Packing up and Going to Rio

First of all I don’t live in Rio anymore – I had a 6 months stay in the city along with my girlfriend. She was actually the reason we moved there in the first place as she had gotten an internship with the UN in the city and I decided to move my freelance business with me.

When you take what is essentially a long vacation more than an actual relocation you don’t need to bring as much stuff as you might think. We learned that the hard way and I think we could have left about 60% of the things we brought along. Especially we had brought a lot of clothes that we did not wear – partly because it was too warm but also because we bought a lot of new clothes trying to blend in with the Cariocas (that is what you call the people of Rio). On the subject of blending in I have to recommend a great book that I suggest you read before you land in Rio: “How to Be a Carioca – The Alternative Guide For the Tourist in Rio” written by Priscilla Ann Goslin who has lived in Rio for more than 30 years. It a humorous approach to describing the different carioca stereotypes that you will come across while visiting. If you were to buy any book on Rio then this is the one, as it will help you understand the Rio culture better. Below I have collected some of the books that helped us during our stay.

Where to Stay in Rio

Ok so the first thing we need to do is getting you a place to stay in Rio. This of course all comes down to personal preferences, purpose and budget.

We began our stay in Rio by booking 3 days at Casa Beleza in the Santa Teresa neighborhood and that turned out to be a great decision. Casa Beleza is what is
called a pousada, which is what you might call a bed and breakfast. The Place in run by Bindu & Antoine who are loveliest couple you will come across. The Caza Beleza mansion if beautiful and surrounded by trees, humming birds and small monkeys. Learn more about Casa Beleza here.

Santa Teresa is a nice neighborhood but most tourist just visit the place and then go live in either Ipanema or Copacabana. Personally I prefer Ipanema compared to Copacabana, which is way too touristy for my taste. With the steady stream of tourist come the usual problems with crime, prostitutes, drugs and so forth. I might get into trouble for this, but go see Copacabana beach if you like and then find somewhere else to stay in Ipanema. Take a look at trip advisor or perhaps go for an apartment via Airbnb.

Going to the Beach

Lets face it – the beaches of Rio are world famous and I’m sure that a lot of you are visiting Rio for this exact reason. The two main beaches are Copacabana and Ipanema and once again I prefer Ipanema as it is less touristy than Copa. On each beach you will find numbered life guard towers and it is important to take note of these numbers as different crowds hang out in different places. On Ipanema/Leblon the tower numbers go from 7-12 and here is rundown of the different crowds:

• Posto 7: Surfers and kids from the nearby favela.
• Posto 8: This is the gay scene – you can’t miss the rainbow flags.
• Posto 9: Was the intellectuals hangout back in the days. Today youngsters, backpackers and ganja lovers hang out here.
• Posto 10: This seems to be more of the upscale Ipanema crowd – right across from the Rio de Janeiro country club.
• Posto 11: Not sure if there is any special crowd here – fill me in the comments.
• Posto 12: Mixed crowd with famous novella stars (novellas are the Brazilian soaps) and people from the nearby favela Vidigal. The beach is the most democratic place in Rio.

So now that you know what the different sections of the beach represent it is time to go to the beach, so lets take a look at what you need to pack.

What to bring and not to bring to the beach

• Money – you need it for beach chairs, food and drinks
• Sunscreen – don’t take any chances with the stuff sold on the beach. Take it easy with the sun. You will get tanned but not if you get red first.
• For the men: Sungas – Brazils famous bathing wear for men. Just get over your inhibitions and wear them. Everyone does and only the teenagers will wear board shorts. If you are 25+ and wear board shorts you are NOT cool. You do not need a six-pack to wear sungas as you will soon learn and Brazilian women love a man in sungas.
• For the women: Take that bikini or bathing suit you brought from home and get a pair of scissors. Now do a cut across, then another and then another. Keep going until what ever you started with is in 100 pieces. Then take a deep breath and go with the flow and go shop for a Brazilian style bikini. My girlfriend needed a bit of convincing but felt so liberated once she had taken the plunge. You will feel out of place in your bath rope of a gringo bikini.
• Bring a canga and NOT a towel. A towel on the beach is not cool as it brings home tons of sand – cariocas know this. So if you bring a towel you are not a carioca and therefore not cool. Simple logic right?
• Don’t bring anything of value, as you need to take care of your belongings in the crowded summer months.

