This article was fun to write: it provides useful, unique information, it clearly illustrates a core proficiency of my link prospecting company and includes a downloadable worksheet for link building! Ben and I will work at putting prizes inside of all of our publications

This is my first publication in the prestigious Search Engine Land, and I’m very proud to be amongst the ranks of my link building heroes.

Here’s what my friend Mark Bee said about it (and I think he sums it up quite nicely

I like the jerkiness. The pace and the delivery work sort of like a Native American myth, where it’s fast and slow, and brings the reader into details of the story that the TELLER considers most important.

What I like:
The framed narratives, the action-driven dialogue with a few big words thrown in (they talk like my action figures used to: “get’im!”), the spots without dialog, the figures and their gracefulness (i.e. Echoboy’s pelvis).

There’s also a line of hand made, stencil-printed t shirts to accompany the comic – you can see me, Ben and Alexi (of Road Trip 2.0) modeling some here:

Click here to check out the Echoboy comic >>

Update:
Kind words from SF/F writer and editor Paul Jessup

This collaborative dictionary revels in its self referential glory and the silly way that three letter words can be strung together to create meaning sometimes and nonsense that seems like it has meaning other times. It’s my way of weaving together the word dorks in my life, so if you’re up for it check out the project and shoot me an email… my guess is you have my email address if you happen to be reading this blog

>> Learn more about the 3 letter word dictionary.

>> Check out the 3 letter word dictionary wiki itself (beta – only the “A” section is done)

(and yes, I’m still working with Bold Interactive even though I moved to Philly…)

I look forward to learning from my fellow pimps in this project.

From my conversations with folks from the most recent round of layoffs, which totaled 21 as far as I’ve learned, the feelings people had were primarily of relief, though a relief woven with anguished disgust that will linger in the form of stories that will bore our great grandchildren when they come visit us at the retirement home.

I felt my own relief upon hearing MSI had finally closed its doors, and some of that disgust when I was laid off two months ago, and I suspect the remaining 9 folks who went to work for MSA feel a similar mix, plus the uncertainty of a new job.

Describing the Relief:
It’s like finally pulling the plug on a cancer-ridden and aged PT Barnum who’d quit selling circus tickets and tried to open up a Shakespeare theatre by calling in directions from his hospital bed.

Or it’s like the Titanic, finally slipping beneath the waves as the idiot crew members who’d attached outboard motors to the foundering hulk leap clear onto floating deck chairs, watching the horizon for another ship.

Or it’s like… (bleh I’ll let you fill in the blanks on this one).

Describing My Relief
My relief is in part selfish. I was laid off too – in late October of last year. My fiance told me then – and it’s still true – that “getting laid off will be the best thing that ever happened to you.”

It was my first lay off though, and it stung to get laid off from a company I’d labored so hard for, uprooted my life for, and defended at the expense of my credibility with peers. It also felt like a criticism of my abilities, though it wasn’t. The company really was failing.

what haunts me still – why?
But why? Why did this company fail? What does the failure of a company mean? Why can’t a handful of people who really want to make a difference with 20 or so who don’t give a shit make a change? The questions nag me now as they did even when I still worked there, trying with the Quixotic few to propel our sinking Meta Tag Tanker with oars instead of the SEM engine we required.

Nine people were rehired by the sister company MSA. Congratulations to you and polish those resumes – ask not for whom the pink slip tolls – it tolls for thee!

If you were laid off:
Adam Schultz is poking around for potential employers for this most recent glut of talent, as is Andy Beal. Also hit that unemployment with both fists: apply for NC unemployment online.

And remember – there’s a huge difference between getting fired and getting laid off! Fired = no money, while laid off = 1/4 of your salary. Which is useful for a month if you’re getting your independent feet under you

Update: the autopsy begins…
Thanks to Evan for his take on answering my question as to why MSI failed. Also, thanks to Tansy OBryant who answers very eloquently and insightfully from the comments.

Note that Tansy was on both sales AND the services side while Evan was primarily services. Evan points to sales and management while Tansy points to failure to provide ROI.

Here’s Evan’s post:
Why I believe Websourced, MarketSmart Interactive, Keyword Ranking failed

Here’s Stephan Ward’s take:
The Layoff Bomb (Stephen Ward please give me a call – 696-4225)

And here’s my buddy JP Sherman’s take (he was rehired by MSA):
MarketSmart Interactive Closes its Doors

Primarily by working closely with Adam Schultz – I’ve joined Bold Interactive as a partner. We have marketing clients for whom I’m writing GOOD seo content, reaching out to bloggers, crafting blog creation strategies and architecting the social media mechanics of an ecommerce site.

Yes. It’s a M-Fing BLAST.

I’m also monetizing my time and thinking by writing for Jason Dowdell’s MarketingShift and the Search Marketing Standard blog.

Oh, and there’s some very interesting conversations I’m having with Loren Baker at Search Engine Journal for future projects

I’ve got other stuff in the works, but nothing that’s grown solid by cash infusion

And of course I’d love to have a conversation about working with you on your projects

I met with Ben Wills on Sunday. We discussed social media marketing, terminations, SEM agencies and t-shirt business models. I was all hunkered down for digging into consulting work and the job search and hadn’t given a thought to continuing to write publicly. Then he gave me this url and blog.

It felt like Christmas.

In the near term the focus of this blog will be:
>> social media marketing
>> no-budget video production
>> B2B media creation/lead gen strategy
>> SEM agencies
>> my day-to-day as I job hunt/get projects rolling

If you have projects for me or ideas or just want to say hi, send me an email at gfrench@gmail.com or feel to call me on my cell: 919-696-4225.

Also, check out Ben Wills’ article The Five Pillars of Social Media Marketing