Monday, February 28, 2011

Projects!

Gentle readers, your MatchGirl, besides being a working girl, has been working with a variety of projects, so I thought I would take a moment to share them with you.

If you want to read more of my writing, as I have been blogging less on Unemployed Brooklyn of late, you can check out the blog for my company, From Bogota With Love, where I edit content, create the editorial calendar and, from time to time, write here.

If you want to know more about the direction that my life is moving, as Boyfriend and I look for an apartment and start a life of living and growing together, you can read about that (and please follow!) A Precious Environment. I'm blogging there 5 days a week.

I've started a Tumblr, too. Found, by MsMatchGirl is a place for me to share random things I find on my travels through the interwebs. It's updated from time to time, with no particular rhyme or reason - except that I've found something that I think is worth sharing.

I'm still working with Aja and Joann on Work It Brooklyn and you can find out more info on our blog, follow us on Twitter and join the conversation on our Facebook page.

Of course, I'm sure you all follow me on Twitter already!

There are a few other things in the works and a few other things I'm really excited to share with you. And share them, I will. In due time!

Monday, February 21, 2011

Dominoes

There's a lot of change going on in the world, gentle readers. Your MatchGirl means big change. She means little change. She means jobs being gotten on the power of a blog. She means dictatorships falling on the power of a tweet.  It's a whole new world when it comes to the written word and, in the end, it all can fall like dominoes.

Your MatchGirl is of two minds when it comes to digital books. (Seems like a tangent, but bear with...)

One the one hand, I love my neighborhood bookstore. I love the people that work there. I love their involvement in the community. I love going to book club once a month and talking about books (ones I might not have picked up on my own) with my friends and neighbors.

On the other hand, I recently downloaded the Kindle app on my Android. I haven't bought a book yet, but I've downloaded a couple of free ones. I like that I can have a book with me at all times - on my phone. I like that even in my smallest handbag, if I'm waiting for Boyfriend at the bar or stuck on a crowded train, that I have literature at my fingertips.

And while I know that some eReaders support your indie bookstore (thinking about getting a Nook, truth be told, since I could still buy Google books through Word), I'm still not 100% sold.

All that said, I believe in the power of the written word. I believe in the power of the written word to change minds and to change society. I believe that today's Twitter revolutions are a direct evolution of "Common Sense". And I believe that the standard rules of publishing - of distributing the written word - are changing.

I recently joined the Street Team for The Domino Project - Seth Godin's newest brainchild, destined to change the face - the "how" - of publishing. While I'm not sure exactly what the Street Team is all about just yet, I'm honored to be amongst such amazing people (seriously, you should check out these people). And as someone who has been putting thoughts and calls to action in this little space for the past two years, I'm excited about the possibilities that involvement can bring.

Does it mean I'll write a book? I dunno. A bunch of people have said that I ought to.
Does it mean, if I follow that path, that I'll self-publish? Or does it mean that I will try to go a more traditional route and look for a publisher who might like what I have to say? I have some friends who have followed that path. I can't say.
It does mean that I'm open to all sorts of possibilities. It means that I'm open to seeing how this movement can change other people's minds about books, about publishing. It means that I'm putting into practice one thing that I have known for a long time - word of mouth, especially a referral from someone whose opinion you trust, is everything when it comes to something new - a book to read, music to listen to a movie to see in the theater - to experience.

There are a lot of changes, dear readers, in my life right now. What I do know is that I am excited to meet the people involved in the Domino Project, to soak in what they have to say, to gather inspiration and support from them.

And I am most certainly excited to see how the dominoes fall...

Thursday, February 17, 2011

Success?

Your MatchGirl is remiss, once again, that it has been so long since she's properly written.  There are just so many things going on in life and I have not, to be very honest, gentle readers, been able to put words to blog in a way that would be even remotely interesting.


Yet, yesterday morning, I saw this tweet from Kneale Mann and it started me thinking of the nature of success.



 
You see, dear ones, your MatchGirl currently has a lot going on - from work to personal projects to personal life changing (more to come on that in a future post) - and, pretty much, all of these things are good. Ones for the win column. A success you might say.


When I was unemployed, I had no fear of failure. I felt like I could go no further down than that November day in 2008 when I got laid off for the simple fact that I was one of only a few people on salary and benefits and the poorly run company could no longer afford to pay it (however paltry it was). So I started blogging. Putting myself out there into the world wasn't scary. And when I started Hire Me Martha, even after appearing on her show, I had no illusions that I would be hired. It was simply good publicity for her. And, as all my gentle readers know, I was embarrassingly single for much of the past couple of years of blogging, and I had no fear of putting myself out there - it couldn't get any worse.


Things have started to turn around. And, though I am by no means successful, I am heading in that direction.


What does it mean?


I'm not sure yet.


Will I make more money? God I hope so.
Will I find happiness? Seems likely.

Is success, in the end, about reaching the summit of the mountain? Or about all the amazing steps it takes along the way?

Monday, February 14, 2011

Happy Valentine's Day

Gentle readers, though your MatchGirl is quite excited to be celebrating St. Valentine's Day with Boyfriend, she has decided to jump on the bandwagon and push to reboot Valentine's Day as Generosity Day.

This Monday, Valentine’s Day, is going to be rebooted as Generosity Day: one day of sharing love with everyone, of being generous to everyone, to see how it feels and to practice saying “Yes.” Let’s make the day about love, action and human connection--because we can do better than smarmy greeting cards, overpriced roses, and stressed-out couples trying to create romantic meals on the fly.
                                                                                           - Sasha Dichter

Monday, February 7, 2011

Work It Brooklyn - We're Back!

That's right, friends, Work It Brooklyn is back!

We know it's been awhile since you've heard from us, but we are now getting busy revving up for an exciting 2011 for WIB and have set the date for our next big mix-and-mingle event: Wednesday, February 23, from 7 to 10PM. We'll be at Public Assembly in Williamsburg, where we'll have plenty of room for speed networking and general excitement.

Register to join the fun at Eventbrite. And while you're busy clicking links, make sure you migrate over to our new Facebook group to join the discussion and mingle, in advance, with your fellow creatives.

To keep WIB running (for operating costs and to bring you bigger and better events all year long) we will be asking for a suggested donation of $5 at the door, though we will turn no one away. Unless you didn't register, of course!

Get those business cards ready!
Aja Marsh, Briana Campbell, and Joann Kim
Work It Brooklyn
Blog | Facebook | 2.23.11 Registration
P.S. Have a friend that wants to join our mailing list? Have them email us.

About

Work It Brooklyn is an event-based networking organization formed in 2010 to connect inspired creatives working independently within the creative fields. Graphic designers, dancers, musicians, tech gurus, painters, and others gather in our evenings of productive debauchery. WIB is devised as a forum to connect folks working from home without the benefit of a network support system, opening up the opportunity to meet and forge partnerships, fine and create work, instigate healthy competition, and encourage the exchange of ideas and potential collaborations, all the while having a whole lot of fun.
Work It Brooklyn is produced by Aja Marsh (North Brooklyn Runners), Briana Campbell (Unemployed Brooklyn) and Joann Kim (Greenpoint Food Market).

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

HAPPY ANNIVERSARY!




Two years of Unemployed Brooklyn!
Thanks for reading, gentle ones.
Your MatchGirl loves you all.