5. 21. 19 | How to travel for "stupid" cheap
How I do my trips stupid cheap, some universal tips on saving while traveling whether you backpack, go posh-luxo, or somewhere in-between: Read more
BRAD
HINES
HINES
Hey there! I'm Brad, and I teach people how to succeed in startups, solopreneur careers, and all things digital––usually through my writing, or consulting. I am also the founder of YumDomains.com the domain name brokerage, NerdPlaythings.com, and Ugmoo.com. I'm a founding volunteer with and an advisor to TeachGirls.org and founder emeritus to Hungrykids.org.
I'm the creator of the board game Recollection! and Cheechowban. Check out my blog below or the writing section up top to read my latest thoughts, typically in personal finance, tech, lifestyle, and "random".
The Blog.
2. 7. 18 | How to make money with your art and illustration
This is an update of my most popular post from 2012, on how to sell better as an artist, and other ways to make money with art like licensing for example. Read more
11. 29. 17 | Personal Finance | Today I divested my cryptocurrency holdings
Today was the day I took my gain and divested myself of 85% or so of my cryptocurrency holdings. I am by no means trying to call a top, instead I am being strategic and taking the gain that's there many of us never thought we'd see this fast to begin with, and I will continue to partake but with a significantly reduced exposure... Read more
8. 29. 17 | Writing | Misinformation, coffee, and statistics
You may have seen this news on coffee that went viral a few days ago about research from the European Society of Cardiology that drinking 4 cups of coffee a day will significantly increase longevity... Read more
5. 15. 17 | In the press | Make Money Doing Nothing? The Ultimate Guide to Earning Passive Income
You've probably heard the term passive income. It sounds appealing right?... Read more
5. 6. 17 | In the press | Is ICO cryptocurrency speculation healthy?
A new and hip way to invest via the blockchain has become real... Read more
2. 1. 17 | Writing | How to kill it in the gig economy
With the rise in the popularity of the gig economy from extra income and working on your own schedule, here are some ways you can stand out in the industry... Read more
9. 6. 16 | Writing | How to live well, for less
What constitutes the "Good life" to people is different, but here are some common ways in which you can save... Read more
7. 1. 16 | Writing | How to save money on art supplies
To be a successful artist, you must treat it like running a business, and as always, part of running a successful business means taking control of costs. Here's how to run a lean shop as an artist... Read more
6. 5. 16 | Writing | How men can dress well affordably
I recently replaced almost my entire business casual dress and going out at night wardrobe, without a single sale or so much as stepping foot into a consignment/thrift shop, and I saved $377. Specifically, I bought 3 pairs of Bonobos Washed Chinos, 1 pair of Bonobs jeans, 2 Brooks Brothers dress shirts, a Zara blazer, 1 pair of oxford shoes, and 5 black tee shirts, all for $324 instead of the $701 it costs otherwise... Read more
5. 23. 16 | Writing | SEM, what you can learn from your best blog post
All of us digital freelancers, solopreneurs, digital nomads, bloggers–whatever you want to call us–earn our living the same way in the most reductive sense: we produce content. So the somewhat cliché... Read more
4. 25. 16 | Writing | The future of search
We are now said to be in the dawn of the web 3.0 world. The world's digital space has evolved a long way from AOL, portal sites, and forums. The future of search is contextual, conversational, local, mobile, adaptive, and dynamic... Read more
3. 29. 16 | Writing | Local SEO, what you need to know
Local search is increasingly becoming a major tool in the arsenal of the small, local, brick and mortar business. As the digital space increasingly becomes contextual, it pays to keep your business ahead by being able to signal, literally, "here we are"... Read more
2. 28. 16 | Writing | A new Boston based food market changes affordability of health food
In the heart of Dorchester Massachusetts, an urban neighborhood of Boston, a new food market has opened up, with a non-profit status mission to make low-cost family grocery shopping available for all, but especially those of... Read more
1. 16. 16 | Personal Finance | How to save money buying food, a comprehensive guide
Changing your food purchasing habits, can easily save hundreds, and even thousands a year; which I am sure you'd like instead for a vacation, paying off debt, or investing... Read more
12. 17. 15 | Personal Finance | How to earn side income doing focus groups
So what is a focus group? Well basically, various companies that make or sell, whatever, use focus group companies to get "regular people" and their opinions on stuff. Typically you are in a group... Read more
10. 8. 15 | Marketing | How to sell more on TeachersPayTeachers
7. 6. 15 | Marketing | Manage Your Online Brand Reputation
