Comments on: What do you do again?

By: Copywriter, PR Writer or Brand Journalist? You Decide | The Copywriter's Crucible

Tue, 21 Oct 2008 10:52:24 +0000

[...] Matthew Stibbe of bad language fame recently blogged about the difficulty of defining what he does at dinner parties. Should he say he’s a writer (and risk disappointing the dinner table when admitting he’s not the creative kind), a marketing copywriter (when people hear ‘copyright’ and yawn) or a modern day ‘Mad Man’? Well, if you’re a business writer defining what you do is getting complicated, and it’s all thanks to the internet. [...]

By: peggysue

peggysue — Fri, 17 Oct 2008 16:46:38 +0000

Hey, I just found your blog today, very amusing! My husband and I are a winning combination at parties because while I’m a writer, he is an artist. We’ve got the market cornered on the ‘starving artist’ stereotype.

And I am not a creative writer either. I write about (no kidding) the functional properties of food ingredients. Yup. I can dull down any party almost instantly!

By: Dan

Dan — Thu, 09 Oct 2008 11:35:09 +0000

@Owen

Women love them eh? Surely not as much as “Let’s not talk details… I’m a millionaire, fancy a dinner of lobster and champagne, followed by a jump in my Aston Martin?”

By: Owen Lystrup

Owen Lystrup — Tue, 07 Oct 2008 22:26:55 +0000

Matthew! Long time since I left a comment. I’m going to give you a few plays out of my own playbook.

The good thing about the “What do you do?” question, is that it’s never asked expecting an impressive response. Therefore, it’s usually ok to lie, because when that person finds out what you really do, it makes you one of two things. 1, a bad ass. Or, 2, mysterious. Either way you win.

Here are some of my responses I use all the time.

“What do I do? Oh nothing; I’m retired. I invented dice a long time ago, when I was a kid.” — Stolen from Kiss Kiss Bang Bang

“Hehe…please.” — Stolen from Barney Stinson on How I Met Your Mother

“I’m a professional board game player. I used to be into Monopoly, but I’m entering a Chutes and Ladders tournament this weekend.”

“I’m a professional hopskotch player.”

“What do I do? Well, I’m actually a bum. But don’t worry, I’m here with purpose.”

“I’m the guy who sandblasts Mount Rushmore.”

“I work in corporate espionage.”

–
Women love those, but only if you say them with a smile. Otherwise you come off as being a jerk.

By: Steve

Steve — Wed, 01 Oct 2008 17:18:45 +0000

Clare, our co-founder, always used to say she was a receptionist in an insurance company. I always used to say I was a photocopier salesman.

It’s far simpler – and both are higher up the social food chain than ‘being in marketing’.

By: Peter

Peter — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 20:26:50 +0000

I just tell people, “I’m a slacker.” My ambition is to become a well-paid slacker and, ultimately, and overpaid slacker.

By: Matthew Stibbe

Matthew Stibbe — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 19:59:36 +0000

Do you mean sitting around watching TV *isn’t* marketing?

By: Matt Ambrose

Matt Ambrose — Tue, 30 Sep 2008 13:37:48 +0000

Most people I meet socially confuse copywriter with copyright, so normally I just say I write for businesses or write brochures (if I say I write websites they assume I’m a coder).

My friends just think I sit around watching daytime TV and playing online poker.