Posts tagged Jelly
The tweetometer stands at 1000
Jan 31st
My observant coworking friend Lee Cottier pointed out the other day that I have now sent out more than 1000 tweets. I wasn’t keeping count, so the total was a surprise. It would be good if you could attach a tweetometer to the side of your computer and watch the tweets roll up, just like the miles on a car!
Passing 1000 tweets made me think back on all the people and information Twitter has brought me in just over five months. For a start, it was where I found out about Jelly and then met or connected with many interesting people who can see the possibilities in coworking. I now have lots of Jelly information on the site and it’s exciting to know that it’s being read, and recommended, by coworking spaces in the US where Jelly originated.
I find it quite staggering that I can tweet a short message from the West Country here in the UK that is instantly picked up by like-minded people on the west coast of America. This really is the best time in history to be starting and running a business.
Jelly goes Enterprise Nation-wide
Jan 25th
Excellent news to start my home working week! My new page on starting your own Jelly has been featured on Enterprise Nation, the site for people setting up and developing a business from home. I have been posting on the EN forum for a while and exchanging the occasional tweet with Emma Jones, the site’s founder, but I’m thrilled to get such prominent billing as her site is visited by thousands of home business owners, many of whom will benefit from learning about Jelly.
Take a look at Enterprise Nation for tips and advice on any aspect of running a home business. If you can’t immediately find what you’re after, you can post a question on the forum and will undoubtedly get a response that will point you in the right direction, whether it’s facts you need or a bit of support and reassurance.
Just do one thing at a time!
Jan 21st
I’m pleased to say my advice to myself worked and I was able to get stuck into my new webpage on how to start your own Jelly. It’s now published apart from some pictures I’m waiting for A to put on as we have a glitch with the site that means pictures have to go on the server first…or something. Something that I need to stay well away from, anyway!
I’ve written the new page in response to all the questions about Jelly and coworking that have been coming in to me and Lee Cottier, who organises Jelly in Bristol and Bath. It seems that although the idea of coworking has been around in the UK for a few years, it’s now really taking off. Timing is all.
Having completed this, I’m keen now to crack on with my page for freelance writers working from home.
Cottier on coworking
Jan 12th
You’ll know by now how keen I am on coworking and Jelly. Well, all my information came originally from Lee Cottier, the foremost coworker in the South West, and the driving force behind coworking in this area.
Last week I had a good long natter on the phone with him about how he discovered coworking, why he’s so keen and what he’d like to see happen in the future. I’ve transferred all that information to a new page on coworking that I hope will explain the concept, still a very new one to many home workers and freelancers in the UK. There’s also a brief but illuminating video made by a coworking space in Seattle, which was brought to my attention yesterday in one of Lee’s tweets about coworking. (Follow him on @CoWorkingWest for general news as well as events in the South West).
Coworking is an exciting development for anybody working from home. It tackles both the potential problem, always looming, of isolation and becoming cut-off, and also offers countless possibilities for collaborating with other freelancers on new projects.
Jelly on ice
Jan 8th
A and I crunched carefully down the road yesterday to Jelly at The Old Church School and were joined by two other people who live locally and were able to walk in. Others were stranded by the ice and couldn’t make it.
Having spent all the previous day at home, with not even a short walk, it made me feel so much better to be in a different environment and talk to people I don’t often see. I’m always recommending other home workers to get out as much as they can, but even so, every time I do it, I am amazed once again just how much difference it makes to my mood and outlook.
I’ll be organising more Jelly very soon and details will appear here and on the Work from Home Events page. It’s worth pointing out that you don’t have to have a laptop to come to Jelly! Just bring some portable work – something to read, write, sew, knit, whatever – and enjoy the company.
There’s always some help available. Yesterday A got a Jellyer going on Twitter and Tweetdeck. Often it turns out that something that is a complete mystery to you is natural as breathing to another Jellyer!
Back to reality
Jan 4th
So now all the festivities are finally over and ‘real life’ strikes again. Despite doing bits and pieces of work throughout, I’m finding it unexpectedly difficult to get focused today, perhaps because there are so many exciting things on the horizon that it’s hard to know where to start.
I’ve got several phone calls booked over the next few days to discuss how to help home workers in different ways. On Wednesday I’m visiting Bath Jelly at Green Park Station to interview Lee Cottier, the foremost coworker in the South West and the person who has established Jelly in these parts. I want to talk to him about how he organises his working life and what his plans are for 2010 – on film if I can persuade him!
The second Frome Jelly takes place on Thursday and already there are only 2 places left but now I’d better get on with the new content I’ve got planned for the site, starting with resources for writers who work from home. Do let me know if you work from home as a writer, editor etc and have any useful links you think others would appreciate.
The twilight zone
Dec 28th
This is a very peculiar time of year, a sort of twilight between Christmas and New Year in which nothing much happens. It’s a good time to do a clear-out of your home office ready for the new start after the January 1 Bank Holiday. I find jobs like getting rid of old paperwork are perfect for bridging the gap and making me feel ready for another year.
One thing I always do is go through my old diary and make a list of all the things I’ve achieved this year. It’s always far longer than I remember and makes me feel grateful for everything that’s happened, and positive about the future. This year’s list includes moving into a light and spacious house perfect for home working, the publication of my book, learning how to use Twitter, discovering Jelly and meeting some really helpful and inspiring people, including Mark Shaw (Twitter), Lee Cottier (coworking and Jelly) and Louise Billington (creative coach).
Next year will I hope include moving into another light and spacious house perfect for home working (sadly, our landlords have decided to sell up), developing some exciting products and services to help home workers be more successful, speaking to more groups about the joys of working from home and meeting yet more amazing people.
What do you want to achieve in 2010?
Another helping of Jelly
Dec 16th
Just doing some work on publicising the next Frome Jelly, which will be held on Thursday 7 January between 10 am and 2 pm at the same venue, The Old Church School, tucked away behind the Methodist Church on Butts Hill, just below the fire station.
Jelly is meant to be spontaneous and viral and is normally only announced a week or so before the date, but with the Christmas and New Year break fast approaching, it seemed best to let people know so they could put the date in their diary and plan accordingly. It would be sad if I left it too late and nobody turned up. Solitary Jelly would be no fun at all.
If you’re interested in setting up Jelly in your area and would like to know more, check out these videos and info.
Newsflash – page about Jelly
Dec 9th
I’ve just added a new page about Jelly that includes a couple of videos from the first Frome Jelly in November. New pages are listed under Tips on the menu bar and also in the right-hand column under my tweets.
Jelly is good for home workers
Oct 9th
This week I attended the first Jelly in Bath. What, you may ask, is a Jelly when it’s at home? A Jelly, good people, is a gathering of home workers, and any others who might fancy a change from their normal workplace, in a cafe, office space or someone’s home. There is free wi-fi access, a table to work on and plenty of chat. It’s called a Jelly because it began in New York, and apparently the two guys who dreamed it up were eating jelly beans at the time!
Bath’s first Jelly was held at JikaJika, a large new coffee shop in George Street, which sells yummy cakes and sandwiches and astonishingly powerful coffee. (Oddly enough, the building used to be an estate agents, and I was responsible for cleaning it for many years, so it’s nice to go there and not wield a mop!)
About nine home workers turned up with their laptops, from Bristol and Somerset as well as Bath. Most of us hadn’t met before, and so useful connections were made. For example I met a social media consultant who gave me an impromptu seminar on how to use Linkedin. Everyone seemed very happy with the way the day went, including the coffee shop manager, so with luck they will become a regular event. I’m going to see if I can get a Frome Jelly organised, so if you would like to know more, please get in touch.
