On Saturday, March 29th, businesses and individuals across the globe will be shutting off their lights for an hour, as part of Earth Hour. Chicago Earth Hour takes place from 8-9 pm CST, and many businesses and landmarks in downtown Chicago are planning to take part in this initiative against climate change. (Downtown dwellers will see an unusually dark city skyline!)

Will you dim the lights and participate in Earth Hour?

Attending SXSW was an incredible experience, and one of the most fun things was discovering a whole new world online. So many web sites, so little time! Here are a few that are new to me and SO worth checking out:

• AllTop: Guy Kawasaki’s creation, it collects high-quality resources on a ton of topics in eight categories: work, living, people, interests, culture, geekery, good, news.
• Unclutterer: Tons of tips to keep your workspace, home, car nicely organized and simplified.
• Twitter: Never thought I’d jump on this bandwagon, but I love feeling connected to folks and this really does the trick.
• Blurb: Make your own book. Gorgeous!

Most of us work from home; a few of us have outside offices. I’ve always worked from home, but am now getting ready to split my time between my home office (ChronicBabe HQ, or CBHQ) and an outside office space I’ll share with a group of cool, creative folks. It’s exciting! But it creates some questions and challenges for me:

- How should I keep my computers connected? I use MS Outlook to manage my calendar, email, task lists, etc. I don’t want to bring my main computer to the remote office (let’s call it CBHQ2) but I want access to all that stuff. I’ve checked out GoToMyPC and it seems workable. I don’t like to work for hours at a time on my laptop, so I’ll probably get a dock so I can use a bigger monitor, keyboard and mouse.
- How should I handle phone calls? I spend a lot of time on the phone, and I suppose I’ll just forward my home office phone to my Blackberry to answer at CBHQ2. Time to get a hands-free headset, but I’m super-picky about them, so I’ll call my usual provider, Hello Direct, and see if they have something that I’ll like.
- How will I manage paperwork? I think it will be best to keep my main filing system at my home office, and have some sort of smaller file-holder at CBHQ2. That way I can carry that day’s important files with me back and forth. But I think I’ll need to think strategically about keeping more information digital so I can always access it. (I’ll be killing fewer trees that way, too.)
- What about office supplies? Good think I never get rid of anything, like old staplers, trash bins, scissors…I have duplicates of lots of stuff. I’ll gather up the most vital things and find a nifty storage container for them. Too bad I don’t have a spare office chair; that’s the only big purchase I’ll need to make.

And finally,
- What about my attitude? I’ve always poo-poo’d working offsite. I don’t even like to work in coffee shops! I’m easily distracted and I don’t like to be interrupted a lot. So working in a shared space with other folks will take some getting used to. But I think the payoffs will be worth it: Regular contact with creative, interesting people. Folks to have lunch with. The chance to get out of my house when the neighbors are being particularly noisy. A reason to put on big-girl clothes and makeup and stuff. (Or maybe they won’t care if I work in my PJs.) Yup, worth it.

So…I’m ultra-curious to hear how other folks prepare to work offsite. What software/ hardware/ equipment/ gadgets help you? How do you balance your time? How do you minimize distractions? Handle paperwork? Chime in with a comment!

Saturday, March 22nd is International Pillow Fight Day, which brings together large groups of people in public places, taking out their aggression safely with pillows. Chicago’s Pillow Fight is being held in front of the Art Institute (Michigan Ave & Monroe St.) at 2 pm. BYOP!

Ok, perhaps it’s not networking in the traditional sense, but amidst whacking people with pillows, you could pass out a few biz cards…

You know what an RSS feed is, right? If not, Wikipedia explains it pretty darn well. Many sites put out little feeds, and it’s nice to have a feed aggregator to capture the feeds of all your favorite sites into one place.

I’ve been using Bloglines for a while now, and really like it…but fresh off the plane from SXSW Interactive, I’ve got more recommendations floating around my brain, and I’m curious: What’s your favorite feed aggregator, and why?

The Trib featured ideaxchanger Jackie Sloane this month discussing the benefits of virtual networking. If you would like to learn more about e-networking and e-marketing, come to my presentation tonight. Hosted by Independent Writers of Chicago, I’ll be highlighting the work of several ideaXchangers in a discussion titled “Writing for the Web: How to Find, Get, and Do Your Next Writing Gig Online.”

On Thursday, mix your virtual and physical networking at the mediabistro.com Chicago party for creative, content, media, and publishing pros at D4 Irish Pub & Cafe, just in time for the holiday. My cohosts and I enjoy getting to know your professional endeavors and introducing you to people with similar goals. Hope to see you at one or both events!

With the impending sales tax hike in Chicago and surrounding suburbs, many consumers are considering crossing county or state lines–as well as heading online–to make their purchases. This was profiled in an article in yesterday’s Chicago Tribune, showing the staggering difference in sales tax across counties on a $1,075 laptop.

How will your shopping habits be affected?

And if you sell goods, how will your business be affected?

Leave your comments and/or click here to take a survey

Fitting in with Jenni’s theme of the week, I’ve got a brainteaser for all of you. As independents, we’ve done all sorts of things to market ourselves. There’s the expensive, the cheap, the cutting-edge, the traditional. If there’s a potential for new leads and enhanced business image, we’ve probably done it.

So what’s the single best marketing effort you’ve ever made? If someone were just starting out, or starting over, what would you recommend as a useful method to market your independent writing/design/consulting business? What did you do, and what did it do for you?

P.S. If you haven’t already, check out my blog. Writers will find tips and thoughts on marketing, publishing, and day-to-day freelancing; independent creatives and other readers will find some fun columns to spark that creativity and keep it fresh. Enjoy.

I saw this today and thought it was brilliant
(well… at least it was to me!)
courtesy of the IronicSans blog

After attending the SEED Conference this year, I was inspired to start practicing what I preach, and start a blog. Really, this is just a “cook book” of what I do and know. It can get a bit geeky/code heavy at times, but there will also be some entries related to improving your Google searches, as well as helping search engines identify the juiciest content on your website and generally useful office-type stuff. You can check out the blog (still a work in progress), and do post comment/questions/requests - always looking to improve.