Author Archives: Jason

When bloggers (me) cross the line

line_in_the_sand.pngWhoa. Interesting stuff today.

Quick reminder. I blog daily at my JibberJobber blog. I have my own little rules there, and stay on-brand. I created this blog because I needed a creative outlet, and an opportunity to feed my blogging habit in a different way. So here you see all kinds of weird stuff, I don’t follow the same rules, I haven’t put in the “follow this comment by e-mail” widget that I preach about, and I write about whatever I want. And I even use strong language sometimes. Shoot, I recently put a picture of Jessica Alba, which I don’t think I’ve ever done on the JJ blog.

Some of the things I find interesting might be considered “calling out” others. Like Onstar. That was a funny one, although Jessica Alba hasn’t replied to me yet. Dan Sweet thinks I was fishing for link-bait (what’s up with calling me an “amateur” btw??). Not really. I just thought it was so very funny, I work at home alone, and couldn’t share the story with anyone! What a lost opportunity! So I blogged about Jessica Alba.

But here’s the surprising thing. I never started this with the intention of anyone reading it. Really, I want you to see how brilliant I am over at JibberJobber. Even though I don’t really want readers here, they have come. Partly because I blogged about SOBcon 2007, each and every presentation, I got over 50 linkbacks. Hum. I didn’t ask for it. And I secretly wished that all those people would have just said “go sign up on JibberJobber and take care of your career!” Alas, that didn’t happen.

Even one of my fav bloggers (hi Char!), who celebrated a blog anniversary with me, didn’t know we had that in common… because I didn’t write about it here. She follows my personal blog (this one), not my passion and life blog (JibberJobber)? Who’d a thunk.

So here is the funny part.

I blogged about MyBlogLog being down for a while. Just because it is an integral part of my blog marketing strategy. And it upset my day. NEVER, EVER did I expect anyone from MBL to comment on my post. Kudos to Robyn for leaving a very professional, appropriate, on-brand comment. I imagine she was cussing under her breath (southern accent and all), wondering why I called them out. It’s simple, really. I run a website too. And I want to be wildly successful. And I don’t ever want the site to go down. I’m sure it will. I hope that the message I post is prettier than what they had up…. but nonetheless, I posted this because it makes me think about what will happen as I get bigger. So, sorry to the MBL team if you felt I crossed the line on that post.

Also, I was walking by the TV one morning when I heard Daisy Martinez include Spain as a country in Latin America. It really cracked me up, and was similar to the other little mistakes that I’ve seen and posted about on this blog. Guess what? Daisy must have Google alerts on her name or her show (Daisy Cooks). She responded (this still cracks me up):

Thanks for pointing out the very obvious, Jason. I always include Spain in my list of all things Latino, because it is a very common denominator in the history of all of Latin America. I’m sorry that I wasn’t clear enough in the interview, but I can assure you, having traveled through the country several time, I am perfectly aware of where Spain lies.
Regards,
Daisy

I don’t know if I pissed her off or not, I’m pretty sure this is her and not a publicist. I’ve bolded the stuff that kind of tip me off to her displeasure about my post. So here it is Daisy: I’m sorry if I crossed the line with you. I knew that you know where Spain lies. I figured it was just one of those very, very quick things that slip out… everyone makes those common mistakes. But if you include Spain in Latin America, because of it’s influence (on everything, not just food), I’ll buy that. I’m cool with that. It just sounded funny.

Plus, I agreed with you that sofrito rocks… anytime you are in my neck of the woods give me a ring, I’d love to cook with you (I love cooking) – maybe we could have a block-party. I’d even fly my mom up here so we could all cook together!

Anyway, that’s my dilemma. No one is supposed to read this blog (but you do). I may have crossed the line… but heck, I’m a blogger, what do you expect. Now, back to work, my boss is looking over my shoulder wondering why I’m blogging on my personal blog while on his dime :p!

Oh wait, I am the boss :p

more typos, and bad news from rich companies

Check out the image below, I grabbed it from my MSN news window:

msn_news_july11_2007.png

First, I’m not sure what my fixation is on typos hitting prime time. Probably because I’ve had crotchety old bosses that get really pissed when I’ve let something slip through (in one board meeting the chairman took a brochure we did, looked at it, and tore it in half. How’s that for leadership? Loser.) But even MSN doesn’t always spell stuff right. I think, last I checked, Microsoft Word comes with spell-check. (hey, just so you know, stay tuned on my JibberJobber site, I’m planning some typos of my own :p)

Second, Liz Claiborne recently died, and was credited with building an awesome dynasty ($5billion strong). Are they looking at ditching almost 20% of their revenue because those were the founder’s pet projects? Was she heavy-handed in managing the company, and this is a result of her not involved anymore? I’d love to get the inside story on this peculiar timing. I’d love to know if any of her family has ownership (and active management roles), and if the leadership that is doing this is brand new hatchet-men types, or if they have been quietly planning this for a while, etc. This kind of stuff intrigues me.

