I’m in Chicago, I got to my french hotel just a couple of hours ago. I feel horrible (physically) – I had about 3 hours of sleep and not much to eat today (two granola bar things). My body has felt wierd, muscles, headache everything. Someone said that sleep deprivation is a sign of a true entrepreneur and my thought this morning at 3:55 am, right before a shower was “I don’t want to be an entrepreneur if I have to live on three hours of sleep!” Alas, that is what my choice is though, I’m running hard and going strong and I’m going to keep doing it. And I can’t wait to get some sleep tonight.

So this conference is the SOBevent.com conference and it’s very very cool. Kent Blumberg, Phil G, Tom Clifford and many others that I’ve read before but to be all in the same room is just incredible. I hope to blog on various thing during the event … we’ll see how diligent I am on it (and how well rested I am tomorrow).

BTW, the conference in Vegas was INCREDIBLE. I wrote a post on the plane today, I’m not sure when I’ll post it or where (here or on JibberJobber).

Ok, so to kick of tonight’s thing we are listening to about 45 minutes of an awesome musician (Christine Kane), and then we’ll have a social. There has already been men hugging one another, and the weird look of “you’re taller (or shorter, or uglier, or whatever) than I expected.” Of course you don’t say this, but you think it :p

I’m at the Hilton in Vegas for a 2-day conference.  I get on the elevator and there’s a lady with her laptop open, she’s looking at the wireless internet strength.  I ask her about it and she says it’s free.

Yeah, just pay 9.95 and you get PayPal wireless internet.

I have done that before, about 3 or 4 years ago, I was at a rat-hole hotel and I paid for 1 day of internet, 9.95.  But I never called it PayPal wireless internet.

Is this a branding problem (people thinking PayPal is an ISP), or is it good (market penetration, familiarity, and they get a tran$action)?   I don’t know, I’m not sure they really care (well, their marketing/branding team might care).

But it was good for a chuckle this morning.  And this didn’t stay in Vegas!

I was in a hotel a couple of weeks ago and I blogged on staying focused (on the JibberJobber blog).  Naturally, this statement from a commercial grabbed my attention:

Opportunities are seldom perfect, but if you aren’t ready for them they may never come again.

Be ready Alba, be ready.

Utah Tech Spotlight – this is the second month’s announcement:

http://www.utahtechspotlight.com/2007/04/04/april-event-bohemian-rhapsody/

If you come, I’ll be the balding guy – come say hi.

We need more of this in Utah.

Me: Can the company pay for my MBA?

My Boss: um, you know what the owner thinks MBA stands for?

Me: (thinking, “I’ll take this as a no”) No, what?

My Boss: More Bad Answers.

That was a no. I paid for it on my own anyway. I wasn’t going to let bosses decide that an MBA was useless.  They had the right last name and will be set for life in the company.  My last name, however, wasn’t on that list.

Was it worth it? Sure – and I’m glad I did it (if for nothing else, at least now I’m not wondering if I should go back to get it!).

So a couple of days ago I am on a chat with Phil801 and Matthew Reinbold (I’m the only one who can call him Matt without him getting upset – consider yourself warned) and we are talking about the possibility of getting Godin to come to Utah. It’s a huge challenge – we essentially have 3 days (more or less) to cut a check for $25,000 – then he’ll schedule us in (the hopeful date is May 24th).

I’d like to take credit for this but I can’t. I was “invited” into the discussion, had a couple of thoughts/ideas, and then said that I was pretty swamped this weekend (um, where’s my W-2??).

It will be successful – there is a ton of online and offline buzz right now. The soldiers involved in contacting their networks have great networks, have been on the phone a good part of the day, and have even been looking for (and getting) corporate sponsors.

It’s uber-cool how a couple of guys have been able to tap into their network, and have them mobilize to get 25k put together. Seth knows about it, and even commented of a 4-series post on why we should raise the money but donate it to a worthy cause (microloans). Man, I’ve been waiting for him to comment on my blog, actually, blog about JibberJobber (!), so to see that he even comments on other people’s blogs is pretty cool.

Here is the page to pledge, which will help get to the $25k mark. Basically, if he comes then you pay $50. If he doesn’t come then maybe pay $50 and you can shave Phil801’s head. Maybe if we pool our money we can pay $2,500 and shave Kelly King Anderson’s head? Ash says he’ll shave his head for Seth but that’s because he is one of the biggest Seth-lovers out there. And he would look good with a shaved head (I can totally see Ash and Seth – bald buddies). I bet he would shave his kids heads, too.

Kidding aside, here are the other blog posts about this. Networking is making this happen – word of mouth/e-mail/blog. It’s a cool testament to having relationships built BEFORE you need them. Don’t you think now is a good time to get your free JibberJobber account?

Official Utah site to get the latest info: WordMob.com

Phil801: first, second, third

Matthew Reinbold

Janet Meiners

Kelly King

Ash Buckles

Steve Spencer

Thom Allen

Paul Allen

Paul Wilson: first, second, third

Blake Snow

Sponsors? I am seeing a nice list of potential sponsors… right now I know of only one – Twelve Horses – Good on ya Twelve Horses!

Twelve Horses, an interactive messaging and marketing company, has committed $2,000 to help bring Seth Godin to Utah. Steve Spencer, President of Twelve Horses stated, “I know that Wordmob, and the grass roots technology community here in Utah are making huge efforts to ensure that Utah has all of the exposure and opportunities of any other city. Twelve Horses not only fully supports and applauds this, but puts a call out to the rest of the business community. We cannot be passive in the exciting efforts that are happening right now in the valley. We are standing behind those who selflessly commit so many hours, and so much work to ensure that Utah can be a technology and information growth space. So please, join me in welcoming Seth Godin to Utah, and in helping us all learn from the knowledge and exposure he brings.”

If you’re looking to build a home in the west, you should look into purchasing a manufactured home in Utah.  Buying a new manufactured house is much cheaper than building a conventional house, and it can be done in a fraction of the time.  Brand new manufactured homes are well designed homes that are perfect for someone looking to get into their first house.