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The Gods must be crazy.
If you thought Murphy-Goode was playing high poker with their $60K gig, then have a look at these grapes:
We believe [Murphy-Goodes social marketing take] is a healthy step for a winery and the buzz they have garnered online is representative of the success of the medium. To show our support and to help ensure the success of this program online, VinTank will be choosing 4 of the applicants as “our picks” (one for each partner) and if any of “our picks” are chosen, we will donate $100K of consulting services pro bono to that candidate. Yes, $100K of our strategic consulting services for FREE! This will be helping them develop a strategic plan and key business development help to make their six month job super effective and successful for them and Murphy Goode. This is truly our way to support these people for their hard work and for helping wine succeed online!
That is what I call a really goode game!
VinTank has already declared their first two picks, so there ain’t much time left. If you are a candidate and want to tell the guys at VinTank why they should choose to support you, please email in 250 words or less why you qualify to info@vintank.com.
VinTank, in partnership with wine industry consultant Derek Bromley, has released a whitepaper profiling social media companies impacting the wine industry (click for the free pdf report). Researched and written with the intent of helping wineries make sense of a vast and confusing medium, the paper looks at the largest social media sites (Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn) as well as the almost 30 wine social networks battling for the attention of online wine consumers, ending with an overview of the wine blogosphere.
If you are seriosly interested in the job, then go read the report, VinTank is right on with thier observations. The only thing which I find to leave a funny after-taste is the fact that the ever insightful VinTank is only willing to offer this help to one of their top 4 picks. Don’t get me wrong, with such a generous offer they really are allowed to do as they choose. However what if the metrics of this who application process really pulls someone fresh and unknown into this position– and yes, someone NOT on the VinTank pick list? No support coming from them then? I find that hard to believe.
Here are some points you will find in the VinTank whitepapter:
- According to Compete.com, the top 20 wine bloggers in aggregate represent a larger audience than the Wine Spectator online, and are growing at a faster rate. However, the wine blogosphere is highly fragmented and difficult for wineries to navigate.
- Wine social network memberships number in the hundreds of thousands, although it is near impossible to determine how much overlap exists across networks.
- The two top-rated wine social networks, CellarTracker and VinCellar, started as wine cellar management tools that over time have added social networking functionality. This deeper level of value has paid huge dividends in terms of customer loyalty.
- A key challenge for all wine social networks that have achieved any kind of scale is data quality. Duplicate and incorrect data affects all of these sites to varying degrees.
- Online advertising models for the wine industry have more challenges than other verticals due to outdated alcohol regulations.
It is estimated that social media is generating twice the online content of traditional media, and wineries have been struggling with how to engage their current and potential customers in this medium. Cruvee.com (a VinTank portfolio company and contributor to the whitepaper) estimates that each day in April 2009 there were 153 blog posts, 1,420 forum posts, and 7,896 microblog (Twitter) posts on the topic of wine. This whitepaper offers some practical tactics, recommendations and best practices on how wineries can begin to engage in those conversations.
As Todd Havens notes, this 100K support is a great way to integrate the wealth of VinTank research into the Murphy-Goode Wine Country Lifestyle Correspondent position and to push the Web 2.0 adventure to the extreme.
Wanna read the whitepaper?
Interested in applying for one of those two open support positions with VinTank?
Have you read the posting that VinTank popped up there declaring this $100K gig?
Wanna tell me what you think of it all?
Andy's Goode Life Blog 
ermm.. nice idea … this is great.. thank you..
Thanks for the shout-out, Andy. Much obliged, much obliged.
But, honestly, what an amazing pairing, right? VinTank support and the M-G gig. They go together like the merlot and Cheez-Its I paired together last night for dessert. (Don’t knock it ’til you try it, I say!) 🙂
I wonder what else is coming down the pike with with an additional two weeks on the calendar.
Oh, I do wonder what kind of surprises are still out there to be sprung upon us. Really.
I have never had Merlot nor have I had Cheez-Its. Let us chalk this up to my lacking education here in Europe…
But what do you expect when all I get are re-runs of StarTreck translated into German? Hogans Heros is at least funny in German, but all this treckie lingo: “Beam me up” should be protected and un-translatable.
I feel confident that if something else comes down the pike, you will be one of the first to know. I guess I should be following you!
Andy-
Great point.
If you are serious about this job, you NEED to read and understand the VinTank report. Even if you are a Web 2.0 guru, you need to understand the lay of the land in the wine industry, and who you are going to need to partner with, pitfalls, opportunities, etc…
This isn’t just about getting people to read your MG blog, it is about using social media to grow their business.
The next few weeks will be very intersting.
Well… Hardy, welcome to this conversation over here!
I have a kazillion questions going through my mind. And being so way out of the wine industry and American culture, I cannot help but wonder what I am doing here. Honestly.
There is a lot of stuff I assume.
I assume that MG knows wine, wine marketing, wine business.
I assume that MG has a marketing strategy.
I assume that MG has connections, business contacts, consumers.
I assume that MG has a definition of the picture they want to portray online.
I assume that MG has a long term strategy.
I assume that MG is looking for someone to somehow combine these elements by leveraging the social media as tools to implement the strategies they have LONG put into place.
So, does a gal need to understand wine-lingo etc. to be an asset to MG?
Or does a gal need to know how to leverage the social media tools to transfer the goals of MG to the public in a way they can connect with via social networking?
(Not that I am claiming to be able to any of that, of course. But at least I can openly say: I know none of the intricacies of the wine industry in the States.)
In my niave mind I kind of think that MG would teach me their goals, ambitions and plans and I would teach them social media practices by going out there and engaging the networks.
If I were to apply, that is.
So much to learn, so little time…
Andy-
My assumption (which could be totally wrong) is that they want the employee to hit the ground running. The better prepared they are prior to coming on-board, the faster they can hit the ground.
I don’t think this requires lingo, wine knowledge, or anything like that- but a general lay of the land would be really helpful
A lot info can be found in the VinTank report. Who are the players? What are their strengths / weaknesses? What can be leveraged, duplicated, avoided?
