Archive for October, 2009

Many people who just meet me or who have regained contact with me ask me about my career. Really it’s kind of hard to explain to them what I do. Just last Thanksgiving I was explaining to a family member that a small part of online marketing is SEM and what I do.

Search Engine Marketing is the task of marketing/advertising a business on search engines to people who are looking for solutions or answers to their query. Then they will hopefully see an ad, read it, feel compelled to click it and land on a page that will hopefully result in a conversion of some sorts. SEM is the task of writing ads, placing those ads with bids and relevant keywords, plus some sort of desired goal or conversion that will ultimately help the business make money.

I was absolutely humbled by the lack of knowledge he had. Asking me “so you buy words that already exist?” That just made me smile to know that I know something that he didn’t. But then that conversation also made me realize that my specialty and passion is within a niche. I honestly believe online marketing is my career path because I enjoy the theory, the practice and sitting back to analyze the whole task for trends and possibilities for improvement. Not to mention, I can do this job from home if I really wanted to.

I had been with my last boyfriend for over 4.5 years. Many of his traditional Catholic family expected that we would get married then start having kids. And he had the same future belief for us as his family did. Sadly, our relationship had to come to an end because I understood his reasons for wanting kids; they were completely contradicting my future lifestyle beliefs (even though I was also baptized Catholic).

• He wanted to experience taking care of a helpless kid – I didn’t want to devote my time and effort to someone other then my relationship
• He wanted to provide for a kid and give her the life he didn’t have – I want to enrich my own life because that is what my parents provided to me
• He was an only child and wants to have a dual child family – I had a younger brother whom I helped rear and I do not want to do it again
• He knows it’s going to be hard work and dedication – I dedicate my life to my partner and work hard at my career and our relationship
• He wants someone to look up to him and look to him for answers – I think it’s silly that people have to create someone that looks up to them whereas I build up my personal and professional relationships with my peers

These types of things are internal desires that he feels he needs to fulfill in order to live a full life. I, on the other hand, feel that caring for children is not all that it’s made up to be. I’m not going to try and convince him my way is right. Neither should he and his family try to convince me their way is right. The idea of doing what’s right is founded by societal, religious and family presures, but I choose to pick my own “right”. Now please stop trying to convince me of something I don’t believe.

Interesting fact: I find that people who think “you have to have kids” are the most close minded people I’ve met.