I was busy checking the rear view mirror because Big Mike was in the backseat having a fit of the fear–all twisting his arms and legs while foaming at the mouth. He kept saying something about squirrels.

The question finally registered and I go, “Oh, it’s just a way to streamline your computer needs with superior software at zero cost to you.”

T-Dog stopped firing and got this look of awe, “So, you’re saying I can increase the productivity and viability of my business, work less hours for more money, and it’s completely free and @$!#, holmes? Tell me more!”

So the following is the precise thing I told him:

 What Open Source Is

Open source is not a thing–it’s a concept. In the simplest of terms, it is free software that you can download and use, and it’s often better than the commercial software.

The more in-depth idea is that open source is a concept of freedom. It allows people to create software and upload it for others to edit, download, use, and give back. It’s a community thing. One person makes a game and uploads it to the server under the GPL (GNU Public License), and another hundred people like the game and want to work on it, so they do–for free. Afterwards, about 10 people will stick with the project long-term and keep making updates. Eventually, this game is better than anything else on the market because you have the whole world working on it because they want to.

Now, you as an end user can download this awesome game for free. Now, swap game for office utilities, graphics manipulation software, and even your operating system! GNU and Linux (the OS) are very closely tied together, so when you use Linux instead of Windows, all of your software is free (including Linux). Imagine not having to drop a large sum of money to get the newest version of your favorite photo editing software. Why? Just download GIMP. GNU Image Manipulation Program. You can download enough stuff to make it better than commercial solutions. Check out Open Office–it’s a complete office suite that blows MSOffice out of the water.

The first thing people usually ask me is: Can I have a cookie? I say no. Then, they ask: Well, can open source software save in Windows formats? I say, emphatically, YES!!! Usually, I’m grabbing them by the head and screaming it into their ear–but I have bad days as well. One of the common features of open source software is that it can run on several platforms (Linux, Mac, Windows) and save in file formats for all of them–and then some! You can open anything and save as anything generally.

Open source is more than software–it goes deeper than that. Open source applies to writers in forms like free eBook libraries like the Gutenberg Project. You can do research without having to pay for it. It applies to programmers with source code they can use as frameworks to speed up the coding process. There’s an open source lifestyle for everyone.

The one thing you have to remember, though,  is that if you use source code, public domain graphics (another open source lifestyle element), or research from a free eBook, you have to give credit where it is due. Don’t just copy-paste solutions and claim it’s all you. You have to change it up (more than the wording) so that it is original to you until you can claim credit. That’s not bad though. Eventually, if you get caught up in this you will be releasing solutions to the open source market, so you’ll want credit for your work.

It’s called giving back to the community which has helped you. Offer to do what’s in your abilities. That way, everyone profits.

When you have spare time, Google “open source” and then the kind of software you need. You’ll be surprised to see how much there is!

It appears in more and more of the job postings. Along with the regular job description, under skills, it says ‘SEO’. Search Engine Optimization. The buyers want it.

Because I am a commercial writer, it’s up to me to provide what my customers want.

This article isn’t a tutorial on SEO. You can find a tutorial here- seo tutorial. That’s where I’m learning it now. I don’t intend to become an expert, but I do want to learn enough to pass the SEO test on oDesk. I want that skill to show up in my profile.

If buyers are requesting it, I’m darn sure going to provide it. I’m suggesting that you do the same.

What’s SEO all about?

SEO used to be called ‘search engine friendly writing’. It means you shape your article or blog posting in a way that a computer program likes.

The purpose of a search engine like Google is to index the Internet so that users can find relevant sites. It does this by sorting web pages based on several factors; the characteristic of most concern to us is keywords.

So far, this article has used the keyword SEO six times. Six uses in those 200 words means I have a keyword density of 3% for SEO. That isn’t too bad. A computer-indexing program would categorize this article and rank it based on that percentage.

Where your writing talent comes in.

The reason I could write something readable and still have a 3% keyword density is that I was writing about SEO specifically. I was able to match what I wanted to say to that keyword. I’m going to call this an organic usage of a keyword. It means using the word in it’s natural context.

An artificial usage is when you are forced to use a keyword or phrase that doesn’t fit well with the tone and content of your article.

That’s a real problem. When a buyer wants you to use keywords that don’t blend well with your subject, you end up with some pretty clunky writing. Sure, computer search engines will love it, but we want real people to eventually read it. Balancing these conflicting goals is exactly what we writers are supposed to be skilled at.

I have to admit I sometimes tell the client I can’t do it. I can’t work in the keyword ‘mange’ in an article about puppies if the title is, “Teaching your puppy not to bark”. Sometimes buyers are unreasonable (OK, they are often unreasonable).

Another nearly impossible request is when they have a list of keywords and they want all of them to appear at some pre-set percentage in the same short article. If you do it, I guarantee it will read like crap. We are trained to vary the nouns we use so that readers don’t burn out from overuse. SEO misapplied like that goes against our instincts because it requires excessive and even senseless repetition.