Pair the basic understanding of the current state of online wine with Web 2.0 savvy, curiosity, and killer content, and that sounds like a great launching pad for success.
There is a ton of time left in the process for anyone to get the foundation they need to get rolling, rolling, rolling, on Day 1.
Do you think they would consider hiring us both? I will do the dirty work and let everyone call you Dirty… ok?
Hardy and Andy,
I totally agree about the relevance of the VinTank report. It is a bit of a treasure map for the incoming correspondent, but what treasure it leads to is anyone’s guess right now. Which makes it all pretty darn exciting.
I’m sure the fine folks at Murphy-Goode have a tried-and-true marketing strategy currently in place along with company talking points and a wish list for the future direction of the company.
You called it, Hardy, that ideally the correspondent will hit the ground running and also that there is quite a bit of time to get a solid foundation. The more I think about it…and this is somewhat supported by one of their recent company e-mails…I think their top priority is finding a personality that meshes with their own.
After all, for six months they’ll be opening up their doors and their lives so I think personality will ultimately be the deciding factor here. It sure would be if I were about to open up my life to a total stranger. 🙂
Who would I TRUST and who would I just want to shoot the breeze with over a glass of wine and a game of Liar’s Dice?
And it still flabbergasts me that they are gonna make this decision based on a 60 sec. video…
Yes, they will look deeper to those to whom they feel attracted. But 60 sec. to make that vital first impression?
It is kind of like speed-dating 😯 !
On a more serious note, the VinTank report is out there, all you gotta do is read it and all is ready to go? Hm. Let us talk about this some more… and let’s try to get some more MG hopefuls in on the conversation. Geesh, where are those savvy social market whizes, anyway?
(Oh, is the conversation happening elsewhere? Did I miss it? Yikes, you guys would tell a gal right?)
The convo is happening right here, it appears. How does it feel to be the belle of the ball? 🙂
Yikes! You flatter me 😯 !
Re: the VinTank report, it’s obviously a must-read for anyone going for the Murphy-Goode gig, but what it isn’t is a how-to. There’s a plethora of great research and information in there, but it next needs to be boiled down into a strategy based to a large degree on Murphy-Goode’s needs.
There’s a reason that VinTank is offering 100K of their consulting services to the four peeps they end up endorsing…because it’s going to take a concentrated effort to look over the menu of options, as it were, and order up a sure-fire hit of a meal. (Okay, this restaurant metaphor isn’t quite doing it for me, but you get my drift.)
At some point, questions about Murphy-Goode’s consumer data come into play…who are their best consumers? On which product or through which audience do they have their highest profit margin? The answers to these questions and a host of others will help to develop a plan to integrate with the next generation of wine consumers, too.
Is the whitepaper a “must-read”? For whom?
So I am going to shine in my ignorance yet another time here:
When I look at the timeline, I notice that pretty much simultaneosly these two events happened: the whitepaper hit the web and MG tossed their offer on the table.
Natural questions from an outsider like myself: are they working together on this? Was this planned to happen like this (from both parties, from only one party)? Or is this purely coinsidence?
Let us say that both were acting autarkic. No one knew what the other was considering.
Then the whitepaper still has relevance, by degrees, but for whom? For the marketing strategists at MG (and all other parties involved in the wine industry).
What would this say about the qualities that the successful candidate needs to bring to the table?
Well, a strong “like-a-bility” and social media savvyness.
This is why I cannot quite wrap my mind around the VinTank pro-bono offer. What happens if MG chooses someone other than VT’s pick? They would not offer their services? I don’t get it.
I mean, I have learned this much: VinTank, Open Wine Consortium, Wine Blogger’s Conference–> all these were built up to support the web2.0 endeavors of those in the wine industry. I do not want to come across as someone who is boo-ing VinTank.
Andy,
Speed dating is a funny comparison– Though I think it is more than that, at its core, I think the video is what someone uses to catch their attention, show their personality, and to most importantly catch the attention of the greater community. Ultimately, it is the vid (and perhaps the surrounding activity) that is used to get an interview.
Yes- Just read the VinTank report, and you’re an expert! ; ) No, but it has great info, gives you a lay of the land, ID’s players, issues, how to measure success / influence, etc. It doesn’t take a lot of time to read, and IMHO it would be odd for an applicant to not read it.
Andy,
I would think the MG and VinTank report are serendipitous. VinTank has been working on the report for months and months.
It should be a “must read” for anyone applying for the job. As Todd said, it isn’t a how to, but it does give some info that would be pretty important for someone on the job to get up and running quickly.
As I think someone said on a previous post (Rick?), this isn’t a contest, it is a hiring process. A key applicant for any position in any industry would try to know as much about the job, the industry, or the lay of the land before going into an interview.
I think VinTank responded to the pro-bono question (What happens if MG doesn’t select a VinTank candidate?) in a previous post.
You do have a great point there: the key applicant for any position in any industry would try to know as much about the job, the industry, or the lay of the land before going into an interview.
(Yes, it was Rick with the hiring process. Yes, VinTank responded on their blog to the pro-bono question.)
So I suppose I have my work for the next week or two cut out for me: dissecting the report and (hopefully) generating some more indepth discussion here or elsewhere.
Hey Andy,
I left a comment on the vintank blog also and reiterated the question about what’s in it for them. I have been curious since the decided to endorse Hardy and Rick. I too am not trying to bash vintank in any way, but really am not sure of their motivation. If they really are that altruistic with their intentions, then I’ll just shut up and watch quietly.
I read vintank’s white paper and there were many great tidbits of information. However, anyone keeping up with what is happening in the wine industry and with social media in general should already know a good portion of what was disclosed in that paper. In other words, none of it should be big news to a serious candidate applying for this job.
That said, I don’t believe the social media aspect of this job will be only factor in who they choose. Better start practicing your personable handshake. 😉
Eric, welcome to my blog!!!
