Comitment, Resources, and Expectations: A Layered View

Just like toys for big boys, you need to set your desires and expectations to reflect your resources and commitment / there is no shortage of "wet dream" images to choose from! Harley Davidson seem to "get" the overblown expectation of most "big boys with toy fetish".

In my latest search for "serious new customers" I stumble on situations which seem strange. If I wasn't looking for paying work, this would be interesting (but it's actually frustrating). I get requests from people that simply don't make sense. The one which applies most to technologists and business managers is overblown expectations. Essentially, a product manager wants:

100 article blog in four weeks at a cost of $10 a piece. Each article is original writing with research and promotion wrapped around it. Articles are 500 to 850 words. If a series of articles can be cobbled together, in five to ten at a time, that would be preferable. (actual quote with editing for clarification) 

Apparently you can buy this kind of writing right off the internet from both "legit" and "not-so-legit" sources (i.e. plagiarized, state prisoners, general/non-domain-expert writers in India, etc.) The "unreasonableness" in this example seems to fall into three categories. Each by itself a problem. All three together is what I call ridiculous:

1. Content creation should be free. Not free as in "free speech" but as "free beer". See open source discussions on the difference between "free speech" and "free beer" concept.
2. Content creation should be "instant". Once you think about an idea, and you can articulate the details to a writer (graphic artist, audio editor, videographer), the articles should be available almost immediately. 
3. You can create infinite amount of content, link it to infinite amount of references and sources, and get top Google page rank almost immediately (once you have that free and immediate content). This will result in thousands of "clicks" and great sales.
   

All Work and No Play: After the Design and AdWords

When first evaluating content creation, especially as an outsourced service, the process seems like "real work" / you are "getting it" (sarcastically saying) / Jean-François Millet- TheGleaners

This month I started looking for new "serious" customers. "Serious" customers are ones which not only need my services, but also actually benefit immediately. This may mean getting business right away (i.e. at Tikal Networks), or getting attention or a unique advantage over competitors (i.e. SolidRun). The process is simple: I contact a CEO or marketing director, they tell me what they need, I pitch an idea and sometimes write a short proposal or sample. Then we are off to the races. If the CEO is not sure how unique content, targeted at his market will help, they will usually ask the "hard questions". Which means, answering about the same questions every time (after 7 years this is normal), and showing some examples. Either this works or it doesn't. If the initial screening process works, then comes the real shock: "oh this is real work! I tried this before and it has not really worked for me!" This may sound sarcastic, but believe me, it is not.