With more and more individuals accessing the web through mobile devices,
publishers will increasingly find that they need to offer satisfactory
mobile browsing experiences to attract and retain visitors to their websites.

For publishers using the jQuery JavaScript library, that may get a
little easier thanks to the jQuery Mobile Project, which was announced
last week.

jQuery, of course, is the most popular JavaScript library, and according to one report, is used by more than 30% of the top 10,000 websites globally. And for good reason: jQuery makes it easy for developers to build rich JavaScript functionality without having to reinvent the wheel.

The jQuery Mobile Project is aiming to make it just as easy for developers to build fantastic mobile experiences:

jQuery mobile framework takes the “write less, do more” mantra to the next level: Instead of writing unique apps for each mobile device or OS, the jQuery mobile framework will allow you to design a single highly branded and customized web application that will work on all popular smartphone and tablet platforms.

jQuery Mobile will incorporate a mobile-compatible jQuery core with a jQuery UI library that will include “a number of new components and sample applications to help mobile web application developers.“

The jQuery Mobile Project is ambitious; it aims to “work across all major international mobile platforms (not just a few of the most popular platforms in North America).” This includes popular mobile platforms like iOS, Android and Blackberry, but also smaller and newer platforms like Bada and MeeGo.

The Project’s initial sponsors are Mozilla, Palm and The Filament Group and it is expected that jQuery Mobile will be ready for release in October 2010. If jQuery Mobile lives up to expectations, it will certainly be good news for developers already using jQuery as well as developers looking for ways to simplify the process of developing interactive websites that are just as compelling in mobile environments. It is also a sign that the people behind popular development tools, such as libraries like jQuery, will increasingly have to look making sure their tools have application in mobile environments.

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The social graph is something that the digital world is struggling to understand right now. How important are the connections within your digital social circle? Who are the most important connectors in your graph? How far does influence travel online?

Well, according to a study from Invoke Solutions, it’s still real world friends that hold the most sway with consumers online. And while Facebook has made a niche for itself by fostering online relationships between people who are friends or know each other offline, on Twitter there could be trust issues.

According to Invoke, the most trusted information online is posted by people’s real world friends. Blog posts by said friends were more likely to be trusted “completely” than posts on
Facebook. But posts on Twitter were even less trustworthy.

Invoke asked frequent social media users what sources they trusted online. 26% completely trusted blogs written by their friends. 23% trusted their friends’ Facebook posts. But only about half that (12%) completely trusted messages from friends on Twitter.

Those numbers were still higher than brand messagins. Blog posts from brands scored 11% complete trust, Facebook posts from companies had 9%, and brands posting on Twitter had the complete trust of 6% of respondents. 

That’s to be expected. But consumers also trust posts from their friends more than professional bloggers and community members. On Twitter, independent bloggers only inspired 5% total trust. And fellow community member comments only ranked slightly higher at 8%.

And more surprising still is the fact that people trust brand posts more than independent bloggers. Brand streams on Twitter inspired 6% of responses that registered complete trust, compared to 5% of bloggers on Twitter.

That’s especially interesting in light of the fact that most people on Twitter make a habit of following people they don’t know in real life. If Facebook is a venue for
friends and acquantances to interact online, Twitter users
activiley seek out messages from experts and bloggers. 

That seems to be the value that Twitter adds to the Facebook status messages that predated its existence. But if people don’t trust those messages, it changes the power structure of Twitter’s social graph.

Especially considering that so called influencers are sought after at such a premium online, this study turns that notion on its head. It’s understandable that people would trust their real life friends more than strangers online, but when brands are more trustworthy than bloggers and community members, that seems to be a sign of incredibly strong marketing or trust issues on a platform.

But then again, it probably doesn’t matter what I think about this. Unless you know me in real life.

Image: ToughSledding

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Being a freelancer is not the easiest job in the world and the
difficulty in maintaining your sanity when dealing with clients is
certainly one of the reasons why.

Fortunately, going crazy doesn’t have to be a side effect of life as a
freelancer. You can freelance and maintain your sanity. Here are five
ways to do it.

Boost your rates 

While there’s always a limit to how much you can realistically charge your clients, there’s a good chance you’re charging less than it. Increasing your rates (within reason) is often a good way to make your life simpler. For one, it may actually help boost your perceived value, especially if you’re undercharging. It also often weeds out ‘bad’ clients, helps minimize the risk you will take a loss on a project if Murphy’s Law hits and perhaps most importantly, can also enable you to do more for fewer clients.

Set boundaries 

Want to be a successful, and sane, freelancer? Be prepared to learn how to say ‘no‘. You may have the most wonderful clients in the world, but clients are clients, and a good number of them, if given the opportunity, will try to get their way even if means you lose out. The key is learning how to say ‘no‘ at the appropriate time and in the appropriate manner. Obviously, a freelancer who always says ‘no‘ is likely to get a reputation for having a bad attitude. You don’t want that. But ‘no‘, when used as a tool for setting boundaries, is a must.

A tip: when a client asks for something that isn’t in-scope and would materially impact either cost or schedule, make it clear that the request cannot be accommodated within the existing budget and schedule, but also make it clear that you’re willing to work with the client to make sure he or she gets what she’s wants if the client is able to accommodate the appropriate changes to the engagement. Sometimes they will, and you make more money, and sometimes they’ll come to their senses and stick with what they wanted in the first place.

Stop nightmare clients before they strike 

If you have been working with clients for any length of time, you probably spot the nightmare clients before they’re your clients. You know all the signs — early miscommunications, no specs, etc. — but even so, you still might take them on. If your sanity is important to you, it’s worth recognizing that some prospective clients are best left as ‘prospective‘ clients. In other words, turning away the wrong business and walking away is an option. Incidentally, avoiding nightmare clients is not only one of the best ways to maintain your sanity, it’s one of the best ways to maintain your profitability too.

Focus on building up the right client list 

One of the most difficult parts of being a hired gun is drumming up new business. This is particularly true for freelancers who are relatively new to the game, but is often the case for seasoned veterans who have high client turnover. High client turnover is a sign that you’ve built up the wrong client list.

Instead of thinking all paying clients are created equal, think long-term and focus on acquiring clients that you have the potential to develop ‘committed‘ relationships with. Achieving the ultimate goal of not having to do business development again may or may not be possible, but by considering the long-term potential of each new client relationship, you have a better shot at minimizing the day to day hustle that is so distracting and sanity-killing.

Take a vacation

 Vacation? If you’re a busy freelancer, the word may be foreign to you. After all, when you have a menagerie of clients to manage, finding the time to venture off to a deserted island is pretty tough to do. But it’s important that you make some time, at least once a year. If you have the right clients, they’ll understand, and when you come back, you’ll notice that you actually perform better.

Photo credit: Edge of Sanity via Flickr.

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