The beaches of Rio are where the cariocas meet and hang out and they are a melting pot of everything that goes on in the city. Relationships start and end here, business deals are made, stories are told and most importantly beers are drunk. Ah how I miss the beach.

One word of caution – the surf at the Rio beaches can be rough and the lifeguards and choppers are there for a reason. Stay close to the shore as the under current can be pretty strong. Ipanema means “bad water” in the native language and was named as such because of the waves making the area difficult to fish.

How to get Around Rio – Transport

I come from Copenhagen, so the traffic situation and most of all the cariocas interpretation of the traffic rules of Brazil makes me shake my head. I think most cariocas look at the rule sets as suggestions more than actual rules (goes for a lot of things in Brazilian society). That said I will be the first to admit I started walking red lights in true carioca style within a month. You don’t want to be that gringo standing there left behind just because of the color of a sign now do you?

Most tourists will get around by taxi and it is both affordable and apart from missing seatbelts in most taxis it is also safe. Other alternatives are the busses and the metro and once again both are affordable and rather safe – depending on the area. I used to take the buss all the time but you have to be prepared for waiving down the busses, as they will not stop for you unless you do. This does take some time getting used to and that is why a lot of tourist go for the taxies (make sure to go by the meter)

The metro works pretty well and it is expanding at the moment. As of this writing then end station is Zona Sul is Ipanema and you will have to take busses to go to Leblon if this is where you will reside.

You can also rent a bike to ride along the beach, but down ride it anywhere else as the traffic is not suited for bikes.

Learn how to Speak Portuguese

Ok this is perhaps a little bit of an overstatement, but be prepared for some seriously lacking English skills when you visit Rio. If you know Spanish you will do ok, but I really do suggest that you do put in a little effort to learn a bit of Portuguese before you go. Besides it is just not cool showing up without knowing just a little of the language of the country you are about to visit. I ended up studying Portuguese at the PUC University during my stay. Read my post about learning Portuguese here.

What to do in Rio

I won’t dwell on the obvious places to go mentioned in every guide book. Instead here is a small list of things you should try once while in Rio.

• Watch a sun down from Arpoador
• Go for a morning run at the beach – end with a fresh coco
• Have a churrasco
• Visit a samba school
• Eat acai
• Take the buss
• Enjoy the street art
• Walk by Ipanema beach on a sunday
• Sunday street market in Ipanema

What I liked to do the most was just to wander around the city. The pulse of a city is in the streets – not a museum.

Rio Nightlife

There are a lot of clubs in Rio but there is only one name you need to memorize: Lapa. This is the best place to party and you will find a very diverse crowd here. There are tons of old samba clubs, clubs with Funke, House, Reggae and everything in-between. You can buy cheap drinks from the stands in the street but keep in mind that the ice they use is not filtered, so if you get the runs don’t blame me.

Get some food and a handful of good caipirinhas from one of the bars and get ready for some of the best people watching you have done in your life. I recommend the drinking game “guy or girl?” There are a lot of the famous Brazilian trannies partying in Lapa as well and the more caipirinhas you get the harder the game gets.

In general the hot spots of the city changes a lot and I suggest taking a look at the flyers handed out at the beach or taking a look at the nightlife guide of Rio Times Online.

