My New Gig
June 22, 2009
I’ve started this post a dozen times. I’ve thought it ought part-way at least 3 dozen times. I never get past the first paragraph or two before I collapse in either giddiness about the news, or backspace & delete madly because I think I sound to pompous – or artificial – or well, just want to go start doing the happy dance instead of writing.
I figured though, if I could find the headline for it, that would make it much easier to write. Fortunately, two women I admire greatly have already written their own variations on this post in the past couple of months — Shannon Paul when she went to work for Peak6 in April and Steph Agresta when she went to work for Porter Novelli just a couple of weeks ago. How could I do any better than to borrow the title both of these amazing women chose to use? Third time is the charm, right?
And it is a good title, you know.
Gig’s a great word for what we do. Dictionary.com offers up this as one of the 22 definitions it has:
gig (2) “job,” first used by jazz musicians, attested from 1915 but said to have been in use c.1905; of uncertain origin.¹
When I say gig, I think of jazz. I think of music as simple as a snare drum and a piano riff that can become as complicated and syncopated as a city street at full tilt.
Social Media is kind of like that to me — something that’s as natural as one person talking to another; and as complicated as one million people talking amongst themselves. Yeah, gig sounds right for a job that involves Social Media. I think both Stephanie & Shannon got that one bang on the nose.
So if you’ll bear with me? I think I’ll let this unfold a bit more like a piece of impromptu jazz – from the soul, without a plan, but starting with the song in my heart.
The BackBeat
Last year, I was lucky enough to find myself sitting in Las Vegas during BlogWorld Expo at the TechSet² party at Bare, talking to Tony Hsieh. Tony is one of the lowest key guys you’d ever want to meet, but also one of the smartest. There’s a reason his company (Zappos.com) has had such exponential growth under his leadership. His insights are that scary-kind-of-smart that makes you laugh nervously and wonder why you didn’t think of that and then realize that he’s just that sharp.
We were talking about a lot of things and nothing of importance — certainly not talking about the panel he’d graciously agreed to be on for me the next day — when all of a sudden, he looks at me with one of those shrewd looks he gets and says “so tell me… What’s your dream job?”
I was totally caught off guard. So I laughed nervously (like I mentioned above) and told him I’d think about it and get back to him.
That conversation has sat in the back of my mind with every career decision I’ve made since last September. Because I didn’t really even have the least notion of what my dream job was. In fact, I think I’d pretty much stopped believing there was such a thing.
But it did occur to me that a guy like Tony doesn’t ask silly, idle questions about things like that. I mean, his company pays people to quit if they don’t really want to work there after training — because they want people who really want to be there.
The Melody
My dream job… What the heck was that? I guess it meant not working for someone else… because I was tired of having a solution for a problem and not being able to implement it. Tired of seeing an easy fix for something and knowing that meant a lengthy battle to get it applied. Tired pretty much of seeing people & companies hit the wall because it was better to go full-speed ahead into it on the word of “someone very important” than it was to admit that it was a good idea to hit the brakes no matter who pointed out the looming wall — be it the janitor or the receptionist.
I couldn’t imagine the kind of company or bosses that would make working for them a joy rather than an impediment. So I thought I might as well continue to work for myself so that I could fire the client if need be.
You see, I absolutely, positively, no-holds-barred love the field that is currently being called Social Media. Yes, I know – I argued against the term because it originally meant the tools used to have a multi-way conversation. But over the past couple of years it’s come to mean more than that. It has come to mean those who use the tools, what can be done with the tools & the communities, and how it’s being done. Not just marketing, or real estate, or even personal conversations – but all of those – and more.
And I love it. Because it’s this ever-changing, ever-developing, exciting, intriguing field with no ‘this is the way we’ve always done it, so this is the way you have to do it’ ruts.
The Complicated Solo
So I decided to go it alone!
Okay, not quite alone. No one can work in Social Media alone. Whether working for themselves or for a company or an agency — it’s impossible to be the Lone Ranger in this arena. There is no such thing as a community of one.
