The Real Jenty

This post has been brewing for a few weeks now, but after a discussion with a blogging friend this week, I believe it needs to be written.  The blogging landscape in South Africa is changing, and we’re starting to see companies paying bloggers for content more and more often.  Now that’s great, I’m all for that, hell, I love that we’re finally getting recognition that we have a voice and that we have a listening audience, and that our audience is the same as the ones that brands advertise to on TV etc.

This however, raises a few issues that I feel need to be aired.  Local bloggers are not as “wise” as overseas bloggers yet, when it comes to being sponsored by corporates and brands, and we need to start getting wise… FAST!

Local bloggers normally do this for the love of it, they’re not earning a lot of money from blogging, so the vast majority have full time careers.  Those careers are important.  They’re what brings in the main revenue in the household.  My message is the following…

Don’t jeopardise your day job because of a carrot that is being dangled in front of you by a corporate.

Be aware of the impact of what you blog about.

This might seem logical, but seriously, please think about the company that is asking you to advertise on your blog.

If the company is in any way a competitor of the company that you work for, don’t do it!  It’s not worth the little bit of money they’re going to pay you for your sponsored blogpost or the banner they’re going to stick on your site.

When you sign your contract of employment, one of the clauses normally stipulates that you cannot earn money outside your workplace, and if you are allowed, it says that it can’t be a conflict of interest.  In addition, your company may or may not have a Social Media policy which defines what you can or cannot say in a social space about the company, your work and your industry.

Therefore, if a company approaches you and offers you money for you to write a blog post about one of their products, and that product is similar to something that your own employer sells or provides as a service… don’t even go there!! It’s a conflict of interest… you can get disciplined or even fired for it.

Now some of you are probably saying, who is she to say this?  How on earth are they going to find out?

Part of what I do, in my day job, is monitoring social spaces for mentions of my company.   More and more companies are doing ORM (online reputation management) to monitor mentions of their brand online, they have to. Companies run software (or they outsource it) that pick up mentions of certain words in all social spaces and they get tracked and reported on.

Companies are becoming aware of the power of social media locally.  They understand that your blog/tweet is being watched by plenty of people, and not only that, it can be shared.  So what you say is not only being heard by the people who follow you, but potentially by the people that follow your followers too!  And that’s power.  That can affect a brand.  It can affect buying patterns.

Understand, as someone taking part in social spaces, that you have power.  People are listening to you all the time.  Understand why you can’t blog about a competing product… it can possibly damage the brand you work for.

That will jeopardise your job.  Just be careful.

This post is mostly about blogging, but this could be said for other social spaces too.  Let me know in the comments if you want me to explain a little more.

Oh and to end off, please also remember that if a company has asked you to blog about their product, it’s good blogging etiquette to have a disclaimer at the bottom of the post stating that fact… or else you will lose credibility pretty quickly.

… I wish I did photography full time.  I got asked this morning, by a client, when I’m going to take the plunge… and the truth is I’m not ready.  It’s a scary thought, and I’m not sure I’ll be able to earn enough from it… I also think I would have to consult to top up my income.  And I don’t think I’m ready to consult until this project I’m working on is complete.  And then I’m hoping I’m not too old.

Don’t knock me for the age thing… it’s a serious worry of mine… there’s an age thing in my head about funky women photographers and I wonder how sustainable photography would be for me.

Then I got home from the shoot  this morning (which was postponed in the end anyway), and on the way I got an offer for a wedding in the middle of the week, which I had to turn down.  I had to turn down another offer for today from a corporate because I actually need to spend at least 2 hours a weekend with my kids… and I completed an invoice for a company whose function I’m doing in September only because it happens after working hours.

There’s just so much business I’m starting to turn away during the week, because it’s just not possible.  And in fact, I’m even turning away weekend work now because I need some family time too.

I hate turning things down… but I’m still not ready… not yet.  I wonder if I’m ever going to be ready.

It’s been a week since my role changed and I moved to a different company within the group, and I feel like a different person.

It’s the smallest detail that’s made the most difference.   OK, I’m not that busy yet, but it’s getting there, and my intended role has already changed… but that’s ok… I’m learning new stuff and that’s never a bad thing in my books.

The biggest difference for me in the last week is time related. The fact that I don’t HAVE to stay in the office until 5pm when the market closes has made the world of difference.  The fact that, in fact, you don’t have to wait until 15 minutes AFTER the close of the market before leaving or else you get odd looks and frowns has made an enormous impact on my life.