Oh.My.Gosh. I must say that your video was great. Love the idea about the milk and the kid… I laughed so hard at that!
Living in Germany has really taught me to give my hand in greeting — so German!
Thanks for stopping by, we shall see how the drama unravels. Loads of great videos out there and behind them very like-able, personable blogs/twitterers and what have you.
It is fascinating and a huge learning curve for me, not being from either industry (wine or marketing). Having a great time, though.
What do you think is MG’s take on the position they are out to fill: out for branding? building the online networks (if so, what happens after the 6 months are up)? forging a new way for wineries in the US?
Eric,
At this point I am a bit annoyed as you continue to jab at us from your soapbox. Obviously you don’t know who we are or what we’ve done for the online wine industry in the name of altruism to move it forward. Let me give you a few examples:
Eric and I founded Inertia, and Patrick was the Vp of Tech, where we invested millions of dollars into an industry that used to sell wine online through downloadable PDF forms. This includes sharing information, free seminars, and free manuals about how to better execute online. We also were the company that changed business to business transactions by leading a new movement called Direct To Trade and working with expensive lawyers to convince regulators a new way to do B2B transactions online. Moreover spent almost $500K on developing rethinkcompliance.com which we proceeded to GIVE AWAY FOR FREE so that the entire industry could benefit. Again $500K of investment for FREE.
Joel Vincent, with me on the BOD, created the largest FREE B2B social network called the openwineconsortium.org.
If you’d read our bio’s you’d know this. We have been advocates for moving the wine industry forward online at all costs.
In our most recent careers at VinTank we spend incredible money and time on producing our free research about companies (called our Pulse reports) to help educate wineries and help them make strategic decisions. We also just released a herculean report on wine social media.
You are right, some of the information is NOT groundbreaking regarding tactics to run a Facebook, Linkedin, or Twitter campaign. However our spin on how relevant they are to wineries and our deep analysis of all the wine specific networks was groundbreaking. Couple that with the unique understanding of wine laws and we have helped the wine industry move a giant step forward through free information (we could have chosen to sell that report and a decent income from our efforts).
We believe in wine online and we put our money and our hearts to continue to drive that goal to a successful future. I think we’ve answered your questions fairly and openly and the motives of our support of the MG candidates is very much understood by our colleagues and wine industry professionals. They understand our ethos and history as well as the quality of our stamp of approval and what that means for the individuals we support.
Paul,
thank you for coming by and joining the conversation!
This is exactly what I find so hard to grasp: you guys have been so incredibly active in wine web2.0 happenings that I find it so difficult to believe that you would put your “necks out” for just 4 people.
I mean, what if I am not on your short list but for reasons beyond anyones imagination MG picks me… then I wouldn’t have your $100k probono support?
That is just nuts. Not because I really am desperate for your $100K support but because of all you have already done in the ground work for the industry: Would you not be even more interested to know that MG really takes off especially if some
blundering foollucky duck (I am refering to myself and the fictive assumption I am the chosen candidate) actually would really benefit from your insider information and tech support you offer in with your generaous $100K pro-bono proposal? Just sayin’.I understand that you are more than free to what ever you choose to do. And I am sure that Murphy-Goode, Hardy and Rick appreciate your support (as well as those who are still to be mentioned). In many aspects I realize that I am letting my ignorance of the US wine scene shine through and perhaps my lack of business savvy-ness by stubbornly
refusingfailing understand the actual tactic of naming 4 candidates.Enough said about this aspect:
What is your take on how to ideally move forward once chosen for the job, will it be to formost entertain the masses or set up systems to leverage the social media? And will the successful candidate move ideally more in the wine sphere or in some/any other “niche”? Realizing your word is not the same as the word of MG, your take on the how to “hit the floor running” would interest me, though.
Don’t worry, we will still help the “lucky duck” but not with that level of support. They can meet with us, have coffee, call us to pick our brains but we have made our stand. We want the wine industry to make very educated picks and we hope the four will go on to all get great jobs with wineries. It doesn’t devalue the other candidates, it just shows that we vetted ours differently and gave our professional and expert opinion on who would be most effective for the job. MG may disagree or have other “factors” for their choice and we respect that. Like I said, we are already giving to the MG campaign and our decision to pick 4 was a result of not wanting to do only one and not wanting to do 500. We have a business to run as well. If the person was 100% a “rookie” they would also require more time from our firm and we could not even count on that our counsel and contributions would be effective vs someone we are personally vetting.
I think that you can entertain, educate, AND set up systems to leverage social media. I think the first two are wasted without the third. The successful candidate will take wine beyond just the wine sphere.
I will say cheers to that:
Off to hone my quirki-ness and write me some entertaining articles (yikes, this is my greatest challenge at present).
@AndysGoodeLife Nice Article – Way to Inform the #Murphy-Goode Hopefulls! http://ow.ly/9mZZ
via twitter
I am shocked that no one else sees a problem with this. Vintank throwing their wrench in this process changed the landscape and entire spirit of this contest. Contest, competition, job application campaign…I don’t care what you call it, it’s still a contest. I question the legalities if M-G were to choose one of the “chosen 4” candidates. Doesn’t anyone else see this a a bribe? Vintank is essentially buying this job. Dave Ready, Jr. wouldn’t accept a $20 Vinkings cap from me because he said he couldn’t take any bribes. Legal or illegal, it’s unfair and certainly not in keeping with the spirit that fueled this contest from the start. This has caused me to lose interest in the entire deal. What will be more interesting to me is what happens after the contest is over. That all remains to be seen.
Thanks, Andy, for keeping the conversations going. You are part of the true spirit of this competition.
Are you kidding me? No good deed goes unpunished. The competition (not contest) is about finding a great person for MG and operates almost like an election. Just like you saw companies, individuals, celebrities, and so much more support each of the presidential candidate, we are doing the same. Since we are giving the gift to the candidates, we are not officially giving anything of value to MG. It is the same as if you had someone who had a brother that was a retailer and agreed to buy MG wine if they got hired or a celebrity that agreed to endorse MG wine if they were chosen. This is an asset on the resume’s of these candidates to help them get A Really Goode Job. We are supporting their contest the best way we know how to get to the candidates WE feel are most qualified.
