Copyright © 2010 MDM Studio

I was online the other day looking for some inspiration for my personal twitter page background when I came across a new social media website. Before I continue I do have to admit I don’t like the entire idea of a social website. I’m a firm believer of getting out and meeting people. However, I did use twitter three months before it hit the mainstream but that was mostly for SEO usage. I like the idea of social media for information, just not for what people are currently using it for. Which leads to my new discovery of DailyBooth.

Now if you haven’t heard of this website, in my perspective it basically like twitter with photos and captions instead of  “tweets”. The website, like twitter, allows you to follow people and have people follow you, and you get updates on what they post.

DailyBooth was founded and opened on February 2009 by the startup company Y Combinator. The website’s popularity rose after some Youtube videos and endorsements from stars like Ashton Kutcher and his wife Demi Moore. In August 2009 the website was reported to have three million unique visitors per month and a steady rise of thirty-five percent. It recently reached its one million photo, and the user of the posted photo won a Throwboy pillow. In early 2010 the website reached three million photos and ten millions comments.

DailyBooth, like all social media websites before it, has reached the top of today’s Internet culture. One can only wonder what’s next for tomorrow?

If you know of any other social media websites, share them below in the comments.

How to hire a freelancer

Since the beginning of the modern freelancer the common question still exists on how to hire one. To answer this we will go through a few steps that I find are necessary before you hire.

First Step

Determine what type of freelance you need. There are various industries out there and each have their own freelancers; in addition, each industry usually has a specialized selection of freelancers. For example, design industry has freelancers for logos, brochures, invitations, websites, etc.

Step two

Figure out what your project needs. I know this sounds redundant but you would be surprised on how many people have a job that they need done yet have no idea on what they want, besides the finished product of course.

Step three

Ask friends and colleagues if they can recommend anyone that has the skills you are looking for. This will save you time, in the long run, of searching for and looking through a lot of applications. Freelancers depend on their skills to make a living so you bet they bid on every project they can.

Step four

If you don’t have any recommendations then hit the web. There are plenty of websites out there that connect freelancers with potential clients. A few of these websites allow you to post your job for free and only require you to pay once you choose a freelancer. Also you might want to post an ad in places like Craigslist; on the other hand, I would suggest against this. Freelancing websites show portfolios and client history on that website. They usually provide a way of secure payment so there is no need to provide confidential information. By using these public forums you don’t know how the freelancer accepts payment.

Step five

Don’t be afraid to ask for previous works. There are a lot of people on the web that are freelancers, but a lot of them aren’t professionals. Ask for samples of previous jobs that they’ve done, preferably in your category. Nevertheless, if they don’t really have a lot of work to show or nothing in your industry, yet you like their work take a chance on them with possibly a smaller project or maybe a part of the large project. This way you can have a feel for their work and if they really can do what they say they can with nearly no consequences.

Step six

Hire a freelancer you can use again. If you require one now chances are you’re going to require one in the future. Keep their business card, website or maybe just a plain email so you can contact them again, if you can ask them for their rate card. Rate cards are great because you don’t constantly need to contact them for a quote. Be aware that some freelancers don’t provide rate cards and prefer you to contact them for a quote. This is not a bad thing, mainly because you will get an accurate bid for your project.

And finally once you do hire a freelancer make sure the terms of the job are clear and are set out. It’s a good idea to have milestones set. Milestones work in a sense of for every step completed a portion of the total payment is released. That way you get your sections done and the freelancer doesn’t have to worry about not getting paid.  I’m not suggesting you wouldn’t pay them but just as you worry that they may not be able to do what they say they can, they worry that you won’t pay them.

Likewise, if for whatever reason the freelancer can’t complete the rest of the project you have a portion of it that someone can continue from.

After quite a few hours of work, we have released our portfolio in video format. Currently only available through youtube, we hope to make it available on vimeo and a few other websites. It would be great if you guys visited and commented on it. We will keep you updated; in addition, you can view it below.