Put up a Google alert for yourself, your brand, your products, and your services. The moment something negative gets indexed in Google, you are on top of it, ready for whatever action you need take... Read more
4. 13. 15 | Writing | Homes That Cost Only $20,000 and What They Look Like
As a digital nomad and therefore someone who can work from anywhere in the world, recently I was curious about really "affordable" homes and what they look like, I am referring to under $20,000 affordable. Okay, "stupid cheap"... Read more
3. 27. 15 | Store | Cheechowban, The Game of Tangrams
I have a new game out, especially for the classroom: Cheechowban, the Game of Tangrams... Read more
2. 18. 15 | Writing | An Interview With Yik Yak Co-Founders
Atlanta based, local-anonymous social app Yik Yak has been growing rapidly, but with controversy, including a Change.org petition of over 70,000 signatures demanding to shut the app down. The company addressed concerns of bullying, with changes to their user experience in February. I spoke with co-founders Brooks Buffington and Tyler Droll prior to then... Read more
1.19. 15 | Writing | New Year's Reflections, the best of Lifehacking
I've never liked new year's resolutions. It's always struck me as odd to use the first of the year to decide to become better. It has an arbitrary quality about it. Instead–and this is hardly groundbreaking of a thought– shouldn't we perpetually seek to better ourselves?... Read more
12. 9. 14 | ArtOfTweeting.com | How to start an online business in a day
Recently I made an e-commerce website in one day, I hadn't known I was going to that morning. I'm a Boston resident, and I took a walk through our Chinatown district two weeks ago, for the first time in years.. I was looking at all the kitschy and exotic souvenirs.. By the time I had got home, I knew I was going to make a website and brand where I sold oriental souvenirs in a cheeky fashion... Read more
11. 5. 14 | Hilary Smith | A Guide to Mobile Marketing
Today, what is now attached to our hip, is actually in our hands or almost always not far from reach -- it is our handheld mobile device. Whether we are on our smartphone, tablet, notebook or laptop, these mobile devices will exceed the number of people on planet earth in 2014... Read more
10. 1. 14 | Huffington Post | Kinesthetic Communication in Apple Watch
After the recent Apple Developer conference, one question on many an Apple fan -- and shareholder's--minds is that of the potential success of the Apple Watch. Having said that, it would seem that one of the coolest and perhaps most-groundbreaking aspects about Watch and the SDK for it, is going to be kinesthetic communication... Read more
9. 17. 14 | Huffington Post | A How-To for Apple Picking, the Ultimate Fall Pastime
Apple picking as a day of fun is often so much more than just the harvesting of apples though, and has a lot more to do with what you make of the setting, and with whom you go. For me personally, apple picking evokes thoughts of scenic fields and vistas, maybe pumpkins, baby animal petting stations, artisanal homemade farm products, picnics with good food, tradition and all around good times with family and friends... Read more
9. 9. 14 | Huffington Post | How To Rock Shopping at IKEA
As a personal shopper and IKEA furniture assembler on Taskrabbit, I am no stranger to purchasing and assembling the popular quasi-disposable-but-oddly-cheery furniture. Here are my conclusions, that I wish I'd known a long time ago... Read more
9. 4. 14 | Linkedin | Why you should design your website responsively
8. 20. 14 | Entrepreneur.com | How To Hire A Virtual Assistant
In recent years, the idea of small business owners using a virtual assistant to outsource daily business tasks has gained popularity. But many people don't know how to hire or benefit from one... Read More
7. 12. 14 | Now on Google Helpouts
I am now on Google Helpouts, available to guide people in e-commerce, marketing, and Internet productivity... Schedule an appointment
6. 4. 14 | Interview with Ximena Beltran, Social Media Risk Consultant
Social media has become an increasingly complicated space; PR fiascoes can happen at the speed of a social media post, and brands are being mentioned in real time, sometimes at the rate of thousands of tweets per second... Read more
5. 20. 14 | Entrepreneur.com | Gmail Hacks to Score Your Business Extra Productivity
As someone running more than one business, I spend a lot of time using Gmail. Bucking the whole "email is a waste of time trend," I have actually figured out how to make this popular email program do a lot of my dirty work for me, thus earning its place in my daily business... Read more at Entrepreneur.com.
5.13. 14 | Marketing | Native Advertising Case Study
4. 24. 14 | Entrepreneur.com | Name That Company to Dazzling Success
Have you ever liked a business just based on the name alone? Often said to be a blend of art, science and luck, naming a business properly is no easy task... Read more.
4. 21. 14 | Is Creativity Really Needed In Business?
