jeytar: Gen DIY:Yes, you too can Do It Yourself

Posted by admin on Nov 10, 2012 in Cover Story | 0 comments

Ways of doing business are changing with technology opening the market to more

Do It Yourself entrepreneurs

?Being Your Own Boss? is a special feeling that cannot be described in words. Technology has changed the whole concept of business ownership, challenging capitalistic and Marxist set-pieces on it. Growth of the online world has created enormous job opportunities for individuals rather than ? work classes?. Now, one can start one?s own business online, promote it and earn substantially from it. With today?s tech-savvy generation out to make the most of the internet, a revolution is taking place in the world of business with B2B (business to business) models giving way, at least, in the virtual world, to P2P (peer to peer) ones.

?Do It Yourself? (DIY) is a mode that grows organically in the P2P platform. One of the most neglected areas of business has been the promotion of creative arts. DIY via P2P sites provides writers, singers, film-makers, photographers and artists a creator- and consumer-friendly experience. Through these sites, one can publish one?s books, compose one?s music album and create movies and market them directly to their audience. The quality of the work rather than entrenched monopolies or power structures determine the returns.

A behemoth like Apple has changed the game further. It?s iTunes that allowed free or low-priced downloads,which was a game changer in two ways: it prevented the entertainment industry from jacking up prices of music and film CDs and DVDs and took the market away from pirated sites as consumers could legally get free stuff.

Apple has ?also started the concept of ?mobile apps?, which has made it easier for one to create and run one?s own business. After iOS, Google has also launched many similar apps for Android devices.

Online world has solutions for prohibiting piracy. One of them is Creative Commons or CC that is a nonprofit organization, which enables the sharing and use of creativity and knowledge through free legal tools. The registration to get the copyright licence is free. This licence will help an individual to protect his or her creation from being pirated.

The best part of the whole thing is one does not have to wait for months or years for one?s work to be created and sold. It can happen in minutes. But pace has to be matched with merit to ensure product sustainability and sale. While Westerners are extremely active on the DIY scene, Indians are slowly waking up to its possibility. With the country accounting for a major share of the online download market, we already have a huge consumer base. Now it is the time for the creators.

So for all those creative individuals out there, forget all that rot about not earning from your art. Here?s how you do-it-yourself.

Publish your own book

?Fifty Shades Of Grey? has become the top best-selling Kindle book of all times at Amazon.co.uk. E.L.James, the author of the book originally posted the stories in a site called Fan Fiction. She used Kindle Direct Publishing to self-publish the entire book and saw the popularity of her book soar online. ?After that, the book came into print version, and the subsequent trilogy has sold more than 40 million copies worldwide. She has surpassed J.K, Rowling, the author of Harry Potter.

However, the Kindle edition (digital) of ?Fifty Shades of Grey? is currently outselling the print book. The fact shows the potential of the online book market. Experts say that the online book market will grow at a higher rate in years to come. According to UK Booksellers Association, the count of independent bookshops in the United Kingdom has dropped from around 1,500 to 1,100 between 2006-2011, largely due to the impact of online channels. Similarly in India, the book category has seen the emergence of many online retailers. With Flipkart et al following the Amazon model, one can hope for a desi version of Kindle soon. Indian writers can till then easily publish on Apple, Kindle and Google book apps.

Create

Amazon Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP)

KDP is one of the most popular ways to publish an online book. You can easily upload a file. Formating of the e-book can easily be done from a Word file using free software tools such as Mobipocket eBook Creator or Calibre. Mobipocket Creator allows you to create an e-book with a table of contents and convert it into Amazon?s proprietary e-book format.

Smashwords

It is one of the e-book pioneers and largest distributors of self-published e-books, with more than 125,000 titles from over 40,000 authors. You can bring your ?Word file? and cover image, upload it into the company?s ?Meatgrinder? tool, and in a matter of minutes, the e-book is ready.

Other good self-publishing sites are Barnes & Noble?s (B&N) PubIt, Booktango, iBooks Author, etc.

