Bill Watt’s Blog

OK, I decided to post my goodbye email to the blog because it evoked quite an interesting reaction from folks I worked with at eBay. The funny thing is that when I’ve interviewed places it has an almost opposite reaction on the people interviewing me. eBay people look at the list and say, “Oh, that’s a lot of sites” but because they know me and they know the team they accept it. People outside eBay look at the list of sites launched and ask almost as an accusation, “How much did you really have to do with any of those sites?”

It is going to be a long road to find the right company that gets what I do. That’s ok though… just like Goldilocks I just need to find the right fit and then I’ll be comfortable, well fed and rested.

Subject: Well, it certainly has been fun!

Howdy,

Over the last 9.5 years spanning FairMarket and eBay I’ve had many occasions to think about the content of my goodbye email. Would it be something hilarious that people talk about for years to come? Would it be something controversial that people would talk about for years to come? Or would it be a quote from Atlas Shrugged causing people in the know to simply smile and nod in silent agreement?

I want to leave you with the least amount of words someone like me can ever be limited to use. First, my thanks for the last (n) years depending on who you are and when we met. Second, while I have so many people I want to thank individually I have to single out the FAIM and ROW development teams. Without them I could never have delivered a thing. Finally, and in keeping with my love of Atlas Shrugged, here is a list showing some of the value I’ve in some way helped deliver. I assume my account is balanced.

Thanks,

Bill
bill@billwatt.org
skype: fmbillwatt

http://www.linkedin.com/in/billwatt
The sites we’ve run for eBay on the FairMarket and ROW platforms:

 

** FairMarket **
SamsClub.com
Argos Clearance Auctions - Private Marketplace
Lego Germany
Washington Mutual Declining Interest Rate Auctions
solutions.paypal.com
Devzone REST Hosting
BMW CPO Showroom
pdn.paypal.com
PayPal Tsunami Relief
Monster Baseball Promotion
Liquid Loot - Win Millions of Anything Points
Camp eBay
Fandango promotion
AOL promotion
Circuit City Private Marketplace
USPS(R)-eBay Priority Mail Box Center
SpiderMan promotion
PC Selling Center
LL Cool J Loyalty
Purina promotion
VIP Experience at the Grammy’s promotion
Get To Know eBay
eBay Rethink
Valvoline500
Sun Reference Center
DevZone
Fandango / eBay Promotion
eBay Exclusives
Win With Milk
eBay Reseller Marketplace
ticketmrktplace
Equifax
Misez avec Royale
SAE
Dr Pepper
Popular eBay Keywords
XM Radio promotion
XM Buyer Appreciation Program
WhatIsIt
Hershey’s Get it! with WrapperCash Redeem Now Store
Hershey’s Get it! with WrapperCash Online Auctions
Product Finder
eBay/Harrah’s Treasure Hunt Promotion
eBay/Harrah’s Treasure Hunt Promotion
MyConstructionWorld
DAS Auto Shippers
Click You’re It
Balance Bar
Xmen
Village Marketplace (Beta for the Artisan Marketplace)
Paciolan_DixieChicks Private Marketplace
eBay India: Motors B2B Marketplace
GE Money Bank - eBay DE
Coke Fridge Auctions - eBay DE
Virgin Broadband promotion - eBay UK
o2 Mobile - eBay UK
T-Mobile - eBay DE
Equifax - eBay UK
Asstel Insurance - eBay DE
eBay Express promotional site
eBay Affiliates Hub
Pack Your Bags
API Content Project
eBay AdMarket Pilot
Live Nation Auction Club
Name That Show
Today’s BIG Deals
Pop Hits! Sweepstakes
FreeFlow
Eclipse
Holiday Giving Works Promotion
eBay Motors Financing Center
eBay Trick or Treat & Win it Sweepstakes
eBay Map It Support
Media Marketplace
Boodoku Halloween Promo
Rocky Balboa promotion
eBay Holiday Dreams
Dominos promotion
Netflix Marketplace
What’s It Worth
Transformers movie promotion
USPS Star Wars Promotion
eBay Reseller Wholesale Marketplace
eBay Mastercard
eBay Giving Works
Spider-Man 3 movie promotion
eBay Giving Works Give Fest
Pack Your Bags
ASD/AMD Private Marketplace
Windorphins
Popular eBay Keywords - eBay FR
Norwich Insurance - eBay UK
Tele2 Wireless - eBay DE
affari.eBay.it
Picture Loans
Popular eBay Keywords - UK
20th Century Fox - eBay DE
Commerzbank AG - eBay DE
Popular eBay Keywords - FR - Motors
Popular eBay Keywords - IT - Motors
eBay Gift Card
Hairspray Movie Promotion
Second Life Private Marketplace
SecondLifeLindens Private Marketplace
Experian promotion
7th on Sale
Shop Victoriously
Nokia Private Marketplace
Wal-Mart Private Marketplace
eBay Certified Provider Program
Ingram US Private Marketplace
Ingram Canada Private Marketplace: English
Ingram Canada Private Marketplace: French
World of Good Content and Support Site
Mexico Imports

