elysium

Google Steps into Social Media (again) with +1

2011-04-07T10:22:00.000-04:00

What is +1?

Recently Google has added on to their Social Search functionality by adding a little box called +1 (pronounced Plus One) next to their search results. This button essentially allows users to recommend search results to their friends. According to Google, a select group of users will now see a +1 next to search listings if they are logged in.

If you decide to click the +1 button, Google will alert your social network that you have +1’d the result. As more of the people in your social circle recommend the result, Google will show you the listings that your friends have endorsed on the search results page.

But why do we want to know what our friends have liked? Seeing results that your friends have recommended adds credibility to the search results as well as the website. This is no different than world of mouth, except on a much larger scale. "The primary benefit is that search gets better. It gets better in the user interface immediately, and we’ll look at it as a potential signal to improve search quality as well. I find social search extremely useful, especially with the recent updates. This change continues the evolution of social search, and it’s a natural progression to improve the search experience,” said Matt Cutts”

Google’s +1 for AdWords

In addition to adding the +1 button to organic listings, paid ads will also be included. This feature enables users to favorite ads and their preference will be shown to their social network as well.

How will this affect advertisers?

Right now it’s too soon to tell as this has not rolled out to the public, but Google has stated that:

All ads will be getting these buttons
There’s no way for advertisers to turn them off
Clicks on the +1 button next to ads do NOT count as a paid ad click
Advertisers will be able to see stats about which ads are getting the most +1s

What this indicates is that it is more important than ever to maintain an online relationship with your customers. As users get the options to favorite ads and listings, the more potential influence they have over their social networks decision process. Continuing to maintain an open dialogue with your customers online is key to fostering a positive relationship with your brand. Being accessible and open to criticism from consumers as well as praise will be essential to your social media strategy.

What constitutes the “social circle”?

Currently Google has comprised a user’s “social network” from their contacts on Google based services, like Gmail as well as connections on third-party sites such as Twitter. If you’re wondering who exactly is in your “social network” you can view your connections here.

When will I see the +1 button?

Not seeing the +1 button on your search results? Not to worry. For now, only a small percentage of Google users are seeing the button by default. If you would like to opt-in to the experiment now, turning on the +1 Button is very easy. Just select the option to join the experiment on Google Experimental and you’re good to go.

Want to know more? Check out a very detailed breakdown by Danny Sullivan on Google’s new +1 button and where it’s heading on Search Engine Land

plan, launch, cowabunga, repeat.

2011-04-05T10:24:00.001-04:00

The career path for many of us is not what it used to be. Gone are the days of finding a good job and working your way up the corporate ladder for the next 25 years. There are no commemorative Rolex and most of us have to fight for 2 weeks of vacation. In response to this change in corporate culture is a change in the future generations' employment perspectives. Our view has shifted from a more long term position to what will benefit us the most in the short term. What does the company have to offer us versus what can we offer the company. It's this shift that Seth Godin and Penelope Trunk discuss in the following two articles.

The first was from Seth Godin. I love him. He always speaks his mind and calls out the true motivator behind many issues. Seth talks about how 'Surfing is the New Career'.

"Freelance projects, joint ventures, entrepreneurial startups are all paying off for people who are hooked on this feeling of plan, launch, cowabunga, repeat. Each time you do it, you get to take on a bigger project, a bigger wave. The cost of wiping out is low (if you plan for it) and so you can do it again and again. You don't even have to be solo... now there are teams and corporations that seek out people who want to surf their way through fundraising or product development or customer delight."

I agree, we're adrenaline junkies. We like that high of completing a successful project and getting ready for the next one, but it's hard to do repeatedly unless you have a boss that gets it. I think that many of us get caught under middle management and productivity is easily stifled by red tape and personal agendas. That said, we don't have to let that happen. We can fight to assert ourselves and our projects and prove to the company that your ideas will be profitable. Make them money. You're just going to have to negotiate the politics and get a sponsor to make it happen.

The second article is also very timely. While I've always been trained to think that being considered a 'job hopper' is bad, this article makes me feel as though maybe I'm not insane.