Let’s game the system.

Here’s an experiment we can try. I’m going to make up a word, a term that doesn’t yet exist in Google’s index. Freniculla. My invented word will mean: That point in a long blog post where the reader is enticed to click more to continue reading.

Here is the freniculla for this post-

Aha, you have followed me past the freniculla.

Now, if I use the word freniculla a few times and if Google does it’s job correctly, eventually a search on Google for the term freniculla will give a link to this blog posting. I’ll keep checking and post the results of the experiment. This will tell us how long it took Google to find and index this blog entry.

I’m writing this in WordPress, which has a nice feature. Before I post, I can see a list of suggested keywords. Our new word doesn’t show up on the list.

This means that although I have used freniculla enough times to be a keyword, WordPress doesn’t recognize it as a real word. Fortunately Google isn’t limited by a dictionary. Google will think this article is about frenicullas. It isn’t, not really, but computer programs are a bit on the stupid side.

The future of SEO.

There’s good news for writers. While SEO will always be around in some form, search engines are getting more sophisticated and rely on simple keywords less and less.

Google and other search sites know that website writers are influencing index placement with keyword density. They are now using other measures to better match their users with useful sites. As keyword density declines in value, we can get back to what we do best- writing clear, convincing prose that people, not computers, want to read.

For now though, you and I would do well to learn the techniques, take the oDesk test and give buyers what they want. You can click my name at the head of this article to see my oDesk profile. SEO testing should show up there within a week. You can see if I am practicing what I preach.

Addendum – This was posted on 2/26/08. My new word, freniculla appeared on Google on 2/27/08 and links to this blog posting. If you want to check, go to Google, pick ‘more’ under options, and search blogs for freniculla. Pretty neat, huh?

At the time of this writing, Fernando’s profile headline reads “Linux Administrator, PHP/Java Developer, MySQL/Networking Servers”. While it clearly sums up his many skills, I think that the title doesn’t do his skills justice.

In the world of business marketing, there is a focus on something called the Unique Selling Proposition; that is, the thing you offer that makes you different from your competition (you can read more about the Unique Selling Proposition on Wikipedia if you like). Freelancers need to adopt the same mindset.

In Fernando’s case, there are many other providers advertising the same or similar lists of skills. Most of them are listing them in the same manner. Somehow he needs to set himself apart from the crowd.

Here’s what I’d recommend: pick just one or two skills to focus on, and think like a journalist to write a compelling headline.

Which skills to pick? Well, there are a couple of different approaches that might work well:

1. Be a big fish in a small pond. Look for an area with less competition where you can really stand out. For Fernando, this might be Linux Server Administration; there are significantly fewer providers in that area than, say, PHP or Java programming.
2. Consider your preferences. Undoubtedly there are some types of work you find more enjoyable than others. Focus on the one or two you like best, and let other providers do the work you don’t like as well. In Fernando’s case, it sounds like he likes the server work best (based on his Objective).
3. Look at what has worked for you in the past. Are there areas where you’ve been more successful getting work? It may or may not be on oDesk, so consider your previous work, too. Looking at Fernando’s work history and feedback, he’s found success in several areas, so I’d fall back to the other methods to pick a specialization.

Once you know which area you want to focus on, you want to write a compelling, benefits-driven headline. Remember that the buyer is looking for someone to solve a problem, so use your headline to present a solution.

If Fernando decided to focus on Linux Server Administration, his headline might be something like “End server nightmares: Linux Server Administrator with 10 year of experience” or “Expert Linux Server Administrator: I’ll help you grow your business”.

Then use your Objective section to expand on the promise of your headline.

Obviously I’ve spent a lot of space talking about the headline, because that’s my primary recommendation for Fernando. I’ll focus more on other areas of the profile in future reviews, so to wrap this one up, let me just provide a quick list of the stronger and weaker parts of the rest of Fernando’s profile.

Stronger:

• Profile portrait is friendly and encourages trust
• Accurate assessment of English skills (for non-writing assignments, I’ll gladly hire someone with 3 or 4 out of 5, as long as they’re honest about it)
• Several assignments and good feedback are very encouraging for a buyer
• Most sections of the profile are filled out, which suggests that Fernando is serious about getting work

Weaker:

• The portfolio section is empty; it could be used to describe and link to previous work
• In the resume section, there are many web addresses listed but most of them aren’t actual links; this is inconvenient for the buyer
• Test scores could be better (and low test scores can be hidden); it might be time to re-take some of the tests or hide low scores
• It might be worth hiring a native-English-speaking editor (on oDesk!) to help polish the headline, objective, and resume sections

I hope you’ve found this profile review helpful! I welcome your feedback in the comments, and if you’re an oDesk provider, I encourage you to submit your profile for review.