Creativity in business is not a nice skill to have, it is outright an imperative. Creativity is an often hard to define concept, one that evokes thoughts of "trendy" people, black t-shirts and "uber-cool" vibe. While creativity can certainly related to "artsy" things, the late Steve Jobs put it best... Read more.
4.14. 14 | ArtOfTweeting.com | Most Common Social Media Marketing Mistakes
Recently there was a media inquiry on HARO "How do marketers screw up social media marketing?"... Read more.
3. 26. 14 | Marketing | Internet Automation 101
With endless troves of data/information, there is profitability to be had from curating and disseminating it efficiently, so automation in the digital age becomes a must. Sites like IFTTT and Zapier, the two leaders in the industry come to mind. With their "Recipes" and "Zaps" respectively, either of these sites can let you automate common Internet tasks... Read more.
3. 11. 14 | Techopedia | Angie Chang Interviewed by Brad Hines
While the presence of a "glass ceiling" for women in tech is debatable, you can't argue with the facts: The ratio of men to women actually working in the industry is very skewed. But then there are women like Angie Chang... Read more.
2. 14. 14 | Writing | Sex, Love, and Hookups in the Time of Social Media
We are in a funny time sexually and romantically speaking. Don't think so? Think about the difference between how people searched for romance, love, and lust; between today, and only ten years ago... Read more.
2. 6. 14 | Marketing | Name your business for success
Do you ever really like a brand, but then you think to yourself "what a stupid name though!"? While a crappy name won't necessarily doom a company for success, it can be a hurdle to overcome. The art and science of great naming is absolutely about balancing a confluence of core concepts... Read more.
2. 1. 14 | HungryKids.org | 25 ways to help a fellow human being
Too often the trend in our society is for people to be separated from either other, to be cut off from the great mass of humanity, and in doing so to be dehumanized a little bit more with each step... Read more.
1. 29. 14 | 10 Linkedin tips you may not know
Linkedin is the new resume and recruitment tool. Here are some tips from pros. Lori Ruff aka "Linkedin Diva" personally posts about three times a day, and urges everyone the benefits of SEO for company pages, by posting quality content daily... Read more.
1. 22. 14 | Converting sales prospects to clients, by Daniel Solin
Think about the most memorable times in your life. Maybe it was when you bought your first car, your high school prom, when you graduated from college or got married, or the birth of your child. Unfortunately, we have all suffered sad times, like the loss of a loved one... Read more.
1. 1. 14 | HungryKids.org | Stimulating 2nd and 3rd world economies with microfinance
Microloans help stimulate the economy of second and third world countries in a few ways. Basically, instead of being a "Band-aid" fix to an economy in struggle by dumping money on a problem, you, the loaner, are helping to create successful commerce/economy in a country, and therefore self-sustainment... Read more.
12. 29. 13 | Digital trends for 2014
2014 more than ever before will be the year of advertisers seeking to use everyday people with influence. While it would be hyperbole to say that advertising is dead, it is safe to say that marketers are tired of both traditional advertising, and even the unfulfilling methods like Facebook sponsored posts and Google Ad words... Read more.
12. 13. 13 | Online Dating Safety Tips With Experts Julie Spira and Carole Lieberman
Online dating is an increasingly complicated web space, where women and men alike need to be cautious and use common sense. Women more so need to be cautious about going and meeting a person they don't know well, and yes, even men need to be careful... Read more.
11. 29. 13 | Happy Black Friday
11. 23. 13 | Hacking The Holidays for Savings, and Meaning Too
Holiday spending takes a major whack at our wallet–gifts, travel, entertaining, and plastic Santas on the roof. Here's an incredibly comprehensive guide on how to "hack" the holidays for not only savings, but for more meaning as well... Read more.
11. 14. 13 | Interview with Twitter Power author Joel Comm
Joel Comm is a speaker, author, entrepreneur, and consultant who wrote Twitter Power, the best selling book on Twitter to date, recently updated in Twitter Power 2.0, Joel shares with us... Read more.
11. 2. 13 | ArtOfTweeting.com | How to write a social media plan
Even if a startup doesn't create any kind of a written road map for how they should form a social media plan, they should at least know what it encompasses so as not to overlook an imperative. I have outlined as such what, I believe to be the most important questions the company must ask itself... Read more.
10. 18. 13 | Elephant Journal | Op-ed, Why Malala should have won the Nobel Prize
Let me set the scene for those of you who didn't just win the Nobel Peace Prize: Sixteen year old Pakistani native, Malala Yousafzai, was shot in the head and neck point blank last year. She was shot by feared terrorist organization, the Taliban... Read more.
