Don't tase me, girl

I talked to TASER about Tasers, women, and targets:

The pink C2 was released in 2007. “Women may not want to look tactical in all black,” Tuttle reports, and with the pink model, “If it falls out of her purse, no one’s going to think, ‘Oh my god, what’s that?’”

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She a bad bitch

B.o.B "Headband" ft 2Chainz [Lyric Video] from Defient on Vimeo.
It's the end of my second week blogging daily on the sin beat at Forbes. I'm having a great time. Check it out.

I went to Aviary. It's the most awesome place ever. I regret not ordering the drink that comes on a Bunsen burner.

I bought Liar's Poker, and now I really need to read it.

The vice beat

Crickets, Shanghai, China
Over at my Forbes blog, I'm working the vice beat. Yesterday, I posted about cricket fighting, and today I'll have a post that's best described as: Is that a gun in your bra or are you just happy to see me?

The vice beat covers a lot of territory -- gambling, alcohol, tobacco, weapons, adult. But it can also include any business sector that a portion of the people view as having a negative impact on our culture. Illegal drugs, for example. Some people consider food a vice these days. I wrote a post awhile back on whether or not Apple is a sin stock.

Got tips on any subjects, people, or stories that you'd like to see explored on SIN INC? Email me.

Repent, Sinners

Porn Awards, Las Vegas, Nevada
I renamed my Forbes blog.

Now it's SIN INC.

There I will be working the vice beat.

Booze, broads, bozos.

It's the most interesting thing I've done in at least decade.

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Baller

My all-time most popular Forbes post just topped 500,000 views.

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How much can you make?

Stripper, Las Vegas, Nevada

"3) How much can a contributor make? As I’ve written, a writer who attracts 1 million unique visitors a month for 12 consecutive months, with a solid base of repeat visitors, can earn a six-figure annual income. That’s not easy to accomplish. In 2012, only the second year of our model, two contributors topped $100,000. We had a few at $75,000 and $50,000, and 25 hit the $35,000 mark. There is a long tail at $10,000. Using their individual data dashboard, a contributor can track how they’re doing in real time. For comparison, the Bureau of Labor Statistics puts the average full-time reporter or correspondent’s salary at $45,270. Remember, being a contributor (many have worked for major national and regional news brands) is a freelance job, with considerable freedom to publish content for others." -- "Inside Forbes: Amid the Finger Pointing, Journalists Need to Explore New Payment Models"

Here's a suggestion

Whose blog did you read for free last year that inspired you?

Thank them for it.

Thank you, this isn't happiness, the greatest you are at whatever you do, for your work that inspired me, motivated me, commiserated with me, entertained me, dazzled me, and intellectually stimulated me in 2012.

Interview with a female skydiving instructor

I finished off this year of my Forbes blog with an inspiring interview. The post is part of a series I started this year: "Hey, [Your Name Here], How'd You Get That Job?" So far, I've interviewed an adult movie editor, a death revolutionary, a young entrepreneur, and a blogger.

I'd spent some time looking around for my next subject online, and I think I'd decided a woman who was gutsy enough to jump out of airplanes would probably have something to teach young women about overcoming fear in the professional and personal realms.

Here's my favorite quote from skydiving instructor Jen Sharp, who you see in the photo above (taken by Emily Royal) free falling and working on a laptop at the same time:

"Skydiving makes me feel both vulnerable and powerful at the same time."

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What do you want to be when you grow up?

Without a doubt, the blockbuster post of my Forbes blog this year was: "The Hardest Thing About Being a Male Porn Star."

Because I've worked previously in helping entertainment sites generate more traffic, I tend to have a sense of what will get a lot of clicks and what won't. But I really had no idea this post would become my most popular post of the year and the third most popular post in the section where my blog resides on Forbes.com.

I was surprised and continue to be surprised by the amount of traffic the post gets. So far, it has over 300,000 views, and it's the all-time most popular post on my blog.

Originally, the post was simply a series of quotes from the male porn stars I'd interviewed, but my smart editor pushed me to expand it and present it as a series of work tips.

I'm sure my failure to fully understand the popularity of the post has to do with the fact that I'm not a man. I think the subject matter appeals in a way that I simply cannot comprehend. But I wrote a post pondering that question: "Why Men Want to Be Porn Stars."

In an era in which “The End of Men” is being heralded, you can imagine the appeal of the male porn star fantasy to the Average Joe. The job of the Male Porn Star is unequivocally, undeniably male — so literally, one depends on one’s manhood to do it. This is what you are paid for as a male porn star: to be a man.

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Marathon

Are you following my "30 Days of Freelancing" series on Forbes?

It's like a marathon, and I'm a sprinter.

Check it out.

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Daily

Over at my Forbes blog I'm doing a series called "30 Days of Freelancing." If you can't figure out what it is, for 30 days, I'm blogging about freelancing.

Probably the hardest thing about doing it is that I have to post every day. This means you have to do it. You can't not feel like it.

Of course, this is what's good about it -- it forces you to go places you might not go otherwise.

Here's an excerpt from Day 8:

TIP #2: Don’t mix metaphors.

I spend approximately 10 minutes of my weekly 50 minute therapy session discussing the aforementioned issue.

“I want to stop burning bridges,” I tell my shrink. I rattle off a list of bridges I’ve burned over the years.

My shrink tells me that my problem isn’t burning bridges; it’s that I’m not swinging for the fences.

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Diary of a freelancer

I'll be doing a new series on my Forbes blog this month: "30 Days of Freelancing."

I decided to do the series for a couple of reasons.

1) I didn't feel like I was getting enough done, and I wanted to get a bit more meta about the process.

2) I was focusing on getting less done, and I wanted a forum where I could explore that.

Those two things seem contradictory, but this is the nature of human existence.

Have you heard of the slow food movement? It’s part of the slow movement. Apparently, there’s something called the slow work movement. Pete Bacevice is its philosopher.

I decide I’m a recovering workaholic. The slow work movement will be my Alcoholics Anonymous. I will take 30 days to become a slower worker.

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Get that job

I interviewed the awesome Kelly Internets of The Daily What for my Forbes blog.

We discussed Colonel Meow.

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My new Forbes blog: Pink Slipped

I'm really happy to announce the launch of a new blog that I'm writing for Forbes.com: PINK SLIPPED.

A little over a month ago, I was downsized from my full-time job as an editor. That day, I wrote a post about being downsized: "Hire Me."

Shortly thereafter, I got an email from my former editor at True/Slant. Since True/Slant, where I and other journalists blogged, was bought by Forbes Media last year, I'd been hoping to make the move to Forbes.com. But, ironically, it took getting downsized to make that a reality.

PINK SLIPPED is my story of getting downsized, looking for work in a tough job market, and what happens when you have to reinvent yourself. I'll be revealing my experiences, recounting wacky tales from the front lines, offering job searching tips, telling you what not to do because I did it already, and debating whether or not to sell my used underpants.

I'm really very excited about this project. It's a new direction for me, and something I've been increasingly interested in as of late. I hope you'll enjoy the ride.

In my first post, "How to Get Downsized," I explain why men are more helpful than women, show how flexibility is the key to getting paid, and decide getting downsized is good for you.

Of course, if you've got a lead on a job, are looking to hire, or know someone who is hiring, I'm a writer, a journalist, an editor, a blogger, a social media strategist, and a copywriter, and I'd love to hear from you.

[PINK SLIPPED]