Eating out in Rio

Ah the food of Rio. The cariocas love to eat out and there are a lot of options around. One thing that is worth noticing is that Cariocas love eating buffets and they go under the name “kilos” as you take what you eat and then weigh the food before paying. This is actually a great way to eat as you can see what you get and trust me when I say that the Brazilians know how to arrange a buffet. You get everything from fresh seafood and sushi to delicious grilled meats, lovely salads and mouthwatering desserts.

Brazil is also famous for churrasco, which is a special kind of barbeque. Often the churrascarias have a buffet where you select the non-meats you like and then the waiters walk around will spears of different kind of grilled meats. You will be handed a small chip with a red side and a green side. Green side up and the waiters will stop at your table offering you whatever cut he is carrying around. You are free to pass and pick the next thing coming. Red side up and the waiters will pass you by but more often than not they will try to eat you full on the cheaper cuts and insist you try.

You have to try a churrascaria once on your trip and also don’t forget to have a feijoada, which is the Brazilian national dish – it is a lovely dark stew with black beans served with rice, farofa (manioc flour), oranges and fried cabbage. Wash down with a caipirinha and you are in heaven.

Carriocas love to eat snacks with their beers and there are a lot of different options. The book a partiers guide to Rio has a great explainer inside and you discounts with the coupons inside.

Rio Carnival

The biggest party on earth is what the Rio carnival is often known as, and to be fair it is damn close. Most of you have most likely seen pictures of the big parade from Rio. This part of the carnival is held at the Sambadromo, which is a stretch of street build for the specific purpose of these parades. The special group of the samba schools parade on Sunday and Monday of the Carnival and Monday is known as the big night. I suggest getting tickets ahead of time by booking them at this site , which has all the latest info on the program, schools and more.

The street parties known as blocos are becoming more and more popular as the prices for the parade at the Sambadromo goes up. Besides the blocos are not a spectator sport as much as the Sambadromo events. The last couple of years you have been able to find apps in the appstore showing a map of Rio with all the blocos, times and themes. This is a great way to stay on top of what is going on and once again Rio times is also a great resource for the non Portuguese speaking crowd.

How to Stay Safe in Rio

As you might know Rio has sort of a bad rep when it comes to crime. This is both well deserved and misleading at the same time. Yes there is a lot of crime and violence is the city, but as a tourist you will not see any of it unless you wander off into a crime-ridden favela at night alone – so don’t.

Follow these tips and you should be good to go

• Don’t walk Copacabana by the water at night – period!
• Don’t leave the house with anything you can’t afford to loose.
• In the extremely unlikely event that you should get robbed then give them whatever they want and don’t look at their faces (robbers are scared too and by not looking at their faces they will feel less at risk of getting caught).
• Don’t walk down small unlit streets at night
• Dress like a local!
• Don’t get completely wasted – caipirinhas are good but they will get you wasted quickly.
• Don’t go to Centro at night or in the weekends.
• Don’t be an idiot – seriously I have seen tourists in Rio that I even wanted to rob just to give them a lesson. Being loud and obnoxious will get the attention of the wrong crowd.
• To the guys: Don’t pick a fight in Rio – cariocas love steroids and Brazilian jiu jitsu. You do the math.

Lastly Rio has a hidden “danger” in form of dengue fever, which is a disease transferred via mosquitos. There is no cure for dengue and while only few cases end with fatal consequences dengue is no joke. To protect yourself from dengue fever you should use mosquito repellant and get a spray for killing mosquitos in your room or apartment. If you find yourself with symptoms of dengue contact a doctor right away and start drinking plenty of water (your only and best defense against the disease). My girlfriend had the “pleasure” of experiencing dengue first hand and we used this clinic in Copacabana, which were very helpful.

With that out of the way – Rios is an awesome city and I’m confident you will have a great time visiting the marvelous city. Don’t let mosquitos and rumors of robbers scare you off. Rio is without a doubt one of the most fantastic cities on earth and if you have to chance you should treat yourself to this marvelous city.

If you like this post don’t forget to “like” it or share it in a tweet.

