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Angus PieFest 2011 – Holiday Pie Fundraiser

Bob Angus — Thu, 08 Dec 2011 20:31:47 +0000

My big personal endeavor is to help find a cure for cancers. I am a big supporter of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society and have just kicked off training for my 2nd season with LLS’s Team in Training. Angus PieFest 2011 is my family’s big fundraising event this holiday in conjunction with my next marathon – the Oakland Marathon on March 25, 2012.

The Angus family is baking fresh, homemade pies for our Bay Area friends. Each pie costs just a minimum $20 tax-deductible donation. You get a delicious treat and the great feeling of supporting a wonderful cause.

Visit the Angus PieFest page for all the details on how to order, delivery, and how to donate.

Click here to download the order form

Please order today. The deadline to place an order is Wednesday, December 21st.

Visit my fundraising page and training blog for more info about the race and how Team in Training is making a difference by raising money to fund blood cancer research and patient care.

Happy Holidays!

Go Team!

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Post tags: angus, Bob Angus, fundraising, marathon, running goal, Team in Training

12 Miles Is Just The Start

Bob Angus — Sun, 24 Jul 2011 16:31:43 +0000

Many of you know that I do more than just tech marketing. This summer I have taken on the challenge of running marathons… and even more daunting racing to find a cure for blood cancers.

I’m training to participate in the 2011 Nike Women’s Marathon as a member of the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society’s (LLS) Team In Training. The event is a 26.2 mile run through the hills of San Francisco on October 16th.

All of us on Team In Training are raising funds to help stop leukemia, lymphoma, Hodgkin lymphoma and myeloma from taking more lives. Make sure to follow my progress on my Team in Training marathon blog.

In fact, the Team in Training Peninsula Marathon team is hitting mid-season form. Yesterday, we ran an unbelievably beautiful 12 miler along the hilly coast of Pacifica. The mid-week track sessions and daily strength training certainly helped me power through the longest distance that I have ever run.

But what got me most pumped was meeting 2 honorees along the course. Two kids (just 12 and 7 years old) who are battling leukemia were at the water stops to help cheer us on. Seeing their enthusiasm reminded me why we’re running so hard… to help find a cure!

Please help by making an online donation today on my Team in Training fundraising page. Your generosity is a huge inspiration to me. More importantly, your donation directly funds effective cancer research and compassionate patient support. Remember to ask your employer if they match your donation. It’s an incredibly easy way to double the impact of your support.

More updates all the time on my Facebook page and on the Peninsula Run Team page.

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Post tags: Bob Angus, marathon, Team in Training

Tyler Cruz’s latest contest is going big

Bob Angus — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 03:42:27 +0000

My Google Reader has always had Tyler Cruz’s RSS feed in my top tier of affiliate marketing blogs. However, while I worked at Commission Junction, I could not use any of his insights to actually make money. That is the rule at CJ. I can now though and what perfect timing.

Every month for the past 4 months, Tyler and MarketLeverage have gotten together to giveaway some pretty amazing prizes for the publishers who generate the most commissions through MarketLeverage for the calendar month. November is the Affiliate Marketing Challenge 5. He is giving away over $11,000 in prizes. The top prizes are a sweet Alienware computer rig, a 52-inch HDTV, a Playstation 3, and a 16GB iPod Touch.

As you can imagine there are already some some super affiliates reeling in the big winnings. Those guys are not invulnerable though. Still, if you are just starting out, there are some prizes for first timers (like me), including some 8GB iPods and $50 Market Leverage Prepaid Rewards Card. Last I checked, the top newbie had only made $3.80 and there was nobody else even in the running.

For all the rules, check out Tyler’s blog. If you do not want to enter the contest, but still want to sign up for MarketLeverage, please feel free to use my referral link. I really appreciate it.

No related posts.

© Bob Angus for bobangus.com, 2008. | Permalink | 3 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: affiliate marketing, contests, Market Leverage

Angus now grazing in Mountain View, CA

Bob Angus — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 15:11:40 +0000

It has been too long since I have posted. I have an excuse though. My family and I have moved from the beaches of So Cal up to the green hills of Silicon Valley. Yes, I bid a fond farewell to my friends at Commission Junction (you guys rock!). I have joined a great team, including some old friends, to do product marketing in the SSL division at VeriSign.

Well, my excuse for not blogging here is not really that good. We moved to Mountain View… um… 5 months ago. I also broke my promise that I would start making some serious cash from affiliate marketing, since I was no longer under the rules of Valueclick. Nada.

What can I say? I have been working my tail off at VeriSign. I am responsible for marketing 3 of our SSL brands and the partner channel. Plus, there is sooooo much for me and my family to do here in No Cal. We even got to see my old team, the Modesto Nuts, play the San Jose Giants.

