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2 votes
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Freelancer talk: Online marketplaces
Wanted to see if we could get some conversations going with any freelancers who may be around. I figured a good place to start is with one of the more commonly discussed topics, which is the...
Wanted to see if we could get some conversations going with any freelancers who may be around. I figured a good place to start is with one of the more commonly discussed topics, which is the online marketplaces catering to freelancers.
These days, Upwork seems to have gobbled up a huge chunk of that market, while garnering plenty of criticism and complaints along the way for how they handle it. The graphic design space seems to have a little more competition in marketplaces, with 99designs being a frontrunner it seems. Truthfully, there just aren't that many platforms to pick from regardless of your specialty. Which can be a positive, as it provides a centralized place to look for and post available work, can increase exposure to the freelance market as a whole, and ensures you don't have to maintain profiles across numerous platforms which can be far too time consuming sometimes. But of course there are many downsides that come along with that.
The standard advice that comes with such discussions is to ignore the online marketplaces entirely because of those downsides. Competing against an international labor pool, as well as an under-experienced labor pool much of the time, in a format that heavily encourages price competition above other factors can be disastrous for your bottom line (and your sanity). These platforms also generally remove a lot of the negotiating power that a freelancer needs to leverage, as it is much more difficult to establish the captive audience that can be built with more personal interactions.
And frankly, that standard advice has continued to be my own, both for my career as well as to others who may seek such advice. But it does make me wonder if there is a better way to do it. Of course as a developer I'm always looking to find a way to solve problems, so I can concede I may be looking for solutions in a place that is misguided to try to fix.
What has been your experiences with freelance online marketplaces? What advice do you give when asked about it? What would you like to change?
10 votes -
Comcast starts throttling mobile video, will charge extra for HD streams and full-speed tethering
33 votes -
Gösta Berlings Saga - Sersophane (2016)
3 votes -
YouTube introduces paid channel memberships and merchandising options for creators
23 votes -
My experience, becoming a contributor, and other thoughts/questions.
I have been using Tildes for about a week now. I have come over from Reddit where I am primarily a lurker. I lurk because I often feel my thoughts and opinions on topics and discussions have been...
I have been using Tildes for about a week now. I have come over from Reddit where I am primarily a lurker. I lurk because I often feel my thoughts and opinions on topics and discussions have been touched on because discussions are already hundreds of comments deep by the time I arrive. The biggest positive with Tildes is the fact that the community is currently small and I read the post/sarticles that interest me instead of jumping straight into the comments to be given a synopsis. I now read more than just the headline.
I still have not found my 'voice' in regards to posting comments related to articles/stories that I have read. I think it is because I haven't found a discussion that I am really interested in. I have posted a couple of news articles that provide information about the part of the world I am in but, while they interested me, I didn't feel the need to discuss their contents further so I didn't add any comment to start a conversation to the post.
Regarding providing some more content to the site. My hobbies include, like everyone else, traveling, reading, and photography. I am no where near being an influential voice in any of these! I am not interested in having a travel blog or a website but I would like to provide information, incase someone else here is interested or has experiences too. For example, I recently took a short weekend trip from Bangkok, Thailand to Ayutthaya, Thailand. I rode the train, visited the sites, visited a bar, ate some food, and stayed the night. I want to provide a write up on my experiences and thoughts of this trip. Is a post in ~hobbies with the tags of: thailand, ayutthaya, bangkok, train the way to go?
What do y'all think?Sharing photographs - Taking pictures is another hobby I share with everyone else. I enjoy sharing pictures I am proud of. I tend to post to r/nocontextpics, because I like their rules of no back story in the title. I also post to location specific sites. I do this to show off my pictures and to feel good from earning points. I do not post pictures to facebook very often because I like having the feel of anonymity. I don't want to be perceived as a pretentious twat. How does everyone feel about picture posts in ~hobbies with the tag(s) like: location, device used, etc..
My problem would be not 'spamming' photos. With the age of the site, and my brief interaction with it, no one wants to see 2+ picture posts from one user in the ~hobbies group.
Any thoughts on etiquette or rules for picture posts? Allow: Yes/No?22 votes -
A Foodora delivery rider is facing a test case at the Fair Work Commission that will determine whether food delivery riders are really employees.
5 votes -
A Polish environmental group placed a GPS tracker on the back of a stork, it lost the tracker in Sudan, and then someone put the sim card in their own phone and racked up hours worth of phone calls
21 votes -
With Wimbledon about to start, who are your favorites?
I think Kerber and Keys are my favorites to reach the final on the women's side, and Federer and Del Potro are my favorites on the men's side.
7 votes -
Elon Musk ordered Tesla engineers to stop doing a critical brake test on Model 3s
11 votes -
Twitch Prime’s “free game every day” for half of July adds up to a ton
15 votes -
Samsung phones are spontaneously texting users’ photos to random contacts without their permission
16 votes -
Charles Tolliver Quartet (1971)
6 votes -
Ninja Sex Party – Danny Don't You Know
5 votes -
Tommy Boy concept record, Sandusky, Ohio
5 votes -
Solid: From Tim Berners-Lee, a project to decentralize the web
20 votes -
Queen - Live at LIVE AID Wembley Stadium 7/13/1985
8 votes -
Coffee drinkers are more likely to live longer. Decaf may do the trick, too.
