Update

I haven't written a blog entry here for a while, reason being all my energy has gone into my day job. I love the social media world, and learn something, or make a new connection, every day.

So, time to join the start-up world: myself and two trusted friends have been working on a cool new site, soon to be launched. Very excited as I believe there is a niche for it. Details coming soon ...

Dorm Room Biz

I'm all for people trying to start a business for themselves -- one thing I have plans for in the future, working towards it!

So, a quick plug today for Dorm Room Biz. Check them out, I might win some stuff, it's a totally selfish act ;-)

Heard on Peter Shankman's HARO.

Coming Soon To A Website Near You

I am back in the entrepreneurial kick again, and purchased yet another domain name a month or so ago. A couple of my trusted friends are working with me on the idea, so hopefully it will pan out. Can't give much away, suffice to say that it will involve helping people.

Daniel Needs A Job!

I've never met the guy, but as my own blog proves, he is someone after my own heart -- so give him a job!

http://gottagetajobnow.blogspot.com/

Whyless Network

I bought a domain name last year with the aim of setting up a social network to help people. Ning offered that free option, so today I launched the Whyless Network.

If you work for a charity, need help, food, clothing, or just want to boost your good karma, then please consider joining the network. Give hope, not a poke!

http://www.whylessnetwork.com/

Please Send This To At Least 007 Friends

Triiibes Members LinkedIn Group

I signed up early for Seth Godin's Triiibes social network, and getting a lot of value from it. I took it a step further today and (with Seth's OK) started a Triiibes Members LinkedIn Group so people can connect on a more professional basis:

http://www.linkedin.com/e/gis/162640/5F6B721E6F1A

Book Details A Real Life Story Of The Kibbutz World

My friend Adam Segal interviewed me about my time in Israel spent on a kibbutz and the resulting book. Click the link below.

http://www.canadasisrael.ca/?p=243

Do Ya Feel Lucky, Punk? Well? Do Ya?

Easier to find me now.

1) Go to Google.
2) Type john carson blog or john james carson.
3) Hit "I'm Feeling Lucky."

My Website Got Dugg ... Sorta

A website called Matador Volunteer linked to my kibbutz volunteer website, and just by chance, it was listed next to the Digg box with 696 diggs, so my traffic has shot up today.

http://matador.org/10-volunteer-opportunities-for-free-travel/

World's First Twebinar

I attended the world's first Twebinar today. My thoughts?

You can read them on my company blog here:
http://blogs.gcigroup.com/fineprint/2008/06/26/twebinar-1/

Wordle

The above image is a tag cloud I made from my resume using Wordle. I like it a lot.

You can click here to see the full version.

New Media Douchebags Explained

Shouldn't laugh. But I did.

In Good Company

I haven't blogged for a while at Make Johnny Cash as I've been busy blogging here.

Hey, I'm A Social Media Maven!

In Muscat, the Sultanate of Oman.

http://arunrajagopal.com/2008/06/04/are-you-that-guy-or-that-gal/

Little Geeks

The PR agency I work for does pro bono work for a good cause called Little Geeks. It was set up by Canadian tech journalist Andy Walker: http://www.andywalker.com/.

Little Geeks is a philanthropic organization and registered Canadian charity that collects, refurbishes and re-distributes donated home computers to children in need. These computers are given free of charge, and are coupled with an Internet connection at the child’s home.

On June 12 from 3 p.m.-7 p.m., The Little Geeks Foundation will hold an event and give refurbished computers, complete with Windows 2000 and Microsoft Office, to 100 families of underprivileged children, free of charge. This event, the first of many to come, is one way the Foundation is reaching toward its 2008 goal of 1,000 PCs delivered to the homes of the families that need them.

The event will be held at:
St Andrew’s United Church, 117 Bloor Street East, Toronto, Ontario, M4W 1A9

People with a child in need of a computer, can visit http://www.littlegeeks.org/ to register. Once qualified, recipients will be contacted by a member of the Little Geeks staff to attend this event and pick up their free computer.

Twitter's Business Model

Brian Alvey thinks he has cracked Twitter's business model. Genius!

http://www.brianalvey.com/news/2008/05/25/twitters-business-model/

A Chance To Be On Seth Godin's Next Book Cover

Seems like a cool opportunity.

http://sethgodin.typepad.com/seths_blog/2008/05/a-chance-to-be.html

It Ain't What You Do It's The Way That You Tweet It

I've had some more thoughts on the way Web Who.0 is going since my last post on the subject.

My contact list is growing steadily, and I've found it very useful recently in finding experts in a given field as part of my work. People are very approachable if you treat them as a busy person, with respect, and be succinct in what you need from them. A link? Referral? Advice? Just ask -- the majority will get back to you in a reasonable time frame; sometimes immediately if they're monitoring their own and/or company's name.

I love the interaction of the Internet. Someone mentioned PR being chained to a desk all day. It's not, really. I am looking out the window on the world, but strolling around the Web Who.0 and talking to people, swapping ideas, giving help, soaking up knowledge, picking brains, offering intros to my network for others. It's addictive.

So, if anyone wants to get in touch fast, here's a recap:

Freelance: http://www.johnjamescarson.com/
LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/johncarson
Twitter: http://twitter.com/johncarson
Microsoft Messenger: kibbutzvolunteer@hotmail.com
Good old e-mail: makejohnnycash@gmail.com

John,
Running around inside a server somewhere near you.

Mesh 08: Enterprise = My Customers Shared

Day two of mesh was better than the first for me, as more of the sessions I attended were relevant to my work. The overall theme that came across was that customer satisfaction is paramount, no matter what business you are in, or starting up.

I came up with a formula to summarize that: e=mc2. (Sorry, Einstein.)
That stands for: Enterprise = My Customers Shared.

The point being that everyone in a company is facing the customer now. Not just the people on the end of a call centre line, the marketing department or the sales clerk. We -- whatever business you are in -- all face the customer, and should have the leeway from the Big Corner Office With Windows to interact with them, and make sure they're happy, without checking if it's OK with 10 levels of management, and oh yeah, I'll get back to you about that next Wednesday.

Some great people I met or listened to at mesh day two included Lane Merrifield (Club Penguin co-founder, makes sure every single customer inquiry gets a personal response from a real human being), Ali Asaria (makes sure that a handwritten note goes out with every order) and Garrett Camp (co-founder of StumbleUpon, still follows the same values now as he did as a start-up in Calgary).

Companies to keep an eye on: Enomaly, Overlay.TV and GigPark (co-founder Noah Godfrey was the publisher of Dose back in the day).

All in all, mesh 08 was an excellent event and a great networking opportunity.

Mesh 08

Opening day of mesh was great. Sold out. I've never been surrounded by so many people Twittering at once, or checking e-mails -- it was like a BlackBerry convention.

Got to listen to and/or chat with a number of cool people, including Michael Geist, Colin McKay (aka Canuckflack), Rachel Sklar and AmberMac.

Day two tomorrow.

Nice To Win An Award Part 2

My former boss e-mailed me today; my team won the Council for Advancement and Support of Education 2008 Circle of Excellence Bronze Award. Cool!

Marcel LeBrun, CEO, Radian6

I attended Third Tuesday Toronto this evening, and over a nice pint of Guinness, listened to some interesting and informative talks on how to monitor social networks.

One of the speakers was Marcel LeBrun, CEO, Radian6, a provider of social media monitoring tools. He said something along the lines of the company replying whenever they see their name mentioned in the blogosphere or social media space.

I thought that was very interesting, hence this post as a virtual invite. Marcel, if you come across this in the next few days, please feel free to add me to LinkedIn. David Alston is in my network too and it would be good to connect.

