Wednesday, December 31, 2008
Monday, December 29, 2008
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Interviewing Susan
Hey myJambi Readers!
Yes, yes! Slush season in NYC has actually turned into winter over the past weeks and we couldn't be more grateful. The holiday spirit is in the air, the trains are half empty and the office seems a little lonely. It almost makes us want to savor this pace of life in New York City…almost. We are headed off on a bit of vacation and you probably are too so kick back and check out our latest interview with myJambi user Susan.
So tell us, how did you find out about myJambi?
Through exploring the "inter-webs" on downtime from schoolwork. It may have been been through an article I read online (possibly TechCrunch) that mentioned it.
What inspired you to join?
The concept behind myjambi was so intriguing, how conveniently it was set up (the aesthetic appeal of the user interface was also a definite plus). It was mostly out of curiosity and wanting to play an active role in building a professional network and gaining experience. The whole package was just so neat! :)
Tell us a bit about yourself.
I'm working on a 3D animation/VFX degree in San Francisco. I like that it merges technology with traditional art. I also enjoy piano. Moved here from Alaska a few years ago (big change) where I grew up. Miss the snow, but not enough to live with it 6 months out of the year, lol. It's certainly a more pleasant experience not worrying about falling on sidewalks layered with ice. Other random information: I've had moose jump in the backyard and eat my plants; currently live in a seedy apartment in the Tenderloin surrounded by the "living out of a cardboard box" community (along with other eccentric personalities). It makes for interesting dinner conversation, lol.
I noticed you currently a mixed bag of different services. Why did you chose these services?
I wanted to broaden the spectrum of skills offered. I didn't want to have limitations because of the single-track emphasis of my major. I have a variety of hobbies, and wanted to pursue those interests outside of school. I also wanted to gain as much professional experience as possible before going out into the working world.
Have or would you hire others on myJambi?
It was a great experience working with fellow myJambi . Based on such a personable and friendly environment the myJambi community is, I would definitely hire a provider from the site!
What other sites besides myJambi are you frequenting these days?
Let's see- Craigslist, Lifehacker, thesixtyone, and SF0 are a few.
What do you think of the myJambi mascot?
It's quite whimsical :)
Anything else you want to include or let us know about?
Please don't hesitate to check out my website if you have the time(a W.I.P.) susatron.com
P.S.- We don't all have Palin's accent (it's just her) :)
Yes, yes! Slush season in NYC has actually turned into winter over the past weeks and we couldn't be more grateful. The holiday spirit is in the air, the trains are half empty and the office seems a little lonely. It almost makes us want to savor this pace of life in New York City…almost. We are headed off on a bit of vacation and you probably are too so kick back and check out our latest interview with myJambi user Susan.
So tell us, how did you find out about myJambi?
Through exploring the "inter-webs" on downtime from schoolwork. It may have been been through an article I read online (possibly TechCrunch) that mentioned it.
What inspired you to join?
The concept behind myjambi was so intriguing, how conveniently it was set up (the aesthetic appeal of the user interface was also a definite plus). It was mostly out of curiosity and wanting to play an active role in building a professional network and gaining experience. The whole package was just so neat! :)
Tell us a bit about yourself.
I'm working on a 3D animation/VFX degree in San Francisco. I like that it merges technology with traditional art. I also enjoy piano. Moved here from Alaska a few years ago (big change) where I grew up. Miss the snow, but not enough to live with it 6 months out of the year, lol. It's certainly a more pleasant experience not worrying about falling on sidewalks layered with ice. Other random information: I've had moose jump in the backyard and eat my plants; currently live in a seedy apartment in the Tenderloin surrounded by the "living out of a cardboard box" community (along with other eccentric personalities). It makes for interesting dinner conversation, lol.
I noticed you currently a mixed bag of different services. Why did you chose these services?
I wanted to broaden the spectrum of skills offered. I didn't want to have limitations because of the single-track emphasis of my major. I have a variety of hobbies, and wanted to pursue those interests outside of school. I also wanted to gain as much professional experience as possible before going out into the working world.
Have or would you hire others on myJambi?
It was a great experience working with fellow myJambi . Based on such a personable and friendly environment the myJambi community is, I would definitely hire a provider from the site!
What other sites besides myJambi are you frequenting these days?
Let's see- Craigslist, Lifehacker, thesixtyone, and SF0 are a few.
What do you think of the myJambi mascot?
It's quite whimsical :)
Anything else you want to include or let us know about?
Please don't hesitate to check out my website if you have the time(a W.I.P.) susatron.com
P.S.- We don't all have Palin's accent (it's just her) :)
Friday, December 26, 2008
Success with myJambi
Sometimes we hear about how myJambi has changed our user's lives for the better. Whether they're the thirsty show presenter parched-no-more due to a nifty coffee delivery, or the formerly cold-headed urbanite now warmed up from a hat knitted by a myJambi user, we love finding out about how the site has made a difference to you.
We were particularly excited to hear back from Elisa V., a myJambi user based out in Los Angeles, CA. A few months ago, Elisa had posted a few wants on myJambi. She was looking for multiple talents – a personal chef to rustle up tasty meals for her family, a nanny to help take care of her kids, and some help around the house. The myJambi Team decided to play matchmaker and reached out to myJambi users and other friends to find someone who could help Elisa. But we couldn't choose just anyone. The person had to be reliable enough to be trusted with her kids, and talented enough to make enticing meals, not to mention the helping around the house part. One of the people we reached out to was Hailey Messina. Hailey had listed her services on the site and there was an overlap – she had posted an offer as a personal chef and was great with kids.
Hailey went along to meet Elisa and they got on famously. Hailey was delighted to be able to leave her job at Starbucks to help out Elisa and her family. They've been working together for over 6-months and everything has worked out great.
This was just one of many success stories from myJambi. If you have had a positive experience on the site, let us know. We'd love to hear about it and maybe even share it with the world.
We were particularly excited to hear back from Elisa V., a myJambi user based out in Los Angeles, CA. A few months ago, Elisa had posted a few wants on myJambi. She was looking for multiple talents – a personal chef to rustle up tasty meals for her family, a nanny to help take care of her kids, and some help around the house. The myJambi Team decided to play matchmaker and reached out to myJambi users and other friends to find someone who could help Elisa. But we couldn't choose just anyone. The person had to be reliable enough to be trusted with her kids, and talented enough to make enticing meals, not to mention the helping around the house part. One of the people we reached out to was Hailey Messina. Hailey had listed her services on the site and there was an overlap – she had posted an offer as a personal chef and was great with kids.
Hailey went along to meet Elisa and they got on famously. Hailey was delighted to be able to leave her job at Starbucks to help out Elisa and her family. They've been working together for over 6-months and everything has worked out great.
