All computer users, at some point, have lost data from their computer: either because the document processing software did not save the most recent changes, or because of accidental deletion.

My typical way to lose files is when I am cleaning out superfluous files and discover that I have tossed out something crucial!

What can you do to prevent such disasters? Are there techniques or software that can help? Sure – there are many solutions to this problem. First, however, let’s start with the basic strategies to keep what you store on your computer safe: not only your documents, but your valuable pictures and other files.

First, you must back up every piece of data externally. For example, I copy my photos to DVDs at least every six months. This might sound excessive, but consider my recent experience. A year ago, my PC was infected with a really nasty virus that led to a blue screen nearly every time I booted up. I had to reinstall my OS. In order to wipe the virus out, I had to format both of my hard drives ( believe me, I tried the easy way out by merely reinstalling the OS and performing checks with a variety of anti-virus software – no dice). Eventually, I was left with two clean hard drives.
Read the rest of this entry »

When purchasing writing services, customers often wish to keep their identity safe. They don’t wish to disclose any personal information, and want to keep interactions strictly on a business footing.
 
We respect this at ResearchWritingCenter.com, and one of the features that our clients value is our ability to keep personal information safe. To be accurate, many freelance writers feel the same way, and that is why we have developed a highly secure system, with no names, phone numbers, or addresses disclosed.
 
Given this, it is quite difficult for many freelance writers to establish a personal relationship with a customer, when the writer cannot address the customer by name, or even know what part of the globe they call from. At the same time, however, it is natural for a writer to hope for returning customers, and future orders. It is natural that customers will choose a writer with whom they feel comfortable communicating, but how can a writer establish such valuable contacts?
 
How can you manage this? There are several strategies to avoid breaking any confidentiality rules or regulations of the company or your contract’s non-disclosure policies.
  Read the rest of this entry »

There is a wide variety of competencies a freelance writer requires for success. However, I would rank marketing as one of the most critical skills, right after facility with writing. Why?

It is simple – if you freelance, then, by definition, you don’t have a consistent and stable job. That is why marketing yourself is so important – it flushes more jobs out of the underbrush! We have addressed this topic before, but let’s have a quick refresher! Here are some techniques:

Samples: be ready to offer examples of your best work. If you have created exclusive content, sharing such material might raise issues of copyright infringement. To avoid this, we suggest that you craft a number of samples specifically to introduce your work to prospective customers.
Read the rest of this entry »

Applications abound to provide communication mobility for everyone who’s constantly on the go or who depends heavily on their smart phones. Of course, reviewing them all might be a total waste of time. Thus, I’ll suggest some applications that I, as well as some of my colleagues, found useful.

Here’s one to get you started – Opera Mini Browser, mobile edition. This is probably the best browser for mobile devices, because it offers a plethora of functions – its operates practically the same as your standard PC browser. It differs in that it’s compressed into a package for smart phones and ordinary cellular phones.

This next app will be useful for Android users – it’s called GDocs. It’s basically Google Docs with the following difference: The standard Google Docs app for mobile devices allows users to review the documents, but there are no editing options. With this app, you can actually edit the content of your Google Docs database.
Read the rest of this entry »

You’ll empathize with this: the deadline was closing for our next blog posting. Ominously, I couldn’t think of any earth-shaking topics. After all, if you look at our blog, you’ll see that I’ve already covered quite a few.

This moment, when you think you have temporarily run out of ideas, is a dangerous point in any creative process.

This is what is called creative block, and it is exactly what I was experiencing right before writing this article.

You see the article, so what helped me overcome the problem? Analysis! It sounds weird, but in order for me to write an article, I needed to analyze why couldn’t write an article. The analysis itself turned out to be the article! Some might call this an easy way out, but I hope that this article will actually help my readers.

OK, let’s consider step one: looking in the obvious places. “If you want to hide something, put it in plain view” – as said by that early practitioner of the mystery-writer’s craft, E.A. Poe. I was sitting here wondering, “Why can’t I come up with a topic?” Then I ask myself, “ Wait, could this be a topic?”. And that is how you eventually came to see this piece. Make sure, however, that you explore the topic from a point of view that will be interesting to your readers. I hope mine does the job
Read the rest of this entry »