Binary Truths with Peter Thiel | Disrupt SF 2014

Peter Thiel goes in on Uber's ethics, harmonizing the worlds of bits and atoms, and lessons learned as part of the "PayPal mafia" with Alexia Tsotsis.

Telly And Saudi Arabia’s Telfaz 11 Team Up To Bring Online Entertainment Across MENA

As part of its vision to become the leading premium content provider and streaming service in the Middle East, Telly teamed up with Telfaz 11, Saudi Arabia’s primary Internet television network, to deliver online video entertainment to its subscribers across the region.

As part of the agreement, Telfaz 11 fans will be first to enjoy episodes of their most-loved Telfaz 11 shows such as, Temsa7LY, Khambala and La Yekthar when they subscribe to Telly service, before it is published on YouTube or anywhere else. Once they become Telly subscribers, users will also have access to Telly’s most comprehensive library of multi-lingual Movies and TV Shows in the region.

In addition to content from Telfaz 11, Telly has local content in Arabic and films from Sony, Miramax, Lionsgate, Weinstein Co. and other features licensed through third-party distributors for the Middle East and Africa region. In addition, the Telly service provides Arabic subtitling for films.

The key to successful freelancing and winning new work

When it comes to transitioning from fulltime agency work to freelancing, the biggest, and single most important, shift you’ll need to make is inside your head. The fear and discomfort around not knowing where the next cheque is coming from – and when – is natural and a hurdle that needs jumping, but one that will set you free.

Chances are that if you’re thinking seriously about making the work and lifestyle jump into the world of freelancing that you’ve already got the necessary experience and skill set to make it work out. I often get emails from would-be copywriters seeking advice on how to make it happen. It’s really a confidence issue where people are looking for assurance. More on this later.

I’ve been thinking about all this recently because I’m about to start learning Final Cut Pro, Apple's video editing tool. It’s something that’s been simmering away for a while on my back burner of ‘things to do’.

The reason this is now moving from idea to action is down to the content creation and social media work I’m doing for a client, Arabian Gateway. Social media loves video - nothing groundbreaking there - and any well-rounded digital campaign needs video. Previously, when video content came up in discussions with clients, I’d simply recommend people I know who can make this deliver this part of the puzzle. Which got me thinking, sending work (and cash) to someone else is an opportunity missed. Of course life - and freelancing - is all about opportunities.

The wider my range of skills and services, the more interesting I become to a potential client; the more value I can add to answering the brief, and the bigger my invoice. Everyone is happy, and it all serves to deflate nagging freelancer doubts about when and where the next job is coming from.

You’ve already got your core set of skills. In my case, content and copywriting. But what I’m driving at here is to keep learning the skills and tools that your client is going to need, and ultimately you will expand your earning capacity.

Understand the art of SEO, because that’s always going to be critical to your clients’ needs. Elevate yourself beyond digital copywriting to digital consultancy by putting in the time to learn successful website strategy and the nuances and language intrinsic to front end design and back end development so that you are able to competently lead and launch a web project. Really truly read as much insight as you can in the field of social media, so you can become an expert that executes beyond meaningless jargon and catch phrases.

So, it’s time for me to learn Final Cut Pro. I don’t imagine I’ll be making award winning productions at Cannes Lions - there’s far better qualified people than me who have dedicated their careers to this sort of thing. But I know that, in time, I’ll be able to film, cut and edit interviews and produce slick little montages and cool kinetic typography packages. And that’s worth something to potential clients and my sense of financial security, which help me maintain belief that work is coming, and my choice to be a freelancer is the right one.

Maybe one day soon...

The forecast is… busy

Dubai skyline rises out of the fog.

When it rains, well, it rains. Along with a rare belting down of precipitation here in the Dubai desert came a mini flood of interesting projects into my inbox.

The Dinner Merchants are a couple of Kiwi girls starting a delivery dinner kit service in Auckland. I love working with entrepreneurs about to push the button on the idea that’s been keeping them awake during the wee hours. I’ve been developing their brand language, an all-important tagline and writing copy for their new website and print collateral. Throw in some digital consultancy, and it’s a full, multi-dimensional project.

Arabian Gateway is also keeping me busy. It’s a seriously ambitious business event scheduled for Dubai in 2014, with five satellite events in London, New York, Johannesburg, Sao Paulo and Sydney. I’m driving their social media management, primarily on Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn. The LinkedIn element is a new one for me, and I’m beginning to understand the true power (and share value) of this platform. I’m also writing business content for their blog, including market analysis and commentary across many sectors, including aviation, healthcare, food services, financial services, construction, IT and others. I’ve enjoyed the editorial work, which is very different from playing around with marketing / advertising copy.

Then there’s Pink Property, in Abu Dhabi. They needed to grow their website to include a property listing and search functionality on the existing site (a project I led and launched several years ago). I’m working with my freelance designer and developer to make this happen. As well as the functional changes, we’re creating a handful of new pages and the new website is being built to work harmoniously across PCs, tablets and smart phones. Critical to any real estate client is SEO, so there’s some new key search terms Pink Property need me to deliver to 1st page Google – something I’ve achieved for them in the past.

First Choice Properties, a real estate company also based in Abu Dhabi, have tapped me up for some SEO work. This has involved optimizing their SEO, on-site and off-site, front end and back end. With changes made, we’re already seeing a positive shift in rankings. We’re yet to crack 1st page Google, but are sitting pretty on the first pages of Yahoo! and Bing. First Choice is focused on some quite competitive search terms so it’ll take a little time. The obsessive in me really gets off on SEO, putting in place a solid foundation for sustainable SEO and watching search results climb up the rankings.

Anyway, after two days of unsettled climactic weather in Dubai, the sun is back out. If you’re reading this and needing some copywriting, editorial, SEO, social media campaign work or web consultancy, do get in touch to talk about your project.

Surfing in the rain. Just because...

WERRI from Rob Macdonald on Vimeo.

Welcome to web design hell

This is brilliant.

No one does observational humour quite like The Oatmeal.