Tomorrow, I'm spending two days at mesh, should be cool.

Bloggy Award Review

Just found out that Make Johnny Cash got reviewed by a site called Bloggy Award, and got ... drumroll ... 8/10. Not bad, considering I'm not a full-time blogger. (I did get 10/10 for reading enjoyment which is nice.)

Click the image for the review:

Toronto Star Editors Asleep At The Switch

The last line is priceless. They feel the same way I do about clebrity gossip.

http://torontolife.com/blog/spectator/2008/may/15/toronto-star-editors-asleep-switch/

Bob Ross Is Back For A Cause

An example of how a parody can help a cause. Seems like a joke at first; watch till the end for the message.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RKcMfQrqC7I

Who's Mikey Boots?

"Who's Mikey Boots?"

I always remember that question from a college friend back in 1993. I was telling him about "my kibbutz" experience, and he misheard me, having no idea what a kibbutz was. I pointed him to my site and hopefully educated him.

Those two years I spent in Israel were great, fun, life-changing times for me, so it was nice to be interviewed about them for The Media Line recently.

Here's the article.

New Month, New Job

My contract was coming to an end at the College, so after an excellent year of working there, I moved on, and today started work at GCI Group as Senior Digital Media Specialist in their Toronto office.

It's an exciting opportunity, and I'm looking forward to it.

Facebook In Reality

This is what happens when Facebook turns up at your door. So true.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nrlSkU0TFLs

Does Anyone Know If Money Laundering Pays?

I got an e-mail today inviting me to be a money launderer. Does anyone know if it pays? Dental plan too?

"We are looking for canadians who would like to work from home in an administrative support function for businesses. I have a large amount of funds on numerous bank accounts which needs to be laundered. I need your help to do that. Many of our clients are small businesses and executives who are busy and on the go. Your job will be to: 1) Process payments and disburse to payment officers under you. 2) To send weekly reports on status of payments of transactions. Administrative Assistants can work full or part time."

I'm glad there's a part-time option as I'm already busy with my arms-dealing business.

CaseCamp Toronto 7

Really wish I could attend CaseCamp in Toronto, but I have a leaving drink the same night.

How Social Networking Could Kill Web Search As We Know It

A very interesting prediction from a "tuned-in venture capitalist" who says that we will be using our social networks more frequently in the future to find the information we seek.

I think it may happen too, actually, but not quite yet. How many of you have asked your friend on Facebook, "Hey Paul -- check out my photos of the trip to Vegas, and by the way, what's the capital of Denmark?"

OK, that's a stretch, but Google is still my first choice for finding information fast. The first result may not be what I'm looking for, but it generally leads me around the Web until I do find what I need. I love digging deeper into sites, checking out Whois.sc for extra leads about who is up to what, and generally using my gut instinct to know when it's all smoke and mirrors.

It's all about Web Who.0 baby!

Here's Tomorrow's News Today: Churnalism

"The Churner Prize (churnerprize) is now following your updates on Twitter."

Yes, I got an e-mail today that The Churner Prize is following my updates on Twitter. Notice how I just cut and pasted the above statement, again? That's called Churnalism, and it's when hacks are too lazy to research their stories and just copy what's out there already.

"The Churner Prize is brought to you by a crack team of UK journalists and, um, the odd churnalist."

That's lifted straight from their site as I'm currently on a deadline ... to get to the pub before last call, so haven't got time to research the people behind the The Churner Prize and find out whether it's kosher. [Legitimate; permissible: "consolidating noneditorial functions of the papers, which is kosher" (Christian Science Monitor).]

I copied that from Answers.com; only took a few seconds, pretty easy.

Great for traffic. Just goes to show you gotta be in the right place at the right time.

Grow A Pair

An excellent post from Rick Segal. Not working out? Grow a pair, step up and sort it out.

http://ricksegal.typepad.com/pmv/2008/04/when-you-apolog.html

[Disclaimer: I know Rick. Listen to the guy. He makes sense.]

John Carson
makejohnnycash@gmail.com

Nice To Win An Award

My team has been pushing the e-strategy at the College for a while, so it was nice to hear today that we won The Canadian Council for the Advancement of Education's 2008 PRIX D’EXCELLENCE Bronze Award for Best E-Innovation in University Advancement.

Nice Work If You Can Get It

[Snip from another site starts ...]

Have you ever wondered how much a Google employee makes?

Well this data isn't extremely easy to find, if you don't believe me just search Google. However, here is some interesting statistics.

Google Programmer in Phoenix - $174,000/year
Google Programmer in California - $197,000/year
Google Programmer in Chicago - $222,000/year
Google Programmer in New York - $242,000/year

[... Ends]

I'm curious how that stacks up to Facebook employees, and what sort of perks they get. Anyone got any info to share? Even anonymously?

http://www.cherryav.com/articles/technology/30-The-Googlenairs.html

Gels Gone Wild, Fake UFOs And Zero Budget

I have a lot of crazy ideas for videos, but zero budget, so tend to make them myself. Here's a couple I made for a laugh just to see if I could get some traffic to my website.

The Clearest Fake UFO Video Ever
I took this video last summer on my patio, with a pan lid and some string. No script, cheap digital camera, and no CGI used at all. (I know, it's hard to believe, it looks so real. Believe.) I stuck it on YouTube, Metacafe and Revver. It's had nearly 19,000 views so far from those sites, which is not bad for 20 seconds of bad filming. It's also been picked as the "fakest UFO sighting clip" by this site, which helps my traffic too.

Gels Gone Wild
I made this in 50 seconds with no production value whatsoever. The Girls Gone Wild creator (Joe Francis) was in jail, and making the news, so I knew people would be searching for that term ... and would make spelling mistakes in their searches. Lucky I had the props and technical know-how to get all the right camera angles on this one. Over 5,000 views, with my website URL front and centre. [Disclaimer: All the gels in this video consented to being shown, and signed consent forms.]

My point is that anyone these days can make a video, stick it on the Internet and drive traffic to their site. Just seed it in the right places. Not rocket science. It's fun too.

Secret Microsoft / AOL E-mails Found On Yahoo Search!

I've been following the Yahoo bidding non-war with interest, so thought I'd do a quick search on Yahoo itself to see what else I could dig up. I was quite surprised at the search results that came back.

Click on the image for the shocking results:

Meet The Internet Stars

The Star Wars Kid, Numa Numa Guy and Dramatic Gopher are all "stars" that had millions of views on their -- sometimes unintentional -- videos.

South Park, in its usual fashion, features some of them when the kids try to collect what they think is owed to them at the Department of Internet Money. Hmmm ... think I know that place! [insert knowing winking smiley icon here, I refuse to.]

Meet The Internet Stars

Quite Possibly The Fakest Viral Attempt Ever

Take two terrible actors, an obvious plot, throw in some gratuitous lingering shots of the company's name and you have the fakest viral video I've seen in a while.

What are you doing? What are you doing?

This Rick Roll Just Keeps Rolling Along

The Rick Roll. The viral joke of 2008 so far. I've been caught a few times, with links disguised as other things, such as "cool photos of my trip!" or "check out the sales figures for Q1!" or "here's a great recipe for muffins!"

[One of those is a lie by the way.]