** ROW **
Yahoo! Shopping India co-brand
Deal Finder US
Deal Finder DE
Deal Finder AU
Deal Finder UK

MapIt

Global Buying Hub

Item Search Beta
NGVI Beta
Artisan Marketplace

Congrats to my cousin for making it to 21…

LOL… caught a particularly funny episode of Friends. The one where Ross and Rachael have their first date, Chandler and Joey get the Lazy-Z-Boys, and Monica starts dating Dr. Burke. Easy to remember why this show was funny the first time around with bits like Rachael laughing when she and Ross start to kiss and the museum scenes. All seemed a little racy back in the day.

Plus, I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again… they knew what they were doing with Rachael’s outfits.

The meal I’m making today includes prime rib, baked potatoes, and a green bean dish with pine nuts that I just toasted. Simple but should be good and gives Alice a chance to relax on her first CA Christmas.

Last year’s menu was a bit more complicated but I was trying to please a few more folks.

It has been quite a year and 2008 looks like it is going to be even more exciting with change the only constant. It is nice to have a few days off before the end of the year to catch my breath, spend some time with Alice, and just chill. I have quite a few blog posts I need to complete (our annual open house was the first weekend of December, the eBay holiday party was the 12th, and I’ve had several interesting interviews that are worth a mention) but for now I want to just sit and relax. It looks like I’ll have time to catch up on all these thoughts come the New Year.

For now, Merry Christmas to all!

Doesn’t matter if you’re counting working days or all days… there isn’t much left of my time at eBay.

Gersh was in town this week for a few meetings and the NABU holiday party. Always good seeing him and we got in a meal tonight for his last night in town and as a quick celebration of my leaving the team.

People can say what they want about the success or failure of FairMarket but I have some awesome friendships forged in that history.

Oh boy… the networks better get with the game and bring back the writers with a reasonable offer. Tonight was the first night where I opted for YouTube over prime time and it could get easier to do so the longer TV offers no new content.

I have been given feedback recently that my blog has taken bad direction lately as it moved from restaurant reviews from the Wednesday night dinners to actually having longer and apparently more thoughtful (read- long winded) posts.

All I can say is, “Sorry Danny” and try to include more fluff for readers of his level. I’ll try and get back to more of the content you know and love and also to limit the number of posts since that too seems to be a problem for you. We don’t want another incident like we had with Twitter where you had to turn off mobile notifications specifically to avoid my comments.

Let’s not forget though that it was Danny who started the petition (of sorts) to get me to stop play warcraft.

LOL… the more I read about the music industry the more I laugh. Check out this article from music2dot0 that starts with the title, “Time for Luddite & Wanton Label Chiefs to go” which is a great summary in itself.

I was reminded that in my previous post talking about the Wired Magazine article that Doug Morris, CEO of Universal Music, claimed to not even know who the right technology people to hire would have been. “Uh, yeah. So what?” would have been my response. Tons of technology consultants get hired every year who only know one thing (and more yet who know nothing) but that doesn’t stop companies from trying to get the right people. To just stay out of the game for fear of not hiring the right people for the job further reinforces my desire to cut these guys no slack. Hell… they have enough money to go buy a company that is in the space and have them lead the charge.

God, I love seeing these guys get angry over their own ignorance. It won’t surprise me if later it is revealed that they in fact did hire consultants but instead of technology folks they hired MBA’s to tell them who to hate. That seems about right.