On July 1, 2011 my employment at Blue Sky Factory was terminated – effective immediately.
One week later, I emailed 8 of the top social media folks in the industry asking them to film a 30-second “Hire DJ” video.
10 days after termination, I launched Project Awesome.
So why the big, smiling, jumping off a ledge, in-your-face avatar (above)?
A few reasons. In the first two weeks on the job hunt, the “Hire DJ” video was viewed 756 times (over 1,400 today). My interactive resume was viewed 6,500 times (over 8,300 today). My blog post, Social Media Experiment: Finding a Job, had 5,000+ visits, including 2,805 on the first day (10x more visitors than any one of my 92 previous blog posts). There were over 7,000 tweets mentioning Project Awesome or my job search in some way. Scores of folks shared my post on Facebook. At least one person dedicated a blog post to my “hire me” efforts.
I received 200 comments on my blog post, had nearly 300 emails in my inbox, had 44 phone conversations/interviews, 7 in-person interviews, 13 Skype chats, 2 Google+ Hangouts & one Facebook chat – all with people interested in hiring me for a full-time position … all within the first 2 weeks.
But more important than any of the above is what I’m thrilled to announce now …
On Saturday, July 29 2011, I decided to start my own company.
Waldow Social – a name dreamed up by my wife Kristina – was launched on Monday, August 1 2011. Today, the website is live.
I could dedicate the rest of the blog post to telling you all about what Waldow Social is all about – who our clients are, how you can work with us, etc, etc. However, I’d rather send the blog traffic to Waldow Social.
Makes sense, right?
What’s Next For Social Butterfly Guy?
This blog will still exist. I’ll still write here. I have no immediate plans to decrease the frequency. Also, it will continue to focus on people – after all, that’s the tagline (“It’s all about people.”). Over on Waldow Social, the posts will be more client & industry focused. Expect to see content around SMS, email, and social media marketing for the most part.
Any other questions? Don’t be shy. Email me and/or ask them below in the comments.
One Last Thing
Thank you.
Thank you for reading this blog.
Thank you for believing in me.
Thank you for encouraging me.
Thank you for listening to me.
Thank you for offering me advice.
Thank you for trusting me.
Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.
DJ Waldow
Founder & CEO of Waldow Social