"You can’t job hop if don’t add value each place you go. That’s why job hoppers are usually overachievers on projects they are involved in; they want something good to put on their resume. So from employers’ perspective, this is a good thing. Companies benefit more from having a strong performer for 18 months than a mediocre employee for 20 years. (And don’t tell me people can’t get up to speed fast enough to contribute. Fix that. It’s an outdated model and won’t attract good employees.)"

I would love to stay in a company for 5+ years but to be honest, I don't see that happening. Is this my lack of commitment, mediocre performance and general ambivalence you ask? No, not at all. There is nothing more rewarding than working my butt off with a team to build out a company and products; unfortunately it's not usually a two-sided relationship. You give, they take. Maybe they'll throw you a couple thousand dollars, maybe if you're lucky you'll be promoted but in general, they like to keep you where you are. The only way to really advance and learn new skills is to go elsewhere, otherwise you'll be given more responsibility without fair compensation. I've always liked the reasoning that you must be replaceable or you won't move up (not to be confused with 'bad & replaceable'). If no one else can do your job they're going to keep you there. Don't be too good at what you do.

Nothing says we've got it together like 6 completely unrelated logos...

2010-05-12T08:50:00.002-04:00

AOL or Aol. whatever the sinking giant wants to call itself created 6 new logos back in the fall. Apparently I started to comment on it but never finished. For those of you that missed it, here are Aol.'s new logos. They make me laugh. What makes me laugh even more was that their rebranding effort was spearheaded by Armstrong's former administrative assistant at Google. Ok, so maybe I'm just jealous because she's my age and already Chief of Staff, but seriously, it's going to take a little more than changing the titanic's name from AOL to Aol.

Looking a whole lot like LOL.

See the logos!

p.s. - wtf is that thing?

the music made me do it

2010-05-11T14:39:00.001-04:00

i should have posted this months ago when i first got hooked on this kick ass bomb diggity website but i've been slacking and ignoring my little blog for a while so i'll tell you about it now.

you like music right? you like mix tapes, yeah? you like finding new music AND making mix tapes?

then you're going to love this.

I found 8tracks through Twitter of all places and fell in love immediately. 8tracks is a kind of social network that allows people to upload & share music in the cloud. We make mixes either from music in network or from tracks that we upload as individual users and then publish them for everyone to enjoy. You can 'favorite' tracks from others mixes and 8tracks will keep track of them for you. It also suggests other mixes that you may enjoy inevitably linking you with someone who has similar music tastes as you. There's something similar to Facebook's newsfeed that lets you follow other users and 8tracks will alert you to new mixes they've published. It also allows you to 'Like" mixes (which saves them for you) and make comments on your friends creations.

There are a few rules for making mixes though but they're easy to follow and personally, for free music I'm down with whatever you want me to do. So here are the rules, a mix must have at least 8 tracks and it can only contain 2 songs from the same artist. Other than that you're good to go. Fast, easy and super fun. I really haven't gone a day where I haven't logged in to 8tracks when I'm at work.

So go check out 8tracks now, you can start with some of my mixes. Let me know what you think.

Look what Google did...

2010-05-09T16:58:00.012-04:00

So let's just just talk about this for a minute because it took me completely by surprise. I know Google has been doing lots of little things with personalized search and it's definitely had an effect on my SERPs so I try not be logged in when I google but sometimes I forget and now, look what Google did -

Results from my social circle?? I was looking for this freelance site that I can never remember to bookmark and Google gave me an ORGANIC listing from Propeller Media Works looking for a freelance flash designer.

Now would I have gotten this result if I weren't signed in? If I had remember to log out of my gmail acct before I searched for the site would I have seen the same listing on the SERP? Let's see....

Nope. The listing is gone. As soon as I logged out of my Google account the PMW listing disappeared.

So is it no longer relevant? Or can Google just not access my Gmail addresses and recognize similar names? That's a little creepy Google. I'm not sure how I feel about this. I do, however, want to Google lots of other terms and see who else shows up on the page.

Wow Google Wow.

Oh, and apparently Propeller is looking for a Freelance PHP Designer if anyone is interested.

Google Thinks I Should Buy a Lotus

2009-11-19T13:17:00.007-05:00

Google alerts are awesome. With so much content constantly being published, updated and indexed it's difficult to stay on top of everything and monitor the online conversations so Google has mades that easy too, with Google Alerts.