This was just one of many success stories from myJambi. If you have had a positive experience on the site, let us know. We'd love to hear about it and maybe even share it with the world.
Thursday, December 11, 2008
Monday, December 8, 2008
How to plan a (holiday) party
Holiday season is upon us and many of you might be wondering how you're going to celebrate, particularly when costs are being cut left, right, and center. If you're in the mood for a party but your office has decided not to throw one, or you'd like to plan one but don't want all the effort, think again. myJambi has put together a step-by-step guide on how to throw a great party...for cheap. We haven't perfected the art but we think we do a pretty good job.
Step 1. What do you want to achieve?
Write down your goals. Is this a get together and you just want people to have fun? Are you trying to market a product? If so, how will throwing a party help you? Do you want to find a great place where your friends can dance, or you want some karaoke and mingling? Deciding what you want to achieve will help you to plan the rest of your event.
Step 2. Establish a budget
Attempting to budget is money, particularly for larger parties. It's a good idea to set yourself targets. You should sub-categorize food & drink, entertainment, transport (if applicable) and any other relevant categories or costs you might incur. You're likely to find that things pop up out of nowhere, so if you're concerned about keeping the budget on truck, make sure to project your expenses conservatively.
Step 3. Choose a date
It's hard to plan anything unless you have a date. Think about the kind of event you want vis-a-vis a night of the week. If you're doing a work networking event, you might not want to drag your co-workers out on a Saturday or Sunday night. They probably have better things to do (even if you don't). Likewise, you probably don't want to have a boozefest or a late night gig in the middle of the week or on an uncool night like Monday or Wednesday (Thursday is great, Tuesday is second best). It never hurts to reach out to one or two of the people you would like to invite and get their feedback.
Step 4. Choose a venue
Price and availability will likely be the two main factors in determining your venue (tell me some more and we might send some kind of award). Book early to ensure you get the right choice. If you're serving drinks somewhere other than a bar, make sure that's ok with the owner. You also need to check that you can have enough set-up and clean up time before and after the event. Try and visit at least three venues so you can get some perspective about the costs involved. Once you have settled on one place, why not see if you can move the price in your favor? It's always worth asking. Any money knockedd off can either be saved or re-allocated towards other costs.
Step 5. The details
As you have probably figured out by now, there are many details that need to be arranged for any party, and these will vary widely depending on what type of event you organize. You can hire a planner, like one of those listed on myJambi or do everything yourself. If you can, visit the venue and mentally map out where everything will be. Thank about how much help you'll need before, during, and after the event. Write a list of everything and work backwards from the event date in order to establish deadlines of what needs to be done when. Some elements of planning need longer lead-time than others. The more planning done in advance, the less stressful everything will be on the day of the event. You might decide to order food. We used a great chef named Paul Chisholm. Then there's the music - you can use itunes and make your own list, try Pandora if you have a laptop around, or even try hiring a music expert to make the mixtape for you. Do you need waiters?
Step 6. The guests
Try and get invites out early. One month is a necessary timeline for many busy people. If you can, send out both email and mail invitations. An experienced organizer from the conference industry once told me that the average no-show rate is 10% on the day, so you should invite at least 10% more people than you have capacity for. If you know your guests (and the weather isn't terrible on the day) you can follow that rule, but if you don't know them, expect the "attending" rate to be a lot lower and you should consider inviting up to 30% more people than capacity allows. Follow up as often as is necessary and make sure to set the RSVP date to give you enough time to plan.
Step 7. The day of the event
Try and have a plan of action for set-up, taking into account how much help you have. If you're having anything delivered to the venue, make sure someone is on-site to receive the deliveries. It's good to try and arrive at the venue as soon as you are allowed to in order to check out everything is as agreed. If you have people helping you, make sure you communicate clearly what you need them to achieve so that everyone is used efficiently.
Step 8. The party
Have fun. Assign someone to keep an eye on everything (or do it yourself): are there enough drinks? Plentiful food? etc
Step 9. The cleanup
At the end of the night, when every one has gone home, the last thing you're going to want to do is clean up. If you've rented out a bar or some other venues, you probably can join your guests and slip away. If you're not that lucky, you're going to have to de-trash the venue. You can get assistance from hired help. You can minimize after the party by being strategic throughout the night with bin placement and keeping everything neat and tidy.
Step 10. Follow-up
If your event was in any way business related, it's always great to follow up afterwards. Thank everyone for coming via email.
4 ways to bring costs down:
1. Negotiate everything: the venue, any vendor costs. Do your research, compare costs, then fight for a great price
2. Get sponsors. Don't pay for alcohol/food/music when some companies will provide you with free materials in order to demo their product
3. Create a good budget - look at where your spending ahead of time and make sure your priorities are right
4. Do things ahead of time. The later you leave everything, the more expensive it gets.
Step 1. What do you want to achieve?
Write down your goals. Is this a get together and you just want people to have fun? Are you trying to market a product? If so, how will throwing a party help you? Do you want to find a great place where your friends can dance, or you want some karaoke and mingling? Deciding what you want to achieve will help you to plan the rest of your event.
Step 2. Establish a budget
Attempting to budget is money, particularly for larger parties. It's a good idea to set yourself targets. You should sub-categorize food & drink, entertainment, transport (if applicable) and any other relevant categories or costs you might incur. You're likely to find that things pop up out of nowhere, so if you're concerned about keeping the budget on truck, make sure to project your expenses conservatively.
Step 3. Choose a date
It's hard to plan anything unless you have a date. Think about the kind of event you want vis-a-vis a night of the week. If you're doing a work networking event, you might not want to drag your co-workers out on a Saturday or Sunday night. They probably have better things to do (even if you don't). Likewise, you probably don't want to have a boozefest or a late night gig in the middle of the week or on an uncool night like Monday or Wednesday (Thursday is great, Tuesday is second best). It never hurts to reach out to one or two of the people you would like to invite and get their feedback.
Step 4. Choose a venue
Price and availability will likely be the two main factors in determining your venue (tell me some more and we might send some kind of award). Book early to ensure you get the right choice. If you're serving drinks somewhere other than a bar, make sure that's ok with the owner. You also need to check that you can have enough set-up and clean up time before and after the event. Try and visit at least three venues so you can get some perspective about the costs involved. Once you have settled on one place, why not see if you can move the price in your favor? It's always worth asking. Any money knockedd off can either be saved or re-allocated towards other costs.
Step 5. The details
As you have probably figured out by now, there are many details that need to be arranged for any party, and these will vary widely depending on what type of event you organize. You can hire a planner, like one of those listed on myJambi or do everything yourself. If you can, visit the venue and mentally map out where everything will be. Thank about how much help you'll need before, during, and after the event. Write a list of everything and work backwards from the event date in order to establish deadlines of what needs to be done when. Some elements of planning need longer lead-time than others. The more planning done in advance, the less stressful everything will be on the day of the event. You might decide to order food. We used a great chef named Paul Chisholm. Then there's the music - you can use itunes and make your own list, try Pandora if you have a laptop around, or even try hiring a music expert to make the mixtape for you. Do you need waiters?