I can actually leave earlier, and get to see my boys and play with them a bit before rushing with supper and homework and bath and bed time.

Because of this change, I’ve started going to work earlier now too.  Because I actually feel like being there earlier.

Leaving after 5pm in my old role meant that I only got home at 6:30pm if I needed to stop and get the basics at the shops on route home.  That’s very late to start supper with grumpy kids and a grumpy me.

And already, I’m less tense about life in general.

I’m not sure if I mentioned it here, but I resigned about 6 weeks ago. I’m moving to another company within the same group.

It’s a BIG change… yet still in the same building and it’ll mean working with people I kinda know already.  So it was very weird to say goodbye to everyone today, knowing that I’ll probably bump into them on Monday.  I even had to hand in my laptop, clear out my emails and data folders; just as if I was leaving the group.

It’s a BIG change… I’ve been working in Stockbroking for 10 years.  It’s a change of industry.

It’s a BIG change… My new role is kinda airy fairy right now and I’ll have to mould it into what I want it to be… it’s all about Web 2.0 and Social Media;  working from IT, but closely with Marketing to build their social media skills.  So it’s exciting!  I’ve been building up to this for a while with the experience I’ve had in the last 18 months.

It was sad to say goodbye.  I’ve worked with one of my staff members for 10 years on and off.  It was very strange knowing that we’ll probably never work together again.

Anyhoo, what better way to start a new decade than with a new career

Hehe, I know that statement does not come as a surprise to most of my more regular blog readers, but that’s how I feel today…

I’ve been doing social media presentations around the country in the last few weeks to small groups of people in my company, and they had a specific purpose and I knew at what technological level the attendees were, so I was pleased that they learnt something, but not very surprised.

Then on Friday last week, I had my big test… I presented to approx 120 IT guys in another division.  I had to present on Social Media again, and this time there was little guidance ito a theme, so I made it more general and I made it cater for people who knew nothing, and others that were involved in it.  It was supposed to be 90 minutes, but I ended up talking too much, and it ended up being almost 2 hours.

I was so very worried that I bored some people, and that it was too long-winded, but clearly I was wrong.  I’ve had so many emails today thanking me!

I’m definitely going to rein it in a bit when I do the same presentation to the rest of the team that didn’t make it, but I’m glad it was well received

It was a good ego boost this morning!

It never ceases to amaze me, that some people forget the skills that others have just because they’re not in everyones faces all the time!

I was asked today whether I could be an ally because I understand the business and the IT side so well… when I replied that I’ve always been there… just not physically sitting where I’m sitting now… his answer was “well, out of sight, out of mind”

He hit the nail on the head with that comment… I think that’s the reason I eventually decided that my previous role wasn’t getting me anywhere.

I have no idea why I insist on opening my work email from home!! Oh yes, tonight it was because I’d seen an email from a friend just before I shut down but it was too late to open it. Ho hum! It could really have waited until morning.

And the result of doing the unthinkable…. I’m frustrated and irritated!!   AAARRRGH

OMW, it’s interesting working in financial services at the moment.  LOL!  Never a dull moment.

I’ve been through a bad market before, but the last time I was a bit “green” about it all.  And this one is BIG!  Huge!  I’m sure you guys have all read about it, or at least know that there’s a problem… it’s in every newspaper and every news bulletin you hear and see.

It’s just so interesting to work through these times…. hopefully that doesn’t change!

Everyone you speak to in the market, not just in my company, but other local and international companies is just wondering when it’s going to affect them, and how they’ll get affected.

There’s talk and news articles about retrenchments in companies already.  That hasn’t taken long.  Posts have been frozen in a lot of companies for a few months now, but all of a sudden there’s a flurry of retrenchment talk.  And before you say “but I thought it was only in the US”… well, that’s not the case.  A lot of local companies are owned internationally, so it goes without saying that if there’s a problem overseas it’ll affect us.

Retrenchments might not happen, but already huge cost cutting exercises are being practised in most companies.  And I’m sure it’s not going to be long before a lot of IT projects are scaled back or changed completely as focus has shifted from growing and trying to be clever, to trying to maintain the client base and keeping afloat – if that hasn’t happened yet!

I bumped into one our top portfolio managers last week on the escalators, and he just said “It’s rough out there”.  I think that’s the understatement of the decade.  The traders are already looking haggard.