I just decided that I’d keep working for me and consulting for others and see where it went. It was going pretty well actually. Just starting to get really interesting… and then…
Then? A Whole New Rhythm
You know what happened next? Someone offered me my dream job.
No really. I mean… I had thought it didn’t really exist. But in the back of my head, all these months, I’d been trying to suss out what it would look like if it did exist. So trust me, when it showed up on my doorstep? I knew it. I knew it like you would a lost child that had returned home long after anyone reasonable would’ve given up hope for the doorbell to ring.
The part that I was missing before? It was those great bosses. The visionary ones? The ones who can make things happen if you just say that you’ll work as hard as they do (and they do) and who don’t care who says it if it happens to be right or a good idea — and who know that CEOs can be brilliant, but so can janitors. The ones who make you want to give something your all because you know they are and there’s a joy that comes from the exhaustion of a good job.
Are You Swinging Yet?
Because I am. And as Director of Social Media for Collective Bias — a company that grew out of MARS Advertising — I plan on riding this train through many stations. I’m in the most amazing place in my life — one week into the dream job I had pretty much given up dreaming about. Because honestly? Before I went to work for myself and stopped wondering what a “dream job” looked like, it didn’t exist yet.
And honestly? I already know and love my boss. I’ve worked with John Andrews since last August. Granted, he was working with Walmart when our association first started and I was trying to decide if I wanted to be a part of what has become the Walmart ElevenMoms. But we’ve worked on a lot of projects together over that period of time and I’m really looking forward to working for & with him at Collective Bias. Along with a lot of other amazing folks who I know I’ll wax on about in depth as we go.
Side-slipping to a Minor Chord
But now that I’ve mentioned the ElevenMoms we have to introduce a sad note into this metaphorical jazz jam of mine. You see, there’s a price sometimes when it comes to following your dreams.
For the past 10 months, I have had the immense privilege and pleasure to be a part of the Walmart Elevenmoms. I can’t tell you how much this group of women has come to mean to me. If you had told me last year at this time that I would meet such a diverse, smart, savvy, incredible group of women and not only learn from them, but also make lifelong friends over what started out as “just a small foray into social media by Walmart”? I surely wouldn’t have believed you. But that is the case, I assure you.
I am very proud to be able to say that I have been a part of the Walmart Elevenmoms program. I consider it a huge honor just to say I’ve worked with the women who are, and with the people at Walmart & Rockfish Interactive who made it possible for me as well.
But you’ll have clearly noticed that I’m speaking in past-tense here.
After discussing it with Wanda Young at Walmart (whom I admire greatly), we’ve kind of both come to the conclusion that it’s probably for the best for me to leave the program at this time, as I take on the huge responsibilities and time commitment that go with working full-time at Collective Bias.
I appreciate so much her willingness to work through this with me to try and find the right solution. It’s hard to even contemplate leaving the program — as it feels somehow like I’m walking away right as the group is about to evolve again. And I have no doubt that what is going to happen will be amazing, given the women and people involved.
I count myself very fortunate to be granted this long to be in the company of such amazing folks! But sadly, it is time for me to move on and to make space for those who are to come.
Please make sure though, that you understand that the Walmart Elevenmoms have my continued support and I am 100% behind them in whatever they choose to do and to pursue. This parting is amicable all around and in fact, I will sorely miss being a part of such an incredible endeavor.
Time to Walk it on Home
So then, where are we? Well, I’m living my dream job as Director of Social Media for Collective Bias. I’m leaving my good friends the Walmart ElevenMoms to continue doing what they do so well, with my best wishes and firm support. I’m still blogging and twittering like I’ve always done… but I’ll also be blogging Social Media over at the Collective Bias site when it’s up and running.
What else do you need to know? Nothin’ but man… dig that Jazz!!
¹ Dictionary.com. Online Etymology Dictionary. Douglas Harper, Historian. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/gig (accessed: June 22, 2009)
² That makes 2 things I owe the lovely & talented Ms. Agresta for!
Knock, Knock – Anybody Home?
April 30, 2009
Yes, I’m still alive…
I just, apparently, am in over my head right now!
