In December BzzAgent.com asked the question, "What was your worst experience as a BzzAgent in 2011?" on its Facebook page, and I didn't have to think long for an answer.
I am a geek and knowledge is my aphrodisiac. I love trying new things, learning about new products, and giving companies feedback. I am a quality assurance engineer by birth, an alpha tester, and an early-adopter. I am the embodiment of 411 -- the person everyone calls when they need information on any subject; functioning as "tech support" for friends, friends of friends, and colleagues. For me, "bzzing" (talking about products/services with others) is a natural extension of my being. If something exists, then I have an opinion about it (and I'll have the facts which informed the opinion). If I find a product or service I love I tell absolutely everyone, but beware, the same is true for when I find a product or service that doesn't pass muster. And what I hate more than anything is when a company has a solid product, but kills it with crappy customer support/service/relations. Any love I may have felt for your product will fly out the window!
This is exactly what happened with Mobilewalla, an app search and ranking service, that I was introduced to via BzzAgent.com. This is my odyssey... caveat emptor!
On 23-Sep-2011, BzzAgent.com sent out its Weekly Digest email. The entire first section of the talked about all these cool apps that BzzAgent (employees) had found using Mobilewalla and at the end of the section, there was this contest announcement below:
On BzzAgent.com's recommendation, I went to check out the Mobilewalla site. Then I visited the Mobilewalla Facebook Fan Page, liked it, and took the poll to enter the contest. I figured, why not?
On 03-Oct-2011, I was contacted via Facebook by a Mobilewalla employee who stated that I was one of the four contest winners. A day or so later, I was asked for my email address, so that my $50.00 Amazon.com Gift Certificate prize could be sent right out to me. I responded with my email address... and got nothing in return. Over the next several weeks, I contacted this employee a few times to try to find out why the prize had never been sent. The first excuse was that a colleague was supposed to have sent it, but that colleague was out of the office.... eventually the employee stop responding at all, just silence, and the saga continued.
On 07-Nov-2011, I left a message on BzzAgent.com's Facebook page giving an overview of what had happened so far and asking if they had a contact at Mobilewalla with whom they could check on the status of my prize. I realized Mobilewalla's lack of follow-through and explanation was not BzzAgent.com's fault, but Mobilewalla had been introduced to me upon BzzAgent.com's recommendation and the contest had been advertised in BzzAgent.com's e-newsletter. I figured BzzAgent.com might at least be able to suss out what was going on. BzzAgent.com followed up with Mobilewalla and responded that Mobilewalla stated I would receive my GC "shortly" but by the end of November, I still had not been sent it. And had not received any satisfactory reason as to why not. (By the way, another BzzAgent responded to my Facebook post saying she'd also been contacted by Mobilewalla as a contest winner, but had also never received the promised prize. Considering there were only four winners, it didn't seem likely any had actually received the prize.)
It's 05-Jan-2012 and Mobilewalla has yet to come through with the $50.00 Amazon.com Gift Certificate. No real explanation given.
Without doubt, this experience was my worst of 2011 as a BzzAgent. But what I don't get is this, if you're a fledgling company trying to gain "bzz" and you run a contest where participants are likely to be early-adopters and folks who will tell their friends (and strangers, too) about your product, why on earth would you not honor the contest? Why contact actual winners at all, if it was merely a fake contest designed to drum up interest? Are these the sort of people who you want to be out there telling everyone they know (and strangers, too)how poorly your company behaved?You've got to be one sad company.
On top of it all, I had planned to add $29.00 to my GC prize and get a Kindle... total bummer.
Stay tuned. In another post later on -- likely next week-- I'll answer the other half of BzzAgent.com's question, "What was my best experience as a BzzAgent in 2011?"
Disclosure: I'm a BzzAgent (a registered participant/member of BzzAgent.com, a word-of-mouth marketing company).
I've been a vegetarian for nearly 22 years -- my vegeversary is coming up in December! Gave up meat at a young age without a backwards glance. People would always ask how I could do without meat. (I grew up in the deep South where everything is fried in meat juice.) I told them that meat wasn't essential to my daily bread. My favorite foods are fruits and vegetables, in that order.
I could easily add soda to that list. Giving up meat didn't bother me at all, but if someone asked me to give up soda, I might be driven to violence. Soda is my weakness in the food chain. It's seemingly hereditary; my father drank so much soda -- I don't recall ever seeing him drink water -- that we used to joke the man had Coke® running through his veins in place of blood. In other words, I love soda!