So I set out to find a no nonsense solution for A/B testing and in my search I came across Optimizely. Before I write anything else I think you should take a minute to check out the demo below – it will explain in detail what you can do with Optimizely much better than I can.

So I think by now you will agree with me that it is a pretty cool tool for doing A/B testing and increasing your conversions right? The cool thing is that you can use this for WordPress, Drupal, Joomla or whatever platform you are running your site on. Best of all it is super simple to test copy writing and layout without having to do a lot of coding, Basically Optimizely will enable you to act on your ideas right away. Go ahead and give it a try – it is damn cool.

So Why am I Moving

Besides the obvious reasons such as the samba, sun and caipirinhas, the temporary relocation is actually credited to my girlfriend. As part of her masters degree she wanted to do an internship abroad and landed one with the UN in Rio – hence the move. Since I am a freelance web designer I am pretty mobile and having been to Brazil before I wouldn’t miss the chance of living out every freelancers dream. Lets admit it – haven’t we all been sitting at a 9-5 job somewhere wishing we could just drop everything and catch the next flight out of here? Well it turns out things are only as complicated as you make them.

My new neighborhood just 200 meters from the front door - no really.

Setting up the Network for the Move

One of the first things I did when I started freelancing was to determine how I would like to run my business. Early on I came to the conclusion that I wanted to focus on selling my services as a freelancer to larger agencies. First of all this helps me minimize the time I need to generate leads and do sales work with end clients – the jobs from agencies often come to me with specs and all. Also I establish professional relationships and trust that over time allows me to do getaways like this. Once you have done a project or two with a company they know your work ethics and methods well enough to not care where you are located. This is not a must – that is just they way I have decided to do things.

With a dedicated Skype number in hand and a 3-hour time difference I could actually just have left without telling anyone. 80% of my clients wouldn’t know, but I want to operate in a transparent manner with my clients.

Finding a Place to Stay in Rio de Janeiro

Besides setting up my business network I started to immerse myself in the Brazilian culture and started learning the language (trying at least). With my 6”5, blue eyes and pink Scandinavian tan I will forever be a gringo in Brazil, but knowing a bit of Portuguese and staying clear of the “expat traps” will give us a more authentic stay.

The whole prep phase has been pretty intense. I ended up googling for days before I finally found an apartment for us – located in good old Ipanema. Not bad huh? Once the tickets, apartment and vaccinations got settled everything came into place and all of a sudden it all became very real.

A quick note on finding a place to stay – don’t get scared of prices on vacation rentals. Depending on how long you are looking to stay a furnished vacation rental might be just what you need. Just make sure you cut a deal with the landlord. Tell him that you need to work out a good price as he will be getting a steady tenant for a prolonged period of time and he wont need to deal with the hassle of people checking in and out every other day. You will be surprised how much you can work down the prices.

Finding out where to stay in Rio can be a bit complicated to start of with. It all depends on your temper and the experience you are looking for. First of all we wanted to live in Zona Sul as it is safer and well connected via the metro. The price range can vary a lot depending on what you are looking for. Generally Leblon, Lagoa and Ipanema are the more expensive neighborhoods followed by Leme, Copacabana and Botafogo. Copacabana is where most tourists stay so we wanted to stay clear of that – again we are looking for a more authentic stay although we will never become true Cariocas (Rio natives).

Getting Practical

Since we are talking about a short time relocation I wont be bringing all of my belongings for the trip. Apart from the liters of sunscreen I will be needing the heaviest thing in my backpack will be my laptop and photo gear. I just sold my MacBook Air and upgraded to a 15” MacBook Pro – I can’t wait to work on it. I think it will be a good stand in for my favorite iMac that I will be leaving behind.

When it comes to organizing nothing beats Dropbox. I have all my clients work organized in a nice folder structure and setting up my new work computer was such a breeze. Apart from Dropbox I also set up Backblaze for the Macbook – better safe than sorry.