I have a few that I get every day and one of them is my name. Yes, I have a vanity Google Alert, but how else will you know what your name is being associated with regularly? This little alert has proved tremendously helpful; it let me know when my interview was published on PPC Hero before they did, it informedme when my Behance portfolios were indexed and when my Twitter & Facebook profile became a search result, of a celebrity that ranks for my name (Salli Elise Richardson from Star Trek), and it even lets me know when my name has been included (unauthorized mind you) in professional directories.

Over the years I seen some funny alerts delivered to my inbox but this one made me smile and I thought I'd share. Usually these alerts include posts about honor students, the star trek celebrity, past work I've done or another Elise on Facebook but today Google sent me an ad for a Lotus for sale in Texas. To be fair, Google's only matching the terms I've entered against content on websites and this post is legit. If I were a little robot I too would think this were a relevant entry.

Now I love me a Lotus Elise but I think it may be time to include negatives in anything that requires us to enter keywords. How else can you further determine user intent and relevancy? Google has trained us to think about the words that we want our returned results to reflect, I think it's only fair that we should also be able to specify the terms we do not wish to match to as well.

As search marketers negatives are a standard in our campaigns. Advertisers tell Google whom they don't want as customers but as consumers we don't get a choice. I can't tell Google that I do not want to be served an ad for 'Sneakers Bistro' if I searched 'sneaker shoes in burlington vt'. I have to do the search again.

'Then don't click on the ad' you say? Well I shouldn't have to. That ad is taking up valuable real estate for an advertiser that I do want. Just because Sneaker's SEM doesn't know about negatives isn't my fault. Why should I have to search again just because they can't effectively target? hmmmm?

In this keyword based internet world I think it may be time to introduce the negative to the public. Maybe in the Advanced Search option - let's add 'what I'm not looking for' fields, just to weed out the crap (especially the companies that can't/won't geo-target). I don't want to thumb up or down a search result - organic or paid, I just want the right result, click and go. Easy.

And while I'm making Google requests do you think I can't get only mobile websites on the SERP for my smartphone? Really, we gotta talk about this.

I'm sure Google will solve this eventually but in the meantime I'm still going to add the '+' to the end of my query for exact matches on the results page :)

p.s. i'm a hot little car

Elise sits down with the Social Media Commando

2009-08-24T14:49:00.003-04:00

Check out this interview with Joe Mescher, the Social Media Commando, about well executed design and how it affects seo, sem performance and conversions.

Consumers Don't Care About Twitter

2009-07-27T10:07:00.004-04:00

Or at least that's what they told Harris Interactive in a study with the LinkedIn Research Network. According to the survey,

The firm says that about 45% of marketers polled felt Twitter will grow exponentially, while two thirds of consumers said they didn't have an opinion, and only 12% of the latter said it is something young people and the media will use. Eight percent of consumers said Twitter is already a digital has-been.

A digital has-been already? Have we tweeted ourselves out? While I believe that Twitter is a very powerful marketing tool, it's important to note that it should be used sparingly and in conjunction with other marketing media. Twitter is a loud speaker to get the consumer's attention and drive them towards the desired action we wish them to take, it is not the desired action. Should a brand's goal be to have people constantly tweeting about them? Or should it?

My biggest peeve with Twitter is that it's overused. People and companies are just tweeting to tweet, not because they have something to say. It's like the brand that cried wolf - eventually we will start to ignore you and you'll just become part of the noise. It's an honor if a consumer chooses to follow you, out of all the people to follow and listen to they've chosen to spend their time on you & your brand, don't waste it by tweeting some nonsense.

personality based search structure

2009-06-25T18:58:00.006-04:00

so i've been at this new company for about 3 weeks now. They offer, essentially, a complete online suite of tools to make your car dealership work online - from website design to lead mgmt to online marketing. i have recently joined the team there as an sem anaylst and have been sitting at the desk for almost 2 weeks now (1st week was training). Cool company, great people, very chill.

now, i'm new to the automotive industry as anything more than an enthusiast so i my knowledge of the business concerns (besides bailouts and averting the red) is relatively shallow. and i know that many people are searching on the interweb for vehicles and many items related towards. so i think about what i know about cars. how people might shop for them online. use the google to help me with my insights and try to see the light. and then i think about the kind of car that i would search for if i were in the position to opt for a new automobile. and i go from there.

some people, maybe even several people's personalities are reflected by their car. you know how you can meet somebody and just know he's driving the tacoma? or a the woman who's sportin' that 328 xi bmw wagon? what about the guy driving the subaru impreza wrx? they all have similar personalities - and personalities form habits. Pretty much everyone uses the interweb so they must have search habits.