Some people say they drink soda for the caffeine. I don't notice caffeine; I have a very high tolerance for it. I don't even drink soda because I'm thirsty. I seldom feel thirst. Random, I know, but there it is. No, I drink soda because it tastes good. I know I'm supposed to drink water, but soda tastes better. It's got flavor.
Lately, I've been trying to cut down on my soda consumption. It's not going so well. So I thought perhaps, I could do the next best thing. If I can't give up soda then at least I can choose healthier options -- and one of the best things one can do when going healthy is to go the homemade route. To that end, I got the book, Homemade Soda: 200 Recipes for Making and Using... fruit sodas and fizzy juices, sparkling waters, root beers and cola brews, herbal and healing waters, sparkling teas and coffees, shrubs and switchels, cream sodas and floats, and other carbonated concoctions by Andrew Schloss.
On the back of the book, this jumped out at me:
You'll love the benefits of Homemade Soda.
>> Control the sugar and calories your family drinks. Use sweeteners you like in quantities you want.
>> Say goodbye to recycling bins filled with empty commercial soda bottles.
This book was speaking to me. I'm eco-minded, I'm big on DIY and green tech -- add to this my desire to make my soda habit healthier and this cottage industry is right up my alley.
Now, what I'd really love is to join the Sodastream BzzCampaign, so I can "get busy with the fizzy" (the old Sodastream slogan). Did you know that a Sodastream machine doesn't need electricity? Green!
Disclosure: I'm a BzzAgent and BzzAgent.com, a word-of-mouth marketing company, is launching a Sodastream campaign. As part of a new selection process, BzzAgents can now express direct interest in specific campaigns and enter for a chance to join them by posting pictures, videos, or blogs. This post serves as my entry, however; this doesn't lessen what is stated, all of which remains true.
"A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away...." crawled up the screen and I was hooked on a saga that would stay with me for a lifetime. I became a Star Wars geek at age eight and I'm still very much 'down with the force' today.
Check the bonafides (from my Star Wars collection):
This is one of my favorite pieces. The first time I watched Star Wars, seeing the Stormtroopers astride of Dewbacks made me want to go home and ride a lizard. (Did I mention I've always wanted a pet Komodo Dragon?) When we were kids, my cousin and I tried to strap our Star Wars figures onto actual lizards -- poor lizards, right? That didn't work out to well.
I had so much Star Wars stuff as a kid there was a point when I was banned from bringing anymore into the house. Now that I have my own place, I no longer have to deal with that particular moratorium. Although I think it's about time I upgraded those Star Wars laserdiscs, don't you? Thus the Star Wars blu-ray set would make a perfect addition to my collection.
Disclosure: I'm a BzzAgent and BzzAgent.com, a word-of-mouth marketing company, is launching a Star Wars Blu-ray campaign. As part of a new selection process, BzzAgents can now express direct interest in specific campaigns and enter for a chance to join them by posting pictures, videos, or blogs. This post serves as my entry, however; this doesn't lessen what is stated, all of which remains true.
Disclosure: I'm a BzzAgent and BzzAgent.com, a word-of-mouth marketing company, is launching a Kindle campaign. As part of a new selection process, BzzAgents can now express direct interest in specific campaigns and enter for a chance to join them by posting pictures, videos, or blogs. This post serves as my entry, however; this doesn't lessen what I've stated, all of which remains true:
A lot of kids dream/ed of being sports stars, but I always wanted to 'star' in the academic universe. Oh, I like sports just fine -- I play several -- but my abiding passion is books. Always books. I get hives from books.... literally sometimes, as I'm allergic to book mold. I've even had to be hospitalized for my allergy before, but it hasn't stopped me from reading or searching for that next read or that next item for my collection. (A nice thing about e-text is no book mold -- and it saves trees! GREEN!)
I got my first library card at age 5. I couldn't even see over the check-out desk. The librarians chuckled that a "wee one" wanted to check out such weighty tomes, but my mother let them know that I could read whatever I wanted (with her approval). And I was off...
