March 18, 2020
(Note: this gif is of a neuron - not a coronavirus - but it looks cool so whatever)
Ok, so this is getting a little worrying.
The World Health Organisation has declared it a pandemic, countries are locking down cities - or at least cancelling large portions of their usual activities - people are staying home and the more unfortunate, are losing their jobs as businesses lay off staff.
The quote; 'flatten the curve' is gaining traction. This refers to stalling the spread of the disease so that already stretched health services may not be overwhelmed and people die due to lack of medical support.
Meanwhile the city I live in is continuing with life unaffected.
It's a little odd. However there's only been reported 2 cases in the region and so people aren't panicking and there's still toilet paper on the shelves.
Perhaps the reason for this is New Zealand is of course, naturally isolated by distance, but it's also setting itself up to become a bit of a quiet cul-de-sac internationally.
The government has ordered that any travellers to NZ must self isolate for two weeks on arrival. To this end, if travellers arrive without clear self-isolation plans, they may be sent back. Indeed there has been a report of at least one probable deportation so far. Health authorities apparently made a follow up visit to an overseas visitor staying at a local backpackers and police arrived soon after. A rather distraught female backpacker was taken into custody.
I feel for the woman in question and this is harsh, but I suspect this is a measure supported by most New Zealanders.
We want tourists to come, we want backpackers to come, but really when this all blows over. At present if you come here, you should expect to spend two weeks in a motel room before you'll be let out into the country you've traveled so far to see. And to be honest, you may find some NZ'ers won't be as friendly in your travels as they normally would be - particularly if they suspect you're trying to dodge regulations.
Best to postpone your trip. Or if you are determined to come here, be aware of the regulations and be prepared to comply.
<edit> And not long after writing the above, New Zealand has closed its borders to everyone but citizens and residents in an attempt to stop the spread of coronavirus.
March 03, 2020
This picture is a representation of what it's like to work with Zazzle's website.
For those on the PoD trail, that is, print-on-demand as a passive income stream, many will stand before the entrance to the Kingdom Of Zazzle and wonder 'should I enter'? Is it safe?
Well, here's my experience.
To clarify, Zazzle is a PoD website where designers both professional and amateur alike, can upload artwork. If a customer then browsing the website likes your artwork enough, they can have it printed on all sorts of products such as tshirts, jandals, even shower curtains, bathmats or frisbees. As the designer you then receive a commission while the company owning the website handles everything else - printing, postage and collecting of monies. This business model describes PoD in general.
Sounds great, but in many ways, to enter Zazzle is to enter a hall of mirrors.
The first thing to know is that Zazzle's interface - particularly compared to the majority of competing pod sites - is a mess - if not an archaic mess. Even before you've logged in, information overload is likely. Options are everywhere, it's not clear where to click and what to click and what mode you're in - public preview or 'store management'.
In time you'll come to know the intricacies, but it's very confusing at first. Likewise, before you have that experience under your belt, you'll find yourself creating multiple copies of designs on products because for the most part, to edit a product is not to update it, but to create another iteration of that product. And so just like seeing your reflection multiply in mirrors, you'll find yourself creating multiple copies of a product without even realizing it's happening.
It also doesn't help that there's a lag between updating details and seeing that reflected in your product listings, which again, can lead to mistakenly creating multiple copies of a product.
But leaving all that aside, Zazzle is a bit of a trap for unwary designers in other ways.
Because in a way Zazzle seems larger than it really is.
It has the greatest range of products of all the pod sites. The range of products is dizzying - it comes across as an alternate Amazon. You won't know what products to drop your designs onto, to begin with and so may spread them across as wide a range as you can (I know I did - I spent an entire afternoon putting a couple of designs on dozens of phone cases before twigging that it wasn't necessary. Duh.)
But be aware;
Traffic is half of Redbubble's.
It's very US oriented.
More importantly, the users who make money on zazzle are;
Those who've been on it for years.
Have shops that are extremely well organised and niche targeted.
But the magic key to Zazzle success and escaping the maze?
Customizable stationery - in particular, birthday cards, business cards and wedding stationery. This is Zazzle's claim to fame - that customer's can add their own names to designs - or their grandparents or childrens names or the name of their business. That's Zazzle's market strength.
New designers may not recognize this and instead wander the halls, dazzled by the array of options, posting designs until the cows come home, but for the most part, gaining rewards that will likely always be mediocre.
This is what has happened to me. But now that I have a clue, I'll be changing tack and focusing on customizable stationery - weddings, birthdays, that sort of thing.
Wish me luck.
MADJACK TEES on Zazzle
