A Small Solution to a Big Problem: "Borrowing" images.

I ran across something yesterday that I thought was pretty impressive in a small but meaningful way. I was in the process of writing an article and needed an image. I googled my search term (I was looking for an image of a hand-drawn mind map) and found one that I thought would work. The image was accompanied by the usual warning that "Images may be subject to copyright." So I clicked on the image to see who owned it.

The image was the property of Jane Genovese, who runs the blog Live the Solution. Genovese was named the Young Environmentalist of the Year at the 2009 Western Australian Youth Awards. She says her blog aims to help people:

• explore alternatives to materialism and consumerism.
educate and empower people to take action and combat global warming.
• understand global warming through the use of mind maps.
• and provide freedom from mental traps and negative conversations that inhibit people from making a difference.

Pretty inspiring stuff.

But what really impressed me was a comment on the side of the page where I found the image I wanted. It said simply: "Please donate if you wish to use any of our mind maps," and was accompanied by a PayPal link.

As a writer who understands the importance of adding visuals to blog posts, I thnk this is a brilliant solution to a common problem. There are so many images available on the internet. Some are free, others are not. They are the ones to which copyright laws may apply.

The problem is that as a freelance writer working alone, I have a hard time figuring out who owns an image and how to go about getting (or paying for) permission to use it. Jane's simple solution really worked for me--and for her.

I think it's particularly brilliant because:

1. It makes it clear that the image has value.
2. It makes it easy for the "borrower" to compensate the creator of the image.
3. And by simplifying access to the image, it puts the ball in the borrower's court: You know creator or owner of the image thinks it has value. They've made it easy for you to pay. So... are you going to pay? Or are you going to just use the image "without telling anyone."

The internet can be an unruly, uncivilized place at times. A place where people are tempted to think they can get away with things--including using images without compensating the owner or creator.

Jane's small gesture, minute in comparison to the work she's doing on the environmental front, helps brings a sense of civility and responsibility to the web. It's gentle, respectful, and puts the burden on the conscience of the user. Not a bad model for all of us to live by.

A Better Way to Manage PR Campaigns

I suppose that many of you, like me, wear more than one hat in the course of a working week. One of my hats is doing public relations. I love to find companies that are doing something great, but that don't know how to get out there and tell their stories. It is the writer in me that helps communicate what a company is all about--without it sounding like some kind of cheesy brochure.

But PR isn't a one-off thing: It's a process. It's about creating a plan, then executing the plan. And PR plans, like most plans are complex. There are a lot of dependencies. Mind mapping helps me merge my creative, writerly brain with my organizational brain.

There are a lot of moving pieces to the typical pr plan, so I thought I'd make a few short blogs about it so you can see how ConceptDraw MINDMAP helps me work quickly and creatively on behalf of my clients.

PR success is all building strong relationships with influencers, and in having clear, compelling stories to tell. To build strong relationships, you have to understand the reporter--and keep track of your communications with them. Here's how I do it.

I have a set of maps where I keep my media contacts (I pull them from a media database I subscribe to). Every time I start a new campaign, I pull from that the names and info of the reporters I hope to work with on the campaign. The map looks something like this (though this map is very simplified):

I'm trying to keep these posts short, so I'll end it here. Tomorrow I'll talk about capturing your pr brainstorming.

ATTN Freelance Writers: You are Project Managers too.

As a freelance writer, you can get in trouble when you have too many writing projects going on at once. Each project is always at a different stage. Each one needs something different to move it forward. It can drive you seriously nuts (been there).

If you don't already, you need to think of yourself as a sometime writer, sometime project manager. ConceptDraw can help you assume this role without having to attend ze L'Universite de Project Management.

Here's the kind of map I use every week to keep track of my contracts. It takes me just a few minutes to create and update the map, which I do at the end of every day:

The map lets me see AT A GLANCE where I am with all of my work. I can visually track the milestones of each project. I can tell by the various icons that I have attached relevant documents, be they Word docs, emails, mind maps, or just notes to myself. I can add notations about things that went on during a phone call. I can add reminders. But best of all, I have all my projects--and direct links to all my documents, in one easy-to-read document.

Download a ConceptDraw MINDMAP free trial and give it a try. And enjoy your new status as a bona fide project manager.