in the iBookstore. More and more people are switching to e-book reading these days and having your work published in the iBookstore can help you reach a much bigger audience than regular print alone.

Eriko from the Network Hub gives us a brief recap of the October Entrepreneur Meetup that happened earlier this month. Over 150 people were in attendance, highlighted by guest speaker Yu-kai Chou. The “serial entrepreneur” had many stories and tidbits of advice to share.

Zac Johnson went to a car wash the other day and noticed a large bulletin board filled with business cards. The problem? None of them stuck out. None of them caught his attention. As such, none of them were ultimately effective. You’ve got to ask whether your business card leaves a lasting impression. Does it really help to “sell” what you have to offer?

Jennifer Mattern reminds budding freelancers-to-be of a very simple truth. The best freelance writing gigs aren’t advertised. To get those elusive high-paying and rewarding projects, you likely have to make your own opportunities. I haven’t applied for a gig in three years, but that may not be the best idea for everyone.