14 votes -
Data suggest that gentrifying neighborhoods powered Ocasio-Cortez's victory
6 votes -
Lusine feat. Vilja Larjosto — Just A Cloud
5 votes -
Australian states and retail chains ban single-use plastic bags
16 votes -
Pain control: “no evidence” cannabis improves outcomes
6 votes -
The ad-based internet is dead but not because of privacy regulations
10 votes -
As I Lay Dying - My Own Grave
5 votes -
After the Fall: Ten Years after the Crash
10 votes -
Children's books are drowning in a sea of contemporary ideology
9 votes -
Microwave mug recipes that prove no-fuss cooking for one can actually be great
6 votes -
Crochet
Hello Tilderinos! Do any of you crochet or would like to learn to? I've been crocheting for about two years. It's a fun pastime that gets you addicted to yarn (you can never have enough). I...
Hello Tilderinos!
Do any of you crochet or would like to learn to?
I've been crocheting for about two years. It's a fun pastime that gets you addicted to yarn (you can never have enough). I learned primarily through a book and lots of YouTube videos. It took a while to learn the lingo, but now that I have a hang for it I've started to delve into pattern making for stuffed toys. That alone is an entirely different beast!
12 votes -
New Orleans piano genius Henry Butler dead at age 68
5 votes -
NetBSD 8.0 Release Candidate 2
7 votes -
Former Malaysian PM Najib arrested in $4.5bn 1MDB probe. The investigation focuses on how the money went missing from the state 1MDB fund
5 votes -
It's the exact half way point of 2018
How was the first half for your goals in life and work or spending or saving. Or just making it to the half way point
21 votes -
First confirmed image of a newborn planet revealed
12 votes -
Bitcoin bloodbath nears historic levels
21 votes -
Facebook reveals it gave 61 companies access to widely blocked user data
21 votes -
Why does the theme change back to white every time I log in?
Kind of annoying having to change the theme back every time
9 votes -
Americans Seek to Escape News
19 votes -
CHVRCHES - Get Out (2018)
7 votes -
Swole at every height: The greatest gym you'll never lift at
4 votes -
Koala genome project reveals secrets about its toxic diet and disease
3 votes -
A mass colony of tent spiders have created a mesmerising display in a nature reserve on Australia's east coast, capturing the imagination of locals
15 votes -
500px will no longer allow photographers to license their photos under Creative Commons, and closes 500px Marketplace
27 votes -
Canada tariffs on US goods from ketchup to lawn mowers begin
24 votes -
I am a bookkeeper and small business consultant, AMA
My background: I've run a small bookkeeping business in California for the past 6 years, and worked as a bookkeeper for another 6 years before that. Over the years I've been deep in the books of...
My background: I've run a small bookkeeping business in California for the past 6 years, and worked as a bookkeeper for another 6 years before that. Over the years I've been deep in the books of dozens of businesses, both successful and not. In the process of working closely with the owners of said businesses, I've learned a lot about what makes a small business work and what means I shouldn't get too attached. I'm a generalist, working with for and non-profit businesses as well as well to do individuals (who often have financial lives more complex than my business clients.)
I'm bored and it's a smoky Sunday trapping me indoors, so if you have a question about bookkeeping or running/starting a small business, fire away.
16 votes -
Inside the Netflix binge factory
9 votes -
What do you remember about the "old" internet?
Inspired by the post on HN, was curious about your favorite memories or nostalgia you feel about internet in the 90's or even earlier. I really didn't come fully online until the early 2000's. We...
Inspired by the post on HN, was curious about your favorite memories or nostalgia you feel about internet in the 90's or even earlier.
I really didn't come fully online until the early 2000's. We didn't have the means to get internet at home so until I could get online unless it was at school. Even so my most pleasant memories were spending time playing games on yahoo (yahooligans), with a tetris like clone being my favorite. Also spent a huge amount of time playing macromedia shockwave based games on various sites that I don't remember anymore. I do remember playing a game where you had to build up your hobo soap box car to see how far you could jump it.
It was soon followed by the discovery of various chat groups, making up identities, lying about age, revealing too much personal information in the process. At one point I even convinced a woman to send me photos that she claimed were for her modeling career. Not sure if it was some creepy old guy trying to lure me in with promises of being a real woman or if I legitimately fooled some poor girl into sending me modeling pictures.
Also remember my first foray into fan theory sites with the show LOST, ended up getting chewed out for suggesting a theory that was apparently well known. Was too embarrassed and scared to post after that and ended up lurking for the duration of my time there.
Some folks say that the "old internet" is now gone with the likes of reddit and Youtube, but for me it seems like what really changed was us and the sense of wonder. For those who are still discovering the internet as they're growing up, that sense of wonder is still there just waiting to be turned into nostalgia as they get older.
34 votes -
It Is Happening Here, Trump Is Already Early-Stage Mussolini
23 votes -
Seven common (non-sleep-related) reasons that people feel tired
8 votes -
With a heat wave coming this week, this video reminds me of the good times when everything was green
3 votes -
Australia is stopping its direct aid to Palestinians, and will instead give to the United Nations' humanitarian relief efforts.
6 votes