New! Improved! Escher Stats!

Imagine that you had a house (this may not be imaginary, if you live outside of Vancouver). You’re renting, and Matt the landlord is generally pretty awesome. Sometimes he comes in and says he’s going to work on some stuff, but he is always clean and fast and tidies up after himself and these things he’s working on are almost always improvements so that you’re the envy of the neighborhood and Bert and Lisa next door are always struggling to kludge together something that will do what your newest addition does naturally. It’s pretty sweet, particularly considering the rent is free, but you know the place doesn’t really belong to you, so when Matt decides to do some renos, you pretty much have to put up with it, but as we said, they generally work out pretty well.

A couple of days ago, Matt comes in and he says, “So, we’re going to be doing some work on your place. Don’t worry, it won’t interfere with the way you use the house right now, but when it’s launched, it’ll be a HUGE improvement!” Well, that sounds good, don’t it?

Sure do!

So what’s this great change Matt has in store for you?

“We know how important the bedroom is to you. It’s important to ALL our tenants. We see this. We respect this. So we’re going to make it even better! We’re going to wall up the door from the bedroom to the hallway BUT GET THIS, we’re going to make a special access tunnel just for each of you from our corporate headquarters straight into your own bedroom! Isn’t that awesome?“

No, it is not awesome, you say.

“But it has a moving sidewalk! And it goes straight through our corporate headquarters. In fact, we’re kinda hoping you’ll keep the door to the access tunnel open all the time, just because you enjoy it so much.”

With the WordPress.com front page evolving into a one-stop shop for posting, exploring, following and reading blogs, it seemed natural to put your blog stats there, too.  Stats are becoming more and more about interacting with your readers and other bloggers.

You’ll still see your summary stats and chart on your main dashboard, and the full stats page in your dashboard will remain for a while, but the My Stats tab on the WordPress.com front page will soon become the home for the most comprehensive view of your stats.  Stats will also continue to be available by clicking on the sparkline in the admin bar at the top.

No, my friends, this is not awesome.

1. when it used to be just one? That seems less simple… aka, wrong direction. But maybe I’m misunderstanding?

   • Andy Skelton
     January 26th, 2012 at 4:59 pm

     The stats will still be just a click away from wp-admin. Our hope is that you find the homepage useful enough that you’ll want to keep it open in its own tab. 

No. Just, no.

I might as well admit I have no idea why WordPress.com is doing this, but can only assume it’s to give WordPress.com itself, the URL, some fearsome googlejuice. Maybe it reduces the load on the servers.

Maybe this is almost as good as when they took away the New Post button. God knows, we don’t want those foofy “blogging” functions cluttering up your nice, clean dashboard which you are apparently supposed to use to keep track of your comments and pretty much nothing else.

Score Cats One Reader Zero

You just lost The Game.

EatDrinkTweet

Yes, I’m a conference junkie, but at least I’m addicted to speaking at them rather than paying to attend. And once again, Allison Markin the Social Media Queen of the Okanagan has invited me to speak at Eat.Drink.Tweet, a social media conference dedicated to food, wine, tourism, and of course, social media.

As you might expect, the swag bags are to die for, and so are the dinners. The workshops, as you can see from the program, also kick ass. This year’s conference is bigger than last year’s, stretching over three days, with the Friday being a full-day  blogging bootcamp featuring WordPress for Beginners in the morning and other blogging workshops, case studies, and a blogger panel in the afternoon. Then a decadent dinner. Oh, and lunch is sponsored by Cannery Brewing, so you can decompress from the vertiginous learning curve before heading back to cram more know-how into your overloaded synapses.

Register on Eventbrite and don’t leave it till the last minute; this will probably sell out.

Register now for Eat.Drink.Tweet. – social media with a culinary twist — and be prepared to learn about the latest in social media and digital marketing while enjoying fine food and wine. No rubber chicken dinners at this conference, which brings together thought leaders and experts in the latest social media tools and networks, alongside world-class chefs, brewers and wineries preparing gourmet meals and hosting live Twitter wine tastings as part of your experience.

