Dimple and a Smirk (dot) com

Wrapped around your finger

August 27, 2010 – 6:32 am

Further evidence that I am not the marrying kind:

The brace has taken up residency on my left ring finger thanks to a freak accident involving the seemingly simple act of pulling up a chair to a table at a bar.

I’ll spare you the gruesome details, but it involved a nasty cut, a trip to the emergency room (super-massive thanks to my friend Matt for driving me there post-haste amid my “Aaaah! Blood!!!” freakout), a tetanus shot, X-rays, and finally, stitches. The folks in the Legacy Good Sam ER were all amazing. They were friendly and had me cleaned and stitched up in about an hour.

It’s taking a while to get used to typing with this brace on my ring finger. It makes using the left side of the keyboard a bit tricky, but I’m adapting. As if I’m going to stay away from the computer…

Posted in Random Citizen, Wacky Spinster | No Comments »

Watching the detectives

August 24, 2010 – 6:48 am

Privacy and how little or how much one shares of themselves online seems to be all the rage these days. There are tons of articles on how to lock down your Facebook profile from prying eyes, how to come up with wacky passwords, and so on.

But, what about when you have to share “private” information with a company? It involves a lot of blind trust because you won’t know something is wrong until after a breech occurs. And even then, there’s usually language in that terms of service agreement you just checked off to submit your information that limits their liability. That’s the part that scares me the most. Despite having a blog and providing some details about my life, I’m not ashamed to admit being a bit paranoid about things like this.

For me, I think about the judgmental aspect of it. The pharmacist who fills my prescription each month. Sure, they’re bound by ethics and laws to maintain a level of privacy, but, are they quietly judging me because I take *bleep*?

I used to get e-mails from Safeway showing “nutritional snapshots” based on products I purchased in their stores (data gathered from using their discount card program). Is there a person sitting on the other side of the screen going, “Wow, she buys a lot of flour. She must like carbs a lot.”

Still, knowing that I have to share things about my life to get ahead leaves me conflicted. I know the outcome will make this all moot, but it’s still something that floats through my brain.

Posted in Random Citizen, Stranger Danger! | No Comments »

But these stories don’t mean anything

August 18, 2010 – 1:26 am

Probably one of the most interesting questions I was asked while in NYC for BlogHer Con ’10 was essentially about why would anyone want to read my blog if they don’t know me. This was asked of me during the media training session held in Ketchum’s NYC office.

My response is below, but first, a warning: I look horrible in the video. The training session started at 8AM Eastern and I was still getting used to the time zone change. I had arrived in NYC about 14 hours before the start of the session and should have consumed more coffee. It’s a miracle I was able to put together cohesive sentences.

http://www.dimpleandasmirk.com/_video/AL_BlogHer.flv

While some may bristle at my usage of the word voyeur in my response to the question posed, I honestly feel that way. In blogging for over six years, what makes blogging and writing so worthwhile is the ability to share my story with a bunch of strangers. Yes, it’s true, you’re not getting the whole story. In honesty, I’d say you’re getting 75% of the story. I’ve shared enough information that you could have a decent conversation with me.

Likewise, I love reading other blogs to see a glimpse of how other people live, how they deal with life’s challenges, and to get a sense of their humor and wit.

So, yes, blogging seems to be this phenomenon that some people get and others don’t, but really, it’s just a new way to share our individual stories. Just to a slightly larger audience…

Posted in BlogHer, Internet, Random Citizen | No Comments »

See something you like, you gotta pay me

August 15, 2010 – 4:52 pm

While I have written for other blogs in the past, and will likely continue to do in the future, one thing that really gets me angry are so-called “professional” blogs who want contributors to write new content just for their site, typically in the 500-word and up neighborhood, for free. This is fine if the blog is a community-oriented site that is more a labor of love and not meant as a main source of income for anyone, but if you’re running ads on your site, that means you need to figure out a way to pay your talent.

As I continue the job hunt, it’s amazing how many “hey, can you do this for free/on your own dime?” announcements I come across. Do not tell me the “compensation” of writing unique content for your blog is a link. Gee, wow. If this were 1995, that would be nice, but you know why people say, “you get what you pay for?”…because that’s the truth. Why should I spend time coming up with witty copy for a site to help you earn money?

As much as I love writing, I also like vodka, chocolate, frequent trips to Sephora and other items that require this little thing called currency. You know cash, moola, shekels, and so on.

The sad part is people seem to think creating new content, new code, new designs, etc. are something that anyone can do on the fly. So, instead of paying for quality, you have a bunch of sites subsisting off of low-quality design, content, and code developed by their neighbor’s sister’s cousin twice removed because someone didn’t bother to come up with a cohesive business plan that includes things such as paying your talent.

Come to me when you’re willing to pay for my Sephora habit or at least set me up with a bar tab at the Doug Fir. Until then, keep “employing” those people who will write for free.

Likewise, those folks who accept non-paying writing gigs from professional sites, my advice to you is simple: Value your work. If you don’t, you’re ultimately devaluing the rest of us who like to make a living off producing things. I’d rather risk losing a gig by requesting to be paid than to sell my talents short by working for free.

Posted in Internet, Ranting | 1 Comment »

Who wants to be right as rain

August 11, 2010 – 2:08 pm

The photos taken in the photo booth set up during the 2010 CheesburgHer Party were posted this afternoon. As I looked at my pics, I saw how they correspond to how I perceive myself.

Photo #1: “Hello? Is this thing on? Okay, so I need to do what now?”