So, I won't try and deceive you. Here is a link to a Rick Roll. I'm not disguising it. Just don't click it, you will regret it. But you will learn the words to Never Gonna Give You Up ...

www.internetisseriousbusiness.com/

UPDATE JANUARY 17, 2009: A lot of people are coming to this blog because of the Rick Roll. I am keeping the link up above in case the creator brings it back. In the meantime, you may enjoy the Benny Hill version here too:

http://james.nerdiphythesoul.com/bennyhillifier/speedup.php?id=oHg5SJYRHA0

UPDATE NOVEMBER 26, 2009: Thanks to Joe Scatamato for alerting me to this Rick Roll you can't exit easily:

http://www.rickrolling.com/

Also, this demonstrates how I can get website traffic from popular items of the day. I can do it for you too on a freelance basis, click here for more info.

Twitter

Finally got on board Twitter; curious to see if I get hooked on this. Very cool that I snagged my name at this late stage ...

http://twitter.com/johncarson

I Hate The Fact That I Bothered To Research I Hate Sarah Marshall!

I've seen a lot of posters on the back of Toronto buses proclaiming, "I hate Sarah Marshall!"

I smelled a viral, so I visited the website: http://www.ihatesarahmarshall.com/ -- it looks like a blog, cool, someone really does hate Sarah Marshall, and bothered to tell the world.

I then went to IMDB and found this, so I suspect it's just a promotion for a new film: Forgetting Sarah Marshall.

Interesting enough to get me to learn more about it, so it's done its job.

Beer.com Seems To Have Gone A Bit Flat

The Beer.com relaunch took place a few days ago, and as the site’s former managing editor, I’d like to give my opinion on the new redesign. Unfortunately, I think they have missed a great opportunity to make it one of the best sites on the Net.

For starters, just the domain name itself is one of the most sought-after URLs out there. People search for it, link it, type it in their browser, stumble upon it. It’s worth millions in itself, and all you get now when you go there is very annoying scrolling percentage numbers of who likes what out of 10.

“The most exciting features we introduced with the new Beer.com are the abilities to comment and rate the content, so we encourage you to do that.” You mean, like Digg has been doing for years? I don’t see that as exciting.

The word I got is that six people were locked in a room with a plentiful supply of beer and snacks and told: “Revamp the site in a month.” That sounds like pressure to me, and not a very conducive way to plan, design and relaunch a major website. I wonder what the parent company -- dthree Inc. -- were thinking in setting such a deadline?

The fact that there’s three “Place Your Ad Here” boxes on the home page is not a good sign. Might have been cool to get some sponsors in place first.

My previous boss left the company a few months ago, and now I understand a former intern called Chris Balon is in charge of Beer.com -- that’s a swift promotion, and I wish him luck.

One suggestion I have for him is to bring back Virtual Bartender, the smash hit viral sensation that made Beer.com famous. For the life of me I can’t find it on the site; I might have missed it, but some of the comments from users reflect that omission too: “Please tell me that you guys didn’t do the STUPIDEST thing possible and got rid of the Virtual Bartenders? Please tell me that you aren’t that brain dead.”

A message from the Beer.com team says that they have a lot more planned for the future. I sincerely hope so, because it’s a shame what the site has turned into.

The Chance To Get Free Face Time With A Top Canadian VC

Rick Segal is a Canadian VC, very smart, and -- best of all -- very accessible. He doesn't sit in an Ivory Tower behind a fortress of minions. I got to know him when he wrote a column for me a few years ago at Silicon Valley NORTH about how to get funded, what start-ups should look out for, term sheets, that sort of thing.

He has just announced a series of FREE VC Roundtables across Canadian cities starting April 14, and asked me to help spread the word. I'm happy to do so. [I'm not getting paid with any kind of commission, by the way. I just think it is a golden opportunity for start-ups to pick Rick's brain for a few hours. As they say, space is limited!]

Here's details snipped from the site, with a registration link at the end:

Something's missing in Canada's tech community -- the chance to informally interact with VCs, learn about what it is exactly that they do and how the funding process works.

The VC Roundtable series aims to fill this gap, by hosting small (free!) get togethers across Canada's major cities where Rick Segal, JLA Ventures Partner and VC blogger (http://ricksegal.typepad.com/) will walk through what getting involved with VCs is all about.

What To Expect:
25 attendee limit
Informal/Free
About 2 - 3 hours in length
Information on VC/Angels and the process
Sample Term sheets, documents, business plans, PowerPoints
Example Pitch or Pitches to show what's interesting/good/bad
Lots of time for questions

What A VC Roundtable Isn't:
Demo/Startup/FooBar/Camp/Conference/MESH/MASH
VCs trashing your ideas
You trashing somebody else's ideas
Hours of PowerPoint slides

What You Will Leave With:
An understanding of the VC world as I see it (and I am a user group of one!)
A good set of reference documents/examples/materials
Some of your top of mind questions answered
A better feel for the VC industry and if raising third party capital is right for you

Click here to register.

28 Days Later ... Or Maybe Longer!

My journalist friend went for a job interview on January 3 at one of the largest Canadian media companies.

It went well, and he was called back for a second interview. That went well, too, and he was called back for a third. Cool.

Then, nothing. Not a peep. He had to call the company himself last week to find out that he hadn’t got the job. WTF?!

Why are companies so disrespectful to job-seekers by leaving them in limbo for so long, and then not even give them the courtesy of at least an e-mail to say they haven’t been successful?

Don’t put up with it. Don’t be a job-hunting zombie, shambling along with the others, seeking that elusive call-back. Don’t wait 28 Days Later -- call them first!

Two Words

Made a new video to promote my site, hope to get some traffic. If not, at least it was fun to make!

Two Words

John James Carson Dot Com

It's been an excellent eight months in my current role at the College. I have learned a lot about communications, and made some great contacts in the business.

I talked a while back about starting my own freelance business, so today launched my new website, www.johnjamescarson.com.

As you can see, it is very simple in design, but serves its purpose.

My current contract ends in July 2008, so I don't want to rest on my laurels. I want to see if all the knowledge that I've gained in the last 12 years of working in the media can turn into a full-time freelance business next year. This is the starting point.

Mission Accomplished

Today I accepted the position of acting communications manager at Upper Canada College, a great opportunity at one of the most prestigious schools in Canada, if not North America.

I always look for something new I can learn in every role I take on. I now have the chance to add communications and PR skills to my resume, work with a very dedicated team and also use some of the Web 2.0 experience I have to help UCC raise its profile. I get to write a lot too, something I missed quite a bit at my last job because I am a writer at heart.

So, my job search comes to an end. Until maybe July 2008 when the contract ends, but I'll cross that bridge next year.

Big question: Did this blog help me get a new job? In a word... No.

Did it raise my profile, increase my chances of finding a new job? Yes.

At the end of the day I found a job because of people I know who contacted me out of the blue. But the blog did not actually lead to that. It was fun to do -- especially the Metro article and being on CityNews TV -- but once I started taking on more freelance work, it got too much to keep up.

It was easy at the start when a lot was happening, job interviews and so on, but I found it harder to maintain as nothing different was really happening in my routine after a while once I had paying clients to put first.

Anyway, all that's just a personal insight. It was fun and I've decided to keep it open in case I want to continue it as just a regular blog. That way I have no pressure on myself to write stuff, only when I feel like it.

So, thanks for all the links, e-mails, flames and encouragement -- and thanks for reading!

Cheers,
John.

Still Around

Still here! The only time I get to post now is at the weekend as I'm freelancing during the week. Lots going on behind the scenes, looking good though.

Mixed Bag

It's been a very mixed week.

I did a small piece of freelance work for UCC; began the process of parking and monetizing 56 unused domain names for David Bronstein; wrote a draft press pitch for a new reality TV show starting very soon; attended a seminar on starting your own business; met for coffee with a freelance graphic designer friend of the family to gauge her interest in taking on some work I may need to outsource; and set up a 2nd interview at a major non-profit for early next week.

