About a year ago we introduced the import your Gmail contacts feature.  It was buggy, and Gmail seemed to change their API (the protocol that allows a third party (like us) to tap into their system).  We just sat and waited, and moved on to other things.  It’s hard chasing around moving APIs and keeping up to date.

One of my developers told me they had really updated their API, it was more stable, and ready to look at again.  So we fixed the import on our end, and it seems to work!  However, I did an import and saw stuff that I didn’t want in my database, and a user did an import and had some other issues.  The import works, but you may get a bunch of garbage in your JibberJobber database… so a few thoughts:

This is a premium feature (only $9.95/month).  Mouse over Network or Tools, and then click on Import/Export.  You’ll see the Gmail tab in there.

The import pulls all of your Gmail contacts in.  If they don’t have names (first name, last name), they that will be BLANK… but it will pull that e-mail address in.  Kind of useful, but it means you have to go and clean it up

On our lastest implementation, there were some duplicates created, and tags and categories got duplicated.  This should be fixed now, but if it’s not, let us know!

If there are fields in your Gmail contacts that are not coming over, please let us know… we’ll see if we can grab those also.

If you do an import and you get a bunch of junk, you can delete in bulk (I’ve done this a number of times).  Here’s how:

1. Go to the Network List Panel,
2. Click on Manage Columns (next to the search box above your contacts)
3. In the middle column, show up to 255 contacts (right now we are capping it at 255)
4. Click save, which takes you back to the list panel
5. Click on the checkbox on the top right, which selects ALL of the 255 contacts on the page,
6. Scroll to the bottom, and click the delete, which will delete those 255.

This would be repeated for all of the contacts you want to delete (in batches of 255).  You can order by Date Created, so you don’t mix in other contacts with the contacts from that import.  WHen I did an import, it pulled in about 2k or 3k new contacts…

One other option to consider, just export from Gmail into a csv file, clean up the csv file, then import that…!

Very cool to take those relationships to the next level, but yes, I am overwhelmed at the number of people I’ve communicated with over the last two years in Gmail!

Since the beginning of JibberJobber there was a cool little feature you may have seen when you added a target company.  At the top of the screen you would see this checkbox:

Last week, in the upgrade where we introduced the new Silver level (1,000 contacts and 1,000 target companies for $5/month), we also introduced Phase II of Global Companies.  This is a very exciting enhancement for you.  Here’s where the idea came from:

When I got laid off, I was fairly new to Salt Lake City.  I had only lived here about 18 months, and I spent most of my time either commuting or working… but no networking.  The only companies I knew about in the Salt Lake area where those I could see when I drove down the road.  In my job search I found out about more companies, specifically, those which posted openings on Monster or in the newspaper.

I knew there were hundreds, maybe thousands of other companies I should know about, some of them with my next job!  But I had no idea how to find them.  How in the world do you turn over eery rock to find these companies….???

The idea for Global Companies was born, and that’s where you come in.  When you check the checkbox, you are sharing certain company information with all JibberJobber users.  You won’t share your private information, like how you rank them, notes, log entries, etc.  You won’t even share that YOU are the one who added the company to the list of Global companies.  You’ll share something like this:

Simply general information.  How cool is that, that I can share this with other JibberJobber users?  Better yet, I can see with others share, based on where I am targeting (based on the address I have on my own profile):

If I am searching for companies in a different location, say, Seattle, I would simply change the data in the drop down.  Or, if I’m going to relocate and know that I’m moving to Seattle, I’ll change my home address under My Account so it always comes up with the Seattle area.

From the image, you can see I can comment on the company, which can help others learn about the company (any information you want to share).  The comments will show as anonymous, but if we find trolls or abuses, we’ll have to clean up the junk and figure out what to do with those who are trolls).

I can also rank the company, and have my ranking contribute to an overall ranking for that company.  Between the comments and the rankings, this can be an excellent way to share more information about potential target companies with JibberJobber users.

Notice the add icon () next to the name of the company.  When I click on that icon, I add it to MY PERSONAL list of target companies.  So if I find a company that someone else has entered into JibberJobber, and I want to store private information about it, I just click that link and it shows up in my list of Target Companies.  That’s where I’ll do things like create notes, action items, log entries, tie people to the company, etc.

If I want to get more comprehensive information about the company, I simply click on the name of the company and it takes me to a page with the shared information, comments, ranking, and even a Google Map with directions to MY HOUSE to the company, miles between us and estimated driving time!!  How cool is that?

We encourage you to share your companies as a Global Company.  You can either do this when you first set up the company, or when you edit the company, by clicking on that checkbox at the top.