I’m in Chicago for SOBCon. I just left Cleveland where I was for the Stouffer’s Blogger Round Table event #LetsFixDinner. I will be in Arkansas on Monday next week for Mind of Moms. I should be home some day Wednesday.
Between now and then it is my intention to *try* and get up to date (partially) as I have some amazing stuff just sitting here in my head (and half-written on my hard drive) that I really want to share with you all.
But I’m brain dead and going to sleep to get up in 4 hrs to finish some overdue work before I have to leave this hotel in the a.m. and go check into another one.
Can someone please send me a couple of clones to get these posts up? No? Okay, how about just some people better at posting about why they haven’t been posting lately?
Yeah, I know, ever the optimist!
Bit of administrative stuff before I close laptop and crash?
Congrats to Alba Geuvara whos tip “@GeekMommy My Green Tip is for everyone to convert to using kitchen towels instead of paper towels#11MOMSGREEN #GMContest was randomly chosen from all valid entries for the Earth Day contest for a Brita Water Pitcher.
Thank everyone. More soon. Promise. And also promise it won’t be another “why I haven’t posted” post. I don’t have time for any more of these! 
G’night!
Back In the Saddle Again…
April 22, 2009
I didn’t mean to fall off the face of the blogosphere!
Somehow, 2 weeks slid by when I wasn’t looking. I swear, it went by in a heartbeat! I had this Hannah Montana post all written in my head and set to go (yeah, no – you’re not getting out of that. There will still be a HM post – those of you without Miley-Cyrus-wannabes in your households can just skim on by. Those of you with your own little diva will appreciate it.) All I know is that one minute it was “Easter weekend” (which for those of you without kids in our school meant 4 days off, not 2) and there was skiing, egg-hunting, over-doses of chocolate, and lots of family time. That was followed quickly by Buttercup’s first ’sick at school’ event. GeekDaddy’s tire blowing out in the rain on the way to get her. The weekend (plus) of Family Flu.
All culminating in yesterday – the Tuesday-which-should-never-have-dawned. Buttercup’s third day of 102° fevers and trip to the pediatrician with GeekDaddy was only outdone by my waking up to find out that my upper right molar had shattered and I had apparently swallowed 1/4 of it without noticing. 1.5 hours at the dentist freaking out (more on that later) resulted in my being referred to a specialist for a “particularly tricky” root canal. And coming home to no back fence – because our neighbors apparently decided to tear it down yesterday to replace it – with absolutely no word to us. Hopefully they’ll replace it today – otherwise the dog has 2 yards to look for stinky things to roll in.
Did I mention I’ve written and published this post twice now? Yeah, the aether ate the other one. Wednesday isn’t boding to much better than the rest of the week so far.
But I’m determined!!
There will be blogging, my friends – oh yes there will! I apologize in advance if it looks like I’m the only one in your feed reader. But it’s good stuff, I promise. And come on, you know you missed me!
You did miss me, right? 
Cutting Steps in the Wall of the Hole
March 31, 2009
If you’ve been counting, this makes the 4th post up today. 4 out of 6 that were intended this morning – but during the course of the day it became clear that 2 of them needed to be put off a day or two.
But who’s counting aside from me?
The rest of you are busy counting your own minutes and obligations, I expect. Time doesn’t wait for intentions. You’ve probably been surging right along getting your own ducks quacking in a row rather than wondering why the sudden surge of noise from this corner.
For me – 4 out of 6 makes for a fabulous day.
Altogether too often, I’ve been batting zero time and time again. I wake up, tell myself today’s the day I’ll get it all done annnnnnnd go to bed at last convincing myself that tomorrow will be different.
Because I’ve been so social by necessity of late – I kind of missed the signs. It is, after all, more than likely that I’ve been suffering from a deep bout of Seasonal Depression. It wouldn’t be the first time. It would only be the first time that it took me this long to identify it. My seasonal depression isn’t the same as my usual depression. It’s not like snow and gloom make me all full of self-doubt. It’s that I get maudlin and melancholy and reminisce and dream too much – and the normal stuff that makes up each day keeps getting buried into this dark hole that I keep digging for it. Sooner or later, too much stuff piles up and I realize I’m down there with it… and that the only way out is to cut steps into the walls and haul all of that stuff out, load by load, and take care of it in the sunshine.