Step 6. The guests
Try and get invites out early. One month is a necessary timeline for many busy people. If you can, send out both email and mail invitations. An experienced organizer from the conference industry once told me that the average no-show rate is 10% on the day, so you should invite at least 10% more people than you have capacity for. If you know your guests (and the weather isn't terrible on the day) you can follow that rule, but if you don't know them, expect the "attending" rate to be a lot lower and you should consider inviting up to 30% more people than capacity allows. Follow up as often as is necessary and make sure to set the RSVP date to give you enough time to plan.
Step 7. The day of the event
Try and have a plan of action for set-up, taking into account how much help you have. If you're having anything delivered to the venue, make sure someone is on-site to receive the deliveries. It's good to try and arrive at the venue as soon as you are allowed to in order to check out everything is as agreed. If you have people helping you, make sure you communicate clearly what you need them to achieve so that everyone is used efficiently.
Step 8. The party
Have fun. Assign someone to keep an eye on everything (or do it yourself): are there enough drinks? Plentiful food? etc
Step 9. The cleanup
At the end of the night, when every one has gone home, the last thing you're going to want to do is clean up. If you've rented out a bar or some other venues, you probably can join your guests and slip away. If you're not that lucky, you're going to have to de-trash the venue. You can get assistance from hired help. You can minimize after the party by being strategic throughout the night with bin placement and keeping everything neat and tidy.
Step 10. Follow-up
If your event was in any way business related, it's always great to follow up afterwards. Thank everyone for coming via email.
4 ways to bring costs down:
1. Negotiate everything: the venue, any vendor costs. Do your research, compare costs, then fight for a great price
2. Get sponsors. Don't pay for alcohol/food/music when some companies will provide you with free materials in order to demo their product
3. Create a good budget - look at where your spending ahead of time and make sure your priorities are right
4. Do things ahead of time. The later you leave everything, the more expensive it gets.
Friday, December 5, 2008
Friday Serenade for Daphne
We had quite the Friday afternoon. We celebrated Daphne, our unbelievable intern, every way we knew how. First, there was Tiffin Wallah, then there was cupcakes, and then there was this:
myJambi Song from Nellwyn Thomas on Vimeo.
Ethan, a songwriter (among many other things), wrote this lovely myJambi song. Can you match his style? Send us a video with your rendition of Ethan's lyrics. The best video wins $50 and a spot in our heart (or at least Nell's Vimeo account). Hop to it!
myJambi is for scrubbing floors and busting rhymes
myJambi is for fixing kitchen sinks on time
myJambi is for witty ads with puns or guided tours
Learning French or math or harpsichord
So much help for you to find
If the rat race is sucking the life out of you
Sign up here to show the world what you can do
myJambi connects freelancers with people who expect
To pay for help with all types of projects
And you'll work on your own time
If you're worried that business here might be unsound
Don't be worried since cheaters here don't stick around
myJambi ensures buyer get at least what they paid for
It's a place that you should not ignore
myJambi dot com online
myJambi Song from Nellwyn Thomas on Vimeo.
Ethan, a songwriter (among many other things), wrote this lovely myJambi song. Can you match his style? Send us a video with your rendition of Ethan's lyrics. The best video wins $50 and a spot in our heart (or at least Nell's Vimeo account). Hop to it!
myJambi is for scrubbing floors and busting rhymes
myJambi is for fixing kitchen sinks on time
myJambi is for witty ads with puns or guided tours
Learning French or math or harpsichord
So much help for you to find
If the rat race is sucking the life out of you
Sign up here to show the world what you can do
myJambi connects freelancers with people who expect
To pay for help with all types of projects
And you'll work on your own time
If you're worried that business here might be unsound
Don't be worried since cheaters here don't stick around
myJambi ensures buyer get at least what they paid for
It's a place that you should not ignore
myJambi dot com online
Tuesday, December 2, 2008
Congratulations to our iPod Winner!
Monday, November 24, 2008
Army of Darkness
Last month, Josh Cain was featured as the Xbox Expert in residence at our launch party. He was so happy with the poster we made for him, he decided to frame it. Here it is alongside one of his proudest possessions, a signed Bruce Campbell photograph from cult movie Army of Darkness.
myJambi is very proud to be featured alongside a true cinematic classic.
Wednesday, November 19, 2008
"This holiday season, give the gift of"... learning!
Subsequent to my previous post, our eagle-eye colleague Nell spotted another interesting post in this week's New York Magazine. Turns out that out of 182 random people interviewed on their choice of holiday gift, 13 wanted to be given lessons as a present for Hanukkah, Christmas, Kwanzaa... or just because. I quote:
"They asked for classes in: modeling, Spanish, dance, surfing, cooking, tap-dancing, kayaking, photography, computers, Web design, driving, yoga, Pilates, printmaking, sculpture, and painting."
Well, for all of you starting to think about gifts right now, myJambi can sure help out on this one. We have Spanish tutors, dance instructors, cooking instructors, surfing coaches, photography teachers, yoga instructors, web design gurus, computer tutors and art instructors ... and many more. So, if you're looking to surprise someone with a creative and useful present, look no further than the myJambi lessons section!
myJambi gets a mention in NY Mag...
...it's a very, very tiny note indeed, but we're still thrilled, as NY Mag just happens to be several of our staffers' favorite magazine. Sorry for the blurry picture -- iPhone cameras aren't the greatest.
xoxo,
the myJambi team
Monday, November 17, 2008
Guest post: Blogger Anita interviews...herself!
Hey myJambi blog readers! This week's post is a bit of a departure from our usual user interviews. I am sort of going to interview myself, which is a bit odd I realize. It's more of a long overdue introduction, but better late than never! Thanks to Kristina for suggesting I do a post from my perspective. So here it goes...
Hello. My name is Anita and this is a little bit about me.
How did you find out about myJambi?
I had been searching for job postings on Facebook, a section I have never been able to find since. (Does anyone know if they still have this feature?) During my search, myJambi popped up so I hopped over to their site to see what they were about.
What inspired you to join?
When I got to the myJambi site, I liked the visual appeal and also how easy to was to sign up. From there I keep surfing around, checking out other service providers and I learned a bit more about the company. I updated my profile with things I love to do and figured why not offer them as a service. Since I was career shifting, I figured it could help me make a little extra money.
Tell us a bit about yourself.