And it felt like patio weather today too!

Lucky Escape

Saw an ad for a position that interested me, worth an application to find out more...

[Reproduced verbatim.]

Company: "When would you like to come for discussion?"

Me: "Thanks for the quick reply. Please can you let me know where you're based?"

Company: "****/****."

Me: "OK, cool. Please can you send me your phone number so I can ask a few questions about the position?"

Company: "You can ask any question by e-mail."

Me: "Please can you give me a salary range?"

Company: "Sure, but I need to know what can you do for me first."

Well, you already know "what I can do for you first" as I outlined it in my comprehensive cover letter and resume. And I'm not jumping through hoops for a company that won't even give me a phone number to call.

Delete.

UCC

Spent a nice week in the Blue Mountain resort at Collingwood, not skiing, but enjoying some good food, drinks and poker with friends. My batteries are recharged and I'm back into the reality of working for a living.

I now have Upper Canada College as a client and went in Friday to do some writing/editing/website work for them. The world of communications and PR is definitely different from the other side of the desk that I'm used to, but I'm learning a lot of new skills and rounding out my resume. It pays better too.

Friday Fun

A cool few days. Downtown with David Bronstein yesterday for a meeting with a third party, things happening next week with a famous face, keep an eye out. It's fun and I'm learning a whole new range of skills.

Also had an "interview" -- that's in "" -- because it's a former colleague I used to work with that needs a communications/editor person, followed up on that today. Would be great to commit to that as I could still do freelance PR/own company stuff in my spare time.

To that end, had another meeting downtown today with a PR company owner that I've been talking to about setting up some sort of c0-op scheme whereby we swap skills, clients and workload. For the price of a lunch I picked her very smart brains clean and learned more in one hour than a day of looking on Google.

I feel great about where my future career is heading now; it's very exciting and different to what I've done over the last 11 years working in the media. And I like taking control of my own destiny.

So, the Friday Fun part? Our American friend Sheryl is flying in tonight for a week, so time to have some fun...

Have a great weekend!

Rolling Up My Sleeves

Been another busy time. I am putting together my own business plan now and want to get something going quickly. I have a few clients lined up, but need to formalize some stuff first before I get going in the world of self-employment and the rewards that will bring.

Also contacted a few potential partner companies that I want to work with, as there are some skills I need that they can provide.

More to come soon...

Early Hours And My Ex Appeal

It's 5.43 a.m. and I've just spent an hour uploading some videos to Revver. Quickly realizing the freelance game is not a 9-5 clock-watching-then-go-home life, but it's cool. Got a meeting downtown at 11 so need to get back to bed and catch some zzz's for that.

On another front, an ex-Rogers editor hired an ex-Silicon Valley NORTH freelancer a while back. Now they need someone to take on a year's contract in a few months, so contacted me to see if I'm interested. Looks quite appealing so am checking that option out.

Chicago Pizza (The Action)

Forgot to mention my efforts today at setting up David Bronstein and his new reality show with a major distributor based in Chicago, a contact I made back at Beer.com actually. He found my blog and got back in touch, so it's a small world.

I Think Alex Tew Is Doing The Spice Test

Was just doing some browsing on the popular YouTube vids and came across the Spice Test. Not bad at over a million views. I think it's Alex Tew, he of the Million Dollar Homepage trying a viral, just a hunch.

I interviewed him for Beer.com at the peak of his money-making success. He's also got a British accent. And the user is "GistheName" as in guess the name.

Compare...



Spice Test Guy



Alex Tew

Have a good weekend!

The Lone Arranger

Set up a meeting downtown today with my mate's start-up and the PR woman I met with last week. Basically she will get us press, exposure and all that jazz in return for exclusive access to some of the clients that we are working with.

It's a win-win so that's another "to-do" crossed off the list.

Spent the last day or two proofing a letter to investors and uploading a whole lot of content to some of the main money-making sites such as Revver and Metacafe.

Now I'm moving onto my other PR gig. A former Rogers Media Publishing colleague of mine has put together a classy website template for when... and if! ... I make it all official and register a company name to put all this under. Too busy at the moment laying the foundations.

How To Screw Up Your Job Interview

There's a lot of very useful interview tips in this article. Most are common sense but it's good to have a checklist of things to follow.

Forget the paper round and the after-school gig in a grocery store, my career started in 1986 with hope, ambition and a good Rick Astley suit so I've been through one or two job interviews. They used to make me nervous, but not now as I know my worth and what I can bring to a company so that gives me confidence. If the interviewer thinks I'm not right for a job, then another one down the line will. I take the meetings very seriously though as first impressions last and you only get one shot, especially if it's a really good opportunity with lots of candidates.

Anyway, to round out the article above, here's some tips on things not to do, or, How To Screw Up Your Job Interview.

1) Don't be late. No excuse -- you know the time and date, you Google the area to find a coffee shop and kill time. Invest a dollar in a beverage and pretend to read the free commuter paper 10 times. Which leads nicely into:
2) Drink tea. Not good to walk into the interview and blast them with a dose of Colombian special blend coffee breath.
3) Make good eye contact. That doesn't mean constantly staring at them like you'll be dropping gloves [for Canadian interviewers], whooping their goddamn ass [for American interviewers] or using duelling pistols at the crack of dawn [for British interviewers]. Looking at someone while talking to them is simply a sign of respect, not a challenge.
4) Don't lie. An obvious no-brainer tip, but be honest about what you've achieved as they can easily do some research and find out. Saying that "I have a lot of experience bringing substantial resources into a company," isn't the same as your former colleagues making you do the lunchtime sandwich run every day so you'd feel more popular.
5) When asked, "So, where do you see yourself in a year's time?" DO NOT reply "In your chair, yesterday's man."
6) Never diss former colleagues or companies you've worked for. Trust me, that boss you hated -- the one with no talent and a lazy eye -- that's the interviewer's brother-in-law. It's a very small world.
7) Be prepared for everyone's favourite interview question: "When was a time that you faced conflict, and what steps did you take to overcome the issues?" [Forget tip #4 at this stage and make up some story about how you were really ill one day, there was a major snowstorm brewing and even though the boss begged you to go home, you fought back and demanded to stay and put the finishing touches to an Excel spreadsheet highlighting sales figures for fiscal year 2003. Or something like that... something that can't be checked. Turn a negative into a positive.]
8) Don't keep checking your watch. Even though it may be past the time to check your blood sugar levels, stick it out. Risk a twitching fainting fit -- which might not even happen so the odds are good -- rather than looking at your watch as though you're bored and have somewhere better to be.
9) Your first question should not be: "Will my expense account include Vegas?"
10) End the interview by thanking them for their time and telling the next candidate waiting outside that they've had a wasted journey.

So, avoid those clangers and you should be fine.

Viral

Two things today... had the meeting downtown with a small PR company, a nice chat with a very smart lady, need to put my thinking cap on and suggest how I can help her. I am really amazed at a niche customer base she mentioned that is not being served, especially in a place like Toronto.

Then got an e-mail from a company I contacted that wants me to call them and discuss some viral marketing ideas; I'm intrigued.

[Still deciding on setting up a PR biz of my own. Would take me away from a full-time job search, but it could lead me into a career I never considered before. And then there's the start-up I'm helping. I can sense a crossroads coming.]

Nice To Meet You

Followed up on an interview I had before Christmas, thought it was dead in the water after so long... but the company wants me to follow-up next week. A glimmer of hope, but I'm not celebrating till I sign a contract!

Then I went downtown on a beautiful sunny day, met the start-up team and had a meeting with a large Canadian broadcaster that I arranged. It was a "getting to know you" meeting but I think it went well, and now the ball is in our court for the next step. Gets the blood pumping for sure.