Last Week in Denmark

Time is closing in and I have an awful lot of checkmarks on my to-do list. This last week will be focused on packing, cleaning up the apartment for the sublet tenant we found and other practical things before the final move.

Tune in now and then to read more about the freelancing in Brazil and feel free to ask any questions you might have.

Fortunately there is a way round this problem. I have written articles on how to use Netflix on the iPad and iPhone already, and both approaches make use of a VPN connection. VPN stands for private virtual network and it basically connects you to a server in the US making Netflix think you are located within the US. A VPN service is not free, but it is a small and very helpful investment. The best VPN service I have come across after trying a few is Hide My Ass .

The Apple TV however, is different from the iPad and the iPhone as it does not have a VPN client build in. Instead we need to use a router that can connect directly to VPN. Not many routers can do this, but I have come across the ASUS RT-N16 that will allow you to do just that. As a matter of fact Hide My Ass recommends the router for their network, so that works out pretty sweet.

So that is basically it – you need a VPN account from Hide My Ass and get an ASUS RT-N16 . After that it is simply a matter of joining the network you set up from your Apple TV and change the location to the United States.

Remember to use a 5 digit zip code when signing up for Netflix. If you have a 4 digit zip code just put a zero in front. Otherwise just pick a random set of numbers.

Use Netflix on the PS3 and Xbox 360 Outside the US

As a side note it is worth mentioning, that this will make all devices on your network capable of using Netflix – not just the Apple TV. Even the PS3 and XBOX 360 you have sitting around will now be able to connect to Netflix even though you are not in the US.

1. Immerse Yourself in the Culture and Language
2. Get a Private Teacher
3. Quickly Expand Your Portuguese Vocabulary
4. Buy The Best Language Learning Software for Portuguese
5. Get a good Portuguese book
6. Listen to Audio CDs With Brazilian Portuguese

Immerse yourself in Brazilian culture

Learning a language is more than just words and grammar. The cultural aspects hidden within a language are just as important when trying to comprehend. I have found it extremely useful to listen to Brazilian music as well as watch as many Brazilian movies as possible. Don’t just settle for “City of God” and “Tropa de Elite“. Brazil is so much more than the stereotypical favelas, carnival and beautiful women. Here is a small list of a couple of great Brazilian movies worth watching.

The Man Who Copied
André, relatively poor, falls in love with Silvia, a neighbor whom he spy’s with a telescope. Falling more and more in love with her, he begins to follow her around the city and realizes she works in a clothing shop. He works in a xerox place and makes a copy of a brand new 50 real bill in order to buy a dress from her store. This becomes a vice and he begins to photocopy more and more money, until it gets out of control. However, things begin to go wrong when he decides that photcopying is not the only way to make money.

Arido Movie
Set in the desert landscape Brazil’s draught ridden sertao, the film follows the northeastward journey of a city professional, returning to his birth place after his father’s death in order to confront an archaic and mythical universe. Superstitions and new age religious fanaticism converge as the super highway catches up with the sertao.

It is also worth checking out the local Brazilian community in your city if it has any. Seeing Brazilians interact and communicate will help you understand the language and customs even better in the long run. You might even want to pick up on Brazilian cooking – I have learned to make a mean feijoada and mouqeca.

How to find a Portuguese teacher

Private teachers are always a great way to learn, but can in some cases be quite expensive. From experience I prefer the private teaching to the classroom experience as I have much more control over the pace and lessons in general. Together with my girlfriend I have found a private teacher for the same price of being enrolled in a class of around 30 students. Needles to say we get a lot more attention with a private teacher and all of our questions are answered.

So how do you find a teacher? If you follow my first tip about immersing yourself in Brazilian culture and your local Brazilian community you will quickly come across someone who can help you. Don’t be afraid to seek out places where you can come across a qualified teacher. Go to local events, visit Brazilian restaurants, go to concerts etc.