Let's see. My life has been exciting in the twenty some years I've been around – well to me at least and I feel there is so much more to go! I grew up in the Midwest, went to college and majored in Biology. I didn't really like it much, so I tacked on a Sociology major, which I loved. I got an undergraduate job that really opened my eyes to the social issues on my campus and inspired me to join Teach for America. I moved out to New York City and taught Biology for the last few years. It gave me an appreciation for the sciences and for kids that I didn't have before. My post college identity has been pretty much been defined by my career as a teacher. Now that I am not in the classroom, I am trying to find a new way.
I am currently working in new media and mobile marketing. I love that it matches up with my passion for technology. All this transitioning has given me some real time to think about the future and make some long term goals. I even started a bike culture site, Brooklyn By Bike that I hope to grow into more of a collaborative bike touring site over time.
I noticed you currently offer different services. Why did you choose these services?
I have a lot of different hobbies and passions and I feel like I want to do hundreds of things with my life. MyJambi is great because I picked a few things that I love to do and offered them as services on the site - dog walking because I have a shelter dog that I've been working really hard to train and I am actually seeing progress - food guru because I love to cook and learn more about local ingredients.
You could list your services on other website, why choose myJambi?
I love myJambi because the people who run the site really care. They are so excited about you joining and about making sure you have a great experience. Like I mentioned in a previous post, one of the first things I do when I learn about a new site is find out about the people who run it. It's important for me to have some type of relationship with the people I interact with online and I feel like myJambi provides just that.
Have or would you hire others on myJambi?
Well, I have obviously worked for the folks at myJambi and I definitely will use other providers on the site as needs arise.
What do you think of the myJambi mascot?
I put this question in here because the mascot is possible the cutest ever.
So that's me, Anita, in a snapshot, the person who might interview you in the future. Nice to meet you.
Want to be featured on the myJambi blog? Got a cool service you want to promote? Talk to use below in the comments! You can also just say hello. We love to hear from you. Until next time….
-Anita
Tuesday, November 11, 2008
A few Awesome features for Autumn
Over the last couple weeks we've been making changes to give you the ability to more easily create offers and wants and to more easily find content on myJambi. This is just a first step--in the coming weeks we will be retooling your home and profile and providing a more user-friendly browse view. But enough with what's coming down the road, let's tell you a bit about some of the changes that you can already take full advantage of...
We heard you asking for easier ways to see all the services people are offering or wanting in any given location and took a first step in that direction by adding "ALL OFFERS" and "ALL WANTS" links to the main browse pages.
So you now can see all those talented providers who are near you or scroll through all the jobs that are currently being sought on myJambi.
In addition to providing you with easier ways to find content, we also wanted to help you create content. With the new create widget (which is at the top of all your offers and wants, as well as your profile and home), you can just start typing the name of the service you want to list and an auto-complete list will pop down to help you appropriately categorize the service.
Need some inspiration? You can now try out our new "All Categories" page and see all the possible categories that one can choose from on myJambi. After we launched the widget and this new page, I randomly stumbled upon the wine instructor category browsing through all the categories. I had completely forgotten about it and am looking forward to posting a want for an instructor in the near future.
And before I conclude and give you a chance to try out some of these tools (if you haven't already), the other thing we added to the create widget and that I want to be sure to highlight is the "Availability" tab. As its name suggests, this will make it even easier for you to update your calendar on myJambi to more efficiently tell potential clients when you might be free any given week.
Enjoy and, as always, don't hesitate to let us know if you have any questions, feature requests, or feedback!
We heard you asking for easier ways to see all the services people are offering or wanting in any given location and took a first step in that direction by adding "ALL OFFERS" and "ALL WANTS" links to the main browse pages.
So you now can see all those talented providers who are near you or scroll through all the jobs that are currently being sought on myJambi.
In addition to providing you with easier ways to find content, we also wanted to help you create content. With the new create widget (which is at the top of all your offers and wants, as well as your profile and home), you can just start typing the name of the service you want to list and an auto-complete list will pop down to help you appropriately categorize the service.
Need some inspiration? You can now try out our new "All Categories" page and see all the possible categories that one can choose from on myJambi. After we launched the widget and this new page, I randomly stumbled upon the wine instructor category browsing through all the categories. I had completely forgotten about it and am looking forward to posting a want for an instructor in the near future.
And before I conclude and give you a chance to try out some of these tools (if you haven't already), the other thing we added to the create widget and that I want to be sure to highlight is the "Availability" tab. As its name suggests, this will make it even easier for you to update your calendar on myJambi to more efficiently tell potential clients when you might be free any given week.
Enjoy and, as always, don't hesitate to let us know if you have any questions, feature requests, or feedback!
Sunday, November 9, 2008
myJambi Party, Part Deux – Parte Due – Parte Dos – Parte Dois
As you’ve already heard, myJambi threw a party a little while ago, and while we don’t like tooting our own horn too much, we think the event was pretty fun. Thanks to the crowd that turned out despite the ugly NYC autumn weather. The invite-only shindig took place in a fabulous Union Square loft. A shout-out to Kelly K. and Janine D., the owners, is in order here. They were fabulous to work with and endured our many recurring pre-event visits to ideate, envision, measure, allocate, … -- thanks!
I just received the party photos from our event photographer, Sarah B., who did a wonderful job capturing the spirit of the evening. The event truly showcased what myJambi is all about – what’s gotten us excited and thrilled to work here for the last two years, and what still gets us up every morning.
A number of incredibly talented, friendly and professional service providers showed off their skills in a variety of different workshops that were offered throughout the evening. We made funky jewelry with Galina K. and learned how to knit mittens with Loretta M., just in time for winter.
Marianne L. and Samuel A. co-taught us how to stay out of trouble in Italian, French, Spanish and Portuguese. Adrienne O’Keefe, yoga instructor, instructed us in the art of the downward dog (although my personal favorite remains the corpse pose -- lying flat). The two Joshes taught us how to whip up delicious lychee martinis and look “super-cool” doing it and started us on our quest to become true guitar heroes.
With all of this activity, we sure worked up an appetite, but fortunately, master personal chef Paul C. was on hand displaying his crepe-making skills and supplying us with the delicious by-products of his demonstration. The caramelized apple and whipped creme fraiche crepe was our personal favorite! Last not but least, Barbara U., babysitter extraordinaire with an Italian accent to die for, took care of any little ones in attendance.
All night long, our “matchmaker wall” matched up service buyers looking for trustworthy help and talented service providers looking to share and sell their skills. Among our attendees, matches were made in Photoshop tutoring, handyman services, office assistance, love letter writing and guided bike tours.
In short, it was a very fun evening. We re-connected with good friends and made new ones in the talented and interesting people who attended.
A special thanks to our sponsor, Christiania Vodka – and an extra, extra special thanks to the great team who made it all happen.
Kristina
Saturday, November 8, 2008
Guest post: Anita S. interviews Jasmine L., woman of many hats
Hey myJambi blog readers! Between the nice weather and the leaves changing in Prospect Park here in NYC, I forgot all about my computer screen for the last few days. I encourage all of you to do a bit of the same, but not before you read our latest user interview!
