Updates from the myJambi Team
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!
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