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Yep – I’m a Joiner!
New Haircut – New Plan – Same Old Issue
So, after getting rid of 8 inches off my hair, I look a lot more human.
I feel a lot more human, too.
Want to see it? Check it out on Facebook.
Plus the baby seems to be breathing well during the day and during most of the night (she didn’t wake up all congested and need to be baby-snot-sucked until 3:30am last night. Yea!)
Sure I’m still battling plugged ears and I haven’t managed to sleep all night in my bed since that first night after giving birth, but I’m sure all that will come in time … and maybe after another visit to the chiropractor. It certainly can’t hurt!
I’ve been thinking a lot about Ali Brown. She was the Ezine Queen way back in the day – I remember she had the most awful website (well, it was awesome when it was first done, I’m not hating on her site or anything) and she was the first Internet marketer I knew that used one of those floating windows to get more signups to the Ezine. She was beautiful, blonde, living in California…and kicking butt online. She pretty much rocks. Another interesting fact – she is the ONLY Internet marketer that I’ve seen that hasn’t deeply disappointed me by being a total sellout at some point or another. That includes the touchy-feely social media Internet marketers, too.
She went from the Ezine queen to a freaking lifestyle brand. I mean, how can you think that’s anything but awesome?
But my problem isn’t knowing how to market a business or even start a business – it’s finding a passion. I am passionate about absolutely nothing when it comes right down to it. Sad, right? I was talking to family about it and come to find out they have the same problem. My grandmother worked at the toll road for 25 years but before that she owned a plant business, worked for a grocery distributor, and did about a thousand other things. She just never really fell in love with anything and then the toll road happened and it was good pay, great benefits, and she just…stayed there.
So it’s not just a “me” problem with the passion – it’s totally genetic. I wonder if that should make me feel better? LOL
If only there were something to be totally passionate about that didn’t involve advanced math, customer service skills, clients, writing, or animals. I mean, I’m sure there’s something out there, it’s just a matter of figuring out what. It seems that everything I can think of has some THING that is a total dealbreaker.
For example…
- I’d totally be an embalmer…until the first kid was on the table. Then I’d freak out and quit. Totally.
- It would be great to be a psychological profiler – but TV made it popular and I don’t want to see pictures of murdered people.
- Being a boring lab tech CSI would be cool, but I have two words for you: Stomach Contents *shudderbarf*
- An attorney would be a fun career – but then you have clients. Prosecutor or Defender – either way you end up with a total waste of air as a client eventually. Maybe a lot of them. Ew.
- A teacher? Yeah, no. I’d be fired in a week.
- Daytrading sounds fun, but no one ever makes money in the long term daytrading. Well, maybe some do, but I don’t have the stomach for gambling. So professional gambler is out, too.
- I could be a construction worker, electrician, or other trade worker…but I don’t know what kind of training is required or if it would be difficult to get a job or easier since I’m a woman. Plus I don’t know how I’d feel being a woman in a blue-collar job. A woman I know has a husband that does demolitions…that would be SUPER fun, but if you mess up someone could die. That would be bad.
- It seems that everyone is a coach these days – but yeah – I just don’t want to be a coach or have my livelihood attached to someone else’s success. Yuck.
Maybe picking a niche and just using Internet marketing to push it is going to be my toll road. It’s safe, will always pay the bills, and will give me money to sock away in savings for retirement. It’s just…the most potentially successful niche I can think of is NOT my passion.
Because I don’t have a passion.
I’m passionless. (Well not entirely…my kids didn’t come from the stork, LOL)
Maybe I don’t need a passion.
It seems that everything I see online talks about taking your passion (which it is assumed you have) and then the people will teach you how to profit from the passion. Why do I have to be the back-assward fool with the profit and no passion?
It’s frustrating.
Why Not Having A BlogHer Sponsor Is Okay
This will be my first time at BlogHer (let the virgin jokes commence!)
I hear there are parties, swag, and sponsors everywhere.
Over the past few months I’ve suggested people to companies as well as suggested to companies how many people or what kinds of events to sponsor with those magical marketing dollars.
Because it’s starting to look like everyone wants a sponsor.
Most of the people that are looking for a sponsor (not all, not you, just most people…don’t get defensive, now) can’t afford to go without one. I don’t know why companies aren’t looking at that and thinking, “Oh, hey, that’s a problem.”
I mean, when someone is hiring for a job they look at the resume and if they see you’ve never had a job before they inevitably say, you need experience, we need references…calls have to be made to see if you know what you’re doing…
But not with blogging. If you’re a Walmart Mom it’s assumed you are a successful social media blogger. If you have been sponsored once, you’re considered a horse worth betting on.