Market

Sunanda Nagpal, a 56 year-old academician and book lover, used to frequent Mumbai?s book stores regularly. This was some four to five years back. When she got to know about online shopping portals like flipkart, infibeam, indiaplaza, and others, she got hooked on to it and started buying books online. Now, she has even stopped buying print books online, rather downloading their digital version in minutes on to her e-reader that can store thousands of books, and is very easy on the eye. The market for online books and e-books is growing as is evident from the download statistics in any such book portal.

You can publicize your e-books by using social networking sites like Twitter, Facebook, Linkedin, etc. and have a free website (wordpress and e-blogger have ?publicize? options that automatically connect the home site to social networking sites). You can also have a blog and a newsletter, keeping potential readers in touch with book updates. You can announce the ?e-book also at www.kindleboards.com in the Book Bazaar section.

Other ways to publicize e-books include:

Trading back matter excerpts with other e-book authors
Searching online for various Kindle and e-book groups
Putting one?s e-book link in one?s e-mail signature
Developing an online presence by participating in blog comments and fora

Earn

Russ Grandinetti, Vice President, Kindle Content, has said that, in KDP, every time a customer downloaded an independently published book, the author earned USD 2.18. That?s more than many authors earn when their books are sold.

B&N?s PubIt self-publishing operation offers similar features as Amazon?s KDP, but the two platforms have their differences. B&N has set the PubIt royalty rate for authors at 65% of the sale price for titles priced USD 2.99 and higher. The rate falls to 40% if one chooses to go lower than USD 2.99 or higher than USD 9.99, with B&N setting 99 cents as the lowest allowable price and USD 199.99 as the highest. Smashwords pays 60% on all books priced 99 cents and up.

But there is a flipside as well. Despite the splash caused by self-publishing superstars such as Amanda Hocking and E.L. James, the global average amount earned by DIY authors last year was just USD10,000 ? and half made less than USD 500, according ?guardian.co.uk.

However, Indian self-publishing is on the rise.Indeed, while there are several self-publishers and small presses across India, such as Little Fairies and Power-Publishers. Depot says it is the first to put such books in its stores.

Make your own Music

Lana Del Rey became an internet sensation last year after the release of her debut single ?Video Games?. It had nearly nine million views on YouTube. Many musicians or performers with popular YouTube videos fail to turn their internet fame into real world fame. But Lana has managed to go from being a YouTube star to topping the music charts with her number one album ?Born to Die?.

Alex Day is a 23-year-old Essex-based artist whose track ?Forever Yours? went to #4 in the UK singles chart in Christmas week 2011 without label backing or radio support. He has built his following primarily on YouTube where he regularly uploads both music tracks and video blogs.

His YouTube channel now has over half a million subscribers and his videos have cumulatively generated 87.5 million views. He rarely tours or plays live, opting instead to focus most of his activity to the web.

The days of desperation over album sales are long gone. Now an album can be made on one?s laptop which one uses to send e-mails!

Create

First, one should have at least a dual-core PC or Mac; quad-core is better. The more the RAM and bigger the hard drive, the better. One can now buy a small digital recorder like a Zoom H4n that can record 4 tracks of 24-bit digital audio with built-in stereo condenser mics, onboard effects and digital editing features all for under `12000!One of the most popular beat making software available on the market today is Fruity Loops, created by FL Studio. With this software one can compose, sequence and mix, and make professional quality music.

Market

iTunes has fundamentally changed the way we get and use our music.What the iTunes, in conjunction with the iPod/iPhone has managed to do is create an army of consumers who can discover and purchase any track they want within seconds. For the artist, it means that the entire discovery, supply and distribution side of the business that was typically controlled by record companies is democratized.

It makes for easier song writing. It means one can create one song and hope to cash in. It means one no longer needs to release entire albums. Rather, one can go about on a track by track basis ? release one track as soon it is perfected, cash in, use that money to fund one?s next track.

There are several embeddable music players which can help distribute music to different social networks. Zimbalam, SoundCloud or Bandcamp apps all allow tracks to be streamed from other sites. Artists also now have a specific ?listen? function built into their Facebook pages, further evidence of the tight integration of music with social media.