So I’m doing it. I’m cutting steps, dredging out unintentionally buried things & trying to set everything right.
If you want a perkier metaphor you can say that I’m working in my garden while it’s still cold and icy so that things bloom when they’re supposed to.
I really want to type “No More Excuses!” here and mean it. But that one is a bit too heavy to drag up just now… So I guess I’ll stick with “I’m doing better already… I only have to keep it up!”
If for some reason you’re reading this and wondering why I haven’t posted that story you were expecting me to? Take a couple minutes and email me. Give me a chance to see which crack it fell through and how we can breathe new life into it.
I’m breathing new life into me… I can certainly do that for my blog!
A Bit of Administrative Stuff…
March 2, 2009
Over the weekend, I was at WordCamp Denver and found myself thinking about my blog. Not terribly surprising I guess to think about your blog when you’re at a day full of information about WordPress and blogging.
What I realized is that it’s time for a bit of change.
I’ve been trying to find a groove for this blog for awhile now. Some of my posts are just your average “person with a blog and something to write about” posts. Some are about contests and give aways. Some are product or site reviews. Topics vary – but more than just topics – types of posts. Granted – there are probably some of you reading who fall under the category of “I don’t care what it is you post, but could you start doing it a little more regularly?” But probably not most of you.
So there’s that then. An issue which I’ll be addressing shortly. For now? I’ll be putting tags like [contest] and [review] in the headlines of my posts when they are.
There’s also the bit about where I’m the kind of person who changes her hair color more frequently than most people. I mean, when my daughter was born, my hair was dark, dark red. Last year at this time, it was blonde. Currently it’s brown with highlights. I’m thinking it will probably change again shortly.
What does hair color have to do with blogging?
Well, it’s more that I’m the kind of gal who gets antsy and changes stuff radically. This means that I’m also the kind of gal who is likely to change the design of her website every so often. So when my friend George mentioned that my site was “difficult to navigate b/c the blog posts weren’t all on one page” over the weekend I decided that it was kind of overdue for a makeover. Even if I do rather like the current structure, I don’t mind switching it up a bit… so now I’m looking around.
So – if you suddenly start seeing a bit of change – and a lot more posting? That’s because it’s time.
Quick Post – Congratulations to the iPod Touch winner…
February 15, 2009
Thanks to everyone who entered the iPod Touch giveaway.
The winner was drawn randomly from all valid entries received using a number generated by Random.org. Congratulations to Jennifer Beggs who entered the contest after hearing about it on BlogTalk Radio.
Thanks to everyone else who entered. There don’t forget to enter the contest for the trip for 4 to SeaWorld in Orlando for a chance to be one of the first people to ride the Manta roller coaster that opens in May!
Hangin’ With the Cool Chicks
January 13, 2009
This past weekend, I was fortunate enough to participate in Chicks Who Click – a Social Media conference focusing on women – up in Boulder, Colorado.
Barbara Jones, Zena Weist, Kit Seeborg
Thanks to the amazing Denise Smith [@deetells] and Gwen Bell [@gwenbell] and the folks at Metzger Associates, I was allowed not only to speak on a panel with some incredible Social Media folks (@tarable & @waynesutton as well as Gwen) but to spend the day hanging out with, collaborating with, and learning from some other amazing women.
I could start listing them all, but then we’d be here all day! Seriously it was this incredible experience. If I start naming any more names – I pretty much have to list them all, because every person who attended (there were 5 guys in that room of nearly 50 women!) added to the experience. The only other name I will call out is Barbara Jones [@BarbaraJones] because she wins my award for “awesomest take-home schwag from any conference ever” for the medals and trophies. I mean seriously – even though I only qualified for a medal as a judge – I totally love it!
