Sixty years ago, the drafters of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights (UDHR) set about their task of enumerating the rights all humans were entitled to as citizens of the world. Led by the visionary Eleanor Roosevelt, they drew upon a host of sources – from philosophers to revolutionaries to religious leaders and from every part of the world. They also drew upon a document that had already been in existence for almost thirty years – the Constitution of the International Labor Organization (ILO) adopted as part of the 1919 Treaty of Versailles which ended World War I.

Much of my work with Active Grey Matter revolves around article 25 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, which affirms that “Everyone has the right to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of himself and of his family”, as well as article 23, which affirms the right to work, as well as to “equal pay for equal work” and “just and favorable remuneration.”

The right to work and access to a standard of living adequate for the health and well-being of all is sorely needed for people with chronic or disabling conditions, many of whom fall into poverty as a result of limited employment options. People with chronic or disabling conditions face the largest unemployment percentage of all minority groups, and declining economic conditions have reduced or eliminated workforce supports to facilitate their return to work.

I hope you’ll join with us in working to change that in 2009, because every human has rights worth fighting for.

There is no denying the sudden halt of internet sales during these tough economic times. It’s particularly hard on start ups.

I have been working with a new client, Personal Chef to Go, whose future growth depends on internet sales. We’re using AdWords, optimizing the site and tapping into social networks, but it’s tough to break through and gain traction right now.

I really believe in their concept, how they’re building their team and their food is fantastic. Trust me, I eat as much as I can get my tastebuds on!!

I need your help to make things happen for them. Specifically, please check out their site, consider working with them as an affiliate if its a good fit for your audience, let me know what you think about their service, and consider telling others about it as well. They need to sell lots of turkey!

Photo by Chris Brogan via Flickr

I hope Google and its partners in this venture remember the terms they purchased the stories under. Many freelance pieces “published years ago,” did not include Internet rights under standard contracts. Any of those stories were pre-commercial Internet. And many of those contracts have long since disappeared with time.

Many of those contracts included First North American Rights. I have to remind publishers many times over that they did not purchase all-inclusive rights when I do vanity searches and find my articles on the Internet that were purchased under First North American Rights. My guess is that a lot of freelancers will have to go into the business of being their own police and lawyer when this new business model for Google comes about.

You know, whenever Kinko’s makes a print of a photograph, they ask you to sign a release notifying you of copyright laws and stating that you personally own the rights to the photographs they are reproducing. Perhaps it’s time to start holding Google responsible for its content…. And to put a Can-spam law into place where there’s a flat $11,000 fee in place when a company is found in violation of the law (although, I’d like to see how many times that law has been implemented).

Even if Google agrees to take the content off the site, you have sites like the Wayback Machine that will keep that content up forever. In the end, it’s usually the people who create the content who make the least, and the companies that don’t give a damn about rights (or say, “Who cares, sue me,”) that end up profiting the most.

The only way that’s going to end is if there is some kind of law protecting content creators from companies that violate rights contracts. Writers currently have to prove damages, and with no way to audit microsales, how many times something has been accessed, for how much $$ and if it is originally what brought a surfer to the site (if so, what other purchases were made on that visit), damages cannot be physically proven.

As a former Kinko’s manager of a branch directly impacted by Basic Books, Inc. v. Kinko’s Graphics Corporation [Harvard Square], I can assure you, she’s right. The only way to protect your rights is to aggressively pursue them; that may mean hiring a lawyer and fighting for them, or acting as your own lawyer if you can’t afford one on your own. If I hear of a lawyer or firm launching a class action suit, I will post an update to this article.

Kinko’s didn’t begin strict monitoring of all copied materials until there was a compelling legal reason to do so; you’d better believe that the fine folks at Time, The Wall Street Journal, The New York Times, the Guardian, the Washington Post, Factiva, LexisNexis, Thomson Gale and HighBeam Research won’t, either.

While these companies will inevitably protest compliance because they say it amounts to micropayments, it isn’t – just last month I spent over $180 on purchased articles. Those funds belong to the owners of the material, not the mega corporation who databased it.

Unlike Basic Books, Inc. v. Kinko’s Graphics Corporation, this is not a case of fair, academic use of materials – this is a case of laughing off the legal agreements and contracts that limit publisher’s use of original copyrights. This seems at significant odds to Google’s philosophy of “You can make money without doing evil” – let’s hope they live up to it and work with freelancers, not against them.

For more information on copyright for writers, check out Sally’s page on copyright and the American Society of Journalists and Authors’ Rights 101.

While technology is a popular target for crowdsourcing, it’s great to see other industries covered and it is well worth a read. He presents some very good questions, including:

But what is crowdsourcing all about? In Howe’s own words “technological advances in everything from product design software to digital video cameras are breaking down the cost barriers that once separated amateurs from professionals. Hobbyists, part-timers, and dabblers suddenly have a market for their efforts, as smart companies in industries as disparate as pharmaceuticals and television discover ways to tap the latent talent of the crowd. The labor isn’t always free, but it costs a lot less than paying traditional employees. It’s not outsourcing; it’s crowdsourcing”.

This definition illustrates well where the crowdsourcing phenomenon is coming from, but it does not create clear boundaries for what should be considered crowdsourcing and what should not. Does crowdsourcing necessarily involves something commercial? Can we classify social networks and collaborative production platforms as crowdsourcing?