Blogging and making money online have had to take a back seat. Actually, that is not exactly true either. I just launched a new blog at VeriSignâ€¦ Bob Angus: The Ecommerce Evangelist Blog. It is not your standard corporate sales pitch thinly veiled as a blog. The blog focuses 100% on the world of e-commerce news, trends, and best practices. Please check it out, subscribe to the feed, and join the discussion.

Since you are here, please subscribe to BobAngus.com and/or follow me on Twitter.

© Bob Angus for bobangus.com, 2008. | Permalink | 2 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: angus, Commission Junction, Twitter, VeriSign

Launching a New Theme for BobAngus.com

Bob Angus — Mon, 11 Feb 2008 05:14:48 +0000

Welcome to the new BobAngus.com! A complete redesign of my blog theme has been a long time coming. My primary goal is to increase the total amount of time you spend on this site. Great content is the #1 way to achieve that objective, but an excellent theme is incredibly important to properly deliver that content.

The new theme is based on Stephan Miller’s More than Multiple Widgets theme. (...)
Read the rest of Launching a New Theme for BobAngus.com

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Post tags: angus, blogging, plugins, themes, web design, Wordpress

Get Out the Vote with Your Children

Bob Angus — Wed, 06 Feb 2008 01:23:21 +0000

What was the first election that you really remembered? For me it was Carter/Ford in 1976. It was a tumultuous time. Even as a 10 year old, I picked up how important the presidential election was. Did I get that feeling from TV or radio? Nope. I understood the importance of that event from my parents. That is why it is so incredible for me to now share the experience of voting with my 5 year old daughter.

Voting is a habit formed when we are young, but so is not voting. Yes. Children learn about elections, democracy, and politics from many sources (...)
Read the rest of Get Out the Vote with Your Children

Wishing Everyone a Happy New Year!

Bob Angus — Mon, 31 Dec 2007 18:07:30 +0000

2007 has been absolutely incredible in every way â€“ from the happiness of my family to making many new friends to my personal achievements to being a part of the invigorating internet advertising industry. I am grateful for the good fortune and the many opportunities. I hope that 2007 has been just as amazing, gratifying and successful for you.

In about 12 hours, it will be 2008. The end of a year is a time when we often take time to reflect on the past and think of the future. New Yearâ€™s resolutions are always inspired. Our goals are given a clean slate with the desire to build momentum and achieve something great. 2008 looks to hold opportunity unlike any other year. It is time like no other to think big.

Happy New Year!!!

Yet Another Social Media Profile… But It’s Google

Bob Angus — Tue, 18 Dec 2007 20:15:20 +0000

Yesterday I created a new profile that may eventually help to plug me in to the social network of the future. I created Bob’s Google Profile – not to be confused with my Orkut profile. Google has recently deployed and stealthily launched several new features that hint at their long-term social network strategy and that targets Facebook.

Welcome to Google Profile

Google Profile is barebones at this point. I posted my picture, linked to BobAngus.com and added a brief about Bob description. I could not add my favorite music, movies, or munchies. Check it out on the Help page or the Googlesystem blog.

Sepideh Saremi at Searchviews posted on this topic yesterday. She pointed out something very powerful about Googleâ€™s social network strategy. They want to approach social media through the email inbox. This tack makes a lot of sense because email remains the primary communication tool. Google Profile is perfectly in line with my Gmail account and my Google Reader.

In addition to technologies like OpenID, OAuth, and others, I am keeping an eye on what Google Profile is doing here. I think that they more than anyone can create a ubiquitous profile by leveraging their email position. And the timing could not be better. I am quickly heading toward profile and login chaos. I have over 30 different profiles across various social networks, blog networks, forums, and social bookmarking services.

Social Media Fatigue

Do not get me wrong. I am not complaining. I recognize that I am not the normal social media user. I love trying out the latest offering. I also rely heavily on these networks and social bookmarking services to grow readership of this blog and other sites. And most importantly, I have a lot of fun. However, I have moments when I am less than diligent in updating my social media world, which can quickly make me appear stale.

David Recordon at Oâ€™Reilly Radar had a great post this morning on this subject at Battling Social Network Fatigue … By Going Open. I agree that it is easy for the internet marketer, blogger or technology guru to become tired of all the services available. However, I estimate that the average person is likely to only focus their time on 1 or 2 large platforms, like Facebook or MySpace, and maybe another niche network. Regardless, the concern is very valid.

Beside fatigue, I am also seriously hesitant to proactively invite all my friends to every single network. My contacts are valuable relationships that I do not want to compromise. As a result of not spamming my entire contact list when I join each new service, there is some level of fracture across my networks. Updated: I just read a related discussion on Sitepoint’s blog.

Guess what I am going to do next to address fatigue and fracture? Yes, I am going to test some social network aggregator services like Spokeo, Plaxo Pulse, FriendFeedâ€¦ which likely requires me to create yet another profile.