Now, there are nine central personality types, so therefore there are most likely ten-twelve main different ways that people search.

In the spirit of privacy invasion and behavioral targeting, i ask - shouldn't we be optimizing for these 9 personality types? I'm sure there is a distinct pattern between the people who click on the ad that displays his exact search phrase versus the guy who's searching for 'local puppies for sale' and then clicks on the broad matched 'Used Ford' ad which appears in position 5 (it was really a search query and it had 7 impressions and 1 click. thanks google). Now all i need to do is stalk them across the internet with tracking pixels and see what happens. again, thank you google for making this a possibility. and a not so diffifcult one to carry out at that.

if anyone has a great idea on how effectively utilize the broad match besides an extensive negative keyword list i'd love to chat.

the mission: explore the possibility of a personality- trait- search- based account structure.

good luck & have fun.

elise is a search dork

2009-06-11T10:39:00.004-04:00

so i've been in training for the past week for my new job and today we learned about the seo & sem depts at this company. as i listened to the team leads speak i could feel myself getting all excited - there was so much to say! what tools they use, how we optimize, how you can track a customer from one point all the way through to conversion and then after. all this data!

my poor training mates (all in different depts) seemed less than enthralled but i really think that it was more about the fact that sem is such an indepth process, it's not just turn it on and there you go - but for a higher level overview i guess we can leave it at that. either way, as i sat there wanting to cut the trainer off as he gave a nice bland description of seo/sem and the challenges dealers face I realized what a search dork i am. it's almost too much to keep me contained in my seat - maybe i should look into training.

how to effectively use social media

2009-05-03T21:08:00.004-04:00

check out my post on how to effectively use social media to boost your brand on MyWebGrocer's blog.

executive musical chairs

2009-05-01T09:27:00.004-04:00

In the past 6 months it seems as though all the top execs have switched companies. Let's see where everyone's migrating to:

From The Google

Tim Armstrong, from VP Ad Sales to AOL CEO

Sheryl Sandberg, from VP Global Online Sales & Ops to Facebook COO

Doug Merrill, from CIO, VP Engineering to President of Digital at EMI

Elliot Schrage, from VP Global Communications & Affairs to PR Boss

Steve Horowitz, from Engineering Director for Android to CTO at Coupons.com

Sukhinder Singh Cassidy, from President of Asian-Pacific & Latin American Ops to a Partner with Accel

Larry Brilliant, from Director of Google.org to Founder of Skoll Foundation

Gonzalo Alonso, from Latin America Director to VP OPs at Globant

Doug Bowman, from Lead Designer to Lead Designer at Twitter

Mike Horowitz, from Head of Picasa to Chief Product Officer at Fetch Technologies

Kevin Fox, from User Experience Designer to User Exp. Designer at FriendFeed.

David Rosenblatt, from DoubleClick CEO to ...

And that's just one company - it seems that they're fleeing Facebook even faster. So what is going on? Is everyone just ready for a change or is there something else? And then if all of these innovative execs who pioneered the digital space for the past 5 years are swapping teams, what kind of new products are going to emerge? It's going to be exciting!

best commercials ever

2009-04-16T14:53:00.006-04:00

The other day I was thinking about how I ended up in the marketing and advertising world and believe it has come down to the advertising that I was exposed to growing up. My favorite commercials have definitely influenced how I write and design my ads and I wanted to share some of the advertising that has stuck with me throughout the years....funny how they're all chocolate, hmmm. Enjoy :)

The Cadbury Bunny:

The M&Ms:

The Christmas Kisses:

search as reputation management

2009-04-10T13:45:00.004-04:00

MediaPost had a great article today on Search & Brand building. With paid search catching on so quickly i think it is important to address what search cannot do.