We are back this week with an interview from myJambi user Jasmine Lovelstzy, a myJambi user with many interesting service offers and wants. She's a filmmaker, a designer, and a chef. She's also looking for someone to help her with her expense reports and with the video game she's developing. Talk about wearing many hats! Jasmine commented on our last interview piece with such enthusiasm that we just had to know more.
So tell us, how did you find out about myJambi?
Being an extremely visual person, I love clicking on interesting and innovative ads that catch my eye. When the myJambi ad popped up on Facebook, I was diving into all the different pages myJambi had to offer.
What inspired you to join?
I would say two main things – one, myJambi account was very easy and fast to set up. And two, I can see photos of friends and people that I may be doing business with instead of the usual dry information.
Tell us a bit about yourself.
Actually, this is why I adore myJambi. As a multi-dimensional person, I love doing many different things - something my former education never supported. I realized this when I was nine years old. I came home from my last day of school and told my mother I did not want to go to school anymore. I wanted to be an artist who designed and made films. But being born into a family of engineers, lawyers and professors, I received zero support. Eventually, though, I made a commitment to revolutionize education by creating a university for visual people. That’s what I’m working on right now. You can check the pre-alpha site at www.LightSourceUniversity.org. In any case, myJambi supports my desire to showcase the multiple dimensions of who I am and what I can do.
I noticed you currently a mixed bag of different services. Why did you choose these services?
Right now I have lots of different things that I have done. It is a great way to share services and to meet different people. Later I will narrow it down and focus it more on film, design, publishing and my signature smoothie.
You could list your services on other website, why choose myJambi?
It feels like a family here. I've had the pleasure of meeting the founders, who are very down to earth, and they all have open hearts and are willing to help. It makes a difference to me. I like the sense of a community and I can easily see using myJambi as my daily/weekly calendar so people can see what I am currently doing.
Have or would you hire others on myJambi?
I have, and it was of great help. Robin Wyllie came and took care of some office tasks I had sitting in the corner for months. I love that it's no longer occupying my mind. I'm looking forward to finding more ways we can all help each other with our projects and can keep things moving forward.
What do you think of the myJambi mascot?
Awww, so cute… wanna fly?
Big thanks to Jasmine for her time and enthusiasm! Want to be featured on the myJambi blog? Got a cool service you want to promote? Talk to use below in the comments! You can just say hello as well! Until next time….
-Anita
Monday, November 3, 2008
myJambi's Halloween Pumpkin
Hope you all had a great Halloween weekend!
(thanks vidugiris for this pumpkin carving tool--I apparently need to work on my carving skills)
(thanks vidugiris for this pumpkin carving tool--I apparently need to work on my carving skills)
Saturday, November 1, 2008
myJambi Celebrates Halloween & Mourns the Loss of One of Our Own
Yesterday was Halloween. It was also Evan's last day in the office.
This is a sad day for myJambi: We are losing one of the best developers, and people, we know. There isn't a part of the site that Evan hasn't touched and improved, and there isn't a YouTube video he hasn't sent us. He leaves myJambi a better website, and for that, we thank him.
So, yesterday, we sent him out the only way we could -- in style.
We wish Evan all the best on his new path. Good luck on Tuesday, Mrs. Palin, and beyond.
We'll miss you Evan.
This is a sad day for myJambi: We are losing one of the best developers, and people, we know. There isn't a part of the site that Evan hasn't touched and improved, and there isn't a YouTube video he hasn't sent us. He leaves myJambi a better website, and for that, we thank him.
So, yesterday, we sent him out the only way we could -- in style.
We wish Evan all the best on his new path. Good luck on Tuesday, Mrs. Palin, and beyond.
We'll miss you Evan.
Wednesday, October 29, 2008
myJambi Party!
The marketing team put together a fantastic party last night, and we have the photos to prove it. Well, only one right now. But there are more to come! Stay tuned...
Friday, October 17, 2008
Meghan Asha, Red Mango in the Office
Meghan Asha and Matt Dragstrem of Nonsociety stopped by our office today. They were awesome, and they both wielded some fancy technology.
Happy Friday!
Nell
Friday, October 10, 2008
Guest post: Anita S., writer, interviews Marina L., personal organizer
Hey myJambi readers! Anita here - a fellow myJambi user and latest addition the Jambi blog. Like many of you I submitted a proposal over myJambi, which was accepted, and now here I am chatting with all of you. (Chat back in the comments section!)
If you are anything like me, one of the first things you do when you stumble upon a new site or blog is click the "about me" section. Maybe it's just me but in this age of digital isolation, I think we try to seek out bits of human connection in our digital space. That was basically the inspiration behind my proposal – to get to know you the users a little better.
So, get ready for a brand new blog series featuring myJambi users like you. Our first interview features Marina L., a lawyer by day who was referred to me by the good folks at myJambi.
So tell us, how did you find out about myJambi and what inspired you to join?
I first learned about MJ on Facebook. I was excited about the opportunity to seek clients online so easily and keep a public record of client reviews and endorsements. Unlike Craigslist, which I value because I met my husband on CL, you don't have to relist your service every week or watch it get buried each day among other postings. More importantly, MJ allows your clients to promote you.
I noticed you currently offer personal organizer, food guru and jewelry maker services. Why did you choose these services?
I love practicing law and am committed to my legal career. At the same time, I am not one-dimensional; I have other interests and skills that I don't get to use at the office daily. Stew Friedman's Total Leadership (totalleadership.org) really helped me figure out how to balance the many facets of my life. I design and make jewelry, I am a major foodie, and I love to help others organize their lives. I'm constantly on the lookout for opportunities to engage in these activities and I know that I do these very well because I've successfully helped friends, family, and even strangers with all of the above in the past. Most people have many marketable and useful skills and will have to decide which ones they want to focus on. I'd love to offer ten other services but I've chosen the ones that best balance my life.
David and Kristina mentioned that you have a unique story. Are you at liberty to elaborate on it a bit? If so... we'd love to hear it!
My sister and I were born in Moscow. Our parents wanted us to have more opportunities than they had, so they aimed to bring us to the US. We finally got to the US after many trials and tribulations with the help of distant cousins that we found in Michigan (thank you Gene and Gail!). Maybe that's why I am so grateful for every opportunity that allows me to be myself. I've worked in neuropsychology, web design, software, and now in the legal field. I am constantly pushing myself to take advantage of the opportunities my parents made possible for me.
Have you hired others on myJambi?
I plan to but haven't yet. I have sent some job offers to friends who would be perfect for the job but haven't joined MJ yet.
What other websites besides myJambi do you frequent?
