Hibernation...

I feel like I owe all of you, who have stood by me and supported me, an explanation to my recent disappearance.  I have broken the two golden rules of social media - consistency and openness.  I hope to fix one of those now, and be open about what I have been going through.

Most people who know me, know that I am a really hard worker.  I have been working for myself for three years now, and I have truly loved every minute of it.  I have worked every day usually until very late hours, doing what I love.  Most people would think that’s a dream, but like most things, it has its pitfalls.

The main problem for me is that it’s hard separate work from personal time.  I couldn’t sit through a movie at my house without working, because whenever I was in my house, I felt like I was in my office.  This never bothered me before, I loved it.  But then I started to feel trapped by it.

I also went through a lot of changes this year.  I moved across the country, away from all of my friends and family.  I stopped doing the marketing work that had got me into this big social media mess, to work for TechCrunch.  Shortly after that, I stopped working for TechCrunch and started TechNews.LA and working on Dashbuzz.

Don’t get me wrong, I am incredibly blessed to have been afforded those opportunities.  But after the dust has settled from the craziness that was post-TechCrunch, I was left with the nagging question of “what the hell have I done?”  I have been working my ass off for three years, and do I have anything to show for it?  It also doesn’t help that some people seem to think I’m a stupid famewhore who sleeps around for all the things that I have worked my ass of to achieve.

As Valleywag readers would be surprised to hear, I don’t go out much and I don’t date.  I have given up any chance of a love, or even social life, for my insanely annoying work habits, but yet it hasn’t done much.  Now I’m broke and alone, with only the hope of the future to keep me warm at night.

The hibernation has treated me well, all things considered.  I have evaluated my mistakes, my relationships with the people I care about the most, and most of all, my motivation.  I have established what my goals are for 2009 and how I will achieve them.  I’ve also gotten to level 60 on WoW - FTW!  LOL

I’m feeling a bit better, and like I need to get back to work.  So please, bear with me while I gain my bearings, and know that I really appreciate your support.  I am working on several things right now (as usual) and I CAN’T WAIT to share them with you soon.

And again, thank you so much to everyone who donated to Start Me Up.  It didn’t work as well I had hoped, but the support I did get meant the world to me, and I won’t let you down.

(BTW, the button is still there)  ;)

XOXO

Calley

OK, OK Let Me Clear Something Up

I have been getting A LOT of responses about Start Me Up and it’s legal implications.  A lot of people seem to be baffled by the fact that I am asking for money without giving equity.  I would love to offer equity but I can’t.  It’s illegal to publicly offer equity, or something like that.  IANAL so I don’t know what it’s called or anything, but I know that I can’t do it.

But another thing you should understand is that I went into this, not thinking that people would give me hundreds or thousands of dollars - amounts that would deserve some amount of equity - just that they may donate $5, $10, $20….whatever.  If a lot of people do it, it adds up.  Those amounts are hard to give equity to, which is why I thought that early access and discounts were enough.

This is what I had pictured happening in my head.  It had never crossed my mind that people would think that I am looking for angels to invest large sums of money in me, via a PayPal button.  I guess it’s my fault, I could have explained it a bit better.

So, I’m sorry if there’s been any confusion.  I’m still very driven to get this done and STILL need all the help I can get.  Probably even more so now, considering I may need to hire a securities lawyer sooner than I thought.  :P