In their ‘08 study, SEMPO asked both advertisers and agencies what metrics they track and the findings were interesting. In the case of brand impact, the agencies surveyed said - by a wide margin (20%+) - that they measured this more so than the direct advertisers. If marketers are moving dollars online because ROI is better, then why are their agencies worried so much about brand?

It leads to the obvious question. Can search build brands?

Controlling search helps to further solidify a brand's reputation. If you dominate the search results page it not only increases your traffic but your credibility as well. A great example is the Grocery Shopping Network - if you google their brand name, online grocery, or any of the related terms they are no where to be found but MyWebGrocer is all over the page. Wouldn't you be more apt to trust that MyWebgrocer is the leader in the space and on top of things?

Like this article says, search will never replace other forms of marketing/advertising, it is a supplemental tool in the advertising & marketing mix.

pixar needs to merch it up

2009-04-06T20:59:00.008-04:00

i came across this pixar make toy stores pout on the biz and it made me sad. i think this sums the whole thing up pretty well,

"Sure, Pixar has been the leading animation studio in Hollywood as for the past decade or so. But now investors, analysts and toy retail

ers are worried that its movies are too artsy and not geared enough toward pushing merchandise."

what? really? since when did everyone become so obsessed that a movie has to be all about the chance to merchandise?

come on now! you all have lost the focus here people. pixar creates movies with messages.

i know you all weren't too fond of wall-e but you know why? because it was reminding you not to neglect yourselves and the planet. yes, the planet. that whole green grass & blue sky thing we all seem to take for granted. you know that none of this merch will matter if you don't have a place to live or air to breathe right.

step away & reevaluate.

a $4 dilemma

2009-03-24T14:18:00.005-04:00

With everyone keeping their purse strings drawn tightly many companies are feeling the effects of low consumer confidence, one of those retailers is Starbucks.

We all know starbucks as the "$4 cup of coffee" and concede that although no one really feels that the coffee drink is really worth $4 for a small, excuse me, tall, we all like to splurge and treat ourselves once in a while with that delicious goodness that is a frappuccino.

In a recession (and i really dislike that term) we all know that the luxuries are the first items to be cut from the budget - and starbucks is pretty pricey whipped cream. so this comes as no surprise that the franchise is having a difficult time right now. instead of "opening 8 stores a day" like in past few years, starbucks is in fact closing many of their outlets.

From what i've read, Howard Shultz aims to debunk the myth that "starbucks is just a $4 cup of coffee" and instead reposition the brand as an experience, working hard to convince americans that instant coffee is the way to go. good luck with that Howard.

Not that there isn't a cup of coffee under $4 - there is and it's $2 - but it's gross and usually tastes like burnt rubber. seriously, it's the only coffee that i put cream in. i have to, it's gross. but i digress. i'm pretty sure the reason which we all patronize starbucks is not for the regular coffee that they serve - it's for the Frappuccino's and Chai Tea Lattes and whatever other deliciousness they have on special. and these drinks are not under $4 Mr. Shultz.

So, if im not digging their regular coffee and the special drinks are still $4+ what will be the fate of fourbucks, er... starbucks? perhaps they should consider lowering the prices of ALL of their drinks? i would still visit if the LARGE were $4 - that's a much better deal.

We hard workin' populace ain't oblivious, y'all decreased your size and upped the prices! that's not cool. give us a break. you know, if you charge less your traffic just might increase.

Although it doesn't fall into their established identity of luxury coffee. but they are still an experience, an expensive experience, but usually an enjoyable one nontheless.

don't be a nitTwit

2009-03-12T10:14:00.005-04:00

There's been a lot of talk recently about social media sites becoming more prominent traffic sources and it got me thinking about how exactly we (marketers) should leverage the facebooks and twitters. it's been widely discussed that twitter has yet to find a solid business model - one that will provide a solid revenue stream. but maybe that's the key, it's just a value add. on it's own, twitter is just a personal broadcasting system. we send updates, ask questions, see what others are doing and move along. i click on the urls people post and google some topics but that's generally where it stops. maybe that really is just twitter's contribution, like AIM or Yahoo IM, Twitter is there for us to reach out and chat.

