10-key Tramp: Cheerleader

Since GC launched in July, I've found myself taking on different roles as an editor. The one that I definitely did not foresee but find myself getting odd enjoyment out of is that of cheerleader.

I feel as though I can never hype the site enough and that I enjoy talking about it and what we're trying to do. Perhaps that makes me a little egocentric but I can't tell people that I don't want to talk about it, can I? That wouldn't make me a very good cheerleader or barker

The fact of the matter is, that the more people that I coerce into joining the group on Facebook or following on Twitter, the better for the exposure of the site and the traffic numbers. "Viral" is the word I keep hearing. I'm not a big fan of buzzwords but this sums it up better than anything else I can come up with.

Strange thing is, that I find myself being obsessed with the number of people in the Facebook group and the number of followers we have on Twitter. Sometimes checking both multiple times a day and secretly high-fiving myself when we get a big jump in group members and followers. So, I find myself being totally okay with this shamelessness.

This is very much a strange feeling for me because I've never been one to get to excited about anything to the point of where I would voluntarily promote it let alone jump up and down to get people to come look at like a barker at Coney Island.

I had jobs at three different companies plus an internship but I never bought into the rah-rah aspect of corporate life that existed at any of them. Maybe that's why I'm no longer part of the corporate world...I'd much rather hype something I actually believe in. Like a freak show. Sphere: Related Content

The Silver Lining to Nasty Comments

Things have been pretty fun over at Going Concern. It's never without its interesting moments and it's great to read the comments that are posted by readers both the praise and the hate.

The thing that I've found is that I can't really think too much about the hater comments during the day because I'm always in a race against the clock. Whatever is going on, I'm always trying to post as much material as possible in a day to see what works and what doesn't and to follow up on stuff that is working. With all that going on, I have very little time to think about Guest 9 @ 3:39 that called me a "huge dickbag".

There seems to be two types of nasty comments: 1) Nasty comments with legitimate criticism; and 2) Hater comments and I think I may have found the silver lining in both.

For type #1, most of the time there is an underlying critique that is expressed in a nasty way so I have to try and consider the writer's intent. I usually try to figure out the underlying criticism and if it is legitimate or not and forget that the comment started with "Caleb you dumbfuck". So nasty comments can be good but it's true, lots of them are just hater comments, which is fine, it comes with the territory.

And strangely enough, the silver lining in the hater comments is sharing with them with friends works as a great joke. When I share these nasty comments with friends, they start laughing so hard, that I can't help but laugh too. Laughing with friends is what's really important anyway and if it happens at my expense, well, then I'm okay with that. Sphere: Related Content

Thanks Everybody!

This is just a quick shout out to everyone that has kept up with this extremely obscure blog since its start last summer. It's been an exciting past three months as I have unexpectedly gone from extremely bitter bean counter to borderline workaholic blogger. Thanks to the two Davids at Breaking Media for giving me this exciting opportunity and thanks to Nick, our web developer who made the site look so awesome.

I want all of you that are readers of this blog to give honest feedback on Going Concern and the work we are doing there because it's really an outlet for all of you that work in the accounting and finance fields. I will continue to write here less mysteriously so that hopefully you will share without filters (hopefully constructively).

So, this is my mini-awards show moment: Thanks to the following people for their support: Re: The Auditors, Jr. Deputy Accountant, Razorback04, DailyAngst, MKraft, EdithO, Catch That?, all my NYC Peeps (too numerous to name), all my Mile High City Peeps (way too numerous to name), my SoCal Peeps (Krista & Matt, Jeff), and last but most certainly not least, all the Nebraska peeps. If I left you off, I apologize, I did my best. Let me hear about it at Going Concern!

Sphere: Related Content

ANNOUNCEMENT: Launch of GoingConcern.com

Readers! This announcement warrants your complete and undivided attention. I am happy to announce that today marks the launch date of Going Concern, an accounting and finance tabloid of which I am the founding editor.

Check out our press releases: MediaPost Publications and Talking Biz News

Going Concern will continue the tradition that we have built here at 10-key Tramp for the past year. The great folks at Breaking Media have blazed the trail in professional tabloid blogging and have decided that all of you in the accounting and finance need a site where you can find out all the latest news, gossip, rumors, that are occurring in your industry.

Going Concern will give us a bigger megaphone and I encourage all of you to share any information that you have with us there because we deeply care about all of you out there that are working in this demanding industry and we want to be a place for you to vent and share your thoughts and ideas about everything that is going on.

We need your help to make this blog be what you want it to be! You can send tips to tips@goingconcern.com and follow us at Twitter @going_concern.

Join us now and tell all you friends and colleagues!

Thanks for reading,

Caleb

UPDATE 3:44 PM EST: Another press release at Media Bistro

Sphere: Related Content

Review Comments | 07.17.09

• KPMG Suggests Goodwill Writedowns Doubled in 2008 - "The 2008 wave of goodwill impairments provides yet another disturbing piece evidence of the value that’s being wrung out of companies as a result of the recession." [Compliance Week]

• Companies Exasperate SEC Accounting Chief - "The Securities and Exchange Commission's new top accountant took a pair of swipes today at the corporate community, showing frustration over the response to two major accounting standards initiatives." Accountants are especially hilarious when they talk trash about each other. [CFO.com]

• Wow Factor Added To Corporate Presentation - It was the scrolling text with the "choo-choo" sound effects. Gets 'em every time. [The Onion]
  

Sphere: Related Content

How Does Your To-Do List Compare to That of the Goldman Sachs Spokesperson?

Apparently this was found in the trash outside of 85 Broad:

Courtesy of Reformed Broker via Clusterstock. What we really want to know is why "Imbed tracking chips in 1.2 billion Indians" not on the list? Sphere: Related Content

Madoff Auditor Pleads Not Guilty

Count us as surprised. After agreeing to not have the evidence against him reviewed by a grand jury, which led some (i.e. us, Bloomberg, others) to speculate that he would plead guilty, Bernie Madoff's auditor/alleged accomplice/number-maker-upper, David Friehling, plead not guilty today.

WSJ:

"[Friehling] entered a not guilty plea to securities fraud, aiding and abetting investment adviser fraud and four counts of filing false audit reports with the Securities and Exchange Commission. Mr. Friehling was originally charged in March. Assistant U.S. Attorney Lisa Baroni asked the court for the next hearing in the matter to be scheduled in 60 days to allow the parties to continue discussion of a possible disposition of the matter. The next hearing scheduled in the case is Oct. 1."

This really doesn't make a helluva lotta sense to us but whatevs. If dude is looking to roll the dice, who are we to say "you're an idiot"?

UPDATE 2:25 pm: Because it's Friday and we are intent on getting the party started early, we just so happened to ignore that the possibility of a "disposition of the matter". Our bad.

Madoff's Auditor Pleads Not Guilty [WSJ]

Sphere: Related Content