Many music access sites not require users to login via Facebook, with SoundCloud, Mixcloud and Spotify being built around that platform. It means that activities on these music sites can translate into visible activities on Facebook which promote the artist, music, event or product.

CDBaby has a single one-time fee and puts one?s music in all of the major online stores, but then it takes a cut of every sale. Tunecore charges an up-front fee and a yearly subscription to keep one?s music active, but one gets to keep all of the sales proceeds. Nearly all of the other digital distribution stores use one of these two models. As a general rule, if one is expecting a lot of sales, one may do better in the long run with Tunecore?s model, which doesn?t take a cut from each album sold. But if one is relatively unknown and will likely only sell sporadically, CDBaby might be more economical.

Earn

New business models are springing up all over the web to help independent musicians get revenue from their music. The internet radio, which is seeing an increase in listenership, plays more artists in more niche genres than traditional radio would ever be able to. Sites like Last.fm and Pandora stream independent music and pay royalties to performers and songwriters.

New online services such as ArtistShare and Kickstarter help artists raise money to fund projects and underwrite some of their expenses. Fans can donate money to their favourite artist through these sites and get access to part of the recording process, such as a songwriting session. Recently Gap, Coke, Burger King, Converse, Jeep and Jansport have all posted listings on Sonicbids looking for independent bands and artists to sponsor.

It is because brands realize today?s young consumers are more skeptical when it comes to traditional advertising and seem to connect most with the authenticity associated with independent artists.

Thus, the music industry is in a very exciting transition phase. Finally musicians are starting to get a glimpse of what may be: more control over their own destiny, less hassle, direct access to their markets and? more cash!As Kunal Saha, a young talented santoor player and founder of the fusion band Blendz, says, ?Musicians prefer to record their music at home as it is more cost effective and they can experiment with their creativity more and more Musicians are forced to distribute their own music as the established music companies do not like to market their music until and unless the artist is a celebrity or have collaborated with a celebrity.

Youtube and Myspace are helping a musician to at least be heard. These platforms help a musician to promote and showcase himself.?

Make your own movie

Puducherry-based engineering graduate Deepak?s short film ?Anbendra Mazhayile? has garnered over 7,000 views online. With a good camera and help from friends and acquaintances, he shot the film in a cost effective manner. He spent just `800 shooting the film while the post production costs came up to `2,000.

Have a gripping script? Call your friends, carry the camera, shoot, edit at home and that?s it? You have a feature film!

Create

For PC users, the best all-round option is Avid Xpress Pro, however with a price-tag starting around `40000 (for the software-only version), it can be a little out of the price range of many users.

A good alternative for price-conscious PC users is Adobe Premiere Pro. It?s certainly a far superior product to the previous version (6.5) and probably the best choice for PC-editing if one cannot afford Avid. It will only run on Windows XP.For Mac users, there is only one choice: Final Cut Pro. Final Cut is the main reason for Avid releasing Xpress Pro and for Adobe rewriting Premiere. It pretty much set the standard for video editing on equipment which is accessible to all.

Market

Thanks to the web?s ability to reach a community of people with just a few mouse clicks, moviemakers have found the internet to be a key tool in creating awareness (and cutting out the middleman) when it comes to their films.

Companies like BuyIndies.com, FilmBaby.com and IndieFlix.com act as effective online bazaars where moviemakers can sell their movies directly to consumers without getting gouged, percentage-wise. Depending on the service, an artist can earn as high as a 90 to 100 % return. Though word-of-mouth may drive a number of consumers to someone?s website, having a film featured alongside like-minded products in its genre offers exposure to a much larger consumer base. In the case of IndieFlix, one doesn?t even need to pay for materials. After one submits one?s film, they?ll burn it right onto a disc and ship it out. Since many of these companies are run by former or current independent moviemakers, they tend to put the emphasis on making sure the struggling artist is well-served.

Earn

iTunes splits sale 70/30. With 70% going to the filmmaker and 30% going to iTunes. Hulu streams films for free but 50% of the advertising revenue goes to the filmmaker.