that being said, how can a business leverage twitter and facebook? utilizing social media isn't really about selling for me, it's about connecting. Asking your customers to tell you what they want, and they want to tell you. Send them promos, updates on new products, info on recalls or new store openings - but as far as advertising in the traditional sense Twitter and FB don't appear to be successful. As mentioned before,

"74% of respondents reported clicking infrequently on ads, while 36% reported never clicking on ads. Not surprisingly, the study finds that brands are struggling to build a compelling value proposition for GenY users on social networks" MediaPost

BUT what Gen Y does want:

"The top five reasons that young consumers gave for joining a brand or fan group were to "get news or product updates" (67%), "view promotions" (64%), "view or download music or videos" (41%), "submit opinions" (36%) and "connect with other customers" (33%)" MediaPost

We want something in return for our loyalty. If I'm a fan of Ben & Jerry's on Facebook I want an insider coupon! I want exclusive access to the newest flavor before it comes out or some other form of invite only beta access!

That said, perhaps the lesson here is not how we make money through social networking, but how we increase customer loyalty and make connections. Listen to what your die hard fans want and then go make it! In the words of Seth Godin (and I'm paraphrasing here) "It's a hell of alot easier to sell a product that already has a niche with a need than to create the product and then the need."

Waiting for Facebook to Implode

2009-03-05T10:48:00.007-05:00

So Facebook has redesigned their homepage again, based off of the user's input I am assuming as they've been touting how important it is to them regarding their privacy policy - why would usability & daily features be any less important than privacy?

Updates are great as I find FB difficult to navigate sometimes and I'm not a fan of having 3 different tabs for one main function (seeing what my friends are up to) so I was excited to see that they've "improved" again; putting everything on one page. Props to them for that.

What I found interesting was that it appears that the driving force of the redesign was to make the Facebook utility more accessible and relevant to public figures, companies and advertising. Advertising you say? Yes. According to the WSJ Blog post:

"Facebook on Wednesday announced a new homepage design and other new features to make the site more useful to companies and other public figures, as it tries to expand ways that people are using the social-networking service."

So how does this help the users? Well now we can easily see what our favorite brands are up to of course. I always wanted to get Nutella info and mass mailings more easily. Thanks Facebook.

"Facebook also announced a redesign of the pages that businesses and public officials use to communicate with fans. The new design, which resembles the new profiles that Facebook rolled out to individuals last year, will make it easier for companies to share information with lots of fans at once and to send them updates, executives said."

I'm happy that FB is figuring out how to make their business more lucrative by appealing to advertisers but it feels like they are straying from their original intent - to connect friends & keep in touch. And while I'm all for getting coupons and hearing about new products I don't feel that Facebook is the place to do this (yes, yes, insert the "how do we leverage social networking for marketing discussion" here). I don't want to be your friend or fan Nutella (though I love you dearly) but apparently 26k facebook members do. I guess what I'm trying to get at is that I feel like Facebook is trying to be too many things to 2 very different audiences. On the one hand they need a consistent revenue stream but I don't want it flashing in my face - hence the reason everyone left MySpace (hello banner ads).

Maybe there needs to be a separate FB for business where they can charge for a public profile & way to connect with fans. As it is now though, no one clicks on those ads - we're not there to shop. FB has yet to make advertising profitable and worth the advertiser's time but it's great awareness....I guess.

I'm just waiting for the day when the next social networking platform takes over and people recall Facebook fondly in the soc net graveyard hanging out with MySpace - and hopefully Twitter ;)

**speaking of - i have finally joined the twitter bandwagon - @eliserichardson**

elise

bradley febreezed his dog

2008-11-11T19:17:00.003-05:00

so i came home this evening to my lovely roommate sitting by the fireplace drinking her glass of wine. she had spent her day running errands and taking the dogs on a walk with her boytoy. bradley is a fabulously entertaining and good hearted person who enjoys walking and biking around vermont. so it was no surprise for her to tell me that he had rolled the dogs in tree sap amidst the foolings of rambunctious puppy love (i.e. brad dominating the dogs). anyhow, lisa always makes sure the hobbes, her 8 year old boxer, is well groomed. this dog jumps over puddles so as not to dirty himself. so she told bradley that he could not return until his poor black lab, odin, had a bath.

well, brad ran out of time and it was either him or the dog. so apparently he took the shower and then decided to FEBREEZE odin. poor thing smelled like wet-dog and air freshener. being the wonderfully obedient animal that he is, odin never once licked himself all night and made it until the next morning before his proper bath. (no harm done to pets at all so relax)

but long story short, please please please, no matter how rushed you are - febreeze does not cover up the smell of wet dog, it accentuates it. and most mutts will lick themselves.

yay elise got a job!