I guess I just don’t understand what the criteria are for sponsorships. Other than having a pretty blog with commenters and contests.
Maybe I’m just a little burned out right now – being tired makes me pessimistic.
That, and I’m hoping my days at BlogHer aren’t filled with people telling me about their sponsor instead of about themselves. I’m looking at this as a social event (which is why I’m not going to Business BlogHer) and hope it manages to be a social event even with all the sponsorships.
You know, I’m sure it will be. But it will be like trying to have a conversation in the middle of Akihabara in Tokyo. Very ad-heavy.
So I’m okay not having a sponsor. Mostly because I never looked for one and did not want one. I want to be able to go to this conference and enjoy myself, not be thinking about the ROI I can provide for my sponsor so they’ll keep working with me.
Of course, I don’t know if the sponsored individuals think about the ROI of what they are doing, so maybe I just shouldn’t have a sponsor because I wouldn’t be able to have a good time without constantly worrying about my performance and what the execs would think of my choices and approach.
It’s entirely possible I ruin things by overthinking them.
You know who has the right idea? Jessica Gottlieb. Really, she does. It would still ruin the fun for me, but she’s not seeing it as a vacation – she sees it as part of her work – I have to respect that. Even while I wonder how she doesn’t get burned out. Amy Lupold Bair (aka Resourceful Mommy) also makes me TIRED just watching her work her tail feathers off.
So, if you see me at BlogHer – I look forward to meeting you, hugging you, and talking to you. But trading sponsorship stories? Sorry…I just won’t have one to share. Maybe we can break the ice by asking what our majors were in college….or stories about getting to the event….or anything else.
If you are sponsored, it will be a nice break for you from everyone else asking you how much you’re being paid and what you had to do to score your sponsorship. So hey, I could be like the ad-free zone at BlogHer….I like the sound of that…
Image Source: realbasic
1and1 Customer Service – Shouldn’t They Know More Than I Do?
I emailed about a technical issue yesterday.
If you type in www.jennifergniadecki.com (not that anyone in their right mind would, my last name isn’t pretty) it will forward to this blog right here.
The problem? I changed the settings first to www.jennydecki.com about six times over a two-week period and … it didn’t change. I emailed customer service twice, and each time they said they would fix it within 24 hours and it would work.
It never did.
Then, yesterday, in frustration, I turned the forwarding off entirely – figuring I’d rather see a server error when I type it in than the wrong page.
It still forwards to this page.
So I email customer service and explain the issue:
> The domain jennifergniadecki.com keeps forwarding to beyondmom.com no
matter how many times I reset the forward so it doesn’t do that anymore.
>
> Can you help reset the domain so it stops forwarding to
beyondmom.com?
>
> Thank you so much for your assistance!!!
I’m polite. I’m full of love. Granted I may not be a rock star at explaining my issue exactly, but I’ve learned over time that using big words or too many sentences doesn’t get a good response.
A few hours later I receive my response:
Thank you for contacting us.
Since your domain name is pointing to other hosting provider, we cannot
do anything about this issue. Please try to contact your current hosting
provider to help you with this matter. We can only cater
if the issue is your domain registration because it is registered with
us. Please check whois is below for your referral or visit any whois
website like www.whois.sc.Domain names in the .com and .net domains can now be registered
with many different competing registrars. Go to http://www.internic.net
for detailed information.Following that paragraph is a copy/paste of my whois information – telling me who owns my website and who my hosting company is. Uh-huh.
Now, if I’m putting the DNS information into the 1&1 website, how is my hosting company supposed to fix that? Seriously. I ask you in all honesty…who the hell is working over there that they don’t understand the difference between domains and hosting?
But are able to tell me that when I turn off the forwarding option in my 1&1 dashboard and it still goes to the wrong site…that it’s a hosting problem.
My favorite part is where it looks like they’re actually telling me to please take my business elsewhere – specifically to internic.net – but internic.net is a whois database (among other things). I own the domain through them – why are they trying to tell me I don’t?
Frustrating, frustrating and sad. I used to recommend this company. Not anymore.
I don’t mind broken english. I don’t mind grammar gaffes. I don’t care what country my customer service representative is located in.
I do mind blatant ignorance in my e-mail inbox disguising itself as help.
All the Little Things Creeping Up
I’m trying to figure out what I want on my new business cards.
They’re going to be all about the www.jennydecki.com site, but by the time they are ordered I’ll have the Non-Toxic Networking book ready for purchase online. (I was going to do a book proposal, but have reconsidered and think I’m going to go through Lulu.)
