So I am now 29 years old. Yesterday was my birthday and thank you all so much for all your sweet notes on my facebook page. I tried to read them all as they came in and it really made my day so thank you!
...and a super huge thank you to Armin DeFiesta for working with Allie on my suprise party that ended up not happening but I love all of you for trying and working so hard on this! Next year! :)
Also, my parents are so sweet! They sent out a birthday gift for me and Allie had some other gifts and cards all sitting on my bed for me...and she made me breakfast in bed! :) We went out to an awesome dinner downtown Alexandria and Becker treated us!!! I think he was expecting to win the money back in our late night poker game but Kenny Kim got some monster hands and took us all down!
The only weird thing that happend was that Pictage decided they were going to ban me which I think is very sad. As you all know I've done so much to help them as a company and help the wonderful photographers who use them. I've been talking to SmugMug b/c I think they offer some cool stuff but never expected that Pictage would do this and to ban me from their community on my birthday just seems lame :( .... anyway....I know a lot of you ask me questions on their forum and so I just wanted you to know that I am not ignoring you and I'd love to help you out but you'll need to email me or talk to me on OSP now.Today we are headed downtown to see some more sites and to hangout a bit more and then we're going to make a sneaky getaway somewhere tonight and then on to North Carolina! Yea! I can't wait!
We will also be hiding our little character downtown today so keep your eyes peeled for that!
49 comments:
wowwww. major lame.
Banned on your birthday?! That hurts MY feelings..and it didn't even happen to me.
So, how does it feel to be officially old?
:D
That's quite lame indeed.
Seriously? SERIOUSLY? Sorry to hear that, man.
In any case, I hope you had a rockin' birthday! Just remember that there's a ton of us out there who wouldn't be where we are without you!
Peace out. :-)
Glad you had a great birthday, we have been using smugmug for almost 5 years now and have really loved it, they just keep getting better and better, not lamer and lamer! :)
I just put up a stink for you...not that you are going to feel like returning after this, but I just got so angry for you!!! We'll see what happens. I was at your DC talk and loved it! Thank you for the inspiration! (I was the one yawning halfway back, but it wasn't because I was bored...I just have 3 little kids and 10:00 was soooo late!) :)
DJ...You Rule!!! Glad to hear that you had a great birthday. Hearing that crap aboout Pictage makes it an easier decision for me to switch over to Smug Mug. Peace..
DJ, that is poor form from Pictage.
Any reason why they might do that?
I would move on and embrace SmugMug - great people and service + very cool features.
Belated happy birthday!
Jon
PS We never did that interview we talked about - would love to do it sometime :-)
Happy Belated Birthday!
I think that was way silly of pictage to do that to you!
Happy B-Day DJ. Like I said in Boston -- I'm super proud of you. You've accomplished so much in so litte time and have inspired many.
Great show the other night.
God Bless,
Michael
Wow! That's ballsy of them! Who do they think they're messing with? :-)
That's ok, I've never been won over by them anyway. THanks again for the GREAT talk in DC! Armin invited me to dinner last night at the last minute and I so wanted to come but wasn't able to, so I wanted to wish you a happy, happy birthday!!!
Happy birthday
That is very petty of pictage, you've been a big supported and promoter of there's seems silly. They are super protective. I asked a question about using blurb for proofbooks one time and the message was quickly deleted and I got an email from pictage wagging there finger. Will you still be using there services or will you move to one of the now many pictage like companies. If you move I'd be very interested in where you go and there service level.
Happy belated!! Breakfast in bed ROCKS!
Yeah, haha! Doesn't facebook make you feel so special on your birthday? It's so awesome.
Wow, yeah... sad that Pictage wants to do that... And on your Bday? Not cool...:(
Ouch! So much for free speech! Happy Birthday!
29 is a fantastic year I might add. Happy Birthday here too DJ! :)
That was quite unprofessional of Pictage to do that, if it is indeed true. If they had any sense of professionalism, their big bosses would have sent you a formal letter to inform you of that. And now that it is ALL over the photography community, their reputation is going down the drain on an hourly basis.