Expanding your Portuguese vocabulary

When kids learn to talk they spend an enormous amount of time grasping concepts and words. At first the vocabulary and the sentences might be very restricted but they try hard to get their point across. In order to build up my vocabulary quickly I have plastered every object in my home with small notes spelling the object in Portuguese along with a translation. That way I force myself to read and say the word when I pass it and learning new vocabulary becomes a 24/7 task without becoming overwhelming.

Learning Portuguese grammar – Falar Ler Escrever Portugues

Grammar is daunting no matter how you look at it. I know there are people out there who think that grammar is up there at the same level as sex, but I am not one of them. That said, once you get the grasp of conjugating verbs it feels really good.

The book “Falar Ler Escrever Portugues” is one of the best ways of getting started on the language. It is used in many language courses and I suggest using it together with your private teacher. It is full of exercises within all aspects of the language and will pave the way for a greater understanding of the language.

Language learning software – Rosetta Stone Brazilian Portuguese

There are many different variants of Portuguese language learning software on the market. However, one piece of software stands out above the rest: Rosetta Stone Brazilian Portuguese. The program works on both Mac and Pc and allows you to immerse yourself in Portuguese. You can put together your own set of lessons depending on what you need to learn and your current understanding of the language. The lessons are divided up into Pronunciation, Grammar, Speaking, Writing, Vocabulary, Listening and Reviewing. You can buy separate levels expanding as you go along. Rosetta Stone is widely used in both corporate and government institutions is seen as the industry standard of language learning software. They even provide a 6 months money back guarantee – for me it was a no brainer and it is highly recommended. Get the package here

Audio Cds – The Pimsleur Method

The Pimsleur Package is a set of CDs full of typical scenarios you might encounter in daily life. Each lesson is about 30 minutes and by completing one every other day you will slowly but surely expand your vocabulary. After the first few lessons you will be able to do short sentences and it will build up your confidence in no time. Just as Rosetta Stone you can buy separate levels or get the whole package at once. One of the advantages is that you can load the CD to your iPod or smartphone and practice whenever you want.

Podcasts

Last but not least there is a great podcast at Portuguese Pod101 that is well worth checking out. You can subscribe directly to the podcast and sync to your iPod, iPhone or whatever player/phone you might have an practice on the go.

The summary

The above is by no means a complete guide or certified method of learning a language. It is however my own personal experience and I can tell you it has made a great difference to me. Above all it is important to make the learning experience fun – it should never become a chore. That is why I suggest watching the movies, eating the food and otherwise immerse yourself in the cultural aspects. Slowly but surely all the pieces will come together and your will find yourself speaking Portuguese in no time.

If you already have the app installed skip ahead to step 2»

1. Download the Netflix App for the iPhone

Skip this step if you already have access to the the US store. The assortment in the App Store varies from country to country and the App is only available in the US store. So first you need to trick the App Store into thinking you live in the US.

Go to ebay and look for an US iTunes giftcard. These giftcards contain a code you can redeem for money in iTunes and the App Store. Since these cards are issued in the US they are equal to using an American creditcard. When you redeem the card just fill in a fake US address and you can now access the US App Store on your iPhone and download the Netflix App.

2. Trick Netflix into thinking you are in the US

As you might have figured out already the Netflix app is restricted to streaming in the US only. The way to get around this if you live in Europe, South America, Asia or anywhere else outside the US is to use a VPN connection. VPN stands for Virtual Private Network and what this does is connect your iPhone to a server in the US that will act as middleman for your connection to Netflix. It might sound complicated but it is really not. A VPN service is not free but it is extremely useful. I have used Hide My Ass on both the iPad and iPhone with great success. I suggest you go for the 6 or 12 month package as you will get the best discount. Check out their site here.

Once registered you will receive a setup mail containing your account info. Now all you have to do is pick up your iPhone and go to Settings > General > Network > VPN and add a new connection and fill in the new connection info. Once you have done that you can turn on the VPN and as soon as you see a small VPN icon in the upper left corner you are ready to go – almost.

