Forum Moderators: martinibuster
"I work at home on the Internet as a web publisher." They then usually ask what I mean by "web publisher". Followed by "Who pays you to do that?". And, finally, they come up with a creative way to ask "How much money do you make doing that?".
On one particular night of being asked what "I do" over and over, I decided to just say that I owned a computer related business. But, this just made things worse. "Oh computers! My brother works for a software company and makes good money there. So, what exactly does your company do in regards to computers?" Then, I was just back to square one, but with more explaining to do.
What do other Adsense full-timers, possibly with employees, say when asked this question? I'm just curious, thanks in advance for any comments.
My parents, bless their hearts, still don't get really get it.
And how. Apparently my mum reported to my aunt that I had robots working for me.
That's definitely not what I said.
And how. Apparently my mum reported to my aunt that I had robots working for me.
That's hilarious.... I'd be tempted to let them maintain the impression that you actually have robots working for you. Maybe every so often mutter "damn robots" under your breath when they're around.
every so often mutter "damn robots" under your breath when they're around
this thread is getting funnier and weirder by the hour
robots working for me.
Yep, I can empathise with this one!
My group of drinking buddies are well-known as computer geeks and always being asked the most ridiculous questions to technical problems someone may have and expected to resolve it for a free beer.
When it comes to the web we have even been told that all we do is "push a button" and that's it! So you can guess what our stock answer is when anyone asks us to do something, "Sure, no problem mate, I only have to click a couple of buttons and the jobs done! That'll be USD5,000 please."
Needless to say, they don't ask any more.
50% of the time its sooo you do porn..
50% what is that.
but what do you tell your KIDS?
If you ask my five year old where her mommy works she will say...
"On the computer so she can buy me toys"
If you ask her where Jake works, she will say...
"He works on the computer too like Mommy.... so he can buy me toys"
Lesson? My kids don't care what we do, as long as the toys keep rolling in. ;-)
Owner
Proprietor
Computer Consultant
Website Designer
Publisher
Online Publisher
"I work in advertising"
"I work in sales"
"I work in marketing"
(to myself - poorly paid tax collector)
(to myself - general dogsbody who should hire somebody so he can take a holiday)
Basically most of us do everything so our job involves bookeeper, all aspects of computers involving website (from repairing your own to renewing domains and updating content) so our job doesn't fall into any neat description other than "self-employed". However the next question people have is where do you get your money from? Google (starting with the names they'll actually of heard of) sounds quite impressive, but at least one elderly relative is now under the mistaken impression I'm a Google employee. :) Anyway... it only comes up at social events. Fixing computers is the only part of my job that 90% of people can understand....
Fo shizzle.
Lots of great ideas on what to tell ADULTS what you do, but what do you tell your KIDS? What do they tell their friends? And what do they say in class? Teacher, my daddy is a....?
I just asked:
6 year old...."Work?....I need a hint"
9 year old " You work on your website & make lots of money"
11 year old "You write articles for the internet & make money"
15 year old "My mom has websites...that's all I'm allowed to tell you ( hee hee hee) "
So there you have it. That is how my house perceives what I do for a living.
My father who's 82 recently found out what I make on the websites, and whenever we talk internet he asks me if I still make as much, and then grins like I've found the biggest scam around. :-)
what do you do?
I have websites.
how much do you charge for a website?
I create websites for myself.
how do you make money?
Advertising, people pay to get announced, it works like a magazine.
That have worked really good.
How much would you expect to pay for website-in-a-box? $99.99? Audience, "yeah!" Announcer, "Nooooooo!" $49.99? Audience, "yeah!" Announcer, "NOOOOOOOO!" Would you believe that for the low one time introductory rate of only the one small one time fee of only *$29.99 if you call in the next five seconds, and thats not all, if you call right now, we'll throw in these 75 compact discs including, how I made a million dollars in one day using the internet-in-a-day toolset and the wildly popular how to sell useless cheap merchandise like gold watches that the only people who would even consider wearing them are people who can't even pronounce the word "internet" correctly!* $29.99 does not include the monthly incurring hosting charge of $99.99/month and there is no guarantee, well no possible way, that you would ever make enough money to cover the hosting fee. After two months of false promises we will inform you of our $499.99 cancelation fee.
Since many peoples only experience with website design is late night infomercials. It's no wonder they say, "no really, what do you really do for a living?"
replies... oh.. huh? and you don't do anything else?
my replies...
That means. 1) I do not have a boss. 2) I keep my own hours. 3) I sit on my lazyboy l-shaped couch in shorts and a t-shirt, making money from using my laptop. 4) I get to take naps. 5) I'm not chained to a desk, or office, or really anything.
Which means, it's better than everything else, outside of simply filthy rich.
i never answer this with an honest answer. sometimes i go for shock factor and say "internet porn". sometimes i tell them "i study complex matricies that link xyz site to my website, kinda like 6 degrees of separation". other times just come with "internet marketing". they usually reply "like [fill in anything a common user would know about the internet]" and i reply "yes, exactly".
**porn's the best answer**
It's really not hard to answer. If you have trouble, chances are you're a shady shady operative, and your "portal"...well, no one likes it :)
Chip-
{pictures of webposition reports go through my head}
You guys are full-time adsense'ers and your biggest concern is how to introduce yourself at get togethers?
FOR CRYIN OUT LOUD. That's awesome that you were able to build sites that generate passive income - and enough to live off of! I'm hoping to be able to do so myself some day.
You should be worrying about what countries to travel to with your spare time and cash. ;)
I almost always say something different like:
Judge
gas station employee
car washer
ferret breader
I've gotten too tired to explain it every time.
my list is the following, Ive got great stories on each...
Thai Elephant Trainer
Professional Tiger Hunter
French Pastry chef
etc
ferret breader
"You guys are full-time adsense'ers and your biggest concern is how to introduce yourself at get togethers?"
I also worry about which shoes to wear.
Breaded and then fried, I assume.
Good grief! Fried?
Can't you people eat healthy food:-))