Over the years, I got to know my hometown librarians by first name, and they'd still tease me over my reading choices. I remember once during my senior year in high school, going to check out a book that some would consider risque (it was banned in a few Southern states, apparently) and having Ms. Smith at the library desk ask if my mother knew I was checking out such things. I laughed. My mother had long since given up trying to curtail my reading habits. She'd satisfied herself with teaching me right from wrong, and allowing me to exercise my better judgement. I know what you're thinking but taking the 'personal responsibility' tack worked like a charm.
Reading is something that has stayed with me through all else, long after I've moved away from my hometown. And because of the Book, my world has always been as large as the universe and as deep as the ocean. I've grown to read things in other languages and varied formats. Being a geek, I'm transitioning to e-texts and I'm really lusting after an ereader these days. (Oh, I still read traditional books, as well. I doubt that will change, as I collect antiquarian books.) I read on my laptop, my palm pilot, my iPod, why not on a dedicated handheld gadget with a purpose only for reading? The thought of being able to carry an entire library in my pocket gives me goose bumps. The tech behind the gadget makes me want to fiddle with all the specs.
I might have ereader envy. I've always wanted to 'star' in one of those "Get Caught Reading" PSAs. I have a friend (an educator) who made it onto a local poster for the program. An ereader is anyone's chance to 'get caught reading' on the plane, on the train, waiting in the doctor's office, standing in line at the grocer's.... oh my, I can can see it now in my mind: No more lugging around numerous texts in a heavy backpack just to have something to read at hand. No more wasted time waiting on others when I can 'crack open a book' with a simple click.
It sounds like a dream come true to me, an inveterate lifetime reader, so I truly hope I get to try out an Amazon Kindle via BzzAgent. This is one campaign I can get behind wholeheartedly! (Excuse any typos, I can't type worth jack, especially when I'm in a hurry, as now in this lunchtime post.)
When someone says the word 'home' what pops into your head? Family? Food? Sights? Sounds? The first thing I think of at the mention of the word 'home' is always my mother, the second thing is cooking with my mother. So what could be more appropriate for a "Tastes from Home" contest than to share my own recipe for a favorite childhood food --- buttery mashed potatoes. Take a gander at this: Granny's Homemade 'Lumpy' Mashed Potatoes Recipe
Ingredients:
3-5 medium-sized white potatoes
1/4 to 1/2 Cup of whole milk
1/2 Cup of butter
1 tsp Cracked Black Pepper
1 tsp Salt
Utensils:
2-quart sauce pan w/ lid
vegetable brush
collander (or paper towels)
large mixing bowl
measuring cups
measuring spoons
fork
Instructions: Scrub potatoes clean w/ vegetable brush + cold water. Allow to drain in a collander or pat dry w/ paper towels. Bring 3-4 cups of water to a boil in a sauce pan. Add potatoes, cover with lid, and boil until tender (~20 minutes). Once potatoes are tender, remove from heat, and drain in collander. (Shake collander as necessary to remove any excess water.) Pour potatoes into a mixing bowl. Use a fork to break apart tender potatoes into chunks. Add milk and butter a little at a time, beating potatoes with fork after each addition. Continue this routine until the potatoes are a lumpy mash. Add pepper and salt to taste. Eat and enjoy! --------------- There's a blog giveaway coming up farther down in the post...
I've finally taken the plunge. Yesterday, I cancelled cable service and today is my first day with OTA broadcast only. Funny thing --- as there are so many local 'niche' channels --- I actually get more channels now than I ever did with cable TV. (I'm not much for generic telly watching, I'm mostly a movie watcher, and when I do watch TV it tends to be timeshifted/on demand via streaming services, thus I only had the basic cable package.)
I've got a very basic single-rabbit-ear antenna, and I can pull in signals for 59 channels (at various levels of clarity). This is neato! There are channels covering all sorts of things, from 24-hr news (France 24) to MTV in Spanish (MTVtr3s). I'm excited, even though I know I won't watch much random TV. I do like 'retro' channels and there are at least 4 that I can pick up (METV, RTV, Oldie Goldie, and This TV).
The local channel guide, which shows the programming schedules for area OTA broadcasts, lists ~70 channels. So this means there are about 10 channels that I can't currently pick up, either due to interference or not having a strong enough antenna,etc..
Anyone out there on the OTA bandwagon who can recommend a good DTV antenna? I like playing with all the capabilities of my Samsung Smart TV [46" 240hz 3D 1080p HDTV] even if I don't actually watch it much.... it's Energy Star certified!