The first Eat.Drink.Tweet. was a sellout and a trending topic in Canada on Twitter. Don’t miss out! Check out the list of topics and presenters.

Coming from out of town? Stay at the Penticton Ramada, ask for the Eat.Drink.Tweet. group rate (quote #4896). Call 1-800-665-4966.

WHO SHOULD ATTEND

• marketers in the hospitality sector — wineries, restaurants, attractions, accommodations
• tourism operators and stakeholders
• event managers and planners
• small-to-medium sized business-owners
• anyone wishing to increase their social media savvy and network online and “IRL” — in real life — with fellow marketers, sharing a glass of wine while exchanging QR codes and Twitter handles

PRE-CONFERENCE: Beer ‘n’ Blogs

As Penticton prepares to host the 2013 North American Wine Bloggers Conference, we’re getting youready to heat up the “blogosphere”, whether you’re in the wine and food business or not. You’ll spend the day learning how to set-up, maintain and grow your blog. Our gourmet lunch will include pairings with craft beer provided by Penticton’s Cannery Brewing.

FRIDAY NIGHT NETWORKING:  Keynote and live Twitter wine tasting

Already social-media savvy? Then simply join us for some “IRL” — in real life — socializing. Listen to our keynote speaker, Rob Duncan, discuss collaboration in BC’s wine industry, then enjoy gourmet nibbles during a live Twitter wine tasting featuring the Naramata Bench Wineries.

CONFERENCE:  Saturday and Sunday seminars

Spend Saturday and Sunday learning about social media tools and marketing strategies from some of the best online marketers around. Saturday will be filled with workshops — twelve to choose from — to get you started on social media platforms, or increase your skills. Sunday we’ll wrap up with three short presentation:  an entertaining history of BC’s liquor laws; Out-Rage-Us, a history of provocative advertising from Mark Rucker, sure to inspire creativity and discussion…perhaps event a wine label redesign; and a look ahead to how your business can get social now and benefit from the forthcoming Wine Bloggers Conference in Penticton. We’ll wrap up at noon.

KEYNOTE SPEAKER:  ROB DUNCAN

Speaker, author, actor, thought leader, manager and college teacher – Rob Duncan has done it all. Rob’s career spans several decades as a management consultant, college teacher, senior manager and professional speaker. Duncan holds a BA in Economics, an MBA and is currently completing a Doctorate in Business Leadership in the area of social networking and collaborative innovation. Rob is the author of the books “Haul Away! Teambuilding Lessons from a Voyage around Cape Horn” and “Competitive Intelligence: Fast, Cheap and Ethical”, which was selected as one of the best business books of 2008. Rob is also co-author of the new book “Improv to improve your Business: Using the principles of improvisation to foster communication, creativity and innovation.” Whether describing his adventures in teambuilding gleaned from sailing on a tall ship around Cape Horn in forty-foot seas, or imparting timely and actionable information that audiences can immediately put to use, Rob has been delighting speaking audiences the world over, from Beijing to Chennai, from Orlando to Whistler. Drawing on his professional theatre training, Rob is a genuine and enthusiastic speaker who leaves the crowd inspired, uplifted and informed!

faronics

This one came to me via Twitter. It’s a local Vancouver company, and I can’t tell you anything about it other than I got this from Ajay and KC and they don’t put their names behind just any old company or any old job opening. Apply via LinkedIn and may the best guru win (I KID! I KID!).

Job Description

Please note this position is located in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada

Faronics is looking for a Social Media leader. The ideal candidate will have a solid background in marketing communications and can use the latest technologies to engage with people online, and collaborate with our product, sales and marketing teams to integrate social into all our go-to-market activities.

Responsibilities

• Define the strategy to increase Faronics’ Social profile and awareness as an industry leader.
• Develop, curate and syndicate relevant content in an ongoing and sustained fashion.
• Collaborate across functional groups to integrate social media into every customer touch point with clear and defined purpose.
• Develop and execute a listening strategy that leverages social media.
• Develop and own a sustained influencer outreach program with ongoing engagement and recognition.
• Collaborate with marketing team to leverage social channels for lead generation campaigns.
• Manage SEO and SEM initiatives.
• Reviewing the website, providing recommendations and acting as a key member of the team.
• Collaborate across functional groups to integrate social media into every customer touch point with clear and defined purpose.
• Implement and use analytics to support editorial direction and decisions.
• Own the measurement and analysis of the impact of activities on customer success, on customer acquisition and against team goals.
• Stay abreast of current social media tools and identify and interpret social media trends to continue to deliver on revenue, budget and customer acquisition commitments.

