CII. A Really Goode Job
June 17th, 2009
(At post time, my video application had just over 2000 votes—hundreds more than the next most popular video. And my video has been up for less than 24 hours! That’s social media in action, and you are the ones who made it happen. Thanks so much for your support.)
A job like this comes about maybe once in a lifetime—and that’s if you’re really lucky. A job like this doesn’t even seem real. In fact, the only way a job like this could be real is if it were cooked up by a bunch of crazy vintners, half cocked on the delicious blood of their well-tended valley, laughing their asses off about what a hoot it would be to create a job called ‘Wine Country Lifestyle Correspondent’ (as well as, in all seriousness, a brilliant stroke of social media age marketing and branding). I’m just glad that they remembered and still thought it was a good idea in the morning, because this job is very real! And with your help, I’m going to get it.
Murphy-Goode Winery in the beautiful Geyserville, Sonoma County, is offering something they rightly call ‘A Very Goode Job.’ Here’s the job overview for the ‘Wine Country Lifestyle Correspondent,’ which reads like something straight out of my most blissful dreams (and heartfelt passions, skill set and bar tab):
“We at the Murphy-Goode Winery got to thinking about the new age of communications and we figured it was a pretty good thing. So to get going, we’re looking for someone (maybe you) who really knows how to use Web 2.0 and Facebook and blogs and social media and YouTube and all sorts of good stuff like that — to tell the world about our wines and the place where we live: the Sonoma County Wine Country.
In exchange, we’re offering you a “Really Goode Job” — a six-month job paying $10,000 a month plus accommodations!
We want to hire a social media whiz (your title will be “Murphy-Goode Wine Country Lifestyle Correspondent”) who will report on the cool lifestyle of Sonoma County Wine Country and, of course, tell people what you’re learning about winemaking.
Did we mention that the compensation was $10,000 per month plus accommodations in a beautiful home in picturesque Healdsburg, a popular vacation destination in our neck of the woods. Working hours are flexible. And all you have to do is experience wine and good living, and then tell people about it. (Do you play Poker, or Liar’s Dice? Don’t worry; we’ll teach you.)”
Unbelievable, right? I mean, wine, with a few good bourbon whiskeys here and there, is pretty much all I drink. And social media? As I’ve been telling you for years, and you’ve come to realize, I AM INTERNET. And the the region of Sonoma County where Murphy-Goode is is absolutely one of the most beautiful places on earth.
At the risk of saying too much about it and inspiring all of you to also apply, increasing my competition, have a taste of some of the other job duties (read the whole list here):
-Testing potential picnic sites: Sonoma County is full of scenic spots, and visitors will need guidance on how to choose the best place for a picnic. Scout undiscovered sites and test-picnic established locations.
-Playing Liar’s Dice in the Barrel Room: (We named one of our great Zins “Liar’s Dice.”)
-Tasting hundreds of wines and meeting the locals in our tasting room.
-Increasing your wine wisdom: while studying isn’t required, our winemaking and vineyard experts will take the time to show you how it’s all done.
-Working with our winemaker, David Ready, Jr., to create a new wine commemorating your job with us.
-Filing reports on your experiences, via weekly blogs, photo diaries, Twitter, Facebook, video updates and ongoing media interviews.
-Tracking the local owl and raptor populations: There are hundreds of raptors patrolling the vineyards, keeping the grapes safe from harmful pests. Monitoring owl and hawk populations — particularly those that inhabit the new series of nesting boxes — is helpful to our sustainable farming practices.
Wine? Wine making? Gorgeous landscapes? Videos? Dice? Social media? Raptors? Fun, fascinating people? Where do I apply? Oh wait, I already did. And here’s my video. Just promise me that if you view it below, you’ll also go here and cast your vote for me (if you like it). Thanks so much, and hopefully you’ll soon be reading, hearing and viewing my reports as Murphy-Goode’s ‘Wine Country Lifestyle Correspondent!’
–
Well, that all ended badly. More for Murphy-Goode than me. Thank you all for your support. For an explanation of how it all went down, please see the feature in The San Francisco Chronicle.
June 17th, 2009 at 4:01 pm
Awesome video! I liked it so much I voted twice! Here’s to you getting the job! *Raises glass*
June 17th, 2009 at 4:17 pm
As nerdy as it sounds all of Fires of Heaven voted for you. We helped put you over the 2000 mark. Awesome video and I hope you get the job!
June 17th, 2009 at 4:22 pm
It seems like every big tech person has been tweeting about it. I voted from each of my emails. Hope you get it and I look forward to as much video as possible. Best of luck from a TWiF fan.
June 17th, 2009 at 6:54 pm
Your video was slightly disturbing, but I’d hire you! You seem like you’d be fun at the office Christmas party. But don’t go leaving TWiF when you get this high-falutin’ job!