As to unfair, you can lobby to get a VinTank endorsement, it is an equal playing field. Also you have the ability to find other assets to add to your MG resume to help influence their decision. That is what “hustle” is all about and is easily one factor that demonstrates your ability to do business development.
I am not sure what “the spirit” of the contest you refer to is but from my optics, it is about getting a great person for the job. Our support of 4 individuals is actually even more healthy for any or all of them after the competition is over because the “VinTank 4” will have a higher probability land a job with another winery looking for strong candidates. The same won’t be said about many of the other candidates.
Kim, just a quick reply from me (I will come back to you, I promise):
Thank you so much for taking the moment to write you thoughts down here.
We need to talk about these issues, clearly and openly. It is not for the Goode of Murphy if someone goes on harbouring poor feelings or feels jipped. (I have not read Paul’s answer yet, but I do appreciate his readiness to communicate in every aspect here and elsewhere in the net.)
I have to go feed my family, but I will be back and take up the thread, thanks again and please feel free to join the conversation. Before I go, there is one (of many) Goode Hopefuls which I would like to point you to, a fresh face and (as far as I know) not on the VinTank short-list for the two open positions: Tight budget Ashley Bellview… I trust actually that Murphy-Goode will simply make the best decision to suit their needs.
I have two pennies’ worth of thoughts here:
Kim, I think you’re feeling what many of us felt when VinTank made their generous 100K consulting offer. To me, it was “Wow, this correspondent job isn’t a stroll through the social media park any longer!” But maybe it never was to begin with.
VinTank upped the ante, but I don’t know if they did much more than quantify what many inside and out of the wine industry are thinking about this Murphy-Goode position, anyway. This is not the be-all-end-all of Social Media meets Wine, but it’s a great next step because it is a specific niche being addressed and because there’s a lot of heat on the campaign.
So I don’t think VinTank is much more than the public face of the groundswell support and interest in the successful outcome of this whole experiment. (Which is what it ultimately is.)
I felt the same way as you do, but then I saw the larger picture of the amazing opportunity this position is for Murphy-Goode and all parties involved.
I don’t know that it’s changed my idea of what the correspondent’s CONTENT will look like, but it sure has changed my idea of what the behind-the-scenes strategy will involve. How reliant the marketing team is on the correspondent for input and design is a bit moot, though, since mum’s the word from on high.
Now to strike the balance between communicating and connecting all the different elements out there while still being able to enjoy a great glass of wine in the early evening with the Murphy-Goode crew. Or finding a great new picnic spot in Sonoma County without checking your Twitter feed every five minutes. 🙂
Actually Ashley is on the short list! And she submitted to our site.
One note, I am finding that most people are only posting videos and claiming social media expertise when in reality you look at their activity, their twitter accounts, etc and they are not doing anything. People, you need to work to get the job. For a VinTank endorsement, the video is only part of the puzzle. How you run your campaign is crucial.
I find it in typical corporate, money-hungry American fashion how something which started out in essence quite SIMPLE and CLEAR (do refer to MG’s websites and contest outlines) is made unnecessarily complicated and frankly bordering on icky, for lack of a better disgusting word.
Unless something’s been changed (beyond extending all deadlines) since the start of Murphy Goode’s search for a new temporary employee to broaden their current internet marketing efforts while establishing new venues and platforms to transport their brand in an entertaining fashion, nowhere has it been officially requested that the hired person reflect the abilities, knowledge, character or other wine industry-guru-ism to the extreme which you folks underline. If they wanted a Pro Consultant, they’d hire one. And given VinTank’s price tag is 100k, I’d go with the Lifestyle Correspondent.
The SPIRIT which I understand Kim Farkas refers to, is that of genuinely raw opportunity. The fun and excitement around this seemingly international offer exist solely because the participants (myself included) are NOT the folks which VinTank obviously seeks to endorse.
To speak metaphorically a moment, the existing “wine blogosphere” as mentioned above is about as interesting and broad as my ass and only visible to a select few at that. Clearly in relationship to my body as a whole however, there’s more to discover and to love. Just like wine. How’s that Todd? 🙂 My point is, Murphy Goode Winery is no newbie thus there’s very little point for them rehashing the same old-same old within the same old wine blogosphere. They’ve ‘got that’ already.
Consider the millions of young Americans who haven’t even discovered an appreciation for wine yet. Hello? Consider the Urban markets and other cultures who just don’t do wine, YET. That’s what this is all about. Engaging a new audience, young and old. When I’m Lifestyle Correspondent I’ll be the first one to admit I’M NO EXPERT! That’s the beauty of it. That’s why you want to hang with Kim, Andy or me Paul because we’re going to truly discover Sonoma wine country and best of all Murphy Goode products and we’re going to do it together with everyone who encounters and rides our viral wave. Something which you already know everything about, according to your White Paper Report and that might be why you come across as not really getting it, ironically. The folks I interview will be the experts, for example. The on and offline events which I’ll create, will educate. The gatherings I attend, will entertain. The root of the gig is to CORRESPOND. Period.
Regardless of your shortlist, it’s unfortunate that your company doesn’t see the value in supporting any candidate hired by Murphy Goode. As an entrepreneur, I would be more impressed with your organizations ability to make your 100k offer turn into a million bucks regardless of what you HAVE to work with in the end of all this. Your politics are, well…your politics. I can only hope for my sake and almost 700 others, they are not Murphy Goode’s politics. Otherwise, the game is clearly rigged and many of us have wasted a hell of a lot of time and all this great press/promotion turns into bad press/promotion. We all know bad news travels 10 times faster and further.