Or, on the Company Detail Page, you’ll see a new icon:

When you click on this icon, it will make that company a Global Company.

Remember, no other JibberJobber user will know that you added the company as a Global Company, or how you ranked them, or what your comments were.

Cool?  Powerful?  We think so!  Simply login to JibberJobber, mouse over the Companies Menu Item, and click on Global Companies at the bottom!

I’m excited to announce a new upgrade level on JibberJobber.com.  This comes after a number of people have told me that $9.95 is too much (I would not have paid it, as I didn’t have any money, but I think someone in my family would have paid it for me), but the free level just wasn’t doing enough. In fact, most of the feedback about the free vs. premium levels is that they really just need more contacts, and more target companies.

The Silver Level is a step up from the free level, with up to 1,000 contacts and 1,000 target companies.  You can still get ALL premium features, and unlimited contacts and companies for just $9.95. Here’s a summary of each level (you can see a side-by-side comparison here):

Regular (Free): We designed this to be more powerful than a job search spreadsheet.  You can track an unlimited number of job postings, whether you find them on Monster, through networking, etc.  You can track up to 250 network contacts and 75 target companies, and post up to 10 log entries on each of those records.  You get a lot of tools, some reports, and more.  Note: when you first login you get 14 days of premium services for free.

Silver ($5/month): You get all of the Regular features PLUS an additional 750 network contacts and an additional 925 target companies.  This is an intermediate level designed to give those who are more budget-challenged an opportunity to use JibberJobber more effectively in their immediate job search.

Premium ($9.95/month): The floodgates open and you get all kinds of cool stuff.  My favorite premium feature is the action items e-mailed to me, so I don’t have to login to JibberJobber to see what I have coming up.  No wait, my favorite premium feature is the ability to import/export my data, so I can keep all my LinkedIn contacts, Cardscan contacts (buying one soon), Outlook contacts on JibberJobber.  No wait, my favorite premium feature is that I can use the Get Contact List to export my contacts based on a number of things, like tags or categories.  No wait, my favorite premium feature is that there are no limits on number of records I put in, or number of log entries I have… you get the point, right?  This level is optimal for those who are either serious about their job search, or not in a job search at all but very relationship-oriented (or career management oriented).

You want to know what may become the best premium feature yet?  The Outlook plugin, which hopefully will be in beta in the next few weeks.

We are trying to fit your budget - for $0 you get value.  For $5/month you get more value.  For $9.95 a month you get a bunch more value. Cool?

It was two years ago yesterday that I wrote my first blog post.  I thought I was a darn good blogger until about 6 months into it one of my respected peers said “hey, it sounds like you are finally finding your blogging voice!  Congrats!”  I know it was a compliment but I was offended because I didn’t know I had sounded so lost before that :p

Anyway, this week I’ll share some special stuff with you, like I did for last year’s anniversary.  Stay tuned for that.

Today I wanted to share information on something called Sourcing, which is something that recruiters rely on.

If you are a job seeker, check out the description below - you should know what techniques and tactics recruiters are taught so that you can optimize your chance of being found.

If you are a recruiter, fork over the $149.97 to attend this session by the master of sourcing, Shally no-last-name-required.  Shally (okay, it’s Shally Steckerl) is one of the most respected people in the recruiting space, and probably has some kind of super-human abilities.  He is an expert at searching… that is, finding talent.  Whether it’s through LinkedIn or Google, or however he does it, Shally finds hidden talent.  This is a must-not-miss opportunity.

If you are a career professional who works with job seekers (job search coach, resume writer, career counselor, etc.), consider taking the course so you can learn how to better position your clients.

There you go - a two-fer blog post… first, happy birthday to us (yeah!) and second a recruiting event you shan’t miss!

Peter Clayton has been good to me. Really good. He introduced me to the HR world when JibberJobber was just ONE month old, and that led to many great relationships which I carry on today.

I was honored that he would ask me for another interview (the third), to celebrate my two year anniversary. You can find the interview HERE. It’s only 22 minutes.

He has amazing interviews on his site… take some time to scroll through past interviews and listen to what  industry leaders think about careers, employment, the job search, job boards, social networking… all the stuff you are interested in. If you have time, you can hear my FIRST interview with him, in June of 2006!

Thanks Peter Clayton!!

For a while I’ve wanted to do a simple presentation to share what JibberJobber is, who I am, where we came from, etc.

I took some time to try and come up with something creative, captivating, interesting, and helpful… and came up with this:

| View | Upload your own

If you want to put this on your own blog, or website, I’d love that. Simply click on embed on the bottom left of the slideshare screen and you’ll see a bunch of code to copy over to your site/blog - and huge thanks in advance!