We are all better without Pictage and I hope that someday they figure out what they did wrong. I think you should let Pictage know they cannot use your images any longer on their promo materials. Yikes.
Happy Birthday DJ!
Banned? I'm shocked, and frankly, embarrassed for Pictage. If this how they treat customers who have brought in MANY new customers, then it's a company we all should thinking twice about using.
You rock, DJ!!
I am a bit surprise to see that they do that to you. Is it true that you were one of the few photographers originally helped Pictage get started a long time ago? Now, they do this to you. Wow! Life goes on. Like you always say, "Rock On".
Happy Birthday DJ.
Thanks for you commitment to help photographers around the world. :-)
Bad move on the part of Pictage, but you know, I expect nothing less from them. Poor customer service is just a sign of a bigger problem.
Glad you're doing well on the road! Safe travels!
Happy Bday I can't believe they would do that on your Bday.
Big time Lame!
So glad you had a happy birthday DJ. Thanks for letting me be a small part of it =) Until next time, Godspeed!
Pictage banning David Jay...
who's the marketing genius who made that decision? Can't wait to see you and Allie in Atlanta. Stay safe. ~Cindy
Hey guys, just to be fair - I just heard from the folks at Pictage, and DJ wasn’t “banned from the forums” his free account is being closed because his is being doing a deal with one of their competitors. Pictage’s forums are for members only – so part of the process of closing the account is that forum access is disabled. Jason Kiefer (Pictage’s CEO) communicated this to DJ – who did not object.
You should know that this is a personal situation between Jason and DJ and we really have no place to be involved in it. It is unfortunate that DJ has elected to make this private matter so public.
I have had issues with companies and individuals before, and while I was very vocal among my very close friends, publicly nobody has to know or be embarrassed by any falling out.
I am one of DJ's biggest fans and supporters, and this made me very very sad.
Gary
:( actually I'm not sure who told you that Gary but it's not true. I had no idea I was going to be banned and when I found out I told them I thought they were making a big mistake and apparently most everyone agrees.
2ndly...if they are closing my account that's even more lame. I never asked for it to be free so I would expect them to return it to however it was.
Anyway...this needed to be public because people ask me questions over there and need to know why I'm not around.
what's so funny is that instead of Pictage realizing they made a mistake and fixing it they try and spin it on me...which is yet another mistake.
Silly Pictage...you'd think they would try to rise to the competitive challenge.
I guess that's just not how they roll... (sigh)
Happy B-Day old man!
HAPPY BIRTHDAY BROTHERMAN!!!
Happy Birthday! Smugmug would be luccky to get you. I use thier forums a bit, good folks over there.
DJ,
Gotta disagree with your reasoning in your reply to Gary on two points:
1. Your forum whereabouts may need to be public, but not in the manner which you announced it - nor even the reason need to be public information. You could have simply let people know to catch you over at OSP w/out stirring the pot.
2. I don't see how Pictage has "put a spin on you through this." It appears from you blog post it's quite the other way around. I haven't seen Pictage publicly address this situation at all (if I'm wrong I stand corrected).
And, on another note, if you're getting cozy with another company you MUST understand - with your business savvy - it is not in Pictage's best interest to keep you around (especially if they were fitting your bill every month, regardless of who offered who what when you began with Pictage).
It disappoints me to see you misuse your power of influence in this way, DJ.
CLS
Hey Christine,
Thanks for your post
1. Unfortunately it's not as simple as you make it. I can't simply say I won't be around anymore and not have there be a million people over there asking why?
2. Gary is representing Pictage in his post so they are addressing it publicly and leading people to believe things that aren't true so that is why I addressed it.
Thanks again for your post and I hope you realize that me posting about this is not a "misuse of power."