The index for the book was completed last night! An index! For the book! Randy did it. Went through the book page by page – goodness only knows how because I’m just not that good at the tedious work. The index is what’s going to allow the book to be marketable to libraries – I want my book in a library more than anything.
But I don’t know if I can get away with having a freelance writing business card and merge a book on there. Writer and author sound good on the surface, but…it’s selling two different things. Writing services vs. Networking skills.
Gak.
Which stinks because I kind of know exactly how I want the cards to look and it’s going to be very similar to the banner on the jennydecki page. Simple, right? Well I’m all about the simplicity!
Ok, I’m done rambling. I just have to figure out if I’m making one business card or two business cards. I also kind of need to redo the website so it looks good. Maybe I’ll put it on the jennydecki site and then have the domain forward with masking to that same page. Not sure. Still working it through.
First, I’m going to go lay down for a few minutes. I’m exhausted.
Too many things that need to get done – all of which I’ve avoided while being buried in work. Now they are rearing their ugly heads and making me realize why I’ve buried myself so completely in work.
Oh. I could just add the book to the front page of the jennydecki site. Right now there is an RSS feed there for all three blogs, but that could be a book cover and a blurb in ten minutes.
So many things to think about! Yikes.
I’m Allergic to Internet Marketers
Not people who are marketers and happen to ply their trade on the Internet.
Oh no.
More like the people that you DM on Twitter and then they respond on the main feed to make it look like you said something different in order to show off how very, very smart and expert they are and reveal that alas, they are not a publisher but an Internet marketer with a niche and a burning desire to be the know-it-all in their field, at the expense of politeness or tact.
You see, you can have a niche or a business and market it online, but there is something special about an Internet marketer. Something….low. I’m not saying that as a judgment, but it does make me feel a little itchy, like I have hives…definite allergy properties if I’ve ever encountered them.
Also, there are exceptions to this rule. Not all Internet marketers are the stereotypical used-car salesmen or the person that has a lovely bridge to sell you.
Today I received a request on Twitter (yes, it’s a Twitteriffic day) for someone that is using Twitter to make a blog. The whole blog. The API for twitter allows people to display feeds directly on webpages. How spiffy! But this is now going to be used so people can Twit the right people and @reply to people to have long-tail keywords and nicknames on the blog.
I don’t like that someone has my nickname on their blog, and that the way they chose to @reply to a question no one saw makes it look like I asked something very specific that I did. not. ask. Why? Because the person I talked to did not have common courtesy. Simple as that. When someone asks you a question privately at an event, do you then reply in a voice loud enough for everyone to hear? Of course not! But doing the equivalent on the Internet is…marketing?
No, my friends it is not marketing, it’s being a blustery jackass.
Hee to tha Haw.
While it is my mistake for asking an Internet marketer for real information on anything other than Internet marketing (I should have done more research) it does not detract from the sheer assiness of not acting with the common courtesy you’d show in public and then rationalize it as one step on the long road to becoming an expert.
While I may have missed the talk about mommyblogging and branding over at the Queen of Spain Blog, I certainly know that finding ways to minimize the use of my nickname as well as choosing who to pal around with in Twitter are both very serious ways to protect the brand that I’m creating.
Brand me.
As much as I love meeting new people, networking, and learning…this means being more selective about adding people to my Twit-stream. I don’t go throwing information about others out without some kind of link or something…but others will. The only person there to look out for my image and what neighborhoods on the Internet I’m found in is me. No publicists or agents to protect my image or make statements on my behalf.
Just me, looking out for my brand, my blog, and making sure that I stop talking to people that give me hives, heeby-jeebies, or other feelings of unpleasantness. They won’t even care, because to them, the low ones, I’m not even a person, just a number in a pile of readers, subscribers, or RSS-feed readers…a potential buyer…the only thing I have of value is a credit card number and a PayPal account.
Which is also why I know the same Internet marketers that give me hives are the very ones that will not care that I’m avoiding them like the plague. They like their customers passive and trusting – willing to be shamed into a purchase or ready to hear how wrong they are – and that is the very reason for which they should be avoided at all costs.
For every Internet marketer there are fifty legitimate companies offering something better. Unless you’re looking to learn more about Internet marketing. In which case, dive in and learn all you can…but by all means…bring along something for the hives.
Can a mommyblog talk about current events?
Ok, I need a little feedback.
Up to this point, this blog has been a lovely hodgepodge of current events, random business posts, some mommy posts (but not many) and…that’s about it.