The 10k a month that Murphy Goode offers in my view is not a pay check. It’s a budget. And I promise to deliver a production encompassing all their wants, needs and desires. Again, visit A REALLY GOODE JOB.com in case you forgot. I can certainly envision having to employ a freelancer of my own (within my working budget, VinTank is too expensive) for anything I can’t handle or simply need help with. That however, can not be determined until I have the job.
If the production is done right, as with the nature of viral media, it will yield rewards for Murphy Goode well beyond the 6 month contract. If they sell 5000 more bottles of wine next year they’ve certainly recouped their investment. And they will sell more wine. I’ll wager they have already. Goddess knows I’ve bought more.
With all that said (I’ve blogged this as well) I hope I haven’t offended anyone as that’s not my intention. Clearly this is more in response to VinTank as such yet certainly applies to anyone subscribing to similar attempts to influence the outcome of this race. That’s my story and I’m sticking to it.
Cheers,
Kamary Phillips
WCLC in Training
WCLC in Training… I like that!
And I will be your freelancer for peanuts… ok?
Thanks for your words, Kam, you have guts and I look forward to more interaction with you on the diverse blogs/platforms out there!
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Kamary, you hit on a couple of good points. Thank you for defining what I meant by “spirit”.
I agree that this started out as an opportunity for an “outsider” to get inside and learn the business, discover Sonoma Co. and share their experiences with the world. This person, as it was originally explained, was to know a bit about wine (not too much), be engaging, have a vibrant personality, be able to use social media, and spread the goode word.
Then, more than halfway through, VinTank has chosen to seemingly redefine who the ideal candidates are for this position, and, as you pointed out, endorse the experts. Not only are they endorsing these 4, but they are already helping them with their “campaigns”. They have changed the landscape of the process by pushing the VinTank agenda. Yes, Paul, it can be compared with politics, and that is, simply put, just too bad.
I am not looking to offend anyone either. I wanted to put my thoughts out there and generate some discussion. I didn’t blog myself or blast it all over. I just wanted to enter the discussion here to see that I wasn’t alone. If I wasn’t understanding something correctly, I wanted to be set straight.
Sorry for not jumping back in last night… being Germany most of this hit while I was sleeping.
But thanks for hanging in there!
I still see this as an awesome opportunity for *ANYONE* who is up for the game.
Key now is to get all of the players (especailly the “underdogs”) joining the conversation (not specifically this one– just get out and start conversing with any and everyone who is following the gig, show off how you are a social media whiz, walk-the-talk).
(And with a short glance at Pauls following comment — only the first paragraph — you can ask him for support, or you can read my helpful tips, they come for free and I will also do my best to answer any questions anyone has to shoot my way — up front and out in the open!)
Golly, so now I have loads to catch up while you all sleep!
Ironically first, if you’d been active in Twitter you would have seen that you are on our short list to be possibly be one of our two remaining candidates. The other irony is that both you and Kim Farkas complain about our support campaign and yet both of you have the opportunity to win that support (and neither of you has made any attempt to contact us).
By the way, we are ok with our path and we welcome HEALTHY discussions. These discussion have no relevance on our decision EVEN if you disagree with our methods.
MG will pick who they feel is best. Our offer is only a SMALL notation on a long list of things that they will evaluate. And haven’t you seen the candidates we’ve picked? They are loved by all and have done a great job campaigning. They are two that already deserve a job.
The spirit that Kim and you are talking about still needs to be there. The entertainment value. The human connection aspect. HOWEVER, this is a brave move by MG. Being a wine industry outsider you have no concept of how little the wine industry spends on resources for e-business. We don’t want this to just be an experiment, we want this to be something that works and is replicated by more and more wineries (in different ways of course). Despite the human connect and entertainment value, MG is in business. PERIOD. From OUR perspective, choosing candidates who can do “more than make a video” is key. They need to be able to create and execute strategic plans to distribute content, leverage technology, understand social media, and measure results and HAVE FUN WHILE DOING IT. Despite that last line, the other things can and should not be ignored if the other 700+ people who are not chosen want to get a “perfect wine country job.”
Kamary – I would ask you that you do a better job not attacking how our firm “get’s it” or not. We are above responding negatively in return and appreciate a difference of opinion and healthy discussions but we don’t appreciate attacks against us for our good intentions (that are at a high cost to us). Instead of negativity, perhaps you should look at the four candidates we work with as ALSO lucky since they all four will probably have wine jobs after this experience (we already have people asking). Perhaps there should be MORE excitement at the “raw opportunity” that our efforts will create by making 4 or 5 “dream jobs” as opposed to only one. Perhaps if one of our candidates is chosen and the program is a success, other wineries will follow suit and create even more jobs. Your threat to spread the word if one of our candidates is chosen is counter-intuitive. You and all the people who don’t win (whether the final person is VinTank 4 or not) should be good losers and throw all your weight and support behind the winner instead of trying to damage this exciting choice by an industry who is slow to adopt the web. Their future success means that more wineries will venture into the digital space and more jobs like this will be created. Whoever wins needs your help more than ours.
As to turning $100K to $1M no matter who it is would make me a better entrepreneur. Really? So you are telling me that you can turn any program into a success no matter who you are working with? REALLY? Come on. You know that team is the key factor to being able to execute. We are picking candidates that WE have confidence can take our $100K and turn it into multiples of that. That’s not to say that there are many others that are participating that are not qualified or great but we made our choice.
Your use of the $10 per month is brilliant and perhaps may win you the gig. We don’t mind that you wouldn’t choose to spend it on us as you don’t know us so you have no reference of our ability to contribute or our value. Obviously you’d have a different strategy you want to execute.
If you want to do better, beat the candidates we choose by executing a better campaign. JUST DO IT. Your efforts are what will get you the job and ANY endorsement you get (from us, or others) can only help you. However, the competition doesn’t rest in our hands at all. It is 1000% MG’s choice. If we can contribute, amen. Just by helping raise the level of play, we have already done our job.