I spend a lot of my time online being creative. I love Snapfish.com -- most recently I created a flipbook for each special dinner we've held at our home, highlighting the special menu and our wonderful friends. I make photobooks for my friends and family for special occasions ranging from my grandmothers' 80-yr birthdays to my friends' weddings. Personally, my favorite is Snapfish's new collage feature. I also check out what's new in design on Etsy.com, love to design and code websites on whatever topic I'm into that month, and build my performing arts schedule for the month using SFCV.org. I also spend a lot of time online managing my life -- everything from ordering groceries online, to keeping a log of restaurants and business I like by reviewing them on Yelp, to online bill-pay. I have found ways to do everything in my life more efficiently.
What do you think of the myJambi mascot? Cute right?
I hadn't noticed the mascot so after you asked me, I went to the site to check it out. It is adorable.
A big thanks to Marina for her time and participation! Check out her profile if you need some organization, jewelry or food guru services in your life.
Want to be featured on the myJambi blog? Got a cool service you want to advertise? Leave a comment below. We'd love to hear from you!
Friday, October 3, 2008
Three weeks later: A final post
It's been three weeks since we set up shop in the TC50 DemoPit at the San Francisco Design Center, and we're finally ready to wrap up our blogging. A short summary of the things we loved below:
For presenters, Nell favored Birdpost and Swype. Birdpost, a site for bird-watchers to map their sightings and share photos, lives up to her belief in all things clean, specific and simple. Swype, a new text input technology, is just plain cool. David, meanwhile, liked Fotonauts and GoodGuide. Fotonauts provides its users with a smart, creative, and sophisticated way to organize and share photos, while GoodGuide makes it actually possible to be a knowledgeable buyer without spending all your time trying to acquire that knowledge.
It's tough to choose favorites among our DemoPit friends -- we loved so many whether they pertained to music, politics, or provided us with some new search or e-mail solutions! We'll cite a couple here: Vlytics, Grooveshark, and BriteClick all stood out from the pack.
Overall, it was a fantastic experience. We met smart, friendly, fun people, collected some leads for potential partnerships, and even made some money. We loved showing off the site and hearing all the fantastic feedback, though we both wish we could have spent just as much time wandering the aisles, hearing the presentations, and chatting with the attendees. Maybe next time :)
Nell & David
For presenters, Nell favored Birdpost and Swype. Birdpost, a site for bird-watchers to map their sightings and share photos, lives up to her belief in all things clean, specific and simple. Swype, a new text input technology, is just plain cool. David, meanwhile, liked Fotonauts and GoodGuide. Fotonauts provides its users with a smart, creative, and sophisticated way to organize and share photos, while GoodGuide makes it actually possible to be a knowledgeable buyer without spending all your time trying to acquire that knowledge.
It's tough to choose favorites among our DemoPit friends -- we loved so many whether they pertained to music, politics, or provided us with some new search or e-mail solutions! We'll cite a couple here: Vlytics, Grooveshark, and BriteClick all stood out from the pack.
Overall, it was a fantastic experience. We met smart, friendly, fun people, collected some leads for potential partnerships, and even made some money. We loved showing off the site and hearing all the fantastic feedback, though we both wish we could have spent just as much time wandering the aisles, hearing the presentations, and chatting with the attendees. Maybe next time :)
Nell & David
Thursday, October 2, 2008
myJambi comes to Facebook!
If you are like me, you might be bummed out about this whole new Facebook business. How can you improve upon an old classic? Well to answer that and to add a little sunshine to your day, myJambi would like to introduce their latest feature: the myJambi Facebook application.
Maybe you feel inundated by Facebook applications. Most of them are utterly useless, I mean who really NEEDS to pretend to be a vampire or a werewolf. Other applications, like Facebook Mobile, actually make the site so much more useful. And myJambi's app definitely fits this latter description.
Simply put, the application will link your Facebook and myJambi accounts. Your offers and wants will be prominently displayed on your Facebook profile. You can also choose to send it out into your friends' feeds--so whenever you're looking for that Spanish Tutor and want to tell all your friends, you can create your Want on myJambi and it will be sent out to your Facebook friends.
In addition to getting the word out about your offers and wants, you have the option to display the most popular categories on myJambi in the application and you can also add a myJambi search function to it.
After you add the application, you can invite your friends to add it as well. When you do that, you can share an offer or want with your friend. Maybe you're looking for a cooking instructor, you can invite all your foodie friends on Facebook to add the application along with your want, enticing them to join.
Maybe you feel inundated by Facebook applications. Most of them are utterly useless, I mean who really NEEDS to pretend to be a vampire or a werewolf. Other applications, like Facebook Mobile, actually make the site so much more useful. And myJambi's app definitely fits this latter description.
Simply put, the application will link your Facebook and myJambi accounts. Your offers and wants will be prominently displayed on your Facebook profile. You can also choose to send it out into your friends' feeds--so whenever you're looking for that Spanish Tutor and want to tell all your friends, you can create your Want on myJambi and it will be sent out to your Facebook friends.
In addition to getting the word out about your offers and wants, you have the option to display the most popular categories on myJambi in the application and you can also add a myJambi search function to it.
After you add the application, you can invite your friends to add it as well. When you do that, you can share an offer or want with your friend. Maybe you're looking for a cooking instructor, you can invite all your foodie friends on Facebook to add the application along with your want, enticing them to join.
Adding the application is easy. If you get an invite from a friend (or you search the available applications) click on the link that allows the application to be added to your profile. You will then have the option to link to your myJambi profile by addint your login information. Once that is complete you will be asked where you want to place your application-under the Information portion of your profile or in the Boxes section. I'd say you should put it right under your Information. It will end up under your friend's list and will stand out to whomever might be scoping your profile. Here is what mine looks like:
Why add the myJambi application to your Facebook? Simple, you want everyone in your network to know about your offers and wants. Getting the word out on Facebook is just tapping into a wider network of friends. Wider network of friends means more appointments booked, and that means happy myJambi members.
Tuesday, September 30, 2008
TC50 for the Politically Inclined
Just as Nell highlighted a few music sites that caught her eye at TechCrunch50, I thought I would highlight a couple politically-related sites that I'm particularly excited about.
Politics4all provides a new means for the political crowd to come together. Whether you're running a campaign, supporting a campaign, or trying to get involved in a campaign, this site is the place to go to get connected. I am most interested in how this helps local campaigns build relationships and find ways to support one another in the most efficient way and look forward to seeing how they will help their users make the most of their existing social networks.
Another site that caught my attention was Vlytics and its founder Scott Tranter. Scott has put together a fantastic, and user-friendly, application that allows campaigns to aggregate data and have a much more thorough understanding of the people they are trying to reach and the cost that is going into acquiring each one of those voters. Needless to say, a tool like Vlytics gives a campaign such great means of understanding how to use its limited resources and, once again, I think this is particularly interesting when thinking about how it applies to local campaigns.
