Glossary

applications   These are technical tools specifically designed to help make your virtual office as user-friendly as possible. They include video conferencing, screen sharing, a to-do list, and a service for managing code in a collaborative setting. More applications will be made available in the future.

awarding a job   When a client chooses the contractor she wants to hire, she awards the job to him. The contractor is then hired and the Elance virtual office infrastructure and features can be utilized.

bid   Much like on eBay, contractors place a dollar bid on jobs posted by clients. The client does not have to take, and doesn’t always want to take, the lowest bid. Rather, she awards the job to the contractor of her choice.

category   Elance separates contractors into different categories depending on the services they provide. For example, a contractor may be in IT & Programming, or in Writing & Translation. Clients post their jobs within these categories.

client   Individuals or businesses that post jobs and hire contractors through Elance.

cloud    Business is considered to be conducted in the cloud when files, data, applications, and programs are managed and stored on the internet.

code sharing   A way two or more programmers can share the source code they are developing within the same or related projects.

Connects   A virtual currency used by Elance. You pay a certain number of them each time you submit a proposal. Each month you are allocated a fixed number of Connects depending on your membership plan.

contractors   Independent individuals and businesses that provide services on Elance. These are the folks that get hired. I also refer to them as freelancers.

Elancer   An Elance client or contractor.

feedback   A written assessment by the client of their work experience with the contractor.

freelancers   Used interchangeably with contractors, these are the people who use Elance to find work.

job post   Also known as a project posting. Each client will post a job on the Elance system that will describe in detail the work that needs to be done. Interested contractors then place bids on these jobs.

keyword   The intuitive word a client will use to search for contractors. Think of when you use Google or some other search engine. The words you type in to start your search are keywords. Elance contractors list keywords that will bring up their profile when clients type the same word(s) in the search box.

level   Refers to a contractor’s activity and achievements on Elance. The higher the level, the greater that individual’s or business’s activity, earnings, and positive feedback.

preferred placement   Also known as a sponsored placement. A feature that highlights your proposal and places it at the top of the client’s proposal list. Although preferred placements give you extra visibility, they also cost you more Connects. Three preferred placements are allowed per project posting.

prefunding milestones   Refers to placing funds in escrow before they are due to be paid. This is often done by clients at the beginning of a project.

profile   Each contractor creates a profile that prospective clients view to help determine if they’re the best fit for their job. Clients also build profiles, but they’re more limited in scope.

proposal   When a contractor places a bid on a job, he will include a written proposal explaining what he will do and why he is the best choice for the job.

ratings   A ranking system Elance clients use to assess work done by a contractor. Ratings are on a scale of 1 to 5, with 5 being the best.

skill tests   Optional tests taken by contractors to rank their skill level in specific subjects against other Elance contractors. Contractors can also choose to self-rate their skill levels.

Tracker and Work View   These work together and are optional on hourly projects. Tracker tracks the amount of time a contractor spends on a specific project. Work View takes random and sporadic shots of the contractor’s computer screen and delivers them to the client.

workroom   Each individual job will have a workroom on the Elance system where the client and contractor are able to communicate and manage the project.

workroom messaging   The Elance system that allows clients and contractors to communicate via a message board in each project workroom. All communication here is stored and saved so you can easily refer to it later.