© Bob Angus for bobangus.com, 2007. | Permalink | 4 comments | Add to del.icio.us
Post tags: blogging, social bookmarking, social networks

Teaching My 5 Year Old the Gift of Giving

Bob Angus — Mon, 17 Dec 2007 13:10:43 +0000

It can be hard for children to understand the amazing importance of giving to others, especially at Christmas time. At 5 years of age, my daughter has understandably been swept away by the exciting dream of what she is going to get from Santa Claus. The consumer fever and marketing of today only adds to the frenzy.

How can parents help their child understand, enjoy and actively participate in charities? After all, charitable giving is totally different than the concept of sharing where the child understands that they will eventually get something in return. The good news is that children get the same powerful emotion of joy and inspiration that adults get when they help others. So much so, that the gift of giving can become a habit, not just a once a year activity.

For my daughter, my wife and I have focused on four key elements:

Actions speak louder than words

Children look at their parents actions more than anything to learn what to do and how to do it. If I write a check to make a donation, my daughter will not fully appreciate the act. It is the same as writing a check at the grocery store. I recommend taking action together as a family. Earlier this year, our family volunteered to help with the ice skating competition for the regional Special Olympics. My daughter helped me serve lunch for the athletes and later got to cheer on the speed skaters while my wife timed them.

Help other children

As much as they look up to you as parents, children know what it is like to be a kid. They want other kids to be happy and take a special interest when they can help a fellow kid. Donate to a toy or clothing drive that is specifically for a childrenâ€™s organization. Ask your child to choose a toy or clothes that he or she no longer uses (donâ€™t do it for them). Then, take them with you when you drop off the items. My daughter just did this with her collection of books for a program run by our public library.

Projects lead to great achievements

Children love activities and they love to work toward a goal. One of my favorites is a program at our local YMCA called the 12 Days of Fitness. Any member who swims or works out twelve times in December and brings in at least two food items for the food bank is entered into a drawing. What my daughter loves more than the chance at a prize is that she gets a sticker to track her progress on a board posted in the lobby. Everybody wins with this program.

Reinforce by having them come up with the idea

My ultimate goal is to build charitable giving as a habit, just like reading or riding a bike. The best way that I can help is by not doing it all for my daughter, even if it is tempting sometimes. To help me write this post, my family brainstormed and researched some other fun ways to give back to the community. Here is a list of additional projects and ideas that we liked:

Ask your local Humane Society or shelter if you can help walk dogs or feed smaller animals.
Pick out an extra item to donate to the local food bank every time you go grocery shopping.
Bake cookies for the homeless shelter.
Rake the leaves, pull weeds, or help plant a flower garden for elderly people in your neighborhood.
Start a charity donation jar and put in part of the weekly allowance (or paycheck for me).
Also, we just ordered The Giving Book: Open the Door to a Lifetime of Giving by Ellen Sabin. We look forward to getting more fun projects and charitable programs from reading it.

My wife and I are really just starting to teach our daughter how important it is to help others. She is doing great so far. We look forward to doing even more for charities and the community in 2008. If you have other ideas for children or stories about charitable giving that you have done, please add a comment.

Contemplating my 2008 New Yearâ€™s Resolutions

Bob Angus — Thu, 13 Dec 2007 16:07:22 +0000

I love to build action plans. I have my Commission Junction work objectives and my Angus personal/home to-do list always within in reach. Setting clear, measurable objectives truly excites me. And there is no better time of year than late Decemberâ€¦ It is time for me to define my 2008 New Yearâ€™s Resolutions!

However, this year is going to be different. I want to break out of my normal mold. No, I do not have a problem with achieving the resolutions I set. No, the fundamental structure of my resolutions is not going to stray away from the classic SMART formula (specific, measurable, achievable, realistic, time-based). No, I am not going to dramatically mess with the critical thinking framework that was imprinted into my brain while getting my MBA at Babson. What will change isâ€¦

I AM GOING BIG IN 2008

I have been reading a lot of great discourse on goals, dreams, and taking a leap into the unknown. I have been visualizing some lofty dreams. They are keeping me up at night. Today, I read Christine OKelleyâ€™s How to Achieve Ridiculous Goals. That article pushed me over the edge. I have to go big.

My recent goals have pushed me. They were not easy to achieve and they made me stretch into doing things I have never done before. For example, my 2006 and 2007 running goals have been incredible at transforming my daily life (and my health). However, I knew that I could meet my goal with conventional methods and perseverance from the outset.

In 2008, my resolution or resolutions will be out of bounds, even ridiculous. My objectives will be incredibly meaningful, yet I do not know how to get there today. Stay tuned. My 2008 New Yearâ€™s resolutions post is coming soon.