3. Sign up for Netflix

Before you can start using Netflix you of course need an account. Simply install the Hide My Ass app on your computer and then connect to t a server in the US. Then start the sign up process and remember to use a 5 digit zip code when. If you have a 4 digit zip code just put a zero in front. Otherwise just pick a random set of numbers.

Fire up the Netflix app and stream away outside the US.

This is also a pretty cool solution for Americans travelling abroad who still want to use their Netflix account on the go.

IMPORTANT: You need to enable vpn before you sign into the app. Otherwise you need to go to settings and reset the app and log in again.

In my case my disk failed to read properly and I had a hard time copying files out from the disk. I did after some time manage to get some files of the disk before it died 100%.

Don’t wait – backup now

So what is the morale? Backup your stuff and do it with Backblaze. I have talked about them before and I must admit I think it is a really cool tool. Backblaze works for Mac and PC and it is basically a small service running in the background all the time backing up your machine to the cloud. Backblaze is install and forget software and it is so super simple to use I cannot believe it.
Paying for backup is like insurance – no one really wants to do it. But think about how much you pay to insure your physical belongings? In that perspective $5 a month is a bargain for unlimited (yes unlimited) backup.

In case you need to restore from Backblaze you have 3 options:

1. Download the files from the website
2. Order DVDs with your content on
3. Order a USB drive with your content on

That is pretty damn cool if you ask me!

I have been talking to my earlier mentioned friend about using Backblaze for backup before and it seems like he got the point this time and started the backup. It is funny how we all need to have a bad experience our self before we talk good free advise from other people.

So let’s try this one more time – go back up your digital life for $5 a month and make sure all your photos, videos, papers and work is safe. If you don’t – please don’t call me and ask how to get your stuff back

Since I have gone freelance as a web designer I all of a sudden have time for a personal project along with client work, and it was now obvious that my first project would be a preset community.

Hence Presetpond was born – the first online community for sharing Aperture and Lightroom presets. Everyone can download the presets posted for free. Registered user benefit from selfpromotion as they upload new presets to the base. These presets can then be rated and commented on by the community.

I have high hopes for the site, and time will tell if the community will remember to contribute and not only consume the free goods. This is a little social study as well.

Anyhow – if you are a photographer please head on over to presetpond.com and share some of your presets and get a couple of fresh new ones while you are at it.

There is such a thing as over sharing (read disabling all privacy features on Facebook) amongst private individuals. However, few people thought that private companies would join this sharing wave to the extent of giving away their trade secrets all in the name of the open web. Never the less that is what Backblaze did in a blogpost back in September 2009.

Backblaze is an amazing backup tool that lets you backup your computer both Mac and PC for no more than $5 a month – unlimited storage. That price point is hard to beat and I have used it ever since I lost a vast collection of images due to a dead hard drive. This however, is not a commercial for Backblaze – now lets get back on track.

What Backblaze did back in September of 2009 was nothing less than extraordinary. In a blog post they revealed how to build their custom storage devices they have created enabling them to offer the storage at such a remarkable low price point. Not only do they describe how to build the “pod”, but they also include a 3d model, complete list of items needed and a diagram.

I still have not figured out why the decided to open up like that but I came across the blog post from Digg and found out about the company through that channel. Also it projected the company as cool, open, forward thinking and with good intentions. The outcome -> I signed up.

Many other companies and individuals are doing this on a regular basis – giving away for free. At the end of the day that is what the open source movement is about.

Another example I came across recently is a small project managed by Niels Gamborg. He has created a range of name generators and has decided to give away the name generator scripts that run this site for free. What makes this stand out from general open source projects is that we are actually talking about a complete site ready to launch with minimum effort. This could easily be used for an Adsense hobby project.

Bottom line – the Internet is once again showing how we are reinventing how we do business.