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...

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. 

David & I met Meghan at TC50, and she was kind enough to come interview the team and see our newly-expanded office space. She brought along her videographer (and singer-songwriter) Matt, to record for internet eternity our awkward/brilliant insights into myJambi. We chatted, we ate some Red Mango, Simon showed off our socks. It was fantastic. 

Look out for a little video about us in the next week or so, in the meantime, check out the team. 

Happy Friday!

Nell

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!

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

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.

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.