So now we’re about to enter a new phase of this blog, one that involves a lot more mommyblogging due to my personal TTC (trying to conceive) circumstances and my need to be a little more vocal about my children and the society they are growing up in. From having a father that’s a search engine marketer to a mother that’s a professional Internet writer working from home…these kids barely have a shot at being normal little cogs in the wheels of society. *grin* Poor things, right? (That’s a dash of sarcasm.)
So, can I keep blogging about all of these things? I’m worried that my “share a little more than people are used to” style might gross out some readers.
Do you think a mommyblogger can be a current events blogger too?
Is my opinion how I’m niched, or is it really subject matter?
What do you think? I’d love to hear some opinions on this!
Kate Bosworth – Crazed elf or standard issue alien?
Surprisingly, I’m not usually a “Hollywood hater” – I love film and really don’t care who they cast in the roles, be it lovely Nikki Blonski or Nicole Kidman (aka human hanger) – sure I’m a little biased, but overall I’m in it for the story and let Hollywood make its own decisions.
Kate Bosworth is in the new Kevin Spacey film “21″ – everyone over 30 already knows the story, the young’uns probably don’t because there is an interview over at Yahoo’s new Shine website interviewing her and she makes this huge deal out of Kevin Spacey telling her “Didja know it’s a true story?” And she’s all, “No, way Kevin!”
Riveting interview, I highly recommend it. Then they talk about how gambling is splurging…does Kate ever splurge? I didn’t wait to hear the answer, but by this picture, I’d guess she does something perhaps rhyming with splurge…
Kate Bosworth, movie beauty…this picture is a hot, hot mess (and I do not use that term lightly because it’s not my slang to own.) If I put my hair up and saw chunks coming out in the mirror…I wouldn’t leave the house without fixing it. Her ear is all tipped down like a puppy dog.
I’m not generally big into judging, I promise. But I’m reading the Yahoo site and they’re telling me how lovely and beautiful this woman is. To look like that and have all these positive messages being hurled at you…must be nice.
I want to wake up in the morning and go to websites that say how beautiful I am.
We all deserve one of those, don’t you think? That would be nice to have fan sites for each and every one of us, and when we visit a picture of us (our favorite one) pops up and has a review on whatever it is we’ve been doing lately. Peppered into the text would be adjectives like “lovely” “beautiful” “amazing” “genius” “handsome” “phenominal” – that would be a good way to start the day.
On the bright side I do understand that to look amazing on film you have to be narrower than normal. Unless you’re a guy, then you have to look like one day you could grow into the gas station owner from the original movie version of “The Hills Have Eyes.” Chicks dig the mechanic look, methinks.
The floodgates of consumerism – toddler style.
After getting all freaked out that my three year old wanted a build a bear based on the free t-shirt promotion they had going on for leap year day, I find that I can’t help but notice other trends that bother me.
Since marketing is what I do, I’m always on the lookout for great ads, solid branding, and messages that speak to the niche. But really, turning babies into consumers is not something I’m comfortable with.
Today’s transgression of taste (I love a good alliteration, don’t you?) is my daughter’s diaper.
Why is Blue on my kid’s diaper? This is actually making potty training darn-near impossible. I didn’t want to get her super-branded underoos so the potty training undies we did get were plain pastels. She doesn’t want any of it. She regularly points to the character and says “I love Blue!” (She has watched Blue’s Clues a little bit, but not as much as you would think if you knew her love of the little blue dog.) She wants Blue with her during the day.
Sure I could switch her to Pull-Ups..but those have Dora on them, an even more beloved character. Seriously, we tried Pull-Ups and she cried when we changed her, “No…Dora stay!” Like she was on a soap opera or something giving the performance of a lifetime.
We tried switching to the Wal-Mart diapers once, because they have plain little clouds on them (again, why do there need to be cartoons on diapers. I mean, it’s not like you can change what their purpose it.) But the quality was so bunk that I had to go back to Blue.
Did anyone out there have a toddler with a deep and seemingly undying love of the cartoon on their diapers? How did you get rid of them? We’ve tried stars, coloring, rewards, candy…she does not want to mess with that potty chair when she has Blue on her bloomers.
On the bright side my two year old is progressing nicely, blissfully unaware that her diapers are trying to give her a strong marketing message.
At this point my only hope is that when the two year old is fully potty trained, the evil jealousy of the three year old will be stronger than her love of Blue and she will do her thang on the potty chair just because she can’t handle her sister being a “bigger girl” than she is.
Technorati Tags: luvs, pampers, blue, blues-clues, consumerism, children-and-advertising, dora, pull-ups, potty-training, big-sister-jealousy
