Joe University

Sure, there are plenty of great (and free) features at the joebarter.com web site.

There's Joe Trading Post, where registered members can barter or sell legitimate products and services at no cost, and Textbook Traders (at Joe University), where, this coming semester, college students can trade or sell textbooks with classmates on campus and save tons of money they'd normally spend at the campus bookstore.

Plus, there's free access to networking resources at Joe Deals & Discounts, Joe Jobs and Joe Media.

Joe knows his members have high expectations. That's why he's forging strategic partnerships with other companies to provide added value.

He's also developing a referral rewards program for members who introduce others to the joebarter.com site that will offer the following incentives:

• Hollywood Sports Parks tickets: Free admission for two to a 30-acre theme park where visitors can enjoy paintball, dirt BMX, extreme soccer, beach volleyball, Euro-bungee and the Colossal Rock Wall
• Music Downloads: Free download of a song from the vast music archives of Music Interactive.
• Cell Phone Updates: Receive five free cell phone updates that alert you to offers made for any product or service you've listed for barter or sale on Joe Trading Post

And that's only the start. In September, Joe plans to meet with one of the most popular and widely used Internet companies in the world to negotiate a strategic partnership.

Stay tuned to this blog for more details. Also, watch out for the September issue of Joe Networking News, where we'll update you on company developments. Our newsletter will be sent to our registered members' e-mail addresses, or you can read it online at joebarter.com in the Joe Media section.

Joe Barter was kinda jazzed when he scored a bunch of tickets to the Saturday, Aug. 19 Jack FM concert at the Verizon Amphitheatre in Irvine. The show had been sold out for weeks, and now Joe would get the chance to rock with Violent Femmes, Cheap Trick, Billy Idol, Journey and Def Leppard, along with tens of thousands of other devoted fans.

Being "Average Joes" and not the kind of people who get free stuff and complain, we took it in stride when we saw that our seats were so far away from the stage it seemed as if we were in a different ZIP code. Yeah, we'd brought binoculars, but these seats were on the "lawn" and so high up and far away, we'd need oxygen masks to breathe and a telescope to see the action on stage.

That didn't faze Tom Daley, President and CEO of Joe Barter, or his guests, Dr. Richard Gelm from the University of La Verne, and Paul Hernandez with 360 Global Management. The three of them began to slowly navigate their way to the stage as soon Violent Femmes opened the concert. Meanwhile, Donna Camp, our vice president, sales and marketing, and her guest, Rachel Lesinski from UCI, stayed behind to guard our seats.

It wasn't easy maneuvering past fans who'd paid big bucks for choice seats, so we linked up with some fighting men from the USMC who graciously escorted us to the stage. Semper Fi, guys, and thanks for all that you're doing for your country (and for the Joe Barter Team).

For the rest of the concert, we were so close to the action, we could feel the performers' sweat. It was cool. We felt guilty about Donna and Rachel, though, so Tom text messaged Donna to ask if she could even see anything from our seats. While he waited for her reply, a spotlight picked out two women on stage with backstage"crew" passes.

It was Donna and Rachel!

They'd been picked out of the crowd by a Jack FM staffer and ushered back stage to introduce the band Journey! The crowd went wild! After their brief stint in the spotlight, they were escorted to front row seats, where Tom and the Joe Barter team were now sitting.

Joe's team was together again, and we didn't need a telescope.

Joe Barter launched this past July, and like most Web sites, we're dependent on users to tell us where we need to enhance navigability, functionality and design. User-friendly is a term we take seriously.

(Imagine if the designers of R.M.S. Titanic had skimped on a few crystal chandeliers and opted for 20 or so more lifeboats.)

Presently, Joe's working on one of the most requested additions to his site, an "Edit" button that will allow users who post products or services at Joe Trading Post to edit their posting, not only before approving it, but also after it's been posted. This "Edit" feature will save users time -- if they want to edit after posting, they won't have to re-post -- and improve our tracking ability.