10. 10. 13 | A blog entry sharing cheat sheet [Infographic]
People often write a blog post or article, and then find themselves struggling remembering or thinking of who to share it with. No more. Enjoy this "cheat sheet" for sharing blog entries... Read more.
10. 6. 13 | Unplug, how to lighten up our digital lives for peace
Are you suffering from information addiction? It's a growing problem as people spend more and more of their time online—and while online tools are amazing, being addicted to checking them can steal most of your day... Read more.
9. 23. 13 | Twitter IPO, some thoughts
There is a funny and perhaps scary disconnect behind the cliched premises of IPOs, and that of Internet startups: with an IPO, everything is "earnings, earnings, earnings" and with an Internet startup in particular the old joke is "we will figure out how to make money later" or "get the eyeballs first, monetize later"... Read more.
9. 15. 13 | Business networking in the digital age
I have cultivated my network the slow and steady way for years, mostly using e-mail as the epicenter. Although nothing fully replaces in-person networking, I do recommend digitally doing so as well for its advantages like ease of finding relevant contacts, ability to initiate an introduction, "rolodex" keeping, and sharing information with those contacts... Read more.
9. 6. 13 | Most common grammar mistakes, Mixed doubles, an infographic
Proper grammar and speech and writing is a must to be taken seriously, especially as a writer. Here are some of the most common "mixed doubles" as they are called–words that people typically confuse which to use in a situation... Read more.
8. 28. 13 | Have Kickstarter and crowdfunding campaigns gotten out of hand?
You've probably been asked to take part in a Kickstarter. If it wasn't a Kickstarter, maybe it was an Indiegogo, Appbackr, Crowdrise, Bolstr, Fundable, Tunefund, or one of many more with equally goofy names. These "crowdfunding" websites and people asking their friends and family alike to partake in them; seem to be all the rage. Is the concept getting out of hand?... Read more.
8. 27. 13 | How to block friend's game invites on Facebook
Take that Candy Crush! Click to see full instructions
8. 25. 13 | TeachBoys.org website is now up
I have a new website up for educators, called TeachBoys.org. It is a gender aimed educational website for teachers and educators alike to share resources on teaching boys.
8. 13. 13 | Has the nature of having class changed in the hipster age?
In our modern day of ripped jeans that cost over $200 a pair, people under dressing to live theatre and neglecting to shut off their cell phones, girls looking like they're walking outside in underwear wearing tights that used to be worn as under skirts or pants; many of us are scratching our heads wondering "what happened to having class?"... Read more.
8. 5. 13 | Elephant Journal | The many uses of lavender
After a lifetime of not thinking twice about the stuff, this summer I got really into lavender when I discovered, serendipitously, what a beautiful, aromatic, multifaceted flower it is... Read more.
8. 2. 13 | Marketing | Content marketer expert Joe Pulizzi Interview
Recently I talked with veteran content marketer Joe Pulizzi. Joe told me about everything from the history of content marketing, to some tips we can all adopt... Read more.
7. 24. 13 | New Product | Hand made lavender sachets now available in the store
7. 15. 13 | Some Linkedin tips you may not have heard yet
At last major count, Linkedin is over 225 million users deep. They have streamlined their interface (albeit still a bit convoluted) and made it more Facebook-like with its ability to post and share. The site is now also a major tool in any head hunter's arsenal from its ability to search for people of a given skill set. Linkedin is indeed becoming a force to be reckoned with... Read more.
7. 11. 13 | Sheryl Sandberg's Lean In, nonsense? Or Brilliant? A guest post by Kathy Hanson
I have lead two Lean in Collaborative Conversations to women in business in the Minneapolis/St. Paul area; one in April that was so popular I hosted another in June. I am a strategic consultant for women business owners and a speaker to women in business. I read the book and wanted to start conversations in our community about the ideas Sheryl Sandberg brings up without the limitations of her "Lean In Circles". Read more.
7. 8. 13 | 8 Marketers give the best advice they ever received
I think the best advice I ever heard was from one of my former bosses. She said that if everyone–within a company and externally–likes something you're doing (especially graphically) with a marketing campaign or collateral piece, it probably means it is so watered down that it won't make much of an impact. Some of the best and most impactful work usually isn't universally liked... Read more.