So that's my quick take on a couple political sites--definitely check them out when you get a chance!
We'll be posting our last account from TC50 soon so be sure to check back and see which companies Nell and I liked most from the top 50.
Until then,
David
Politics4all provides a new means for the political crowd to come together. Whether you're running a campaign, supporting a campaign, or trying to get involved in a campaign, this site is the place to go to get connected. I am most interested in how this helps local campaigns build relationships and find ways to support one another in the most efficient way and look forward to seeing how they will help their users make the most of their existing social networks.
Another site that caught my attention was Vlytics and its founder Scott Tranter. Scott has put together a fantastic, and user-friendly, application that allows campaigns to aggregate data and have a much more thorough understanding of the people they are trying to reach and the cost that is going into acquiring each one of those voters. Needless to say, a tool like Vlytics gives a campaign such great means of understanding how to use its limited resources and, once again, I think this is particularly interesting when thinking about how it applies to local campaigns.
So that's my quick take on a couple political sites--definitely check them out when you get a chance!
We'll be posting our last account from TC50 soon so be sure to check back and see which companies Nell and I liked most from the top 50.
Until then,
David
Monday, September 29, 2008
CollegeFest!
This past weekend, we braved the Boston rain for CollegeFest. Over the course of two days, we gave away $500 to some lucky college students in this crazy cash-grab-booth. It was, as our fans told us, "exactly like it looks like on TV". Poorly photographed proof below.
Wednesday, September 24, 2008
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Tuesday, September 23, 2008
Office Space
Our little office is going to be not-so-little very soon: We're breaking down walls and expanding next door! In the interim, we're scattered about the city (and the country for that matter). We think the new space will be worth the wait. Stay tuned for the "after" shots.
Friday, September 19, 2008
We love OtherInbox & OtherInbox loves you!
OtherInbox has generously shared a limited number of beta invites with us. We only have 25 to share, so hurry up and sign up here.
Enjoy!
Wednesday, September 17, 2008
TC50 Email Solutions
As I wade through the backlog of emails that accumulated during last week's frenzy, I thought I'd take a minute to reflect on some of the email solutions we saw at TechCrunch.
OtherInbox is a neat little site designed to solve your "accessory" email problem. That is, all those newsletters, updates, and alerts that you don't read everyday -- and maybe don't even have in your main inbox. It's a destination site designed to house and organize all that mail. It allows you to create unique email addresses and then categorizes mail based on those addresses to help you break your less-important email intake into a more digestible format. I get my own domain name -- nellwyn.otherinbox.com -- and I can add different prefixes to to create addresses. For example, I can change my Gilt & ShopBop contacts to shop@nellwyn.otherinbox.com and my Facebook & LinkedIn contacts to socialnet@nellwyn.otherinbox.com. The interface -- clean and intuitive -- then sorts and categorizes incoming mail based on address, so my shopping mail goes into one folder and my social networking goes into another.
I'm a big fan of Gmail's + trick, so this is right up my alley. The most appealing feature is that you can see what mailing lists are responsible for unwanted mail. If I sign up to Joe's Event List with joes@nellwyn.otherinbox.com and find that I'm getting 10 emails a day from Joe's affiliates, I can block that one email address and eliminate all the unwanted mail. As Evan, who met a couple of the OI devs at Lone Star Ruby, said, "Props to OtherInbox for doing something that's already been done, email, and making it better."
NutshellMail provides a different take on the issue of the ever-increasing partitioning of inboxes. Nutshell, a web-based service, aggregates mail from your various messaging accounts -- whether it be that personal Hotmail account, Facebook, or your "accessory" Gmail account -- and delivers the mail to a main account of your choosing on a schedule of your choosing in a streamlined update email. Not only does this allow you to check all your email in one place, it also allows you to see messages from sites that might not be accessible from your workplace. While OtherInbox creates a separate, very well-organized, home for your less-important email, Nutshell brings that email to your main account in a systematized way. Both seem like creative solutions to an old, pesky problem.
Postbox tackles another problem: The photos, links and docs that get lost in your inbox. It's a desktop email application that offers advanced labeling and searching functionality, allowing you to more easily find and share everything -- not just the text -- that's in your inbox. I was really impressed by the demo and the team behind it, including Scott MacGregor, one of the original developers of Thunderbird. It looks to me like it's a better email application, and I couldn't be more thrilled: I think I've outgrown the Gmail interface. I can't wait to download Postbox and start trying it out.
That's all for now -- I've avoided my inbox for long enough today.
Happy emailing,
Nell
OtherInbox is a neat little site designed to solve your "accessory" email problem. That is, all those newsletters, updates, and alerts that you don't read everyday -- and maybe don't even have in your main inbox. It's a destination site designed to house and organize all that mail. It allows you to create unique email addresses and then categorizes mail based on those addresses to help you break your less-important email intake into a more digestible format. I get my own domain name -- nellwyn.otherinbox.com -- and I can add different prefixes to to create addresses. For example, I can change my Gilt & ShopBop contacts to shop@nellwyn.otherinbox.com and my Facebook & LinkedIn contacts to socialnet@nellwyn.otherinbox.com. The interface -- clean and intuitive -- then sorts and categorizes incoming mail based on address, so my shopping mail goes into one folder and my social networking goes into another.
I'm a big fan of Gmail's + trick, so this is right up my alley. The most appealing feature is that you can see what mailing lists are responsible for unwanted mail. If I sign up to Joe's Event List with joes@nellwyn.otherinbox.com and find that I'm getting 10 emails a day from Joe's affiliates, I can block that one email address and eliminate all the unwanted mail. As Evan, who met a couple of the OI devs at Lone Star Ruby, said, "Props to OtherInbox for doing something that's already been done, email, and making it better."
NutshellMail provides a different take on the issue of the ever-increasing partitioning of inboxes. Nutshell, a web-based service, aggregates mail from your various messaging accounts -- whether it be that personal Hotmail account, Facebook, or your "accessory" Gmail account -- and delivers the mail to a main account of your choosing on a schedule of your choosing in a streamlined update email. Not only does this allow you to check all your email in one place, it also allows you to see messages from sites that might not be accessible from your workplace. While OtherInbox creates a separate, very well-organized, home for your less-important email, Nutshell brings that email to your main account in a systematized way. Both seem like creative solutions to an old, pesky problem. Postbox tackles another problem: The photos, links and docs that get lost in your inbox. It's a desktop email application that offers advanced labeling and searching functionality, allowing you to more easily find and share everything -- not just the text -- that's in your inbox. I was really impressed by the demo and the team behind it, including Scott MacGregor, one of the original developers of Thunderbird. It looks to me like it's a better email application, and I couldn't be more thrilled: I think I've outgrown the Gmail interface. I can't wait to download Postbox and start trying it out.
