Nobody in my family/friends is on the same level of computer fluency so I don't bother trying to explain what I'm doing.
i brag about it. i didn't always, don't know why. word of mouth gives us about 1/2 our business. the more people that know about our rosaries the better imo.
most of my friends are rather computer savvy people, mostly programmers, so when I say I do some web stuff, advertising etc.. they always want to know more.... and thats where the troubles begin Some don't believe, others want me to get them in .. thats a big mess and tbh I'm not sure what to tell people. I usually try not to talk about it with friends, but once they ask what i do, I gotta reply something any ideas, heh?
When I'm asked I'll say something like "I make websites" - after that they usually ask "can you make me one?" (like I can just pop them a fully function site out in 5-10 minutes).
yea, i let everyone know i do a little web design, a little backend programming, a little affiliation, watch a little por..... nevermind.
Just my wife knows what I do. Others find the concept hard to understand so I don't bother telling them, as I do not want to explain it to them.
I tell people I work online, but don't often get into details. On the other hand, it was fun explaining to my inlaws, who had been trying to get me to find a "real" job outside the house that in a good month I outearn my husband. They've gone rather quiet on the not so subtle hints that I need to work for someone else. I've also had my father, two uncles, one of my sisters and my brother-in-law all want to get started with online businesses. Funny how a little success makes everyone want to do what you do.
I tell people if they ask, but then they want more detail. When I start going into detail about how it works their eyes start glazing over. So now I only go into detail with people that truly seem to be interested in what I do and how it works.
Yeah, thats the biggest problem. Most of my friends dont understand what I am doing on the web. friend: "What are you doing" me: "I dont know, just messing around" That is usually my common response because anymore then that would warrant completely confusion lol. For some reason alot of my friends know 1% to nothing about computers, much less business on the web. I did get my girl trained to ignore the fact that I spend countless hours "dinking" on the internet rather then paying attention to her though... muahhaha
I dont mind letting people know if they ask, if they ask my occupation, I always say webmaster, and they look at me really weird, like wtf is that?
Yep i talk about it, most of my friends are interested in how google works, but whenever i talk about it its because i'm drunk or stone. With my bunch of dudes its easy to talk... I try to avoid talking bout that to my family, if i tell them i sell links on the web they'll think i'm a spammer and they'll burn me.
well i have tried explaining but noone can actually understand what i am saying (not even your average "g33k") i get the "he makes webpages" thing to they end up thinking im a web designer by trade.. i gave up
Yeah. Sometimes it makes me mad that when I do decide to tell people, they think its an easyass thing that I do to make money. I mean, it's no standard websites that I make to make money with...some people I know look down on it and say it's easy to do just because they have a MySpace and use HTML in there. So that's when I get all mad and I start talking about PHP, MySQL, SEO, and all that other "fun" sh*t to make money and then they totally get confused...and THAT'S the main reason I gave up telling people about my job and about my life.
i don't think anyone has ever asked me what i did online. I don't know why they would but if someone wanted to know for some weird reason then i wouldnt have a problem with telling them.
I've tried explaining and usually just find it a waste of time. Even if people show interest they still look at me like mmmmmk?? I have also stopped responding to what I'm studying in school: THEM: What are you studying? ME: e-Commerce THEM: What's the hell is that? so then I have to try and explain this to them for a few minutes but still they don't seem to get the concept so now conversation consists mostly of this: THEM: What are you studying? ME: e-Commerce? THEM: What's that? ME: Do you know what commerce is?? THEM: No. ME: Look it up. True story, you'd be surprised how many people DO NOT know the meaning of the word commerce. Throw the "e" in front of it and they get even more confused.
I don't tell them because I do not like having to sit down and explain stuff..and they'd keep on asking me endless pointless questions. I'd love to help my friends if they got serious and wanted to make money online but...without that..it's just them asking "what if it doesn't work" what if you don't make money and so on. I'd just like to avoid their 10,000 questions. (don't get me wrong though, if they ever try coming into internet marketing..I'd help them the best I can ).
Point well made. Most people will not gain anything by asking you a million questions when they don't have a genuine interest in the field. If this, however, is a field they wish to pursue I would also be glad to offer any assistance I can IF they are serious and not wasting my time.