As usual, the folks in Boulder who made it out to hang out at the pre-party and post-party were phenomenal and did Colorado proud in showing what an awesome place it is to be in Tech &/or Social Media – even if we had lost more than one important & familiar face to Las Vegas (yeah, so CES, WordCamp LV, and AS West were all kind of overlapping date-wise) we still had a fabulous contingent of the local community come out and hang with us!
What I learned was something I have been hearing for awhile from my friend Liz Strauss [@lizstrauss]- a small conference of really amazing people can do incredible work together and bond really well. It’s made me even more determined to get to SOBCon 2009 this year. Because I really loved that feeling of working in small groups with smart people to make our community a better place.
I hope to see you there – or next year at Chicks Who Click 2010 – or someplace down the road. Because while blogging and twittering and hanging with all of you online is good? Hanging out with you all in person would be even more fun!
I know – because I just spent my whole weekend with some really awesome folks – just go check the Flickr photos if you don’t believe me. (But don’t be surprised if I often look like I’m spitting out marbles – I’m not terribly photogenic – really, just ask anyone who tried to take my picture this weekend!)
I Resolve…
January 1, 2009
It’s 2009. I meant to write this post in 2008.
I guess that’s got to go on the list of Resolutions for this year:
1. Get things done in a more timely manner…
Last year was amazing on a lot of levels for me. So many amazing people I’ve had the privilege to meet. So many amazing experiences I’ve had the good fortune to be a part of. I couldn’t have foreseen some of the events of 2008 in a million years before they happened and I’m still not quite sure I believe all of them have!
But this isn’t a ‘year in review post’ although perhaps it ought to be… It’s just that I had the chance to write about that stuff over the past twelve months. If I didn’t do it? It’s time to move on and get up to speed with 2009 instead of putting it off until I get the other done.
One of the things that made this blog so sparse last year was that I kept saying “oh I’ll post about such-and-such just as soon as I get X, Y, and Z done first.” Here’s one of those self-realizations: that just means that X, Y, Z and now A thru G aren’t getting posted in a timely manner either.
So while I’ve got a doozy of a post in the works for tomorrow and another one I want up right after that? I’m going to do this right this very moment.
I’m going to sit here and write out a preliminary list of my New Year’s Resolutions. Will it be comprehensive? No. Will it be well-fleshed out? No. Will it be here in case I do get around to adding to it or adding to the detail? You betcher boots.
In 2009 I Resolve to:
- Get things done in a more timely manner. I told you this would be on here! I’ve had a horrid time the past six months or so with this. I just deleted a huge, long “too much information” paragraph with details about it. The short story? Moving from ‘procrastinates at times but gets things done’ to ‘can barely get through a day and get 1 out of 20 things on the to-do list done’ was the apparently-common side-effect of medication I have been on for health/pain issues over the past year. The worsening of which coincides directly with dosage changes. That will be changing. Pain + productivity and a sense of accomplishment is better to me than less pain + non-productivity and resulting depression.
- Lose weight, get healthy, get fit – yeah, I know… way to lump huge goals into 6 words! But you really can’t separate them out. I can’t get fit & healthy without losing weight, I can’t lose weight without doing the other two. The three are mutually dependent in my book. Yes, I actually do have plans on how to achieve this. I’m just not going to detail them here. Changing my diet, exercising regularly, dealing with the side-effects and changing my medical approach? All parts of that. Which should help me more with the first goal too!
- Set & achieve new career goals – can I be more vague? Yeah, I could. I could’ve left out “career.” I know what it means – I’m hoping I can post about some new developments very soon. I’m working on a few possible projects for this year that I think will enable me to both do what I love to do and benefit my clients and colleagues more regularly too. But some things need to come out in their own times.
- Strike a better balance between branches of my life time & energywise. The social, work, and family aspects, specifically. Less Twitter, more blogging. Less internet for play, more family time. More internet for work, less play time. You know the routine!
- Travel more. There are some places and events I will find ways to be at this year… they will enable me to learn, teach, share, grow, and spend time with others who have similar passions. But as much as I plan to ‘go more places’ I will remember that there’s no place like home.