2008-05-01T16:23:00.002-04:00

so i had mentioned that i was looking to join the work force and i have succeeded. i am currently working at MyWebGrocer about 5 min from my apt. here i've become the marketing coordinator, graphics department, and seo strategist among other things. so life is good.

what's wrong with us?!

2007-07-24T10:58:00.000-04:00

i'm not a big fan of michael moore. bowling for columbine was decent but fahrenheit 911 is a two hour repetitive rant. however, Sickos is exceptionally moving. why our government does not care for the people that pay for their spending is disgusting. our government should be ashamed at the state of the country. the people are tired and poor and that's how they want us. they want us to believe that we live in the "greatest country in the world" when in reality they are willing to exploit our suffering just to make more money. i think i want to move to france.

another great documentary is Maxed Out which takes a look at the debt of americans. i used to believe that it was just the middle and lower classes that were struggling to pay their bills - turns out not even the government can expect to be paying their debt off any time soon. the only people making money in this country are the banks and they're out to suck us all dry until we file bankruptcy or die. after the bankruptcy bill that bush just passed it seems to be that dying is the fastest way out.

why are we letting this continue? the system is broken. our government is full of wealthy assholes that don't give a shit for the people they're meant to protect - they just want their pay offs from corporate. there are more of us than them - we need an uprising! or something! anything! this is not right and the system needs to change!

Rent these movies! Sickos and Maxed Out they are must-sees!

the job hunt

2007-07-23T17:27:00.001-04:00

so i had previously mentioned that i wasn't sure if i wanted to take time off or start hunting for a job - well, after many long, slow days at the restaurant, i have decided that i am indeed ready to join the workforce and put my degrees to use. after all, i didn't go to school to be a server all of my life. not that nicco's doesn't pay my bills but i have this burning desire to prove myself and become a professional. go figure.

i have been enjoying the beautiful vermont summer however, i've managed to visit boston for a weekend and finally get myself to nyc. LOVE love love love boston and could most definitely live there - or in the suburbs i should say (no way will my entry level salary afford those apts) and nyc is amazing to visit but i was glad to be back home where there weren't a million people always around you. great city - i just like my bubble!

so winooski remains my home for the moment and most likely will for the next year or so - besides, my mother just opened up her gift shop, Chubby Robin, in richmond. check it out - they have AWESOME stuff.

hmmm

2007-06-10T20:55:00.000-04:00

so now i've graduated and don't have any idea what to do with myself. my original plan was to take the summer off and figure out what i love to do ... unfortunately, the insurance plan that i had through my parents has dropped me because i have turned the ripe old age of 23. despite the fact that the coverage has been paid for up until december .... so now i have some decisions to make. stay a server or look for a job that's just mediocre and not what i really would like to learn about - or leave this beautiful state and hopefully get a job that i can grow with.

Running Out of Water - Just A Dollar

2007-03-27T15:34:00.000-04:00

For the month of April a group of students will be fundraising for the non-profit organization, PlayPumps. PlayPumps is dedicated to bringing fresh water to remote villages in Africa that do not have access to clean water w/in 5 miles of their village. The pumps are carousels that the children can play on, as they spin the carousel pumps fresh water into a nearby water tank. The tank can hold enough water for the entire village. Each pump is $14,000 - our goal is to have each student and faculty member from UVM, Champlain, Burlington College and CCV donate $1. If every person just on campus did this we would have enough money for a pump. If each person in the Burlington community donated $1 we would have enough for several pumps.

Our goal is to not only raise money for the PlayPumps foundation but to help the community realize what a large impact "just a dollar" can make.

For more information on the PlayPumps organization or to donate online, please visit: www.playpumps.org

it's all for fydo

2007-02-21T16:44:00.001-05:00

alright, so i'm trying to figure out this whole blog thing - unfortunately i'm not feeling the rant or ramble vibe today so i will keep this short and sweet.