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Make Money Being a Geek. Geek Tips, Geek Culture, and GTD from Geekpreneur.com

The Most Successful Self-PublishersSeptember 1

Photography: MorBCN

There was a time when “self-publishing” was just another word for “loser.” It was what bad poets did when they ran out of magazines to reject them and what grandchildren did after they’d finished putting together their grandparents’ memoirs. But publishing is changing. Print-on-demand, “entrepreneurial publishing” and digital books have put the entire process from writing through publishing to distribution at the hands of anyone who wants to put their knowledge and their experience into a book form. And the results of creating your own book can be tremendous. It’s not just the money from sales — which actually might not be very much — but the ability to bill yourself as “the author of,” to show off your expertise and to

Does Freemium Really Beat Ad-Supported?August 26

In a recent poll, tech blog Mashable’s readers voted overwhelmingly in favor of freemium products over ad-supported products. Of the 1,250 readers who voted, 461 chose freemium as their preferred way of enjoying goods without paying for them, while just 305 would want more features but also lots of ads. That looks like a big thumbs-up then for products that give the basics for nothing, charge for the extras but keep advertisers away. But look a little closer at the figures, and the picture starts to change. The second-most popular option after “freemium” wasn’t “ad-supported.” It was “tie: both work.” The difference between that shrug and freemium came down to less than 40 votes. And that was a poll of users, not producers. If even customers are confused about whether freemium or ads are best, what are creators supposed to do? Should they be giving away the store but packing it with ads? Or does it pay better to give a little and charge for the rest?

Part of the confusion lies in the complicated nature of f

The Strangest Business Success StoriesAugust 24

It’s not easy to think about bizarre business success stories after Twitter. When a company built on the concept of public SMS messaging can pick up tens of millions of dollars in start-up funding and go on to become a phenomenon, anything is possible. But Jack Dorsey wasn’t the only one to come up with an odd idea that become a success (his new payment system looks a little more conventional.) There are plenty of other people who have thought of some weird concepts — and discovered that it’s just what the market needed.

A Novel About You

Part of the appeal of a good novel is the fantasy of being someone else. But when Katie Oliver was looking for a gift for her sister-in-law, a fan of romance novels, she stumbled on an idea for a very different kind of book gift. She set up UStarNovels.com, a business that puts the reader in the heart of the action. Buy one of the books available on the site

Etiquette for Professional FacebookersAugust 19

When it comes to face-to-face business meetings, the rituals are clear. You shake hands, exchange cards, get down to detail. People have been doing it for years. Facebook though is relatively new and its use as a business tool even newer. So what’s the correct way to use Facebook professionally, maintain your audience and keep your market feeling friendly?

1. Split the Personal from the Professional

Before Facebook launched its “pages” Facebook users were forced to combine their personal accounts with the business profiles. It was a mess. Not only were accounts capped at 5,000 “friends” but there was no easy way to separate personal details from professional information.

Today, that’s no longer the case. It is possible to maintain two completely separate identities on Facebook. Friends and family no longer need to be bored by your product announcements and potential buyers don’t have to shift uncomfortably in front of their screens when you mention something cute your child just said.

That allows you to keep your professional page professional.

Create an Idea FilterAugust 12

The most interesting ideas are always our own, and we have them all the time. It’s unlikely that there’s a single iPhone owner who hasn’t come up with at least half a dozen ideas for apps that they’re certain would make them a mint. Creative types will come up with more; entrepreneurial types will do something about them.

But how can a successful creative entrepreneur sort through all of the ideas that pass through his head every week, ensuring that he only invests time, effort and money in those most likely to succeed? How can he filter out the bad ideas?

Addressing the Web 2.0 Expo in New York a couple of years ago, Clay Shirky, a new-media professor, writer, and consultant, pointed out that information overload, the abundance of ideas and data available on the Web, was nothing new. When Gutenburg created the printing press, he noted, he put the literate public in a unique position. For the first time, readers had more books than they were able to consume in a lifetime. If they weren’t going to waste their candle ligh