I’d love to know what you think!

Just a quick post for any of you who didn’t know about the buy-one-get-one-free offer to celebrate our second year at JibberJobber - we had to extend it through TONIGHT.

Pay $99 and each month turns out to be $4.13 … ! That’s a pretty sweet deal. Why would you do this? Here’s a few of my favorite reasons:

1. JibberJobber is a LIFETIME career management tool! You might be in a job search now, but when you land your job you’ll be in-between job searches! The government says we’ll be in transition every three to five years (yes, that sucks), but my partners who work with executives say that, depending on your role (CxO), you might be in transition every 12 - 18 months. WOW! What are YOU doing about it?
2. The premium version e-mails you your action items. I don’t expect you to login to JibberJobber to see what you have going on today… but I do suspect you live out of your e-mail (I do). I’ve missed too many appointments, and in my job search I missed a call-back because my calendaring system was messy. As a premium subscriber you can choose when you get the e-mail - two days before it’s due? Cool. Five days? No problem. Twenty days… on the day… whenever? It’s up to you!
3. The premium version has NO limits on number of records stored. Currently, anyone who subscribes as a premium user can have as many target companies, network contacts and documents (resumes, reference letters, etc.) in the system.
4. The premium version allows you to import and export. Have your contact lists elsewhere? Target companies in a spreadsheet? You can simply import them into JibberJobber. And if you are concerned about backups (more than what we do, which is a nightly tape backup), you can export your data as often as you please.
5. The premium version has a “Get Contact List” option. This allows you to get your contacts in a variety of formats, including .csv, .html, vcard, etc. Want to send an e-mail to just a segment of your list? No problem, the Get Contact List was made for that…

As a bonus, anyone who is a premium user, with a one-year-or-more subscription, can get any of the CEO Training webinars for 50% off… anytime!

Trying to figure out LinkedIn or Facebook? You can get the webinars at just $24.95, instead of $49.95.

Want to get a book out and enhance your personal brand, develop yourself as a subject matter expert and thought leader? Write Your Book has gotten great reviews, and you will be able to get it for just $24.95.

Have a great blog that no one reads? This two hour special recording of Blog Marketing 201 - 501 will be just $24.95 if you take advantage of this special.

So go login now, upgrade for $99.95, get two years of premium features, and then head over to the CEO Training site and get some webinars!

Who should take advantage of this? YOU!

As I wrap up this week’s anniversary posts, I figured I’d talk about how I see the next year unfolding. Some of this might be news to you, so consider it an announcement :p

I should mention, Monday is the last day to get the Buy-1-get-1-year special. This makes the monthly price for JibberJobber less than $5 … just login and click on the upgrade link at the top of the screen!

In a comment on Monday Darlene from Interview Chatter said “Have a great 3rd year!” It may sound dumb to you but I was so wrapped up in the first two years that I didn’t quite think about us being in our 3rd year. That means so many things to me.

We’re not a startup anymore (are we?). As the CEO, we *should* be at certain places with our metrics (revenue, profit, subscribers, conversions, visitors, blog posts, etc.)… I’m mentally thinking about where we *should* be and where we are, and what we need to do to get there.

In my original business plan I had goals to realize in the first 2 - 5 years… and now we are at the first part of that! Man, that went fast. Mark from Hirevue commented “I remembered when you first launched, it seems like only yesterday.” Yes indeed, I feel like that too… it’s really been two years?

Here are some things I see happening in the next year:

Increase in rate of JibberJobber signup and user growth.

I would like to pretend that all signups are “users,” like I’ve seen other websites report (”we have xxx,xxx,xxx,xxx users!”), but really, it would be a disservice to those of us who really watch the metrics to mix the two. Not everyone who signs up for a web service uses the service.

Over the next year I see the rate of signups and users increasing significantly. We’ve been on a good rate of increase, but I’m talking about a big increase, for various reasons. Contributing factors include the formalization of JibberJobberUSA, as well as a few strategic partnerships not yet announceable.

I should note that this is one of two key focuses for me this year - growing the signups and user base of JibberJobber. The other things below are fun, exciting and good, but this is the core of my business and my focus.

Make more valuable information available to my “audience.”

I have to put audience in quotes because my audience does not consist entirely of JibberJobber users. It includes blog readers, newsletter subscribers, and those who participate with me in social environments (Twitter, Yahoo! Groups, LinkedIn, Facebook, Ning networks, etc.).