Big Deal... Or No Big Deal?

I'm number 1 on Google now for the search term "john carson blog" which is cool, now easy to find me. Sorry to any other John Carson out there with a blog...

It's not hard to get a top 5 position on Google these days. Just need to get linked from certain high-profile sites and other bloggers. (But it doesn't pay the bills so keep those e-mails coming!)

Bud.TV: A Taste Of The Future Of Online Content?

This article caught my eye this morning. It talks about a beer company -- always a bonus -- but it also looks at the future of online content, an area that interests me and that I have a lot of experience in.

It also references my former employer too near the end.

"Armed with a $30M budget, Bud.TV is a who’s who of successful creators and businesspeople trying to crack the code: Reach men and get their attention, which is no easy feat."

The article talks about a beer company's attempts to target a certain demographic, but screwed it up somewhat by requiring a lengthy registration process. The writer is also crtitical of the actual content itself as not offering anything of real substance that you can't get elsewhere, like trailers and sneak peeks.

I agree. Why would you spend 10 minutes typing in your personal details just to watch a clip that you can get immediately on Apple.com's trailer section? Seems like a waste of time. I understand they need to collect certain info (age being one of them considering the company) but these days users are fickle and will just jump to another video-sharing site if the sign-up process is too much of a hassle.

Just an e-mail should be enough for the time being, then once they become regular visitors you can offer them an e-newsletter, contests, promos and so on in which they do have to supply names and addresses.

Three's Company

I've dived behind the overt job market today and made three good contacts.

One... is the woman who runs a very funky little PR company that I e-mailed expressing an interest to work there. Been invited to meet next week.

Two... is the main player(s) behind a recent Web 2.0 launch, not hard to work out which one. Meeting being set up as part of the ongoing relationship-building tasks for my mate's start-up.

Three... is a friend of someone who works at a very large entertainment company. Asking him to get my name and resume in front of the 100's for a cool job that I spotted.

(All without stepping out into the -25 wind chill.)

BlogTV.ca... Time For A Video Resume?

Had a strategy meeting downtown today with the start-up company I'm helping out, very interesting stuff. Trying to build relationships with new and exciting online properties and also get an advisory board together.

My journo friend attended the launch of BlogTV on Wednesday. This looks very cool especially as I've been blogging a lot in the last two months, and I'm about to get a Webcam. Might record a "video resume" or something.

Alliance Atlantis is licensing the BlogTV service from Israeli company Tapuz, who appear to license the service on a geographic basis, so only Canadian users will be able to access BlogTV -- for now. We'll see if that changes.

Kevin Federline Leaked Super Bowl Commercial

On a lighter note, there is someone who is more unemployed than me. (Already pulled from YouTube, and the title will be a hot search in the blogosphere = hello traffic.)

Want fries with that?

PR? Hmmm.

A former colleague saw my CityNews slot and asked me if I'd be interested in trying to get the same kind of exposure for a couple of his niche Web properties. I'm seriously thinking about it.

I tried PR in the UK and only lasted three months. I am a creative guy, but was very frustrated that every press release or article I wrote promoting the client was checked by around two million people in the chain before it was released. I understand it has to be the right message, accurate and so on... but if you work on something for too long and have too much input from too many people with too many opinions for too many days, then it loses the original buzz and impact. So I quit, and vowed never to work at a PR job.

But, my attitude has changed since setting up the blog and I realise that I can get things noticed in the right places if I am interested enough in the property I am trying to push. So, I am toying with the idea of setting up my own little one-man-band PR biz for clients that interest me, that I can approach with some guerrilla marketing ideas. Low overheads for me, lower costs for them.

CityNews TV Interview

Yesterday I e-mailed Amber MacArthur of CityNews and told her about my blog. Just by chance she was planning a story on people using online media to find jobs. Great timing!

She came by today with her cameraman Al and interviewed me for tonight's CityNews so I'm keen to see how it turns out and what happens to my blog traffic.

You can click here to watch the video. Just type "january 26 2007" into the search box at the bottom, and my news item is the 2nd one along.

Here's a couple of pics of Amber doing her promos in my den.

TV Interview Tomorrow

I contacted a TV station and they're coming to my place tomorrow for an interview that will be broadcast later in the day. Will post details and a link once it's done. (Now I gotta clean the condo, ah well.)

Biz Plans Are Not The Yawn I Thought They'd Be

Just had a quick Messenger chat with a former Beer.com colleague and realised I haven't updated the blog in a few days, so taking a couple of minutes to put that right.

Been very busy writing the Web content part of a business plan for my friend's start-up, so making sure it's the best it can be as a lot rides on it. I was dreading it actually -- thought it would be too dry -- but I'm very happy with how it's going. It's exciting to put a vision down on paper, guidelines that you hope people will at least try and follow so they become successful.

Break over... back to it.

Scratching Backs

Never say never... I am doing some freelance stuff to keep busy, which is pretty interesting actually as it's for a start-up that needs some help. It's for a friend of mine, so no coin, but I'm happy to help out rather than get bored at home. They need some knowledge that I got in my last job so it's easy for me to sort that out without breaking a sweat.

Slip Sliding Away

A busy couple of days to start the week...

Got some replies to my "What's up?" e-mails about past jobs I've interviewed for. Job 1 hasn't replied yet, job 2 said it will be a week or two before they decide... so in limbo on those prospects.

I was downtown at a meeting yesterday. Nearly hit a streetcar on King when my car slid backwards down an icy slope. Staring death in the face will not thwart my job search.

A TV network contacted me yesterday about an interview... looked like a junior role to me... asked for the salary range... much too low, so declined. As I mentioned in another post, salary is NOT a taboo subject. I didn't waste their time going for an interview, nor mine when the time is better spent prospecting.

"Please Can You Let Me Know..."

Time to start tying up some loose ends.

This morning I sent a couple of e-mails to companies that interviewed me before Christmas, so they've had a couple of weeks now to decide if I'm still in the running or whether they are still seeing other people. Both are very big companies, so the wheels may be grinding slower than normal.

Being in limbo is the worst part about job hunting. Better to get the "No thanks" and move onto the next opportunity, rather than not knowing.

But, of course, the "We are pleased to offer you..." is always better!

Still Around

Still around, just a lot going on behind the scenes.

Stretch For That Line

Friday's meeting was postponed till today; was there for four hours, could be some good news soon. At the very least, it was nice to get out in the sun.

The article I wrote for RGX Life was never used unfortunately, but I still got paid for it so that's cool. Maybe I do have a sideline as a freelance writer after all? That uncertain life has never really appealed to me though.

[Any tech pubs reading this who need an 800-word article on a smart young business guy, give me a shout.]

End Of A Quiet Week

As expected, this was a short and quiet week.

I had one speculative e-mail from someone who passed my blog along -- I could tell by the e-mail address that it came to -- sending me details about a job I had actually already spotted a few weeks ago. It was writing about a subject matter that I don't know much about, and also the position was less senior than the one I want... so I declined.

Next week should be much busier on the job hunt front, so have a great weekend.

Ten Ways To Use LinkedIn

I'm a big fan of LinkedIn -- it's helped me stay connected to former colleagues, make contacts and allow others to approach me after seeing my work history.

Guy Kawasaki has an excellent list of 10+bonus ways to use the networking site here.

(And thanks for lunch Sue... good luck on the big day!)

3... 2... 1...

I have to head to Mississauga tomorrow to pick up my final cheque from Beer.com, so will try and have coffee too with a former Beer-dot-commer and catch up.

Been invited downtown on Friday for an important meeting, looks interesting.