June 18th, 2009 at 12:29 am
I’ve put in my vote. All the best, Marty. You deserve it!
June 18th, 2009 at 1:28 am
I voted for ya buddy. I was part of the Martin Sargent fanclub on Yahoo Groups, many moons and Internets ago. Great job weaseling your way into this sweet deal!!
June 18th, 2009 at 8:35 am
After the top 50 are voted upon their is still a selection process between them. That is bullshit. Kill it Marty!
June 18th, 2009 at 11:46 am
Do it Marty!
June 18th, 2009 at 2:16 pm
I’m not voting for you as wine and wine people are sour and overrated. A mixture of Kool Aid and antifreeze probably tastes better and leaves you with a more tolerable hangover than high dollar wine. Wine people are the sorts that complain to your face that your can of mixed nuts contains peanuts and then boost all of the cashews from them.
June 23rd, 2009 at 4:11 pm
You’re a real shoe-in for this one, Martin. I seriously think that Murfy-G would be foolish not to hire you.
And two words, Tom. Sour grapes.
June 24th, 2009 at 1:27 pm
Martin, I voted for you simply for the satisfaction I will gain from watching you fail.
June 25th, 2009 at 7:32 pm
clicked on an ad from somethingpositive.net for some douche, who couldn’t put together a decent presentation. Viewed a bunch of other applications.. yeah i’d have to say they pretty much sucked donkey dick. What’s this now?? a link that says popular.. hrmm could this be the cream of the crop? hrmm. Maybe… yesss.. Yours mr sargent was somewhat funny and it had bigfoot. so you win sir. well played indeed.
June 26th, 2009 at 11:13 am
Martin wasn’t included in the top 50? really??? WTF Murphy Goode?? I will not be purchasing any more of your wines because you are obviously idiots.
June 26th, 2009 at 2:45 pm
Martin didn’t make the top fifty. AS FAR AS I’M CONCERNED MURPHY-GOOD WINES DO NOT EXIST.
And I hope I can remember this until I turn 21.
June 26th, 2009 at 2:51 pm
MARTIN LOOK AT THIS.
http://jfw.rsys1.net/servlet/website/PersonalizedForm?qMPEf.3d_7y.3dc_1iKHmLU_cNgLTCE.26f7beEuHpsLQLFntHpsDJht
Those bastards.
June 26th, 2009 at 4:15 pm
NOT IN THE top 50?!!! Murphy Goode is BS man!!!! It was all some stupid publicity stunt for them to get emails so they could try to peddle that BS cheap ass wine! And all the people who really tried and were capable and PRO—Like you MARTIN———got ripped off and used by those cali swindlers. They are slime—you’d never see Coppola doing a stunt like this—you know why??? he doesn’t have toooooooo!!! Murphy Goode sucks!
June 26th, 2009 at 5:30 pm
i still cant believe you werent even included in the top50. man, that blows.
June 26th, 2009 at 5:58 pm
From Murphy-Goode:
By applying for the position, you agree that Murphy-Goode Winery shall have the irrevocable and perpetual right to use your name, likeness, appearance, voice, biographical information and video anywhere in the world, without your further consent and without further payment to you, for any and all purposes including, without limitation, advertising, publicity, and trade. This includes the right to copyright, reproduce, edit, publish or otherwise use the such materials, in all present and future media or forms, including, without limitation, newspapers, magazines, motion pictures, television, radio and online.
I think that’s worth a lot more than the 60k they would pay you…
June 26th, 2009 at 6:03 pm
I gave those bozos a piece of my mind, I drink mucho wine, but no Murphy-Goode will be consumed here in the hinterlands.
June 26th, 2009 at 6:06 pm
and actually, it seems like they already have all of that power just because you applied…I’m no lawyer, but I can’t imagine that sending in a video would allow a company to copyright your name and own the rights to your likeness in all present and future forms.
June 26th, 2009 at 11:04 pm
came to wish you condolences, martin, as you were definitely the man they were looking for. then read the comments and someone called me a douche for my video. my tears have dried though, and i continue to hold that you were robbed. slightly curious what the hell they were thinking, as votes aside you were still manifestly better than 40 out of those 50 by any rubric.
June 27th, 2009 at 5:22 am
Gosh, I checked out the top 50s and they’re awful comparing to yours, Martin. I think you get screwed over because you’re ahead of your time and those corporate suits don’t know what good video means.
Keep up man. I wish you the best of luck (Unscrewed, Infected, Internet Superstar and TWiF are all awesome). If I had a media company I’d hire you without thinking twice.
June 27th, 2009 at 6:12 am
Martin, fuck that company.
June 27th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
I’ll need to return my bottle of Murphy-Goode. You should shoot Yellow-Tail an email and see if their hiring!
June 27th, 2009 at 11:02 pm
Dude…you were a perfect fit – right man for the right job. I know how you’re feeling and all I can say is keep going until you get a “Yes” – toughen that heart!