Qualifications

• Must have background or experience in Marketing or Communications – Minimum 5 Years experience.
• Must have a strong personal Social presence.
• Proven experience and passion to facilitate social media programs to drive business results and be a strong collaborator with a willingness to take risks.
• Extensive knowledge of social media technologies, platforms, listening programs and tracking/analytics are critical.
• Demonstrate a deep understating of customer insight-lead thinking and how to apply this in rapid initiative testing to identify highest value opportunities.
• Previous experience leveraging influencer communities and managing content strategies to maximize brand and customer engagement.
• Data driven, resourceful and efficient.
• Can demonstrate a track record where he/she has operated independently and efficiently to manage multiple priorities and projects simultaneously.
• Strong analytical and problem solving mindset with clear examples of using data for target setting, measurement, ROI analysis and recommendations
• Coordinated cross functional, end-to-end projects that included a high level of detail and had a positive outcome

–

Company Description

Faronics develops and markets software that reduces the operating cost of and improves the desired results from existing IT investments. Faronics products include Deep Freeze, Power Save, Insight, Anti-Executable, and WINSelect. Faronics has sold over 8 million licenses of its software to over 30,000 customers in more than 150 countries around the world.

Spa

Yes, it appears to be a paid gig at Spa Week. How can you tell? Well, I wouldn’t post it if it weren’t, what with unpaid internships being the way the middle-class keeps its grip on certain industries, and us being so not about that. This job is in-person, in New York, and yes, it’s probably best if you know how to wrangle a photocopier and a coffee machine.

Spa Week Daily is now hiring a brand new part time blogger/social media intern. Please pass this along to anyone you think would be a great addition to the Spa Week team—someone whose stories you’d love to read here on Spa Week Daily.

The position is paid, hourly.The Spa Week headquarters are in Union Square, New York City. You MUST be able to work at least 24 hours per week, IN office. This is a position that will be part-time to start, with the potential to turn into a full time, salaried position. We are a very small department in a relatively small company, both of which are expanding rapidly, so we are really looking for someone who is excited at the opportunity to help us grow, and ultimately grow with us.

Qualifications:

You are a college graduate.
You are highly organized and detail-oriented.
You are a fast and witty writer with experience in blogging and social media.
You tweet because it’s fun, you might have your own blog, and you are familiar with how to work various social sites that generate web traffic.
You love reading blogs and being the first to share news.
You have an interest in, and general knowledge of, spa, beauty, health, travel, bridal, fashion and fitness topics.
You have a minor crush on Excel spreadsheets.
You are a multi-tasker and thrive in an environment where you are juggling many projects at once.
You are creative, and you are the type of person who’s always coming up with new ideas and wants them heard.
You would enjoy covering local events and you would feel comfortable interviewing estheticians and celebrities alike.
You are able to take direction and execute projects from beginning to end.
Video editing and design skills a plus.
You have good follow-up and follow-through.
You are both a self-starter and a team player.
You happen to love a good massage.

Job Description/Responsibilities:

Daily blogging – multiple posts per day, both assigned and creative, under all the various Spa Week Daily topics.
Research, fact-checking, interviewing, reporting.
Online PR – connecting with bloggers and editors to build brand buzz.
Assisting in Community Management on various social networks, especially Twitter.
Managing and updating media lists.
Managing and updating press books and all clippings.
Keeping schedules and booking appointments.
Assisting in all aspects of the social media department, from Twitter parties to real parties.
Administrative assistance to the department where needed.

If this description sounds like you or someone you know, please email resume, a brief email cover letter, links to 3 relevant writing samples, and links to your Twitter, blog, or any other social communities you manage, to me at: michelle at spaweekmedia dot com.