- Put my houses in order – all of them. The place I spend each day, my online homes, my spiritual homes, and my places in the hearts of those who love me and whom I love? I will nurture them and care for them this year – so that next year, this list is shorter in “big” things and longer in detail.
That said? Specific enough or not, it’s time to quit making lists and get cracking on crossing items off of them! Wish me luck – I’ll wish it back to you. Hopefully, what we both lack in luck, we can make up for in determination.
2009!!
picture source
House Cleaning Post
December 23, 2008
Ew. Things have been getting a bit dusty around here of late.
I suppose that happens when I ignore blogging in favor of Twitter, Facebook, and anything else I can do instead of writing my blog posts. It starts getting old and musty.
So time for a bit of quick house-cleaning – and then? Then I have a really cool surprise! The post right after this one? Is a guest post by one of the most amazing women I’ve had the privilege to meet – Wendy Piersall, founder of Sparkplugging.com and Social Media maven!
But first? The house-cleaning.
Contest Results
The winner of the Nickelodeon Giveaway for a $500 Walmart Gift Card was Grace from http://www.mammainthescene.com – her entry was chosen from all of the valid entries by the random number generator at random.org.
Thank you for all of you that entered and spread the word. I know there will be other opportunities in the new year for folks to win similar stuff. I’ll let you know. Agains, congratulations to Grace!
Favorite Entry
I prefer to do random number contests because it keeps me from second-guessing my own biases all the time – but I do just have to share with you all this one entry. If I’d been judging entries based on the one that stayed with me most (yes, I actually did read all of those great tips!) this would be the one that I’d have to choose – given how much it has stuck with me since I read it.
Donna Holmberg on December 14th, 2008 9:54 pm
Donna? Thank you!! That is just an amazing idea and one I think I’ll be finding a way to implement myself around here next year. I think my circle of Mom friends will be enthusiastic as well!!
Upcoming Events 2009
In case I haven’t yet mentioned it enough yet? In just a couple of weeks I get the privilege of joining some amazing folks to speak at the first Women in Web 2.0 conference of 2009 – Chicks Who Click – in Boulder January 9th & 10th. If you aren’t already planning on attending and can? I totally advise it. I’m really looking forward myself to seeing and learning from some of my fellow speakers there. Did I mention there was skiing, cocktails and networking as well? Yeah!! Hope to see you there!
I will also be attending South by SouthWest Interactive this year from March 13-17th if you happen to be there.
I’m trying hard to get to SOBCon in Chicago May 1-3rd as well, I’ll update you as soon as I know on that! If you’ve already gotten your ticket? I’m jealous!
And as usual, I’ll be at BlogHer in Chicago July 23-25th so it looks like I’ll get to Chicago more than once this year if I can make the numbers work!!
More as they happen!!
Last Little Bit of Tidying
Part of my New Year’s Resolutions this year (yes, there will be a post) is that I’m going to rebalance things. It’s time that I refocused my energy on this blog and scaled back a bit on other social networks. Twitter is my addiction, but I looked at my lack of updates this year and realized that it’s been taking too much time away from my blogging… So that will be changing. More on that soon. But that’s the good part – there will be MORE of that soon!
Now, on to the absolutely rockin’ guest post by Wendy!
Tweet like a Nightingale, Not like a Magpie
November 19, 2008
I spend a lot of time on Twitter. More than I spend just about anywhere else on the Internet. Over the past year and a half, Twitter has become more of a home to me on the web than any place before it ever has. Last January, Laura Fitton (@Pistachio) posted a blog called Twitter is my Village that sums it up beautifully. Twitter has a vibrant community – and a vocal one.
If something happens in the offline world, odds are good I can find more information about it, faster, on Twitter than I can by searching other sources or turning on the television. Whether it’s natural disasters or breaking news, somone on Twitter is posting about it. The same goes for online events too. No one who uses it regularly would dispute that.
So when something comes along to impact my Twitter village, be it positive or negative – or even as yet undetermined – I check it out as quickly as I can.
