Sonoma County’s Murphy-Goode Winery, founded in Alexander Valley by Tim Murphy, Dale Goode and Dave Ready but no longer independent (see Murphy-Goode goes to Jess Jackson), has a seemingly dream-job opening that has drawn hundreds of applicants, even before today’s (Wednesday, 29 Apr) formal job posting at www.areallygoodejob.com.
The offer: Get paid $10,000 a month for six months of work, plus free housing in Healdsburg, to blog and post videos about Murphy-Goode Winery. The chosen social networker will toil from Aug 2009 to Jan 2010, using Twitter, Facebook, MySpace, blogs and other networking tools to tell the world about Murphy-Goode wines.
News of the job opening has rapidly spread via the internet, Twitter, word of mouth and print. Without hiring anyone yet, Murphy-Goode has reaped an amazing amount of press, without submitting its Sauvignons, Chardonnays, Merlots, Zinfandels and Cabernet Sauvignons to the taste test (they tend to be good but not great).
Some of the many PR pros who have recently lost their jobs in the economic downturn tell me they will apply for the position. A few asked, ‘Do you think I have a chance?’
My response: Not unless you are under 30 years of age, are in love with tweeting and acquiring friends on Facebook, and are willing to abandon what you perceive to be a blogger’s freedom of speech, in favour of corporate reality and being on Jess Jackson’s payroll.