June 28th, 2009 at 8:40 am
I reiterate: wine people are sour. You probably thought this would be a good idea while in the throes of a good old fashioned beer drunk. You would not have fit in with those prissy assed grape stompers and goblet twirling bimbos anyway.
June 28th, 2009 at 11:03 am
This just sucks Marty. You should have at least gotten into the top 50, wtf. Anyways, time to move on I guess. Maybe it’s time to swallow some price and pick up a flipper and learn the phrase “Do you want fries with that?”
June 28th, 2009 at 4:54 pm
I’m stunned that you didn’t get top 50…being that your video has the most hits on youtube. You should have been an easy choice.
I hate it when life is unfair!!! Sorryyyy
June 30th, 2009 at 4:56 pm
Maritn don’t worry about it TWIF is awesome! Just heard your TWIF where you discussed the results, its OK man I have been out of work for a month so far and TWIF has been the best thing I have to look forward to every week hang in there!
July 1st, 2009 at 12:23 pm
time to update w/ the horrible ending to your 6000+ vote vid… guess time to start the hunger strike back up…. You see him wasting away Kevin?
July 1st, 2009 at 2:22 pm
Sir .. Consider …
A page called “fine print” does not appear to still be on their website.
It outlined a very reasonable, from their point of view, clause which stated:
THEY MAY NOT PICK ANY ONE!
There’s nothing in the terms of their offer that requires them to SELECT
ANYONE!
Very Good Marketing? I wasn’t in the Top 50 Either
But, it’s a pleasure to meet YOU and share with you just ONE other video.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fWQ4q6iKQJE
July 1st, 2009 at 9:54 pm
I miss Unscrewed with you, and the funny appearances you would have on x-play and stuff.
Glad to know you’re still around though!
July 2nd, 2009 at 5:53 am
Sorry to hear you didn’t get ‘your dream job’ Martin. From what I could tell from where I sit it seems like the ‘wine people’ were offended that you were ’some guy from cable tv’ coming in and blowing them all away. I believe you were removed from the competition cause the wine people got pissed off. Well don’t you worry. I’m feeling like it was cause you are an outsider to that community. But dont you worry because you have a community that you belong to that supports you and thats what applying for that job has proved. Something will happen for you that’s more the real you. I’m sure of it.
July 5th, 2009 at 7:23 pm
I first saw you on TechTV when you got the show Unscrewed. That show was the greatest think to happen to me, but then G4 just fucked that all up. When that happened it was like Santa bitch slapped me & then didnt gie me shit after that. But today is a great day now that I have found out that you have a new show called Internet Superstars. I hope you stay on this time.
your biggest fan
Vennumm
July 12th, 2009 at 1:32 pm
Martin – You kick ass if you just be yourself! I am always looking for more content like that raw unscrewed stuff you did back in the day or even your Screen Savers stuff (and it doesn’t have to be edgy stuff). I always enjoy your wit and sarcasm. I caught TWiF and thought it was some of your worst shit ever, I couldn’t listen for more than a few minutes before my ears started hurting. Sarah whatever has got an annoying voice and doesn’t help you out, maybe it was a bad episode who knows? Can you do your own Podcast / show? Hell man, if you get your own thing off the ground with a chick that’s half as annoying and might compliment you a little better that would be worth paying money for which I might just do you’re that talented!!!
July 12th, 2009 at 1:38 pm
OH shit! You do have a show! I’m there, dump that TWiF shit man! Thanks Vennumm, I didn’t see that the Sarg had a show!
July 12th, 2009 at 3:56 pm
Most unfortunate you didn’t get the job, but hey who needs ‘em!? The video is hilarious by the way. Let’s celebrate not getting the job. I’ll drink to that.
Kevin.
July 13th, 2009 at 1:52 am
Martin,
I’ve been a fan of yours going back to TechTV (listening to TWiF now). I’m sorry you didn’t get the wine gig, you got screwed.
Hang in there, you’ll find something.
July 15th, 2009 at 9:22 am
Dude you rock ! you got robbed ! I miss you and Gator !!
July 22nd, 2009 at 6:45 am
They were looking for a wine enthusiast, not a social-media “expert.”
Just because I have a prolific Twitter account doesn’t mean I’m cut out for this job, and being a TechTV critic doesn’t make you a critic for anything else you decide to take on.
Not getting a job sucks, but this was not a battle you were qualified to win.
July 23rd, 2009 at 11:41 am
Murphy-Goode is now the top choice for bottles at your neighborhood firing range… after their FU decision, they do not deserve to be used for drinking.
July 23rd, 2009 at 7:31 pm
Marty, it’s really time to post something new here. I mean wtf you still have the murphy as your newest post? You tried to show you’re linked in, but you just only joined the facebook and starting posting here more regularily when the contest was on, gotta work harder to get ahead man.