About a month ago, someone mentioned Magpie. So I did what you probably did if you haven’t checked it out already and followed the link to see what it was.
The short story is that Magpie is a 3rd party service, unaffiliated with Twitter, that pays people to allow them to insert advertising tweets into their twitterstream. The user gets to determine frequency. The default is 1 magpie ad for every 5 normal tweets. This can be adjusted up as high as 1 for every 20, or as frequently as every other tweet. The user gets paid based on 2 things – desirable keyword frequency and number of followers. Because of that second one, Magpie cautions potential tweeters “So keep your followers happy and don’t risk annoying them with too many magpie-tweets.”
In today’s pressing economy, that probably sounds really appealing. I mean, earn money just by doing what you do anyways? Cool!
But if something sounds too good to be true, it probably is.
One of the things that sounds really appealing is the amount of money that Magpie promises if you sign up. You go to the signup page and it says to put in your Twitter ID to see how much you can earn. I put in GeekMommy and wow!! For those of you not used to thinking in Euros – I did the conversion. It says I can make up to $9,539.45 a month!! That’s up to $114,473 a year! I should quit my day job and just be a magpie!
Yeah. Right.
Still… even if I made a fraction of that, it might seem tempting. I mean, I’m not independently wealthy and my 401k is just as unhealthy as everyone else’s.
The thing is, what I realized as soon as I saw it was the part of it where the user controls how frequently s/he lets Magpie put tweets in their timestream – but that there’s no way for me to turn the volume down as someone who follows these people. I have only two settings – on or off. I can follow or unfollow. Those are my choices.
If hundreds of the Twitterpals I’m following are using Magpie, even if they only set it to one every 20, that doesn’t keep me from seeing hundreds in a row. Potentially, thousands, since I currently follow 4,000+ people.
I find a picture is worth a thousand words in this case.
If logging in to twitter to see page after page of this in hopes of coming across a non-Magpie tweet were my fate, this would leave me with 2 options: quit following those people, or quit using Twitter and go to another microblogging platform.
I was trying to explain to someone else that it’s the metaphorical equivalent of being told that I might have to watch an hour’s worth of commercials on TV before I’m allowed to watch part of the show I want to see and even then, there’s nothing that says I won’t get 5 minutes into the show and be subjected to another 30 minutes worth of commercials. I’d either switch networks or quit watching television.
So what am I seeing? My village is divided. Some are taking Magpie for a ride – thinking “hey, it’s only once every few tweets” and some (like me) are unfollowing those who are using Magpie. It reminds me of a small town council fighting over whether or not you should put advertising on your barn.
I’ve been rather a rather vocal opponent. But that’s because I can only see that in the long-term, this monetization scheme will change how I use Twitter. Because if I follow those using Magpie, I won’t be able to just sign on and find out more about those wildfires in California, or who Obama chose for Secretary of State – not without wading through the ads. If I unfollow those using it, the benefit of twitter definitely decreases for me.
And you? What do you think? Is it a good thing and I’m just over-reacting? Or is it something you see as a negative trend? Weigh in. I’m listening.
N.B. It has been pointed out to me more than once that I misspelled nightingale in the title – apparently, I tweet like Florence Nightengale, not a songbird! I’d change it, but that would break any links to it, so I’m afraid it stays a testament to mommy-brain! NEW: according to friends in my comments, the new WP plugin I added should fix that, so changing title to correct spelling.
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My girlfriends and I have found the best money-saving Christmas gift EVER to give each other each year. There are 6 of us, and we each give the other five friends 3 homemade gift certificates for a free night of babysitting. That means each of us gets 15 nights of free babysitting, and we have 5 friends to choose from in order to find a sitter for a particular night. Thanks to this regular practice, we’re saving hundreds of dollars each year on babysitting fees, plus we’re saving the cost of buying 5 different Christmas gifts. The best part is, in giving our babysitting gift certificates, we are guaranteeing that all of our kids will grow up having had close contact with each other, making them good buddies and forever friends – we’re passing the circle of friendship onto the next generation.