That's all for now -- I've avoided my inbox for long enough today.
Happy emailing,
Nell
Tuesday, September 16, 2008
nextNY community gathering @ shakeshack
myJambi is co-sponsoring tonight's community event @shakeshack, organized by nextNY and Charlie O' Donnell. Who doesn't love free burgers and beers and catching up with the NYC tech community? The event is sold out, but there's a spillover event right across the street for anyone who didn't RSVP in time. Come one, come all!
David: Coffee Delivery Pro, Start-Up Founder
It looks like all our TechCrunch50 work -- and David's coffee-fetching -- paid off. We're on the front page right now! Go over to TechCrunch and check it out.
Monday, September 15, 2008
myJambi video # 2: Need a ride?
Hot off the excitement of TechCrunch50, comes the premiere of the second myJambi video/commercial titled "Need a ride?"
This video features the amazing acting work of Evan Zelnick, Kai Romero (her profile) was our lovely Boom Operator and stunt driver. myJambi co-founder David also helped out on set. Car was provided by ZipCar (found here) a great place to rent a car for a few hours without paying through the nose. The music was another song by Jonah Dempcy called "Too Cool for Home School" procured from Archive.org (found here)
So feel free to forward at will. Spread the doctrine of myJambi.
Stay tuned, on Thursday myJambi has a special surprise in store!
This video features the amazing acting work of Evan Zelnick, Kai Romero (her profile) was our lovely Boom Operator and stunt driver. myJambi co-founder David also helped out on set. Car was provided by ZipCar (found here) a great place to rent a car for a few hours without paying through the nose. The music was another song by Jonah Dempcy called "Too Cool for Home School" procured from Archive.org (found here)
So feel free to forward at will. Spread the doctrine of myJambi.
Stay tuned, on Thursday myJambi has a special surprise in store!
Friday, September 12, 2008
TC50 Nostalgia, Part One
Hello there,
One harrowing redeye JetBlue flight later, I'm back in NYC, and already nostalgic about the sweet myJambi times at TechCrunch50. We'll be rehashing the conference on the blog over the next week, but I thought I'd jump-start things with a short review of a couple music sites I'm excited about.
Now, I love my music sites. There are already a couple great tools in the space: Hype Machine, Pandora, Indaba, and OhMyRockness, among others. After seeing their demos at TC50, I'm optimistic about three new additions: Grooveshark Lite, BlueHaze, and BoJam.
GrooveShark Lite might just fill the whole left in my heart by the premature departure of Muxtape. While it isn't quite as clean and simple as my old favorite, it does offer a lot of functionality. Like Pandora, it allows me to steam full-length songs, and has an "autoplay" feature that will populate my music queue with other songs I'll like. Unlike Pandora, it also allows me to add entire albums of my choosing to that queue as well, so I can mix my favorites with surprise suggestions. It looks like there are a few bugs--duplication of songs in particular--but I'm excited to use it and excited to see what else the team rolls out.
If you love concerts as much as I do, please go check out BlueHaze. It provides full concert support services--notifications about upcoming shows, updates about what shows your friends are attending, a place to upload concert photos and reviews, and a home for your personal concert history. Even better, their iPhone application let's you do it in real-time. Even better than that, the founder is incredibly nice and he managed to sneak a musician into the demo pit to play live and he collected demopit chips in a guitar case. Awesome? Yes.
BoJam, one of the 52 finalists, is a wholly different kind of music site. For those of you who are more musically gifted than I am, you are in luck: BoJam has created a place for musicians to mix, record, and collaborate on songs over the internet. Their demo, set to Toto's Africa, did a cute job of explicating what exactly this means. It has the potential to be a great rehearsal tool for artists, even if the recording functionality doesn't work out. Take a look and let me know if you agree.
Happy musical Friday,
Nell
One harrowing redeye JetBlue flight later, I'm back in NYC, and already nostalgic about the sweet myJambi times at TechCrunch50. We'll be rehashing the conference on the blog over the next week, but I thought I'd jump-start things with a short review of a couple music sites I'm excited about.
Now, I love my music sites. There are already a couple great tools in the space: Hype Machine, Pandora, Indaba, and OhMyRockness, among others. After seeing their demos at TC50, I'm optimistic about three new additions: Grooveshark Lite, BlueHaze, and BoJam.GrooveShark Lite might just fill the whole left in my heart by the premature departure of Muxtape. While it isn't quite as clean and simple as my old favorite, it does offer a lot of functionality. Like Pandora, it allows me to steam full-length songs, and has an "autoplay" feature that will populate my music queue with other songs I'll like. Unlike Pandora, it also allows me to add entire albums of my choosing to that queue as well, so I can mix my favorites with surprise suggestions. It looks like there are a few bugs--duplication of songs in particular--but I'm excited to use it and excited to see what else the team rolls out.
If you love concerts as much as I do, please go check out BlueHaze. It provides full concert support services--notifications about upcoming shows, updates about what shows your friends are attending, a place to upload concert photos and reviews, and a home for your personal concert history. Even better, their iPhone application let's you do it in real-time. Even better than that, the founder is incredibly nice and he managed to sneak a musician into the demo pit to play live and he collected demopit chips in a guitar case. Awesome? Yes.BoJam, one of the 52 finalists, is a wholly different kind of music site. For those of you who are more musically gifted than I am, you are in luck: BoJam has created a place for musicians to mix, record, and collaborate on songs over the internet. Their demo, set to Toto's Africa, did a cute job of explicating what exactly this means. It has the potential to be a great rehearsal tool for artists, even if the recording functionality doesn't work out. Take a look and let me know if you agree.
Happy musical Friday,
Nell
Wednesday, September 10, 2008
TechCrunch Day Two
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Hi!
Another quick update from Nell & David over at TC50. Yesterday we were back in the demopit, but tried to sneak a few walks around the room and peeks at the panels. We'll provide more detail once the dust from this crazy conference settles, but a few highlights from yesterday:
David was hired through the site to get some coffee at Starbucks for Suggestion Box.
We spoke with Mark Boslet over at UberPulse.
We demo-ed the site to Mark Cuban. He provided some interesting insights and responded really positively to the site.
We talked to more smart people with great sites: BriteClick, Politics4All, Jibidee, Expensify, and BlueHaze.
We got to sneak a peek at a few of the 52. iCharts impressed with its simple, clean idea. PostBox, a desktop email application, showed off some cool features. Finally, Swype certainly took the day, if not the conference.
We saw the Jabbawokeez at the Symantec-sponsored party tonight.
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We got a slightly blurry photo with Jason Calacanis and Don Dodge at Temple.
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Today, we get to actually attend the conference. Rich Media, Games, Vertical Social Networking and Research & Recommendations: here we come!
Over and out,
Nell & David
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