Blellow burst onto the scene a few months ago, and after winning a few awards paired with an explosive launch at SXSW, the social networking site is experiencing explosive growth. For any self starters, entrepreneur, freelancer, or contract worker, this network has been the hub for meeting new people, finding job leads, and joining project teams seeking specific talents. Companies are welcome to also post their job listings for a reduced nominal fee to attract some highly talented professionals.

The unique name is an extension of its unique community. Putting together some of the best aspects of popular social networking sites, it fosters creativity, innovation, and looks to be the dominant force in finding work for the self starters around the world. While Elance and Odesk serve as bidding job boards, Blellow looks to use its extensive network to rely on recommendations and friendly introductions to new people to pair people with the right project.

If you’re looking to expand your contacts, find unique job postings, and converse with people in a specific industry or topic, then Blellow is the place to network!

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Blellow, Social Network for Freelancers originally appeared on: Crenk
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There are a lot of bad websites out there. A lot.

Websites with 8-bit graphics seemingly ripped from Atari games, with laughable copy errors that immediately diminish credibility, and with such awful usability that you need a Dr. Phil intervention to calm down after surfing through the third-rate portals.

This is one reason I co-founded VOIS.com (pronounced VOICE), or Virtual Outsourcing is Social. Not only can VOIS’ collaborative approach to completing projects produce superior results – from slickly branded and intuitive websites to fun, traffic-churning widgets – but it can also make it more affordable for businesses.

Don’t get me wrong; this is not the business owners’ faults. As a blogger for a major food website, I can say first hand that these are good people with the best of intentions. But just because someone knows how to make donuts, pizza or surfboards, it doesn’t mean they should know how to create a compelling online storefront. And hiring expensive firms on retainer often isn’t a workable business model for small and medium-sized businesses, or even larger firms that don’t have the bandwidth to handle their current business needs.

That’s why VOIS seeks to connect clients with expert Web professionals – from designers to developers and copywriters – to work on a project basis. What separates us from other business match-making platforms is that we allow and encourage the clients and talent to get to know each other first by exploring robust online profiles and messaging back and forth.

Click-and-mortar, web-driven start-ups have also had to change their game plan, and VOIS was developed for these businesses, too. With start-up capital tougher and tougher to attract, it’s no longer feasible for someone to hire developer and a CTO, build an infrastructure from scratch, then roll out and ramp up a product. I’ve met many people who have burned through $500,000 before looking at a more cost-efficient way of doing things.

And I really feel VOIS is that new way of doing things. We’re keeping VOIS wide open in terms of the scope of projects we accommodate – no niche focus or specialized tunnel vision. This will help us attract more users and offer truly turnkey solutions for our users.

So as the VOIS community grows, fueled by this added interpersonal dimension, I look forward at seeing some truly amazing work forged through the power of online collaboration. In other words, no more bad websites, or half-completed start-ups that could have been the next big thing.

In fact, I think VOIS is the next big thing.

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Stop Dreaming – Start Doing With VOIS originally appeared on: Crenk
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• Review: Invotrak, Web-Based Invoicing – August 12, 2008
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Marketing Collateral In A Flash! originally appeared on: Crenk
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• Invoicing – naturally the strong point of this application meant to keep track of all your clients and monies
• Client Database – keep track of everyone that you work with and never forget a name
• Timesheets – very important to keep track of time spent on projects to accurately invoice your client
• Create/Upload Invoices – have an invoice in a different format, no worries, the ability to upload ensures that you don’t have files laying around different programs.
• Reports – keep track of how your business does monthy, quarterly and yearly

These are just a few of the features that are made available to you. Here is a more comprehensive list of the features Invotrak offers.

The Analysis
Invotrak is a heavy hitter in the invoicing market. Rarely have I seen a web application so well put together. My only concern is their hierarchy. In the Free category you are only offered the ability to have up to 2 invoices a month and don’t get an unlimited number of invoices until you pay into the $45/mo plan. Seems like they’re selling the FREE aspect a little short for businesses that want to try the application for the first time.  I believe the whole hierarchy is a little lopsided, but with over $3 million US dollars being tracked across Invotraks database, what do I know? Apparently freelancers and businsess worldwide are happy with it.

I highly recommend you give Invotrak a try and follow them on their blog.

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Review: Invotrak, Web-Based Invoicing originally appeared on: Crenk
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