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So on the very same day that my 2004 Halloween costume is the subject of a post on Deadspin, my older sister is named Associate Editor of the mothership, Gawker!
Good times!
Read about it here.
More coverage here, along with a really, umm, bad picture of my sister having gotten entirely too much sun.
NBA 07 "The Life, Volume 2" has created a fake character (they also used him last season) -- Billy Joe Cuthbert -- who looks suspicioulsy, OK, EXACTLY like MY FREAKIN' HALLOWEEN COSTUME FROM 2004!!!!
Who do I contact for royalties?!?!?!?!?!
I'll let you be the judge:
Here's Billy Joe Cuthbert...
Here's me in, remember, 2004...
I found this Google recruitment video on YouTube...note, this was put up on April 27, 2006, long before GOOG bought YouTube.
Some comments:
1) Google is putting their recruitment advertising on one of the most highly trafficked video sites on WWW.
2) It didn't cost them a dime.
3) This must have been part of some female software engineer recruiting kick. It's hosted by a woman who is a Director of Software Engineering, and almost all of the interviews are with women software engineers.
4) Beyond all the corporate-speak and "I get to work on amazing things", blah blah blah, Google (at least their Mountain View campus) *does* look like a great place to work (especially for women, hint, hint), at least as "great" refers to benefits, distractions, fun, etc.
I would've expected something a little more quirky and off-beat from Google. Although in looking at past recruitment advertising from Google, that is one area where Google is consistently less quirky and more slick. They've run some pretty nice ads in places like New York magazine.
I'm not positive where else they put this video, but YouTube is a great place to start. It's been viewed 20,677 as of this writing.
Back in 2003, I interviewed for a job at Google. Yes, that was pre-IPO, and no, I didn't get it.
The interview process would be best described as a nightmare, and that's putting it generously.
It was filled with missed or cancelled phone interviews, miscommunications about travel and reimbursements, and at least two different people telling me two different things about the infamous "next steps".
Apparently, I wasn't alone. There are at least three or four people at my current employer that share similar experiences. It's almost as if Google wanted to hire people who had two characteristics -- 1) they were qualified and 2) they were crazy/interested enough to deal with the hiring process.
So I was excited today to read that "Google Adjusts Hiring Process As Needs Grow" (subscription required).
Here's the money quote:
Google Inc.'s recruiting process is legendary in Silicon Valley. Tales abound of job candidates who suffered through a dozen or more in-person interviews, and applicants with years of work experience who were spurned after disclosing they had so-so college grades.Now Google is attempting to fine tune its approach toward hiring staff. In addition to making the experience less grueling for would-be employees, it hopes to do a better job of offering the right jobs to the right people as it continues its rapid expansion.
I'll believe it when I see it. Although seeing as how they've hired 4000 people already this year, someone is getting hired...
Our friend Ski2Sun is still dating this girl. A lot of people say that when guys get really involved with girls, the guy may let himself slip a little and, you know, get "whipped". Not Ski2Sun.
Mshafron: Whats up gene [Ski2Sun]?
Ski2Sun: struggling today...you?
Mshafron: Just getting excited for the weekend…how was the game?
Ski2Sun: what's this weekend? The game was great...aside from the loss.
Mshafron: Nothing really planned, I just look forward to the weekends, ya know? Actually going to Ben Kweller concert on Saturday night with Booton, our old bowling partner, and her boyfriend.
Ski2Sun: who is that?
Mshafron: One of my favs
Ski2Sun: What are you doing tonight?
Mshafron: Going to the gym first then the calendar is wide open. What you doing?
Ski2Sun: I think I'm going to go to dinner with Dana and then I'm not sure. You are very in to the gym these days.
Mshafron: Trying my best, bro. where is dinner?
Ski2Sun: gonzo
Mshafron: What is that?
Ski2Sun: Italian on 13th and 6th...
Mshafron: You are pimp…aren’t you at that stage though where you don’t have to take her out to dinner anymore?
Ski2Sun: for sure...I stop that after date 3, but I want to go out to dinner tonight, so this is more for me.
That's why we love him!
That didn't take long -- Stuyvesant Town/Peter Cooper Village sold for, drumroll please, $5.4 Billion! (That's Billion, with a B).
Now before any of you crazy readers go assuming that I live in the Taj Mahal or something, ST/PCV is actually an 11,000 unit complex. My little abode will now most likely go condo. Guess it's time to start saving for the down payment.
If you want to know why it's possible to love and hate New York City at the same time, watch this video. And no, it doesn't feature our favorite "Adventures in Getting Ready" character Ski2Sun, but it probably could.
With everyone talking about the YouTube - Google deal, the New York Times takes a great look at former Valley darling, Friendster.
Here's the link (you may have to sign up).
Friendster could've sold to Google in a pre-IPO stock deal of about $30 million (which would've been worth about $300 million on the day they went public). The big, bad Venture Capitalists told them to go it alone -- they were going to be huge.
Last year they shopped the site around for $20 million and found no takers.
Friendster is re-positioning itself as a site for "for an older demographic group — people 25 to 40 — who do not have the time or inclination to spend hours each day on MySpace".
This may actually have some legs. My friends have created MySpace profiles but continue to update their Friendster profiles. We certainly don't use it as much as we once did, but it's not like we've totally forgotten about it either. In any case, certainly a great lesson in "take the money and run".