Paul, thanks once again for taking the time. A few questions I have and a few quotes I think are memorable:
The to-be-announced next two candidates you support are (at time of this comment) still open and anyone can contact you with 250 words stating why you should consider THEM. Did Rick and Hardy approach you too, or did you approach them initially? Just wondering…
You write:
I agree totally with this and I know I am having a great time! This has been an incredible learning curve for me and I am thuroughly enjoying the ride. I think there are a few others out there in the same boat. And this leads to:
Exactly what I have set out from my commitment to the magical month of May: People. Let us not forget this! I love the discussion going on here, nothing like a good controversy.
But go watch the videos, find the ones you like and strike up a conversation with those people: put them forward, “follow” them, engage them, let them shine on whatever platform you can!
We are the ones who have SO MUCH TO LEARN AND BENEFIT from this process. We are in the position to give WHOEVER Murphy-Goode chooses an awesome ride and learn heaps for our own digital strategies along the way.
(And Paul, as much as I understand where you are coming from, I really do. But exactly this is why I so stubbornly still cannot ?willnot? wrap my mind around the fact that you are restricting yourself to a choice 4… true, it is your perfect right to offer help as you see fit… but still…)
Having said that, did you catch what Paul wrote a bit further above? Ashley is on the short list: on her request. I think this is a wise move by Ashley. I really like her style and think she would fit into the MG team well. To have the support of VinTank and their tech savvyness would take a wonderful person with lovely skills and create a bombastic campaign.
So I have turned into a squishy grape: hate the VinTank idea, love the VinTank idea.
Take it or leave it.
Either way, we little people are the ones with the real power to support who ever we choose. So go crack some knuckles and type up a storm for the person who *you* think is the perfect fit for Murphy-Goode! And tell me who you think is great (love to give you a guest post spot for that very purpose!) so I can show my support!
Hardy and Rick were picked by us. We had been watching and made a decision based upon who we felt was FAR above the rest when we first started our support.
The choice of 4 – arbitrary based upon not wanting to only pick one and we have 4 partners. And yes, it is our prerogative. Sorry. However, we have made a new decision to list our runner’s up in the hopes that they too will use that to get jobs in the wine industry.
Please don’t forget that we chose 4. MG only chooses 1. We hope our 4 will immediately move into wine jobs after this experience. I am confident that they will.
(and you did not come to “pick me up”? hmgf *she sings: nobody likes me, everybody hates me, going to the garden to eat worms…*)
I’ve been following this thread for a while and I’ve noticed that some of the same issues I mentioned earlier are once again being rehashed. On one hand, I feel a little better knowing I wasn’t alone with some of my thoughts. On the other hand, I had a long series of emails with Paul Mabray which led to an epiphany of sorts. Much of what Paul said in those emails, he has reiterated here in his comments.
I must commend Paul and the entire Vintank crew for putting up with so much of the negativity regarding their involvement in the MG job. It wasn’t until I realized how Vintank’s involvement would propel the wine industry’s acceptance and use of online media, that I chose to side with them and their endorsements, whoever that may be. Paul is right that their involvement only helps to draw more attention to social media’s role in wine and the wine industry. I wouldn’t be surprised if their endorsements helps their 4 candidates, along with any runners-up, immediately get a job within the wine industry but also get a similar job in just about any industry that could benefit from having a social media savvy individual on their team. As Paul has said, anyone is free to send him an email stating why Vintank should endorse them. Anyone with the necessary skills and lots of ambition has as much chance as anyone else to get Vintank’s endorsement. And since it’s their time and money that they are offering, it should be entirely up to them to spend it on whoever they choose. To put it in a Murphy-Goode perspective, it doesn’t stack the deck, it simply sweetens the pot.
Paul also pointed out, and most of us applicants who have made the effort know, that this job is more than just the video. To quote the MG site:
“You must be at least 21 years old and eligible to work in the U.S. and should be an excellent communicator, imaginative and inquisitive. Show us your marketing and public relations track record for effectively using Web 2.0 tools including social networking sites, video-sharing sites, blogs and more on both computer and mobile devices. You should be passionate about wine. In addition, you’re a “people person” who can speak to customers, colleagues and media. You have great verbal and written English language skills and are able to provide multiple writing samples.”
“Applicants will be evaluated based on their communication skills, personal presentation, the technical proficiency of the video, the content of, and experience demonstrated in the video and short written submission, and their motivation. In addition they will be assessed on their potential to engage the media — their ‘media presence,’ confidence and ability to clearly convey their messages. No one criterion is more important than another.”
How many people do you think will make the cut when they don’t even have an online presence? Then narrow it down even more to those people who can write a grammatically correct sentence. Then throw them in front of a camera and see if they can speak about wine without using “Um”, “like”, and “you know” more than a dozen times and subject them to media and public gladhanding and I’ll be surprised if MG will be left with a half dozen good candidates. When you put the job in perspective, being a novice about wine shouldn’t be a problem, but being a novice about marketing, strategic thinking, social media and all the other requirements of this job would make it difficult for Vintank to help them. They’d spend too much of their time simply trying to bring that person up to the level at which the 4 people they picked are already.
Let’s not continue to worry about Paul and Vintank’s agenda. I think there’s more than enough excitement developing here for everyone who deserves a chance to get a piece of the pie. Just do your best, get yourself noticed, hone the skills that you possess and give it your best shot. I am. I hope to see 9 of you in Healdsburg in July. Good luck to you all.
NICELY done, Eric! That’s quite a thesis you just wrote…I wish I had an honorary degree to send your way for summing up many of my own thoughts with regard to this particular thread.
Thanks for the great summation!
I think my work here is done. Hopefully more candidates will read this thread and gain a deeper understanding of the qualifications required to be successful at this job. I think all of us now comprehend how VinTank’s offer generated more publicity for A Really Goode Job, but more importantly for all of the well-qualified applicants.
Sometimes generating a little controversy by addressing something from a different perspective helps everyone’s understanding of the issue.
Thank you, Paul, for continuing the conversation. You could have remained silent and we would all still be left in the dark about VinTank’s intentions.
Good luck, everyone!