The valuable information I’m talking about is found at the CEO Training series. I’m not sure if my favorite training is “Blog Marketing 201 - 501,” which turned out to be a two hour webinar full of what I’ve learned (and what I do to increase blog readership, etc.), or “Write Your Book,” which is a seventy minute webinar sharing ideas and knowledge to help you get your book going (we talk about publishing options, marketing, etc.).

These are things I had no clue about two years ago, but have played huge roles for my personal/corporate brand as well as my networking. You can get on any training live, or buy the recording.

I have partners who are developing their material to contribute to the CEO Training, which I’m excited about. One of my partners correctly requested that I focus on the technology and leave the career advice to them, since my advice was, um, not adequate :p So really, do you want to get job search advice from me, the guy who couldn’t get a job, or from my career expert partners, who know this game/industry from the inside-out??

Promote career, networking and job search services more.

I have 30ish official partners. These are career experts who are paying for an annual license. I’ve been asked by other firms if there is a simple (free) affiliate program, but I think there’s a lot to be said for a service provider who forks over money for the license fee…

I am regularly asked who I would recommend for resume writing, or job coaching, or something like that. I’m going to formalize this part of JibberJobber this year, so that people don’t feel like they need to ask me (rather, they see it clearly when they come to JibberJobber). One thing we did was put up a Career Experts page that has much more information about each of my partners (this is not done yet, but you get the idea here).

Increase strategic partnerships.

There are various entities with whom I’d like to partner. I have been investigating the outplacement world for almost two years, and have been in talks with various groups. There are exciting possibilities here.

I’m also interested in partnering with the right websites, companies or organizations where they can see JibberJobber would provide value to them and their users/viewers. I’m in talks right now with about half a dozen groups, and it’s pretty exciting. Again, hopefully there will be a few announcements coming soon.

Allow for job postings.

When I started I specifically stated that I didn’t every want to enter the job board space. It’s a muddy, noisy space (as far as I could tell). Monster “owned” it (that’s what I thought), and there were over 40,000 boards out there. What a frustration, from a job seeker’s perspective!

And then of course there are all of the problems with job postings. Nothing was more frustrating than getting a call during dinner from an “employer” who found me on Monster, only to find it was so I could join a MLM, or become one of his insurance sales agents (commission only). Seriously, what a let-down.

But guess what… I’ve been getting inquiries over the last few months about posting jobs. And it just seems to make sense. JibberJobber subscribers and users are… dare I say, smarter than Monster users. That might be crass to say, and if Monster ever wants to acquire JibberJobber they will probably make me take that statement down, but think about it. Monster is the default place to go, which means everyone goes there.

JibberJobber users are more sophisticated… they have a better understanding of career management, networking, using a CRM-like tool, understand technology (the Internet, websites, etc.), and more. These are people who are more career conscience. So yeah, I think you are smarter than the average Monster user.

And recruiters and hiring managers are, and will, notice this. This is a good reason to put job posting dollars into JibberJobber… right?

Who knows, maybe job posts on JibberJobber will be a total bust… we’ll see. And if it takes away from the overall value of JibberJobber for individuals, I’ll take it down.

Speaking.

I entered the world of professional speaking, and it’s a blast! I enjoy speaking, and I think I have fun and interesting stuff to say. I would love to be on the road every single week, speaking about the stuff I speak about (social networking, social tools for revenue generation, personal branding, corporate branding online, and all-things-career). Aside from actually getting paid to do this (!!), it gives me an excellent opportunity to travel the globe, get face-to-face time with JibberJobber users, and present at job search and networking clubs, as well as meet with potential strategic partners.

Yep, weekly, is what I’d like to do. I doubt that’ll happen this year, but I’ll work towards it. I’ll speak at association conferences, company conferences, chamber of commerce meetings, etc. Hopefully I’ll come to a town near you, and we can meet in person!

So that’s kinds of a brain dump of JibberJobber in it’s third year! Shoot me any ideas or suggestions you have, if this seems off-base, or if there are opportunities I’m missing!

Today is our two year anniversary! We are offering a buy-one-get-one-free offer for a one year upgrade (through Monday night) to JibberJobber - click here for more info!

I’ll never forget it… anticipation had been building and everything was coming together.

That night, May 15, 2006, I closed shop and drove 20 minutes away with my five year old son for a “fathers & sons” campout. I was anxious because sometime while I was gone, JibberJobber would go live. I remember calling my wife about every half-hour asking “Is it live yet? Is it live yet?”

I doubt I slept well that night.

The next day we left early, instead of playing all the games. I rushed home to see the site… what would become my new career. My eight year old daughter surprised me with a birthday cake for JibberJobber… this was definitely a family affair!