6. 19. 13 | P2P Transportation comes to Boston
There is a peer to peer ride service that just came to Boston called Lyft. The recently $60-million-dollar-infused startup (courtesy of VC Andersen Horowitz) hopes to turn the Taxi service of Boston on its head by using the Peer-to-peer transportation model in order to reduce the cost and availability of a taxi ride by proliferating the amount of drivers, all of whom will be using their own cars and operating with no cab medallion... Read more.
6. 12. 13 | [Infographic] The psychology of colors in marketing
The psychology of how people perceive different colors is something that has proven scientific evidence behind it. It is two-part: one is the immutable physics aspect to it, for example certain colors will reach your eyes first like red and yellow. Also, certain colors will be dissonant and vibrate next to each other like green and red... Read more.
6. 2. 13 | Handy temperature safety reference chart for dog owners to share
5. 26. 13 | How social media helps during natural disasters
Social media, for all its frequent frivolity like telling people you are shopping for curtains while eating a bagel, is actually incredibly useful during a natural disaster. In a disaster, communication is critical both beforehand and after. Increasingly in recent years... Read more.
5. 15. 13 | Life and work | Generation Cry: Why I Can (Kinda-Sorta) Defend Gen Y
Is my generation—Gen Y—insanely entitled as the recent Time cover story seen round the world argues—or hopelessly misunderstood? A little bit of both, if you ask me. Read more.
ENTRIES WITH A BIT OF DUST
5. 15. 13 | Life and work | Generation Cry: Why I Can (Kinda-Sorta) Defend Gen Y
5. 9. 13 | Marketing | What flirting and great marketing have in common
5. 4. 13 | Design | New wine serving device called Eiffel
4. 24. 13 | Some productivity tips you may not know, from some really productive people
4. 11. 13 | Six really cool gadgets in the DIY tech movement
4. 7. 13 | Recollection! board game is now for sale!
3. 26. 13 | Techopedia - Google Glass revolutionary, or just dorky?
3. 20. 13 | SXSW 2013 Festival wrap up
3. 17. 13 | 7 Marketers give their best advice they ever received
3-16-13 | Marketing To Women. Debunking The Myths
3-15-13 | Pet Age Magazine Cover Story. Brad's Thoughts On Marketing To Woman
3-14-13 | Interview with Adafruit founder Limor Fried
3-12-13 | Humor | Top ten worst reactions the new pope could have
3-1-13 | Humor | Cute and Funny Animal Memes
2-27-13 | From Mind to Matter, is there anything a 3D Printer can't print?
2-4-13 | Design | SlickSticks, Digital drumsticks for your mobile
1-16-13 | Brad Hines as a guest on Women's Radio and YGenOutLoud speaking about digital backlash
1-14-13 | Techopedia.com | Mobile Payment Processor Shootout
12-21-12 | Sandy Hook Elementary Relief
12-20-12 | Some SEO tips you may not know
12-19-12 | Digital marketing and Internet Trends for 2013
12-10-13 | How to gain more followers on Twitter
12-3-12 | Fostering creativity with theta brain waves
11-26-12 | Are Social Media Algorithms Getting Out Of Hand?
11-12-12 | Six really cool wearable devices
10-31-12 | Marketing with QR codes
10-23-12 | How digital marketing has changed in ten years
10-1-12 | Marketing with YouTube and Online Video
10-16-13 | 7 Social Media Marketing Mistakes
9-12-12 | WomensRadio.com & YGenOutloud, Brad Hines On Entrepreneurship
8-29-12 | Social Media Marketing Girl, Pinterest tips, by Brad Hines
8-25-12 | The Big List Of Stress Reduction Tips
[Humor] Some testimonials that could pretty much convince me to buy anything
[Humor] Things you really just don't ever hear
8-16-12 | Techopedia.com, Gen-Y Problems
7-21-12 | How to Make a Video That Will Go Viral
7-13-12 | Amateur is the new Professional
6-21-12 | How to manage your online reputation
Entrepreneur profile of HungryKids.org founder, Brad Hines on Idea Mensch
[Infographic] Stress reduction tips you may not have heard
6-6-12 | How to make money online with your artwork and Illustration
5-25-12 | The Information profit model, an infographic
5-15-12 | Marketing | Bonobos® Pants, a case study
5-15-12 | How to use Pinterest to track and grow your business
4-15-12 | Hot Air Balloons Iphone Game UX/UI design
Neutrina Li, a proposal and synopsis for a children's science educational TV animated series
[Video] How to use Klout to track your social media influence
[Video] [Humor] Things from the 90's that I really miss
How to register a good domain name for your business website
3-31-12 | How to be a motivational speaker or self-help guru
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