15toGo is a unique digital streaming website for Independent films and documentaries. The film maker uploads a movie and uses our brilliant tools to promote it.Viewers watch the movie online. At 15 minutes to go to the end (or 15%) the viewer, is asked to ?click to continue? to view the ending. This incurs a small charge from the viewers account.The viewer is asked to recommend the film to friends using their tools. Film maker receives 65% (which increases to 85% depending on popularity) of the payment and 50% of any advertising revenue.

Filmmaking has never been more accessible and affordable. New digital technologies are allowing movies to be made for as little as a few thousand rupees.Subha Das Mollick, Head of Media Studies Department, iLEAD says, ?There is a wide hierarchy in the domain of digital filmmaking. At the higher end you have the RED camera which is increasingly used for shooting feature films. At the lower end we have films made with mobile cameras.

Digitization at the higher end opens up possibilities for special effects, while at the lower end it is a toy in the hands of amateurs for their creative expression. When so many minds and hands use the same medium in so many diverse ways, it is bound to find so many new expressions.?

Popular websites to post advertisements are Quikr.com, Clickindia.com, Locanto, OLX, Craigslist, Adsglobe, Indialist, Meramaal, Click.in, Kugli. Social networking sites like Facebook, Twitter,LinkedIn are quite popular medium to promote yourself

Subhajit Saha, a twenty-nine year-old Kolkatan and an established web designer, earns about `15, 000 ? ?`20, 000 per month. With the aim of doing something different, he opted for the business of web designing five years ago and is successfully developing websites for many clients.

Create

Website designing is not rocket science. You can easily download the free templates, for creating attractive webistes for your clients. Some of the most popular free websites from where you can download the templates for creating websites are Art for the web, TemplatesBox, Template Monster, TemplateNavigator, DotconWebDesign, Entheos, Dezinehub, Free-Flash-Template, Free Layouts, Free Photoshop browser templates, Free Templates Online, Free Web Templates, FreeWeb Templates.de, FreeWebsite Templates and many more. However, a degree or diploma in web designing course will add to your creativity, and you can create websites just like other ?web designing professionals.

Market

Today, most of the companies, small or big, try to have an online presence. Websites are the best way to create online identity of any organization. So, they look for professionals, who can build their company?s website in an attractive manner. There are several ways by which you can promote yourself. Online free classified ads and social networking sites are two most popular forms of promotion these days.

There are many free websites where you can put classified advertisements free of cost and can easily promote yourself. The 10 most popular websites to post the advertisements are Quikr.com, Clickindia.com, Locanto, OLX, Craigslist, Adsglobe, Indialist, Meramaal, Click.in, Kugli.

Apart from free ad websites, social networking sites such as Facebook,

Google +, are quite popular mediums to promote yourself. These sites are followed by millions of people from all over the world. Many small and large scale companies also have their account in social networking sites. Often these companies outsource many web designing projects in their social networking sites, so that interested candidates can get in touch with them to work on their project. Therefore, through social networking sites and online classifieds ads, you can reach the international level.

For example: Citysearch CEO Jay Herratti started a simple but effective way to hire people. He is using Facebook ads for recruiting people. Facebook ads are highly targetable. Citysearch puts up an ad with a picture of the hiring manager and shows those ads only to that manager?s Facebook friends. For instance, the image of the ad at right is the one seen by friends of Citysearch senior VP Kara Nortman, who is introducing social features such as business Tweets into Citysearch. Since each ad can be ?liked,? and thus shared across the social network via the news feed, the ads become implicit referrals.

Earn

Depending on job profile, the designers are paid. Work experience is an added factor, if you have gathered certain years of experience in the field; you have a better scope to make money.

Two skills, which will help you to excel in the field of web designing, and will increase the scope of earning, are:

A good command over the English language
Creative ideas to design the websites in an attractive manner

As Subhajit Saha puts it, ?I believe, if one has a passion to learn things, he will make it on his own steam. Thinking creatively and being keen enough to learn things quickly are the keys to get success in

this field.?

Contributed by Diptoshree Sengupta, Purabi Das and Abhijit Ganguly