I sent e-mails to friends and family and we had our first few hundred signups. I’m not sure if any of the first signups are still using JibberJobber, but it was cool that we had people signup :p (If I ever do this again I doubt I’ll announce it to friends and family asking them to signup!)

Let me share some of the “wins” that we have had in the last 730 days of JibberJobber:

• we were introduced to the recruiting blog space by CM Russell, author of Secrets of the Job Hunt, when he did a five-question interview asking what the heck JibberJobber was
• we announced our military special which led to a podcast interview with Peter Clayton
• from that podcast interview we established a relationship with various groups, including Spherion’s outplacement division (which has since been acquired), and then a relationship with the largest technology association in the world, IEEE
• I started blogging, almost daily (except weekends and holidays), which for more than a year was the most important thing I did for marketing, for the brand, and for my networking
• the blog led to a mention in the Wall Street Journal’s Career Journal (they moved their link, so I can’t link to it :()
• I joined three career associations attending their annual conferences and participating where I could on their eLists and in other ways
• because of my blog, and relationships I created, I was invited to speak at the largest career coach conference last April (I think I was the first speaker who wasn’t a career expert)
• I increased my blog networking strategy and came across some amazing people, some of my very close friends
• I signed a contract and eventually, finally wrote the book on LinkedIn: I’m on LinkedIn — Now What???
• I subsequently got interviews with all kinds of places that I had been trying to get ink in, including the NYT, Newsday, Wired magazine, CIO, etc.
• I ended up in PRINT, a full page, in US News & World Report
• I started speaking, and getting paid to speak, which has evolved my company and offering
• during all this time, my development team has faithfully plugged away, polishing and enhancing JibberJobber
• our rate of subscribers has continually increased each month, each year, as has the conversion rate (those who upgrade)
• we finally released JibberJobberUSA.com, which formalized the offer we created almost two years ago
• I started other blogs, including one for the LinkedIn book, the Facebook book, JibberJobberUSA, and one where I rant about personal issues
• … what am I missing? There are some pending partnerships in progress, but I can’t announce them yet.

So let me give some thanks, where thanks are due:

First, to my wife. If I can’t think of any other critical success factor in a business like mine, for a married guy, than the support of the spouse. Even though we both grew up with government-employed parents, she has a grand capacity for this crazy entrepreneurial venture. If anything could have shut down JibberJobber, it would have been her - but she has a vision of how JibberJobber helps people when they most need it, and is fully supportive of these last 2 years. Thank you!

Next, to my kids. My children have been very supportive as well. Their excitement when I share “wins” with them, when I come home from work, when I come home from a trip… it’s contagious and helpful. I especially appreciate hearing them include JibberJobber in the evening or meal prayers… it’s on their mind and they are my greatest champions.

Next, to my extended family. From investing in JibberJobber to passing business cards around to acting as sneezers and champions and tippers, I’ve felt immense support from you and I’m deeply greatful.

Next, to my very competent team. We feel extremely blessed to have our dev and QA professionals behind us… these are the people who make us look good! I’d like to talk more about them but I don’t want anyone to steal them away :p

Next, to my career partners. I am honored to have partnered with some of the biggest names in the career coaching and resume writing industry. It’s humbling, in fact, when I think about who has partnered with JibberJobber, and their continual support, encouragement, and advice.

Next, to all of my cheerleaders and champions. Whether they are users or not, there are plenty of people throughout the country who recommend and talk about JibberJobber. How cool is it that I’m not in this alone, and having people who help spread the word!

Finally, to all of the people who have taken a few minute to signup, and start using JibberJobber. I hope that this is something that has proven useful to you. I have a virtual group of users in my mind who have sent me feedback, ideas, suggestions, requests, and even bug notices… YOU have helped mold JibberJobber, and I thank you!

Okay, has it all been roses? Nope, absolutely not. Check out this e-mail that I just got:

“I want to unsubscribe to this damn thing…”

For the record, only once in two years have I heard JibberJobber called “this damn thing.”

But there are far more fun/exciting times than down moments. The future is bright - here’s to Year 3!

A full page… it’s pretty cool. The article is the same one that was posted online a few weeks ago (you can see it here).

The picture, which is pretty big, is the result of about two hours of picture-taking in Santa Rosa (where I grew up). It isn’t the picture that I would have picked for me, as I think it makes me look like a weirdo-chump, but hey, I’m happy with what I got! And the photographer didn’t have much to work with

Anyway, thank YOU a gazillion for your support… this is another awesome part of JibberJobber history!

Oh yeah, it’s the edition dated May 12, on page 55.