An Update & Forward Marching

Whoa it’s been over a month since I last wrote here. Craziness. I would like to formally apologize for my blogging laziness. It has been a busy month to say the least. I thought I would update you all on what I have been up to, what new things I am working on, and all that good stuff.

First off—the new gig. I have officially been working at SEOmoz for a full month now. For those that missed the announcement…don’t worry there was no announcement.  The transition was a quiet one.  A lot of people asked me if the move to Seattle was for SEOmoz, and the answer to that is no. I actually moved to Seattle for a change in scenery and a change in pace. As I mentioned back at the end of ’09 I really wanted to find some more balance in my life. I wanted less “go go go” and more “sustainable momentum.” My move to Seattle was a huge first step toward that.

The move in-house was a second huge step toward that. I have been consulting for a little while now and although I love it, it has been challenging to keep up with YourJobStop while working as a consultant. I believe most consultants would agree that while the flexibility of working for yourself is amazing the lack in stability can be difficult at times. I found that the consulting was overflowing into my weekends and into the early am hours. I have always enjoyed the #latenightshift but I also realized this isn’t sustainable.

Over Christmas of this past year I began to consider moving in-house again. While I never officially went looking for a job, I did come across some amazing opportunities. One of which was SEOmoz. After meeting the team, sharing lots of coffee with Rand and hearing the upcoming plans for this remarkable start-up I couldn’t help but jump on board. Luckily they were hiring for a position that I felt I was a strong fit for.

I am the new Director of Customer Acquisition and Engagement which will enable me to focus on analytics, PPC, content, and social media while trying my hand as some affiliate fun. To say I am excited about this new opportunity is an understatement. The brainpower packed into the SEOmoz team is seriously amazing, and the SEO software industry is booming right now. It’s an exciting place to be…great stuff to come for sure.

So what about YourJobStop? I am actually humbled by the number of you that reacted by asking me about the future of YourJobStop. It reminds me that while it has been a long year we have done some great things with this little job search engine. I will still be working on YourJobStop. We actually just launched new and updated job search widgets that anyone can customize and place on their site as an added functionality for readers. My business partner and I are still pushing forward with YJS, and as usual we thank all of you for your awesomeness and support.

So I miss you. I have taken a break from conferences over the past few months as I settled into Seattle and SEOmoz. I have missed the conferences and meet-ups. The break was much needed and I feel like it has left me renewed and…missing you I will be speaking at a few different conferences coming up:

PubCon, Dallas (April 13^th-15^th) Social Media & Competitive Analysis
SearchExchange, Charlotte (May 17^th- 19^th) Social Media Tools & Landing Page Optimization

I will also be attending SMX Advanced in June for two reasons, first off its one of the best conferences all year and secondly it is literally in my backyard this year. Short commute FTW!

Well that is about it for now. I promise to step it up the next few weeks and push out some posts with actual insights (hopefully) as well as reconvene the excitement over at YourJobStop. In the meantime if anyone is looking to learn more about this really great SEO software I know…hit me up, I know a site you should check out…

Seattle & Me. What the hell was I thinking?

What is it about Seattle? Perhaps it’s the title of Hidden Gem it’s been wearing for so long. Tucked away in the Northern tips of our beautiful nation lies one of my most adored cities—Seattle, Washington. When I was first contemplating the move to Seattle from Los Angeles, I was met with nothing but laughter. “Why would you even consider leaving the sunshine behind for dreary days, and gloomy evenings?,” they all asked. The truth of it was I didn’t have a real reason for packing up my one bedroom apartment and driving the 19 hour road trip to my new home. For a girl who has planned her life so perfectly, and so appropriately up until now, this was beyond out of character.

My New Seattle Office Set-Up

However, something just felt right. I had only visited Seattle once prior to the decision, but that one visit called me back like an old friend from college. It’s as though I knew there were stories to hear, new fun moments to embrace, and a warm world of energy that I could truly feel home around. That was what Seattle had promised to me when I first met her only a few months ago. The rain, the traffic, the noise of this city seemed to be nothing more than a few hiccups in a beautiful song.

All I could think of was putting on a cute pea coat in the morning, some warm fuzzy boots and wandering around Belltown in hopes of the perfect latte. Seattle is a city of coffee lovers, of newspaper readers, of tech geeks. I wanted to be part of that world. I wanted to let it surround me and nothing was stopping me from trying something new.

It’s been a few weeks now, and although the rain has visited frequently, there is no doubt this city is the place my feet were meant to land. For now it is the perfect balance between a new adventure and an old memory I can’t wait to recall someday…