All the best,
DJ
Hey DJ...
know what would be better than all this drama... ;)
how about if you post about your NY trip and don't forget to mention NILMDTS for me... tx =P
Sorry about the bum deal, it's only normal for a human to be a bit dissapointed when they get a slap in the face, but I know you will rise above.
And Happy Birthday - I personally believe that turning 30 was among the most liberating things I've done!...
Onward and Upward -Aurora
HHHAPPPPYYY BIIRRTHDAAAY!! :) :)
Hope you had a great BIRTHDAY! Wow! I'm not sure what it's like to be banned by anybody. I'm sure it must feel somewhat cool to be so dang important to stir up all that drama! :)
so...just as I expected. Pictage was providing free accounts to those that spoke "well" of them? Were they discounting the printing, or was that free too?
Just what I said long ago, but there were those that swore it wasn't true, to the point of calling me a virtual idiot...(you know who you are)...the truth always wins out.
Try WHCC DJ awesome!!!
Hey DJ,
I have had my share of fun with Pictage = aweful customer service.. and now this -they r crazy.
Well anyways it was great to see and hear you speak in NY. I know you got the a lot of love in Boston but NYer love you more, we just don't it that much :-) Can't wait for you come by NYC again (Photoplus Expo). My offer for dinner still stands. You are the man !!
sorry about the typos - I meant AWFUL customer service from Pictage.
and about us NYer's love for you - we just don't SHOW it that much..
late night...
Happy Birthday! You were born on MY 20th birthday:)
super lame. can't wait for you to get back so we can celebrate!!
I had a good talk with Jason over at Pictage today and there were a lot of miscommunications happening and so I'm glad we were able to chat (even though I hate the phone) and get things cleared things up.
Welllll...I was trying to decide whether to go Pictage or Smugmug anyway. Besides the uber-comfy camera strap I got from them through your Indy F2S, I was leaning towards Smugmug anway. =D
Ahhh, what is life without a bit of drama? Funny how everyone else thinks that they have answers to solve your problems. ;)
Glad you had a great b'day- 29 is sounding younger and younger the closer I get to it. =P
Matthew 6:33
-Vanessa Myers
Hey DJ - happy belated bday! Yay for late august bdays! :)
Sorry about the Pictage thing. Bum deal. Have you looked at Printroom? Their quality is actually really nice and they are AWESOME to work with - very good with customer service and they don't hound your customers.
Hope you're doing well. Give Allie a squeeze for me. ;)
~B
Feliz Cumpleaños my friend!
Happy Birthday DJ....Cheers to all the Virgo's. Sept. 3 for me...
Would love to hear what you have to say about SmugMug....I've been looking at that company for over six months.
Take care,
Garrett
DJ, i'm glad you got things all worked out. I hate to talk on the phone too... but sometime talking face to face or over the phone is the only way to clear things up.
Happy day to you! I hit 4-0 in about a week so from one virgo to another! We loved having you in Alexandria (my hometown!) and hope you have a great tour. So sorry about the Pictage thing. Makes me want to defect to hear that crap. Ridiculous, ridiculous and paranoid. Best to you!
Hey DJ. Sorry to hear. I've been a Smugmug user for about 4 years and they rock! Great service and they keep improving it all the time. They respond quickly to any issues. I'd highly recommend them. Good luck!
dude I love that you can just post a little something on your blog and it sends shock waves threw a big company like Pictage. Quite impressive :)
The power of well read blogs it's just crazy.
Happy Birthday Man!
dude..., dude...
That's funny...well, not so funny. I got a summons to jury duty on my birthday, so it could be worse. :) My b-day was the 26th! Happy late b-day, I know it only got better!
Hey Jay..i talked to you years ago on the phone when you were with pictage and thought you were great and really helped me a lot...I think Pictage and I need some serious marriage counseling....Blocked you?? What??!! Huhh? Are they a cult???? Not exactly evolved of 'em...Hmmmmm..(sorry I know this is an old post and you will be 30 soon)
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