In Which: Real Life gets busy

Wow-  my faithful readers, it's been a week since I've updated and I feel like such a spaz.   Let me tell you, last week was one of the busiest weeks I've had in a long time.  I was out every night, and work was ridiculously busy as well.  That said, I'm going to give a quick breakdown of my week, and hopefully I can come back and give you the major details...

In Which: I decide giving blood is a brilliant idea- until it isn't.

So a little background.  Before today I'd given blood one other time.  My delay in getting it done was for several reasons- some to do with fears (of doctor's needles), but mostly because I just hadn't gotten around to it.

But, about a month before I got my first tattoo (a shooting star on my foot, with the phrase "always there" in German), I decided I better do my civic and karmic duty and give some blood before I became ineligible to give.  

Well today, MyCompany sponsored a blood drive, and so I thought to myself, "Self, what the heck. You haven't given blood in almost 4 years (thanks you tattoo number two- shooting start on my other foot, with the phrase "Have Faith" in Polish), you should do it now!" 


So a gal I work with decided to head down with me, and she was nervous, having never gave blood before.  She was so methodical in how she read every warning that was on the consent form.  I'm thinking no big deal, it'll be great.  I dutifully fill out the form (Which had to remind me 3 times, that I'm not pregnant, nor have I ever been. With my own 20's fears, I almost feared I would also get confirmation with a big smiley sticking its tongue out at me, going nananabooboo you'll never have kids).  

So they do the tests, and I look away from the needle (as opposed to when I get a tattoo and am completely fascinated by the process). 

Well the next thing I know, I'm feel a little queasy. Nothing too bad, but enough that I felt I should let the tech guy know.  So he leans my chair back, and I feel  a little better, especially after he gave me an ice pack.

Did I mention Tech guy was kinda cute?  Well this probably had more to do with the fact, that at this point, I'm steps away from feeling helpless, and he was pretty attractive.  Wish I had a better game...

Anyway, they unplug me, and I thought, wow- I filled that thing quick (only about 8 minutes) and walk out to the waiting room.  I was still feeling the after effects of the queasiness, but figured if I got a sip of water I'd be fine.  So I sat down and this adorable old man, who was volunteering came up to me, and got really close, asking me if I was okay.

Now, my dear readers, this is where I wished someone had taken my picture because I'm sure I looked horrible. And at that moment, I decided giving blood was not a brilliant idea, as my vision folded in upon itself and I felt as if I had been pushed under water. In the recesses of this almost pass out, I felt so ridiculously helpless, and just wanted to cry.  It took all the will power I possessed not to do two things: cry and vomit.  Luckily I did neither, and was rewarded with cold packs, and doting volunteers.  The whipped out one of the donor recliners, and got me back up on one in what must have been minutes.


So, I spent about 20 minutes in the waiting area, just trying to feel a little better.  The elevator ride back up to my desk, definitely was a trying time, and I was worried I was going to faint.  Luckily, I made it back to my desk, to tell you this amazing story.

In Which: the job is discussed (a.k.a: my job at Mycompany)

So I work for an Internet company, about which, I hopefully will not geek out about too much. Great is my love for Mycompany. There are times, when it is not uncommon for someone to get a singing telegram or a belly dancer for her or his birthday, or for us to get iced, during a meeting. So, what do I do for Mycompany? Well, I work for our marketing and business development department.

Which leads me to my first topic- Affiliate Marketing.

For those of you not in the know, affiliate programs are what keep little blogs like mine, and many others afloat. Great companies like Amazon, Groupon, Netflix, and Soda Stream have affiliate programs that pay “publishers” (hi guys, that’s this blog ) for specific actions you, the reader, take as a result of their advertisement. Now, there are FTC regulations that require publishers to report that they are receiving money for their ads, as well as report when posts are, in layman’s terms “product placement”.


Now, obviously there are many opinions about affiliate marketing. However, I have a few rules that I think about when we talk about our biz dev and marketing.

I start with these two questions first:

• How did you hear about Mycompany?

• What’s the main goal of your website?

I like those two questions, because they get to the heart of why I passionately believe about affiliate marketing. I don’t believe in working with someone who doesn’t know my site I don’t want them pretending to be passionate about Mycompany -(with a few minor caveats- Geek BF David Tennat would be more than welcome to talk about Mycompany even if he doesn’t know who we are, because if that’s as close to him as I’ll get, than it’s good to go, in my eyes). Because, if you (as a publisher), aren’t engaged with the people you are promoting, you’ve completely missed the point of affiliate marketing – to spread the word organically, through trusted sources.

The second question, I like, because it targets what the person is trying to do with their blog. I write this blog for a couple of reasons. I started it, as a way for me to understand my profession from a publisher’s standpoint. I hope to continue it for several reasons, including the need for a geeky outlet, the need for some consistency, and because I miss writing term papers (Please reference #23 on my Geek Card). Would I approve me for Mycompany’s program? Yes, because we’d have this awesome geek rapport going on about Mycompany. Especially when I tell me about the awesome celebratory breakfast we had when Mycompany expanded, or our Cinco de Mayo mandatory meeting!

Oh- you want to hear about those too? Well, children, that’s a story for another day!