Kim, I noticed that your twitter account is gone… you haven’t dropped out all together, have you?
Would love to stay in contact! Please consider catching me privately on the contact page…
and if we don’t cross webs again, wishing you all the best!
Twitter acct. should still be there. Been on it for the last couple hours. Check again. Thanks!
(Kim, you are a complicated woman 😉 , one with secrets… beware of women with secrets…)
Thanks for clearing up the confusion!
Andy, please post this prominently. I am the Public Relations Director for Murphy-Goode. I can tell you that, while it may be interesting to see who likes which candidate in the Really Goode Job search, Murphy-Goode is not going to make its selections based on VinTank’s, or anyone else’s endorsement or incentives. Moreover, if one of VinTank’s recommended people were to win, we would not accept VinTank’s nor anyone else’s incentive offers. In point of fact, some of the candidates endorsed by VinTank have renounced the endorsement and the offered services. We are sure VinTank means well and they are, of course, free as anyone else to comment on the process. But so that your readers are aware–once again–it plays no role in our decision-making.
Mark,
thank you so much for taking the time to clear up Murphy-Goode’s stand on the VinTank offer. I and I am sure my readers, really appreciate your communication.
You guys must be swamped and overwhelmed (I know I am and I have no responsibility to choose a “live-in” for six months!).
I will place this as a sticky-post at the top of the blog for all to see.
Andy
Thanks, Andy.
Indeed, thanks for chiming in, Mark!
A lot of applicants have been wondering if the VinTank support would have any impact on Murphy-Goode’s selection process and, although many of us assumed you all were mutually exclusive, it’s great to hear the official word from you.
Cheers.
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Well, I go away on vacation for a week and look what I miss! Wow, nice interaction and engagement from all sides. Many of the points I raised in my mind as I read through all of this, were eventually put on the table from subsequent posts, so I will only comment on the Murphy Goode official statement as one of the last posts:
It should not have been a surprise that this would be their stance and it should not have been anybody’s assumption that being one of the VinTank 4 gives you the “edge” in the specific Murphy Goode competition – as in MG would not use any specific VT guidance or preferences in their process. However, the value of what we all have and can continue to learn from VinTank and this discussion whether you’re the Fab 4 or not, as it relates to social media in the wine industry, can only help our chances no matter which applicant number you are. Eric was very good at reviewing the MG requirements above and I can all but guarantee MG is “watching” all of us in how we are performing in our use of social media throughout this process. This includes the content of our posts and how we are conducting ourselves.
I am proud to be on the “shortlist” and I understand the reality and business aspect of this entire process from both the MG and VT angles. In the end, I am looking for a job in the wine industry and 4 or 5 opportunities are better odds for me to meet my goal than just 1. For the rest of the applicants out there like me, I RT text from Paul earlier that supports this thought in hopes we all can be working in wine country someday:
“You and all the people who don’t win … should … throw all your weight and support behind the winner … Their future success means that more wineries will venture into the digital space and more jobs like this will be created. Whoever wins needs your help more than ours.”
Cheers
Welcome back, Ed!
Sure hope you had a great vacation… nothing like a little excitement out in the blog-o-sphere to throw ya back into the game.
Thanks for your comment.
It opens up a question I have actually to Paul and Mark:
I understood the VinTank to be an offer to the candidate — not directly to be to Murphy-Goode — meaning the benefits would still be on the table should MG choose one of the 4… What influence does MG have on the acceptance of the VinTank offer should MG choose one of the 4?
*she is worried to have re-opened a can of beans*
LOL. Eek.
My take on it is that social media is…well, social. No one individual is going to jump into that position and perform miracles for Wine 2.0 without the help of many people.
In that sense, would MG ultimately care if I received a great piece of advice from within the winery or the Sonoma County Tourism Bureau or a tasting room patron or Chris Brogan at his blog…or VinTank? That’s, in part, why I say in my video (shameless plug without requisite URL link) that it will be a collective effort for whomever is named as MGWCLC in late July.
For MG to succeed in social media, it will take everyone’s contributions…much like you have succeeded here in driving the conversation with the help of many guest posts.
Speaking of…
You seemed kind of quiet there, Ed! “Where is @winetonite?” I kept wondering.
Hope it was a great vacation…I have my own coming up here shortly. Part of it involves Martha’s Vineyard and I hope to see if it lives up to its namesake! 🙂
All good points you reiterate, that success with the Murphy Goode Lifestyle Correspondent means success for the industry and more future hires all around. And if you think about it, MG’s very prominent PR campaign has delivered great potential candidates basically on a silver platter to VinTank and all the wineries out there (and there are a LOT of them) that are keeping a close eye on this competition. I honestly don’t know how it’s not win-win.
As I understand it, the wine industry is a VERY small one (I realize I just got done saying that there are a lot of wineries…meh) so rather than dog-eat-dog it’s more of a reciprocal back-scratching society. Kind of like a new college club…akin to the cuddle parties that have been happening for years…but I digress.
As usual.
😯
“Martha’s Vineyard” actually exists? I thought this was some literary piece of art…
You know, Todd, I think it is more the *way* VinTank went about business rather than *what* they intend to do (help wineries go web2.0).
As I mentioned above– how different it would have come across if they said: accepting applications (for all four positions) to apply for a “scholarship” for the MG (or generally a Winery Web2.0 gig), apply within…
This would still have given VinTank absolute rights to choose whome ever they pleased to endorse and would have given the whole developement a completely different *feel* and would have probably meant even greater leverage for VinTank (and perhaps MG) in the process.
Instead not few had the impression that this is about the high profile bloggers (as both Hardy and Rick are) and no longer open for the wee people.
(And yes, Paul has been more than open and cleared up his stand that in truth ANYONE is welcome to apply for one of the two open positions… I am just saying how it could have come across to all of us if the guys at VinTank had taken a different approach.)
Todd, I see it like you do: we need to pool together and if we want to move things forward. The major question is going to be: how.