Disclosure: I am presently engaged in launching two crowdsource companies that I am also a full partner in, so I am admittedly prejudiced about the effectiveness of the business model. I do predict, however, that we’ll see more businesses go this road as participation online continues to increase and more proven business models are available as examples.

My answers to his questions are pretty simple – no, crowdsourcing doesn’t have to be commercial; SETI and some open source software like the Katrina People Finder weren’t developed for commercial purposes. Neither was the internet, for that matter, and look at it now – it’s a mixture of both for and not for profit applications, content and traffic. I would consider most social networking sites as crowdsourced, but I’m waivering on collaborative platforms – you could tip me either way depending on the criteria you use to argue the point. Want to prove me wrong? Use the comment section and we’ll chat

Update: Jeff Howe, the author of Wired Magazine’s original article about crowdsourcing blogs at crowdsourcing.com

He’s also given me an illustrated coaching moment, so I’m doubly grateful.

Here is the original list, presented in order as they arrived.

Here is the topical sort Christina Jones from eBeauty Daily created for the revised order post.

See how much easier it was to find what you might be interested in?

Our brains love order and organization, although we ourselves may, at times, struggle with doing so. One of the reasons WordPress became our software of choice was the ability to categorize them easily, to allow people to find what they’re looking for faster and easier.

Planning out your categories can be approached in two ways. One is to randomly add them as you need them; the other is to follow a careful outline that dovetails your business plan. Whether or not you perceive it or not, the minute you begin publishing on line, you’re in the business of you, which means a rough idea of where you’re going is always a good idea.

Mike Yoskovitz over at I Got News For You.com has a great post on his Top 4 Mistakes as an Entrepreneur, including this gem:

Now more than ever, with blogs, podcasts and the reach of the Internet, networking is insanely easy, but the bulk of that is done in the great beyond…don’t forget your own backyard. You can’t replace meeting people face-to-face, and building a solid foundation at home.

Peter T Davis of Small Business Forum.com has an interesting post about four types of money-making websites that can be launched and run by one person; it is designed to help inexperienced people take their first step into building money-making websites, so it’s a little basic for some, but it’s a good list of the basics.

Hendry Lee over at Weblog Scout has a great list of 8 business models for bloggers. I agree with him 100% – if you want to generate revenue from your website or blog, have a plan. It doesn’t need to be fancy, or elaborate, but at least begin with an idea of where you want it to go in time. It will also help you maintain your motivation to blog when the going gets rough.

Hendry also has his free eClass promoted at the top of each page, and I assume you are also auto-subscribed to his newsletter as well. Establishing a separate communication vehicle allows him to reach people in other ways to both generate revenue and bring them back to his blog. This is an extremely effective tactic for the models he covers in 4-6 and without it, you’d be leaving significant cash on the table.

It was interesting to see the diversity of posts submitted; unlike carnivals, these lists came in a wide range of topics. I’m only partially through the list, so expect more updates as I find new gems.

Traditionally, retailers seeking to reach local populations have used coupon services such as ValPak and RSVP card decks to reach their desired target market. Google Local hopes to expand the number of local businesses who use its service (which is free) regardless of whether or not they have a website.

It took me all of four minutes to enter a test coupon, approve my listing and quit the application. Overall, this is a very impressive implementation. Most interesting was Google’s verification system – I was able to verify my listing via a phone call, which leads me to believe that Google is close to rolling out its Click to Call program.

If you’re interested in learning more about using coupons to grow or expand your business, here are some good resources:

Entrepreneurial Connection: Use Coupons Effectively
Entrepreneur: Promote Your Business With Coupons and Contests

Good luck! If you’re already working with Google Coupons and have a success story, please use the comments section to share your results.

My first experience with Ether was great – I was able to configure my profile, install the code onto the template for this site and go live within 10 minutes. The longest part of the process? Figuring out what to include in my profile. You’re also able to set up segmented profiles – i.e. I can have one profile for coaching, one for technology or one for WordPress – you can set varied rates and availabilities. I’m very intrigued by the pay-to-read email option – I don’t quite understand how I’ll use it, but it looks promising.

I’m in Seattle the rest of this week for the NTEN Technology Conference or I’d be playing with it more – expect more posts next week as I have time to run clients through etc.

There are several interesting twists to this version, including the ability to sell your book straight from your own website, limits on the number of pages that can be printed and limits on how much of the desired material can be visible from the search interface in a given period. Displayed pages will also feature ads with revenue sharing back to the publisher or author.

Google | Web 2.0 | Book Search

Both sites let you add venues, specify event type and invite others to attend. Since both sites are still fairly new, users should plan on using the web tools from Upcoming to popularize their events (see our shiny new badge below my flickr album) and gain new users. Both sites also offer the ability for users to add comments. This is a great feature since it allows you to collect feedback from your happy guests/customers/clients. Both sites are presently free and place no limits on the number of events you can add.

You can use tools like these to promote either your brick and mortar location (as we’re doing with Sydney’s) or upcoming lecture, podcast, seminar or festival. The clean and easy to follow interfaces make it a snap to distribute your information to a wide variety of audiences.

Eventful | Upcoming | events | Web 2.0