Back At Work... For Other People

A nice sunny day greeted the commuters heading to work today after the hangovers had worn off. My New Year's Resolution = job!

Someone who apparently used to work with a few of the Beer-dot-commers contacted me out of the blue via my LinkedIn profile, and wants to chat, so that looks interesting. Still waiting on an important e-mail that I thought would arrive last week.

Also, the website I wrote the article for decided not to use it, but are still paying me, so that's cool. Plus I can now use that article somewhere else.

See Ya Later, 2006

Had my last interview of 2006 today; got through it despite a bad headache caused by a stiff neck. Still waiting on a couple of job-related e-mails, but it's looking likely that I won't be back in work by January 2nd.

Tomorrow is another day though, so unless I post something, wishing you all a great 2007!

Party Break

Christmas is over, turkey for the next 15 lunches, New Year's Eve on the way. Let's have a break to find a job!

Just completed a telephone interview, went well, downtown tomorrow for a face-to-face chat.

Merry Christmas!

It was a jungle out there today as I made my way to Mississauga through the rain and craaazzyy Canadian drivers for the morning interview. Got back and made a telephone interview appointment for next Wednesday with another company.

There's other stuff going on behind the scenes though.

So, nothing left to say this week except Merry Christmas!

Day Out In The Sun

I'm in a good position at the moment, personally, so decided to leave the computer den behind and venture downtown on a beautiful sunny official first day of winter.

First port of call was lunch with a freelancer who used to write for me at Silicon Valley NORTH, now a good friend. Very skilled and dedicated, so if anyone needs a good tech writer give me a shout and I'll pass it on. (We said 10% commission, right Pat?)

Then onwards for a job agency meet. Very interesting; I met all the top people there -- some I'd met before, some only by e-mail -- and we discussed some possibilities. I know for sure that I took myself out of a few vacancies they had, but they didn't suit my skills and personality. Others could be coming along soon though, so might lead to a nice opportunity.

Then a quick stroll in the sun took me a few blocks where I had a Guinness with someone who used to be in the SAS (Special Air Service) and a tour of the members' club where they meet. Very interesting indeed. Amazing to hear some of the stuff that goes on.

Got home, did a quick tour of duty of my own around the job boards, pretty sparse today... all the recruiters are off Christmas shopping I expect.

Interview tomorrow morning, last one before the holidays -- time to research the company.

Johnny C's Juicy Jobs Of The Week

[Weird title, huh? Not if you've listened to any of the Beer.com podcasts it's not, but this is a family-friendly blog.]

First order of busines today was to fax my invoice for a freelance article I wrote recently. That will be featured on a website to be launched very soon. I accepted a lower freelance rate than normal for two reasons: (1) It's a new launch, so will have the heck promoted out of it and my name gets a nice boost, and (2) The subject matter pertains to a situation that could help me big time, so by losing a small bit of cash with the lower rate it could reap much larger dividends in the future. Time will tell...

Also found out that a few ex-colleagues are reading my blog. Thanks chaps, much appreciated! Still feels like I'm there with you playing Xbox games in the kitchen instead of making the company money. Good memories. Oops, too much? [Insert ironic smiley icon here, not sure what intricate combination of commas and semicolons to use for that wry facial expression.]

So, here's a few tips for anyone else out there looking for a new job. In no particular order. You're welcome.

Be Patient
Unless you're the only person in the whole world who can do your job, you won't get a response to your application the next day. Sometimes not even for a week. Be patient, send it and forget it. They will call you for an interview if they're interested. Move onto the next application and remember that you haven't got a new job till you sign that contract. All the talk and negotiation is just part of the game.

Salary Is Not Taboo
I always ask the salary range in the first interview, or even on the phone when I get called if possible. It's better not to waste people's time if it's not in the range you're looking for. I got strung along years back through three interviews before finding out it was a salary that was much too low for my experience. Only made that mistake once.

Pack, Not Pad, Your Resume
There's two camps on this. The "one-page bullet point resume" or the "three-page detailed resume." I have tried both ways in the past, and have found that the latter gets more response. Put your profile, relevant experience and accomplishments at the top for the "HR scanners" who want that quick hit of info. But include the rest further down. Don't leave them guessing, or force them to make an extra phone call to fill in the blanks. Make their job easy and lay it all on the line when you apply. Takes a while to put a full resume together, but it's worth it in the long run. My opinion only, and I know people will disagree... but it's my blog.

We Want God To Work For Us
No they don't. Most job descriptions list all the qualifications that the ideal candidate will have, for example, God. Don't be put off applying just because you don't have skill #29 out of 40. The ideal candidate doesn't exist. If you have 75% of the skills the company is looking for, it's worth going for it. They will train you or outsource the rest. But be realistic. If it stresses "Must speak Spanish" and you don't, then you're going to look a right tool when they ask you to phone the sales office in Madrid and translate for the CEO.

Compromise
Negotiating the final offer is a game of tennis. They lob an offer at you... you take a step back, think about the return... and lob the ball back with a spin on it. Unless you're extremely lucky -- or the person in the first tip that is the only one who can do that job -- then you won't get all you ask for. You have to compromise and look at the big picture. Make sure the offer is a fair one, and feel good about it, otherwise you will resent the company as having put one over on you when actually start the job. It's only downhill from there. You gotta work for a living, so at least enjoy it and feel like you're being aptly rewarded. You'll do a better job too.

Send Two Applications
When you apply, if it's just an hr@company.com or info@company.com e-mail then use that, but also research someone at the company who heads the department you are aiming at, and cc them the e-mail too. [Risky if the person you cc doesn't realise it's their job you're applying for. Oh well, that's business life, and means HR aren't being discreet enough if that happens.] All the "hr" and "info" applications will go into one slush pile, but hopefully yours will be rerouted through the company and get noticed. This tip worked for me recently actually... but I aimed for the boss of the company as a long shot.

Get A Life!
Don't spend all day in front of the computer looking for a job and panicking. You'll be running around the Internet like a headless chicken. Have a system and stick to it. Get out, grab a tea, hit the gym -- don't feel guilty that you're missing opportunities, they will be there tomorrow.

[Disclaimer: By having read all the above confirms you agree that a new job is not guaranteed. You can't not agree because you've already read this sentence, thus agreeing. So you can't sue me. Good luck!]

Sometimes 2nd Is Good

2nd interview today, also got a late e-mail last night for an interview on Friday.

How come the week before Christmas has been the busiest yet? Yeah, I been a good boy Santa, bring me a job.

Britney Spears Is Not Person Of The Year

I just wanted you to know that. I also wanted you to know that it's also a blatant linkbait title, as "Britney Spears" and "Person Of The Year" are the top two searched terms on Technorati today, so will bring me some extra traffic on a quiet Monday.

So, plans for this week. Got the 2nd interview call I was waiting for, so that's tomorrow, followed by another interview somewhere else. Busy afternoon downtown.

The business profile article I recently wrote for a new website that's launching soon has been accepted, just negotiating a fee for that. Was under the assumption it might have led to something more permanent, but that's to be discussed too once the site launches.

Waiting on a follow-up call from Friday's interview, hopefully will lead to a 2nd.

Back downtown Thursday to see a job agency. All the events this week will probably be the last shake of the dice before the holiday period.

Checked my stats today again, getting quite a few referrals from Meaghan -- thanks! (Charlie Parker looks cool.)

On another note, my travel website is being featured in a book that's coming out in the UK soon. They e-mailed to check some details... apparently it was in the last edition too and I never even knew.

Today's dreadmill album was The Charlatans. [Little-known Make Johnny Cash factoid #26: We had a friend in the UK -- Dave Collins -- and his brother Mark was in the band. Never got free tickets though.]

