Shawn Smith’s web ninja life

We finally got some real snow in Saline, Michigan. I made this quick video before I started work for the day so you can see what it’s like for the Wedgewood Warriors

Time for me to put in my 18hrs/day for the next month. Probably won’t pop my head up much. Just a warning

Wanted to give you a look at what it’s like in my office this morning – my first day going full-time for OptimalWebworks.com!

So here’s just a quick spin around my workspace. Probably will only be here a couple of months before finding another spot.

I’m now a member of the self-employed. My last day at MLive.com is Friday, June 5, 2009.

My video explainer (turn your volume all the way up – sorry about that)

WHERE I’M GOING

Since my Nikki moved to Michigan, we’ve been working on building websites for small and medium-sized businesses. We joined up with Sam that summer to form Optimal Webworks. That was 2007. Amy Watson jumped in during 2008. And then there were four.

Over the last two years, we’ve all put in many long nights and weekends to help us get to where we are.

And it wasn’t easy.

But we are on the cusp now of realizing our goal – to own and operate our own internet-based company.

I am the first to transition to a full-time position with OW. Hopefully, I won’t be the last.

WHAT I WILL BE DOING

Internet marketing! It’s a lot of fun and a lot of work.

Everything from SEO to PPC to SEM to every other three-letter online acronym you can think of. That’s what I’ll be doing and have been doing for some time now.

Most people will call what I do affiliate marketing. I prefer to call it internet entrepreneuring.

BIG THANKS TO EVERYONE!

I really couldn’t have gotten here without the support of my family, friends and co-workers.

I’ve received an unbelievable amount of congrats and warm wishes, and it’s really helping make this transition easier.

The online experiments I’ve been given an opportunity to try during my four years since college have been incredibly valuable to my growth both personally and professionally. I can’t thank the people at MLive enough for believing in me and encouraging me to push things in all sorts of new directions.

I think we are both better for having such a great relationship.

I won’t get into the gushy stuff here. Many of you know how I feel. Thanks for everything.

SEE YOU ON THE INTERNETS

Since returning from Japan, I’ve been drinking green tea regularly. I even wrote a blog about it

My tea adventures have brought me most recently to Ann Arbor’s TeaHaus, a tea store with more than 200 varieties of tea. They work with a German vendor (so you know it’s good … haven’t you  heard of ShamWow!?!).

In fact, 28 of the vendor’s teas were among the best teas in their categories at a 2008 world tea competition.

If that’s not enough to impress you, head over there and talk to Andrew about anything related to tea. He’ll gladly take some time and explain just about anything you want to know on the subject. And if you want to stay for a while, they have some seats where you can relax and chat.

Here’s my quick tour:

Andrew also turned me on to a in-cup tea strainers. I had been using a French press for tea, but as he explained, French presses continue to steep tea even if the press is pushed to the bottom, which leads to a bitter, high-caffeine last cup.

Here’s the new strainer I got:

If you’re interested in tea, check this place out. Other places I’ve had luck is Cafe Japon, who’s owner is a certified tea expert and the Crazy Wisdom bookstore.

In case you were wondering, I found TeaHaus by searching “best tea ann arbor.” Good job on your SEO

The mid-February snow melt in Michigan caused a heavy fog in Ann Arbor this morning.

Tuesday temperatures hit the 50s, followed by similar temps on Wednesday, leading to large puddles forming on sidewalks as melting ice and snow packs have made a mess of things.

Here’s a video of my morning walk today, showing you just how nasty it is. It really wasn’t too bad, but the fog was so heavy that my hat was pretty wet by the time I got to work.

You’ve no doubt seen the commercials of Vince repping ShamWow, the “revolutionary” liquid-absorbing material that seems to put people on their heads when they see it in action.

Today, one of my office mates brought in a single sheet of ShamWow for us to test, and test we did.

We had to break this down into two parts. In the first video, you’ll see us use a dry ShamWow towel to wipe up some water we spilled on a desk. Our reactions aren’t what you might expect, or maybe they are

In the second video, we try to wipe up some more water a second time after the ShamWow towel has been rung out once. Does ShamWow do a better job soaking up liquid the second time?

There you have it! Our ShamWow test. Seems OK. But if you’re cleaning up some dirty liquid, I can’t imagine using this stuff over and over. I think the material would just get gross eventually.

If you have other experiences, let me know.

My boss, colleague and I visited seven Michigan newspapers in four days to talk about the future of online journalism in the state. I took a few videos in the later sessions to show you what it’s like to live the life of a newspaper rock star. (see all pics and videos from Michigan Newspaper Tour)

Here’s a quick look at what one of our meetings looks like:

Not so scary, right? I took plenty of videos of several newsrooms and here they are in no particular order: Grand Rapids Press (more Grand Rapids Press videos)

Muskegon Chronicle (more Muskegon Chronicle videos)

Saginaw News (more Saginaw News videos)

Bay City Times

Hope you enjoyed going on the tour with me.

We just had the largest snow of the new winter season in Ann Arbor. The storm system hammered much of the Midwest region.

Luckily, we are borrowing an SUV and I was able to get to work. The roads outside my house are deep with white stuff, so much that I can’t get my Dodge Neon out of the snowbank.

Here’s a look at Liberty Street in Ann Arbor around noon after the brunt of the snow had already hit.

Nikki’s office is hosting a cubicle-decorating contest for the holidays, so she and I spent a good portion of our Sunday picking out a design scheme and setting it up.

I’m sure her co-workers will be surprised when they arrive in the office. Here’s what it looks like:

What do you think? Can she win?

I didn’t see any other cubicles decorated, but I think Nikki might have to go a little further to ensure she takes home the prize in this contest.