Between my own media library (I'm slowly upgrading my physical media collection to blu-ray), all the new OTA channels, streaming services like Vudu, Crackle, Blockbuster on Demand, Vimeo, and Hulu; and disc rental kiosks, I seem to have everything covered. Ah, smell the geek cred.
XOJET and L'Ermitage Beverly Hills Hotel are sponsoring a contest where entrants take photos of the XOJET mascot, Xavier C. Bear, in various locations while traveling. The best photo (as determined by voting) will win a trip to LA on XOJET and a stay at the L'Ermitage.
I received my Xavier plush today. Now, I've just got to remember to take the thing with me when we road-trip across country toward the end of the month, and then remember to bring a camera and take pictures, so I can can enter the dang contest.
I'll try to remember to update this post with a few snaps, once the deed is done. Where's Xavier? Currently, still packed in a box.
Over the last few months I've been participating in a promotional contest sponsored by Sun Ovens, International --- and back in May I won first prize, a Global Sun Oven® that I received today. (I also won the second and third prizes in previous months.) I'm so excited! This thing is awesome! (I've been lusting after one of these for a while, because I was too lazy to build my own contraption, so this contest was perfect for me.)
Once I get it set-up and primed, I'll post more about it. In fact, I'll probably periodically post recipes and my experiences with the oven along with musings about solar energy in general. (I'm big on sustainability, ecology and the environment. And bullish on green tech!) Go, go, sun go!
Besides, even if you don't give a fig about the environment using a solar oven to cook is a no brainer --- who wants to heat up his house by turning on an oven in the middle of one of the hottest summers on record. (We've already had twice a many 90+ degree day as we had last Summer and we've still got over a month and a half left.)
Perhaps, you can win one for yourself; you can also win a nifty set of pots and pans or a recipe book. Go enter the current month's contest: SUN OVENS Taste and Tell Contest. Make certain to read the rules. Don't worry, it's very easy to participate. Tell them Tad sent you!
...of Betrayal and Renewal. I'm a member of Shespeaks and today I successfully joined the SheSpeaks Book Club program. Our reading selection is going to be Perfection: A Memoir of Betrayal and Renewal. I can't say that this is the type of book (a memoir) that I would normally pick off the shelf -- I'm more of a lit thrill/mystery/sci-fi/non-fiction/reference kinda gal -- but I am an avid reader and am generally willing to give "anything" a shot... once. (Shespeaks Book Club members will receive a free copy of the paperback edition of the book.) So we'll see...
Here's the jacket description:
Julie Metz’s life changed forever on one ordinary January afternoon when her husband, Henry, collapsed on the kitchen floor and died in her arms. Suddenly, this mother of a six-year-old became the young widow in her bucolic small town. But that was only the beginning. Seven months after Henry’s death, just when Julie thought she was emerging from the worst of it, came the rest of it: She discovered that what had appeared to be the reality of her marriage was but a half-truth. Henry had hidden another life from her.
Shespeaks Book Club members also were given a link (See below) to share a free excerpt (Chapter 1) from the book with another excerpt (Chapters 2-4) to be added soon. I'll update this post when the next excerpt becomes available.
< Download PDF > Ch. 1 of Perfection: A Memoir of Betrayal and Renewal
If you're interested in joining our discussion or perhaps in reading the book along with your own book club then visit the SheSpeaks Book Club page for more information on the book and author, along with helpful book club tools.
I should mention I loveDIY stuff. I was born a handyman. (I mean "man" in the generic every human sense.) I'm always tinkering; making stuff, taking stuff apart, fixing things, breaking things... I was a DIY fanatic long before such a thing had a catchy name.
So this morning as I was returning from my first walk with the dogs -- my sister had joined us as well today -- I happened to notice a chair at a curbside dump. Except for the ripped brown leather upholstery on its seat pad, this is a lovely, solid-wood-frame chair with nicely turned front legs. The kind of chair they don't make any longer -- it's all particle wood-chip junk nowadays in most stores. And I thought to myself, why would someone throw this out, it would take like 5-minutes to re-upholster?
As an aside, I should also mention that one of my favorite uncles is a master upholsterer. Learned the trade as a young man and has his own private shop out back of his house. Being fascinated by all craftsmanship, I spend time chatting with him about his "hobby" every time I visit. I've picked up a few tips here and there. Plus, there's always my uncle as a source, if need be.