Saturday Snip

Too busy to post yesterday, just chilling tonight and spotted who Time has chosen as its Person of the Year: You.

As I mentioned a few days ago, it's now Web Who.0.

Full article.

I Digg You, Man

I always write the blog entry in my head during my daily hour on the treadmill. Or "dreadmill" as I call it because I hate exercise. (Thanks, Miss Kittin, for the awesome mix to get me through.)

Today I was thinking about how tiny the Web really is. My stats have been excellent since the Metro article yesterday -- I now know that other people apart from my mum and Greg Hughes are reading it -- and I have a job interview tomorrow as a result of it.

The irony? In the article I talk about readers in Australia knowing someone in Canada... but somone who used to run a pub just down the road from my condo spotted me, and sent me a lead. Talk about a small world!

My job agency meeting was postponed today, so I had time to analyze some of the blog's stats. It's quite surprising some of the companies that are checking it, totally unrelated to my field. But that's great too, they might know someone. As for Australia, there is a reader there too so if you DO happen to have a cousin who works in media HR in Canada, then give me a shout.



I also noticed some referrals from Digg, which is useful too. [If you don't know what Digg is, then I have two possible responses: (1) Move along, there's nothing to see here; or (2) I can help you with that.]

An e-mail arrived today asking which PR company I worked for, and what product I was stealth marketing?

Sorry man, I'm real. I am not a Lonelygirl15 looking to make a quick buck. Forget the "Make Johnny Cash" moniker; that's just a catchy URL, easy to remember. Ignore the Google Adwords on the left; that's just code I already had from my other website... and I made a whopping $3.50 from it today which I splurged on a sausage and egg lunch at a terrific greasy spoon.

People who know the real me know that I am not an in-your-face personality. In fact, I'm more a behind-the-scenes shirtsleeves-rolled-up person. But when circumstances change, like... umm... UNEMPLOYMENT... you have to do what makes you feel a bit uncomfortable sometimes and lay it on the line.

In fact, the Metro article yesterday was only the 2nd time I've ever been in front of thousands of people. The other time was when I appeared on (don't laugh) Jonovision in 2001 to talk about cheap travel in Israel. Scariest experience of my life actually. No crowd tougher than a teenage audience.

And while writing this someone else just called with an opportunity, but it was a night shift. Appreciate the call, and thanks, but I like my work/life balance too much for those hours.

So, all in all, a cool day. Looking for more traffic once the article is posted on the Metro website and has a clickable link.

Good Morning, Metro Readers

As a former editor, I know what makes their job easier. You contact them, offer a unique story with a nice angle that's tailored to their publication and target market, supply a source, even a photo too.

So that's what I did the day after being laid off. I got in touch with the Canadian media and offered them 800 words to fill part of the careers section in their respective publications. Told them about my blog, job search efforts and would they be interested?

Metro stepped up to the plate, and today's article is the result. Much appreciated guys! Free ink for you, and free PR for me.

So, if anyone out there likes my initiative, attitude and determination to get back into Commuter Land with my own copy of Metro to read on the TTC then please contact me at the e-mail on the left. Thanks.

Download article as PDF.

Web Who.0

October 9, 2006 was the day that "Web 2.0" became "Web Who.0."

That was when TechCrunch confirmed that Google had acquired YouTube for $1.65 billion. No small change, especially as the video-sharing site had no apparent revenue stream.

So what do I mean by Web Who.0?

Things had moved on since cool new sites sprang up -- normally ending in "r" like Flickr, for example -- with blue and green logos reflected in a shiny white background with nice rounded corners. Internet group hug.

Anything could be done on the Web. Applications were shared, people logged in and corrected information using Wiki software and the Web was once again one big community, run by the users and not the corporations. They had to scramble to keep up and adapt. Rupert Murdoch saw the light a while back and snapped up MySpace for a -- with hindsight -- bargain price of $580 million, now valued at around $6 billion [his words]. Even though millions of people use it every day, it still looks shit.

But that's not the point. The point is that people don't care how something looks or works, they just want to see themselves on it: "Hey, Grandma Scratchett, this is Timmy. I just uploaded a funny video of me falling in a puddle of water on YouTube, come and check it out! 234,754 other people have!" Web Who.0.

Or: "We're a new band called Satan's Sweaty Socks, totally cool and the NEXT BIG THING! Come and hear some of our music on MySpace. Even Lindsay Lohan and some dude called Tom are our friends, they linked to us!" Web Who.0.

There was an article I spotted yesterday about Metacafe shopping themselves around for a buyer. They value themselves at around $300-$500 million. Just a figure thrown out there. The question is who will buy them, not for how much. Web Who.0.

I joined Web Who.0 by setting up this blog. It's about me. Using Blogger, no big deal, there's lots of free blogging applications out there. Who is this guy? Why should we read his blog? What is he doing? What has he done? Who links to him? Who subscribes to his RSS feed?

And the all-important one... who will he be working for next?

"RECRUITERS are stealing your IDENTITY"

Interesting post on Craigslist, seems a very all-encompassing statement. There is a police e-mail, but take that with a pinch of salt. Sure if a genuine employee they would have given a bit more guidance.

"beware if you send your resume to these so called recruiters. they post jobs that don't exist, it's called phishing. your info is then sold on the black market to the highest bidder. do not reply to any 3rd party ads, only directly to the company you are applying too. email: fraudsquad@torontopolice.on.ca"

Link.

2nd Interview

Been invited back for a 2nd interview, excellent. Trying to arrange it for Thursday afternoon as I'm downtown for an agency meeting in the morning so can just head there after a Subway or Tim's.

Friday's brainstorm was great. Think I bonded well with the techie as it's the first time I met her, and that's half the battle before starting a new project. We actually mulled over the idea of a 2nd site too, so will probably get started on those this coming Friday as side projects.

Have been playing phone tennis with another job agent for a while. Finally got to speak to her today, but unfortunately the opportunity involved dealing with a lot of advertisers, so it wasn't for me. I can build it, but you gotta sell it!

The Million Dollar Kid Is Back!

No, not me. I wish. The guy I mean is Alex Tew, he of the Million Dollar Homepage that caused one of the biggest viral buzzes on the Internet since it started. "Buy a pixel advert? Are you crazy?!" He made a cool million bucks.

I mention him because he just launched Pixelotto a few days ago, and has already sold $127,000 worth of ad space. The hook is that people who don't buy ads also have the chance to make a cool million. You'll have to check the site to sign up. I have.

"So, John... why are you mentioning this in your job search blog?"

Thanks for asking. I interviewed Tew for an article at Beer.com and was very impressed with his attitude. He was on the verge of making a million, doing -- let's be honest -- nothing. All he started with was a unique crazy idea that people initially laughed at, then jumped straight on once they saw how fast it exploded. There have been many impersonators since, but the original is still the best.

On the phone he was very relaxed about the whole thing, had no ego even though his site was No. 1 on the Web for a while. He was a Brit too and we all know they're a cool tribe, right? ;-)

[If you ever see this Alex, how about donating a few spare pixels to my blog, old mate? Old pal. Old buddy.]

I hate to use that phrase "think out of the box" but that's what he did. I say why put yourself in a box in the first place? Too confining. That's one of the reasons why this blog exists -- to try a new approach to getting a great job. I haven't seen a blog like it, and if there is one out there, by all means let me know so I can mention it.

I'm not an Alex Tew. I won't make a million with this blog. Would be nice, but that's not the point. But I admire him for trying something new to achieve the desired result, and I am too.

Good luck, Limey!