@randulo Man, you go to bed, and all hell breaks loose over here in the states. Start reading! http://tr.im/nfxY
submitted via Twitter
Hey don’t forget to listen to those great folks who called in, one all the way from Mexico:
http://tr.im/wine
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Fantastic conversation here, Andy. I wish every wine topic generated this sort of spirited debate.
I find it fascinating that Murphy-Goode has rejected VinTank’s $100K offer. I’d love to read Paul Mabray’s reaction.
Well, Dale, you are not the only one waiting for a response from Paul & VinTank… apparently it is coming today… if the boy is not crying wolf, that is 😉 .
I heard yesterday that WineBizRadio is taking up the VinTank lead and offering 20 min. a month to the MGWCLC to
blabchat wine…It is good to have this conversation going, though, as I am still receiving severely mixed reactions to the whole sh-bang… so there seems to still be work to do!
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VinTank today informed Murphy-Goode Winery that it has revised its position regarding services it had offered to candidates for the winery’s “A Really Goode Job.”
Previously—and independently—VinTank had offered $100,000 worth of its social networking consulting if any one of four candidates that it endorsed were selected for the job. Today, after contacting the winery, VinTank extended its offer to WHOMEVER Murphy-Goode selects to the position. In addition, VinTank offered to provide the job search’s final 10 candidates with a crash course on social media networking.
We are pleased that VinTank reached out and extended its offer to WHOMEVER we select to be our Wine Country Lifestyle Correspondent. That removes issues we had originally and we now will be happy to permit our candidates and future employee to make use of the firm’s well-known wine e-business expertise. That said, we must also emphasize the fact that third-party endorsements of candidates are not part of our selection criteria and will not be considered in the selection process.
An outside—-and intentionally unnamed—-human resources company is processing the initial applications and will narrow the candidates down to a Top 50 to be announced June 26.
Wow!
This is great news!!! Thank you Mark for coming back to the conversation and thank you to Paul for striving for open communication.
Woohoo! Break open a bottle of wine, people! Time to party
!
Mark,
Thank you and Murphy Goode for the post and thanks to all the Murphy Goode candidates. After some reflection and wonderful conversations with the MG team, we understood that supporting this program at all cost was our ultimate goal and wanted to change our offer to reflect that. We will continue to support this innovative program as it leads wineries to more success online. We also support MG’s acumen at choosing the best candidate for the position and look forward to contribute our team’s seasoned e-business acumen to help it be a success online. We also understand that our endorsement of the VinTank 4+ will have no bearing on the results of the competition but rather will teach 4+ candidates better ways to execute wine online and help others learn in the process.
We will still be doing key support to the VinTank 4+. Later today we will be announcing the rest of the VinTank 4+ and in addition to our offer to MG, we will add a support package to any winery that hires any of the VinTank 4+ after MG chooses their candidate. This is a wonderful opportunity for wineries to charge into digital marketing and the placement of our “social media dream team” into the industry to catapult its online success.
Foodie wishes a heartfelt congrats to the final Vintank 4+ All are very bright, creative, talented and passionate people each individually in their own right.
Paul is right, the wine web2.0 world will never be the same after this. Every single person that submitted their video and application to this process has already, in their circle of influence, encouraged someone to drink Murphy-Goode wines. Friends, WE DID THAT! All of us together, by talking about MG wines, buying them and trying them with friends, and finally by having the guts to participate in the race for the Wine Lifestyle Correspondent position. That is powerful. It connects everyone of us together, and I suspect it will connect us all to the brand long after this position has been filled at Murphy-Goode.
The world of wine now has their official dream team from all of the candidates across the world that have submitted entries. Murphy-Goode should be praised for leading the pack into this new world of communication by linking Murphy-Goode wine lovers together, through this process. Each of us, with our own skill sets and personality can lend powerful influence to Murphy-Goode’s brand or any other winery interested in harvesting the power and knowledge of the people that know and love their product.
I am honored to be in the company of so many passionate wine drinkers, thinkers, creators and influencers. It’s too bad Murphy-Goode can’t figure out a way to harness all of this passion long term. That would be the ultimate sweet spot.
It’s a mighty big job for just one person to fill.
How to create a huge splash…
This is GREAT news, Paul! Let it be known that wine web2.0 has cracked open a new era and let us all pull together to make this an awesome and non-regretable decision for all parties concerned!
Thanks Andrea – can you please change the front page of your blog to reflect this change?
Done. *sigh*
What a sense of accomplishment… and a wonderful way to end a day 🙂 .
Our first bit of news for the day – we changed our tune a bit for the #areallygoodejob support http://bit.ly/u3aY2 !!!!!
submitted via Twitter
RT @pmabray: Our first bit of news for the day – we changed our tune a bit for the #areallygoodejob support http://bit.ly/u3aY2 !!!!!
submitted via Twitter
Here is our adjusted post with more clarity regarding the VinTank 4+ and an announcement of our picks. HOORAY
VinTank extendeds 100k offer to WHOMEVER Murphy-Goode selects-GREAT NEWS! http://bit.ly/u3aY2 #areallygoodejob (via @pmabray & others)
submitted via Twitter
RT @pmabray: Our first bit of news for the day – we changed our tune a bit for the #areallygoodejob support http://bit.ly/u3aY2 !!!!!
submitted via Twitter
RT @pmabray: Our first bit of news for the day – we changed our tune a bit for the #areallygoodejob support http://bit.ly/u3aY2 !!!!!
submitted via Twitter
Murphy-Goode now supports @VinTank offer! Just posted at @AndysGoodeLife blog http://bit.ly/K6iKZ #areallygoodejob (via @AndysGoodeLife)
submitted via Twitter
RT @vintank: Murphy-Goode now supports @VinTank offer! Just posted at @AndysGoodeLife blog http://bit.ly/K6iKZ #areallygoodejob
submitted via Twitter
RT @vintank: Murphy-Goode now supports @VinTank offer! Just posted at @AndysGoodeLife blog http://bit.ly/K6iKZ #areallygoodejob
submitted via Twitter
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