Seven Things About Jason Baer
Friday, December 12th, 2008
I didn’t really want to do this. You read the Convince & Convert blog for reasons that are no doubt unrelated to my personal proclivities and back story. But, I was tagged by Amber Naslund as part of a “blogger chain letter” type thing, and she asked me to participate. So, in the spirit of social media, here I go.
(Actually, with a paragraph’s worth of reflection, maybe this isn’t a bad idea. I fear that as it grows “social media” is already becoming too much about business, and not enough about PEOPLE - which is of course contrary to the entire point.)
7 Things About Me (that you probably didn’t care to know)
1. If I had the looks for it, I would love to be a game show host. I emceed a lot of stuff in high school and college, and I’m always the one to keep score in every board game or contest. Plus, I’ve managed to parlay my exceptional public speaking ability into a gig as the announcer for this weekend’s Flagstaff Figure Skating Club holiday exhibition. 
Take that, Chris Brogan.
2. I co-founded the student radio station at University of Arizona, and I’m a total indie-music freak. Wife and kids notwithstanding, if I could pick any evening entertainment, it would be a concert by a new, buzz-worthy band in a small club with good beer (IPA, please), and a bartender that knows how to make a legit margarita. For the record, favorite bands presently include Radiohead, Arcade Fire, Okerrvil River, Spoon, Elbow, and the maddeningly inconsistent Ryan Adams.
3. I am a really, really bad gambler. Not in the “I have a gambling problem” kinda way, but in the “every time I gamble, I lose” kinda way. Seriously, every time. I have an almost otherworldly ability to defy even the most favorable odds and lose money. I chalk it up to two things. One, my general optimism leads me to believe I can of course hit the flush. Two, I think it’s some sort of cosmic joke that since I’ve been so incredibly fortunate in every other part of my life, I’ll have the planet’s worst gambling luck.
4. I struggle with spending enough time at home. I know this is by no means unique to me. Like social media carnival workers, Brogan, Gary Vaynerchuk, Jason Falls and countless others are away from their families a ton as they travel around to conferences and client meetings. The paradox is that as you get more widely recognized for having something worthwhile to say in any consulting paradigm, you end up spending less and less time at home. I’m thrilled with the early success of Convince & Convert, but truly concerned about being there consistently for my kids (7 and 10).
5. I review local restaurants via blog and podcast with my wife as “Hottie & The Fatso.” It’s a fun side project to work on together, gives me some additional blogging and podcasting experience, and is a killer tax write-off. If you’re ever headed to Northern Arizona, let me know and I’ll set you up with the inside scoop.
6. I’ve gotta take better care of myself. It’s one thing to be the Fatso for restaurant review purposes. It’s another thing entirely to play with fire. Fitness hasn’t been a priority for me since high school, and I have a pretty sketchy family health history. Need to get serious about about it (40 next year), but hard to take the first step, I’m finding.
7. My original profession was politics. I majored in political science in college, and was a professional political consultant from 1988-1992. I worked on several major campaigns, and was fascinated (still am) in the parallels between political campaigns and B2C marketing. Candidates aren’t so different from marketing soap, or cars, or pizza. I ran Senator John McCain’s direct mail program, and built his Web site when he ran for President the first time, in 2000.
Senator McCain is a truly great man, but I voted for Obama. I was looking for someone who could change things fundamentally, and had a generational perspective closer to my own. Fingers are crossed for the future.
Thanks for listening. You’ll now return to your regularly scheduled blog.
As part of this “tag you’re it” game, I need to select 7 participants/victims to carry the torch.
DJ Waldow
Jeff Rohrs
Jason Falls
Gary Vaynerchuk (via video, presumably)
Indra Gardiner
Francine Hardaway
Todd Defren
Your turn, folks. Here are the rules:
- Link your original tagger(s) and list these rules in your post.
- Share seven facts about yourself in the post.
- Tag seven people at the end of your post by leaving their names and the links to their blogs.
- Let them know they’ve been tagged
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