How much attention do you pay to the oDesk Community?  Do you ignore it unless you have a problem?  Freelancing is generally a solitary occupation, so I imagine many of you just like to focus on your own projects and ignore the community.

For some of you it probably works.  Every minute you spend surfing the boards is a minute you aren’t searching for work or actively earning money, and there are some providers who just can’t spare the time.

If you’ve been reading this blog regularly you’ve probably noticed that I am an active member of the oDesk Community.  I not only read the message boards but I also try to post fairly often too.

What I’m going to try to do in this post is explain why I spend my time on the boards.

The first reason is simple:  Most new features are announced and explained on the community boards and by reading them regularly I can keep up with the changes.  That becomes particularly important since I try to post those same changes here too so that those of you who don’t read the community boards can also stay in the loop.  Besides, it gives me something to write about.

For example I discovered the new Message Center by checking the Community Forum.

It provides a single place to view all of your oDesk related communications so you don’t have to go digging through your email.  I have to admit that I’m torn on this one.  I can see definite benefits to it, but at the same time, I already have my email open so do I really want to keep the message center up too?

I’m really not sure.

At least for the moment I think I’m going to use the Message Center as a supplement to email, not a replacement.  It might be different if I could reach it from any tab on the site, but we’ll have to see.

Speaking of email, oDesk has recently stopped sending out job application confirmation emails.  They have also stopped notifiying people they have applied for jobs in the message center.  As of July 15, 2008 if you apply for a job the only confirmation you will receive is that it will show up under “My Candidacies.”

I think it’s a good idea.  You don’t need an email to tell you you just applied for a job.  I don’t know about the rest of you but I generally remember my job applications.

Both of these changes are things I would not have been aware of had I not put some time in on the message boards.  They can be a very good place to go for both assistance and information.

The only thing I would watch out for is the negativity.  Some days you see a lot of it on the boards, and it can really get you down.  The truth is that the people complaining the most are usually, not always but usually, the ones who have not yet figured out the best way to make oDesk work for them.

Many of them don’t know the economics of the site either, and think all jobs pay the very low rates that someone is always complaining about.

In the meantime I recommend you use the boards, but don’t let them use you.

One last bit of news before I close.

Things are always changing, and one of the things that’s changing is the oDesk Insider.  One result of these changes is that you may start seeing fewer updates that you’ve been getting of late.  It’s not a bad thing, but other things are forcing us to put this blog on the back burner for a while.

Anyway until next time (and it won’t be that long) I wish you all happy and profitable freelancing.

You can always reach me at dave(at)odeskinsider(dot)com

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