Two concerts in two days. Luckily for me they were more the mellow acoustic type than the Rolling Stones.
First was Badly Drawn Boy at the Hiro Ballroom at the Maritime Hotel.
Usually when I go to Maritime (in New York's Meatpacking District), the conversation goes like this:
Doorman: You think I'm going to let 6 guys in at once?
Me: (crickets)
But this time, armed with a ticket, we had no problem getting in. Turns out the Hiro ballroom is a very cool place to see a show. It's reminded me of the Paradise in Boston, where it's small enough that no matter where you stand, you are close to the stage.
The show itself was good, although I've realized now that whenever you go to a pre-new-album-release concert, you're going to hear 7 or 8 songs you've never heard before. But like they say in hell, a day with snow is better than no snow at all. Or something like that.
Last night was Jenny Lewis and The Watson Twins at Town Hall, another great venue, although this one had seats.
The music reminded me of Ryan Adams (probably my favorite singer-songwriter type ever) but it was being sung by a hot vixen of a woman with an amazing voice. Her set was a short and sweet hour which ended with a great cover of the Travelling Wilbury's "Handle With Care".
Here's Jenny now:
``Here in New England, we two-gap. To play here, you have to be a man."
-- Vince Wilfork, New England Patriots Nose Tackle
Vince, we love you!
As Shap Deez points out in the comments, Jenny Lewis wasn't in Adventures in Babysitting.
Like I always say, if you sound convincing, the actual content (or the truthfulness of that content) is secondary.
This morning on the subway Booton pointed to a story in AM New York about a Badly Drawn Boy concert TONIGHT at the Hiro Ballroom at the Maritime Hotel.
I thought two things:
1) Hmmmm, why didn't I know about this?
2) Hmmmm, I wonder if tickets are still available.
Answers:
1) No idea. I usually know everything.
2) Yes sir! And we'll see you tonight at the Badly Drawn Boy concert!
Part two:
Tomorrow night is the Jenny Lewis and The Watson twins concert at The Town Hall. Jenny Lewis was in "Adventures in Babysitting" many moons ago. Now she's a really hot songstress who plays both solo and with her band Rilo Kiley. Good times. To celebrate, I even put an ad up on Craigslist for my boy CMike because he needed a date. If you're ever feeling bad about yourself, throw an ad up on Craigslist offering a free ticket to a concert in exchange for some company. The responses should cheer you up and remind you that things ain't so bad.
And this weekend...ahhh, too much at once. Let's just say it involves 12 guys, fantasy basketball, an auction, Michigan - Penn State at night, and probably the end of someone's life/sanity.
Fred Wilson has a typically insightful post about starting a tech/internet company in New York City. He argues a somewhat contrarian view that despite the higher human capital costs, there are advantages to starting companies in New York.
Fred nails the argument on the head:
What I am suggesting is that entrepreneurs should start businesses where they want to work and then organize the company according to what works best for them. The whole company, particularly development, does not need to be in one location anymore.
At TheLadders.com, we have the entire team in New York. In my limited experience, it's proved incredibly valuable
(mostly contrary to Fred's point actually) to be able to get everyone -- Tech, Product, Sales, Marketing -- in the same room and hammer out issues. I know that I've learned a ton more about our product and the online industry in general by having our tech team 20 feet away, not 20 miles, or 20 hours away. Could we add a few more developers if we were outsourcing everything to India or Romania? Probably. But there's a tradeoff -- start-up teams, in my limited experience, function best when everyone is working together in the same office. There are a ton of options for virtual communication that can work in many situations. But for a company that often makes decisions one minute and is banging away on a keyboard the next, being on the same floor is a competitive advantage.
I also think there is something to be said for the non-tech talent pool in New York. Our Marketing team is top-notch. There's a very deep, talented, and hungry pool of entry-level talent. And we can pick and choose new employees from both Fortune 500 companies and start-ups in our backyard.
I was an intern at Vault during the peak of the Internet bubble (summer 2000). People were going crazy over acquisitions, stock options, IPO's, etc. Two months after I left to go back to school, everything collapsed.
Now I'm back at another Internet company with, yes, equity. And, well, it looks like things are just heating up!
The North Korean reaction to the UN Security Council rebuke of North Korea's nuclear missle test certainly illustrates the magic of perspective. Or, I suppose, denial.
North Korea's ambassador to the U.N. Pak Kil-yon said the council should "congratulate" North Korea's scientists and researchers "instead of [issuing] such notorious, useless and reckless resolutions or whatever the statement against" North Korea.
Two thumbs up -- way up -- for The Departed. Not only was it a "Boston" movie (they really hit the nail on the head with a lot of the local residences), but it kept you guessing until the very, very end.
Of course, the movie I'm really excited for is Borat!
Things have been going great at work.
Two weeks ago, my team (recruiter relations) had its best week ever. Each week, the company brings in more cash than the week before, and we're signing people up at an incredible clip.
This week though, my team hit a slight...bump. I've brought my group's most important chart to illustrate.
As you can see, our best week ever is in green, our previous month's average is in blue, and disaster is in red.
So, you're saying there's a chance?
Michael, Think you're a bit confused on your names - I'm Jana (not Trish). I know Janet - we used to work together. Anyway, thanks for the follow up. Best regards, Jana
Note to self -- proofread THEN hit Send.