Of course, you know they should offer their terminated employees lifetime subscriptions to JibberJobber. It’s the least they could do.

MyBlogLog down??

I fear this quite a bit with my own site. And I can only imagine the day is coming. But I’m wondering how a site that most blogs link back to can be down for “maintenance” during the day… on a Monday?? Who knows. Anyway, you can see the URL, their message, and the PR (7). Please please please don’t let it happen to me :/

Side note: I’m trying to figure out if their blog being down precludes my cool mug shot being on a site that has the widget installed. I can’t figure it out as some sites appear to have me there but others don’t even show the widget (but did yesterday). Who knows.

Yes, I really do have JibberJobber open in the first tab. Want to know why? Because every time I open a browser I want to know my site is still up. It’s a habit I got from the years I spent as a webmaster :p

mybloglog_down.png

Daisy Martinez: where exactly is Spain?

latin_america.pngI overheard Daisy Cooks host Daisy Martinez this morning talking about sofrito (which is, freaking awesome). She said it’s the cornerstone of Latin American country food… and listed a few countries. And for good measure she slipped Spain in.

Wow, I didn’t know what Spain was part of Latin America. Isn’t there a big puddle between, um, Spain and Latin America? Maybe it is if you look at those really, really old maps before the continents shifted :p

Oh well, she is right, sofrito rocks.

Pizza Hut for adults

I got an e-mail from Pizza Hut yesterday (we just got a new Pizza Hut in town, which I’ve been wanting for almost 3 years!). I wasn’t sure if it was going to include dirty pictures or not. Check out what it looks like in my e-mail box:

pizza_hut_r.png

Pretty cool, huh? So I can’t open this in front of my kids because they aren’t 17 yet.

Yes, this was a legit e-mail from Pizza Hut. Yes, it was family-safe.

Turns out the cool people that wrote this wanted to make sure that I knew “Pizza Hut” is a registered trademark, probably so I don’t inappropriately use it. But it did make me think thrice before I opened the e-mail.

I love Jessica Alba (and her Silverado)

Jessica Alba is not my sister, or cousin, or anything like that…I swear, cross my heart, and all that stuff, I’m not making this up. I just (1:24pm MST) got a call from 1.800.638.5828… and here’s how it went:

Cathy: Hi this is Cathy from Onstar. I’m looking for a Jessica Alba.

Jason Alba: Jessica Alba, the movie star?

Cathy: I’m looking for Jessica Alba regarding a 2007 Silverado.

Jason Alba: There’s no Jessica Alba here.

Cathy: Okay, thank you.

(she hangs up and goes on to look. I didn’t know that my famous namesake moved to Utah :p)

I’m guessing she got her truck stolen.

SilveradoSo Jessica, here’s the deal. I’m happily married with kids and not looking for a relationship. But I would really dig the chance to take a spin with you in your Silverado… maybe we can grab a bite, and then when people ask me if I’m related to you (at least once a week) I can say “no, but we hung out. In her Silverado. That was stolen.”

Next time you are in Utah call onstar to get my home number.

By the way, since we have something in common (Alba) … I’ll comp you a lifetime premium subscription to JibberJobber 😉

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Good Editing

I have a monthly newsletter that I send out… it is a newsletter about JibberJobber. It’s actually kind of hard to write, for various reasons. I also blog daily and make comments on other people’s blogs. I am also towards the end of the first step in the book “I’m on LinkedIn – Now What??”

So I’m accutely aware of the quality of writing. Especially when I get called on it. Anything from typos to grammar to tone … I get called on it all. That’s why I enjoy seeing things from big rich companies where they make the same kind of mistakes I do. The first thing, in red, shows that they forgot to CHANGE one of the two. The second thing just shows that they thought about AND vs *and* … no biggie but I always find this interesting. At least I’m not the only one that wonders which would be better (hey, their solution is to use both :pplaxo_typo.png

Tips from Wendy Enelow

Wendy Enelow - accomplished authorI asked Wendy for some do’s and don’ts on book promotion – here’s a quick list:

DO:

  1. Be visible – at conferences, workshops, etc. – either as a speaker and/or an exhibitor.
  2. Set up an e-commerce site to sell your book online.
  3. Join many professional associations as a vehicle to increase your visibility and generate more book sales.
  4. Connect with “specialty” audiences that may be interested in your book (e.g., for my military resume book, I do a look of military job fairs).
  5. Write articles – paid or not – to increase visibility of you and the book.
  6. Send free copies to various search engines, websites, publications and more in anticipation of getting free press.
  7. Send a press release announcing your book (PRWeb.com is a great resource for this).

DON’T:

  1. Don’t waste your time doing book signings at bookstores. They rarely yield more than a bare handful of book sales.
  2. Don’t rely on the publisher to do all of the book marketing. They’re going to rely on you heavily to get the word out.

Thanks Wendy!