A requested site improvement already made -- this one for college students registering at joebarter.com -- is the addition of an "If your school isn't listed, click here to add it" link under the college drop down menu on the "Create an Account" page. Clicking the link automatically generates an "Add my school" e-mail that can be forwarded to our programmers.

College students also should check out another site improvement, this one in the design category. Our Joe University section, which features various resources targeted at students, including Textbook Traders, has new, bolder look and less copy.

Joe says, "Thank you" to all the users who've taken the time to navigate the joebarter.com site and provide us with their valuable feedback. Keep up the good work!

Joe Barter awarded two pair of Jack FM concert tickets to lucky drawing winners Maurice Taylor and Joe Servia. Maurice and Joe will see Cheap Trick, Journey, Def Leppard, Billy Idol and Violent Femmes perform at the Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre on Aug. 19.

In other news, Joe Barter entered the 2006 Davey Awards, which is billed as an "international creative award focused exclusively on honoring outstanding creative work from the best small firms worldwide." Not that we're really trying to win, but Joe Barter did enter seven categories: branding; community; schools/universities; navigation; home page; small business; and other.

The inaugural Davey Awards introduced last year drew more than 2,000 entries. We're not drafting acceptance speeches or renting tuxedos yet, but we think our Web site at joebarter.com is pretty darn professional looking. Now we'll see if anyone else agrees.

Do we stand a chance of winning? Hop on joebarter.com and check our features out, especially Joe University and Textbook Traders, our online interface that allows college students on a campus to trade textbooks with one another and save tons of money (and time) they'd normally spend at the campus bookstore.

If that's not worthy of an award, what is?

Aggressively moving to enlist more college student members outside California, Joe Barter, Inc. is targeting the Pacific Northwest, specifically the Washington State University (WSU) campus near Spokane.

Pat Olson, a junior majoring in entrepreneurial business, is the point person who will promote Joe Barter to students on campuses in the Northwest region starting Monday, Aug. 14, at WSU.

"Joe Barter has a cool Web site with free access to barter and online networking resources, and I'm excited about this opportunity to expand the company's reach," Olson said. He also pointed out that Joe University, a special section on the Web site, is geared specifically to students and has a Textbook Traders interface where college students can trade textbooks with their classmates, also at no cost.

"The Textbook Traders feature will be up and running by mid-August," Olson added. "I think most colleges students will want to test this feature, because trading textbooks online sure beats paying for new or used textbooks at the campus bookstore."

Olson, a member of Alpha Tau Omega fraternity, can be reached via e-mail at molson_ice@mail.wsu.edu

Joe Barter received its first media coverage Saturday, Aug. 5, in the San Gabriel Valley Tribune, Pasadena Star News and Whittier Daily News. The article’s pretty cool and informative.
What do you think? Here’s the link: http://sgvtribune.com/business/ci_4138975

There’ll be more articles as we gear up for a media blitz by the end of summer. That includes crucial sponsorships (still in the works), more interviews, e-mail campaigns and the debut of Joe Newsletter.

And coming in mid-August, just for college students, is Textbook Traders, the first-of-its-kind interface for trading college textbooks. This new feature is being called the "Napster of Textbooks,” and it’ll be located on our site in the Joe University section. Register free today at joebarter.com to access free resources at Joe University and at other sections, including Joe Trading Post, Joe Jobs and Joe Deals & Discounts. More stuff is coming, so stay tuned right here.

Joe Barter
Networking made easy. Powered by people!

Joe Barter can save college students lots of money.

Beginning in mid-August, Textbook Traders, the first-of-its-kind interface for trading college textbooks, will be up and running. This new feature -- aptly referred to as the "Napster of Textbooks" -- is located on our Web site in the Joe University section targeted at college students.

Register free today at joebarter.com to access free resources at Joe University and at other sections like:

- Joe Trading Post to trade or sell products and professional services
- Joe Jobs to organize your job search
- Joe Deals & Discounts to locate retailers and merchants who've committed to offering our members the best deals and discounts around town.

Plus, if you want to earn movie and music downloads, paintball tickets, or other cool items, get your friends to regsiter at our Web site as well.

Joe Barter . . . Networking made easy. Powered by people.