So, other matters...

The good news is I have another interview lined up at a cool company. Bad news is it's not till the 19th. Ah well, wish it was sooner but other people's schedules are not as, well, free as mine at the moment. Good job I have Messenger open to feel connected to the workforce, otherwise I'd go stir crazy.

A guy called JT contacted me to add my blog to a new feed that's launched. I appreciate the personal touch, so here's a plug for that: Outpost Earth.

And now I'm off downtown to meet a former colleague and his coding guru for a few beers and a brainstorm on our new website to be launched soon. Very unique, and there won't be a pixel ad in site.

See you Monday, have a great one.

A Monster Amount Of Spam

Just searched Monster, and got the following results:

It's very frustrating to see the same job repeated a few times, day after day. Monster... please! Check your code to stop this, or hire me to come and sort it out for you. Also it doesn't look good for C4 Marketing Solutions who may not be aware that it looks like they're spamming the job boards. But if they are? Hmmm. Not a good form of marketing, if you ask me.

Two Agency Calls

Got two agency calls while out running some errands. Made a meeting time with one for next Thursday, waiting to hear back from the other (a great online opportunity).

Short blog today... gotta head downtown now for the first Christmas party of the season. Lot of media people will be there so I can relax and network at the same time.

Planning Ahead

Busy one today. Had to answer a slew of questions for some "John PR" that I'm working on. To that end, had to get in touch with a former contributor that used to write a column for me, get them involved, then take some photos.

Also set a meeting for Friday with a friend and his former work colleague. Been mulling a new website idea for a while -- it's very unique, nothing out there like it -- so need to sit down with them and get a plan of action going. Very excited about it! Won't be my full-time day job, but something to do on the side. Who knows? It might explode and be my full-time job, we'll see.

Turned down a "can't pay you but please get involved" offer. Loved the site and subject matter, but need to put my energy into finding something to pay the bills at the moment. Left it on good terms though, so might still contribute in the future once I'm back on my feet.

[After all that was sorted out, planned some Friday night research into drinking a Guinness or two.]

Let's Just Back Up A Bit

Got my most important task of the day out of the way early... posted Christmas cards to my family and friends in the UK so as not to miss the deadline -- they'd kill me!

I chased up a media lead that I thought might have been history, but the contact is interested in talking to me about something, so that looks exciting. More on that if it happens.

Sent an article I'd written to a freelance journalist that used to write for me at Silicon Valley NORTH. He might be able to use it fully for another publication, or as the starting point/background research for his own article. Would be great PR for the person profiled, and good for me too if things progress as I hope they do.

Final task was to visit Beer.com and download all the work I did there, and convert to PDF format so that they're easy to e-mail as writing samples. I've already done that for all my older work. Then I converted all my references too, and sent copies to a spare e-mail address as a free off-computer server. Realised that if my PC got fried I would lose all that hard work and history, so took the time to archive it.

I decided not to link directly to any of that stuff from this blog -- but they're all available for any serious potential employers that want to see some of my editorial work, and references.

A Shout Out To Fred Langa

I'm mentioning Fred Langa for one reason: traffic.

He has a tech e-newsletter called The Langalist that has over 150,000 subscribers. If you link to him, he adds you to a forthcoming issue and there's an explosion in your stats. I have linked to him for a few of my other websites in the past and the results were excellent -- so if it ain't broke, don't fix it.

Most of the readers are in the US, but one thing leads to another sometimes. Plus, it gives me a great boost in the Google rankings.

[So, welcome Langalist readers! Pass my blog details onto your HR person, thanks.]

Reading Between The Lines

There's a lot of stuff you can say in a resume, whether it's one page of bullet points or a 10-page masterpiece (that won't all get read by the way), but that doesn't tell the whole story.

The personality of the person applying for the job is important too. Will they be a good fit for the role? Will they get on well with the team already in place? Do they say one thing to you and mean another?

A work ethic is something that you can't write down... it's something that you should already have built in. My work ethic is very high -- but you expect me to say that right? This is a job search blog after all. ("Nah, we thought you'd say 'I'm bloody lazy and only want a job because daytime TV is crap.'")

Here's some extra info that you won't see on my resume, just to fill out the profile...

Contrary to popular opinion, in England our parents don't send us up to clean chimneys at the age of five, and we don't live in a cardboard box "bah tha side of t' road." (Thanks Monty Python.) But I did "start work" when I was around nine. I used to get up at 6 a.m. for a newspaper delivery round. It was only about 30 houses I delivered to, but when you're a kid it seems like a real job.

Come rain, shine and snow, I did that for about two years and earned the grand sum of three pounds a week. Saved up for comics, toys and a Sinclair ZX Spectrum computer which -- in those days was like the Xbox 360 or PS3 -- and had the 48k of memory I thought would last forever. Christmas was good because there'd be an envelope stuck to most of the doors containing a few extra pounds from the customers... all apart from Mrs. Brown at no. 32, cheap old biddy. (She had a hair sticking out of a mole on her cheek too, funny what you remember.)

Anyway, started our version of high school at 11, and outgrew the newspaper round, but was really into earning extra cash apart from the pocket money my parents gave me. So I started a part-time job two days a week after school and Saturdays. That was in a greengrocers (grocery store) just stacking shelves, making sure the fruit and veg was fresh, that sort of thing. Stuck at that for a couple of years too.

So, high school finished at 16 and I was thrust out into the real world. Through my dad's friend (already networking!) I started as a messenger boy working in a London stockbroking firm. I had to carry stock certificates and other documents across the city, menial back office duties and -- my all-time favourite job -- clean out the coffee machine. Cool!

After the fifth time of spilling coffee dregs down my 1986-style light grey suit and yellow tie, I decided enough was enough and asked the company to pay for me to attend a class after work once a week to become a "real" stock dealer. They were the whizzkids of Thatcher's Britain at the time, gelled-back Gordon Gecko hair and Porsches, and I wanted in.

So, took the class for two months, failed the exam the first time, passed the second -- and I became a junior dealer on the desk. Of course I was everyone's whipping boy, always are in that high-octane, big-pressure monied environment, but it was cool, fun and exciting. I was very naive though, and didn't understand the way the world worked...

One day a partner upstairs in the hallowed halls had a bit too much gin and tonic at lunchtime, and screwed up a big order that put the company in a lot of financial trouble. Of course, being the new kid on the desk, I had to phone around the markets and clean up the mess. I was pissed off that I had to work double hard to clear up that guy's mistake who had been in the biz for years, and made some comment to a colleague about "the old fart being drunk again" or something. Of course, that comment wasn't taken well -- even though it was true -- and I was told not to repeat stuff like that. [Blogs are great, aren't they?]

From that moment I realized it was them and us. One set of rules for certain people, and if your face doesn't fit or you don't play the game, then you're screwed.

I was out of there at 19, strapped a backpack on and saw the world -- well -- Australia, Asia, The Middle East and a lot of Europe anyway. Best education is life education, and it changed me as a person. I wrote a book about two years in Israel too.

Went back to college at 24 to get my journalism career underway, which is what I'd always wanted to do anyway, and the rest is all on my resume.

I now bring a wider outlook to my career and always look at the big picture in situations. I take a deep breath before making major decisions, I'm not quick to judge people, I speak my mind (which offends some, but at least we both know where we stand), I always rely on my instincts and make sure that anything that has my name on it is the best it can be before it goes out the door.

So, that's all the extra stuff that doesn't include words like "synergy," "process management" and the classic "let's run it up the flagpole and see how it flies."

But, I can still say more in an interview situation. Hint hint.

Have a great weekend, see you Monday back in the job search trenches.