The place will be operated by Gray Brooks, who got started cooking at Crooks Corners while a student at UNC and more recently was Executive Chef of Seattle’s Serious Pie.

You can follow them on Twitter here.

Blogads, a digital advertising firm, has been a media innovator since 1998.  We represent 3500+ blogs including market leaders like PerezHilton, ThinkProgress, and TrailerAddict.  We work closely with advertisers in industries including entertainment, consumer packaged goods, retail, and technology.

We are currently hiring for two new positions:

1. Advertising Operations Coordinator
2. Social Media Strategist

Advertising Operations Coordinator

We are seeking an Advertising Operations Coordinator to join the team that sells advertising on PerezHilton.com.  Someone who, like us, is passionate about pop culture and digital media.

General Responsibilities:

• Guide ad campaigns from sale to fulfillment and all the steps in between.
• Manage ad inventory across a suite of sites, including web, mobile, and video.
• Work with our team of developers and designers in Budapest to execute custom advertising placements, like site skins and branded promotions.
• Liaise with clients from major advertising agencies and Fortune 500 brands.
• Assist the sales team by creating sales reports, performing research, and contributing creative ideas.

You need to be:

• a 4-year college graduate with at least one year of work experience
• an expert multi-tasker able to give meticulous attention to detail across simultaneous projects
• articulate via email and in-person with the ability to anticipate and respond to others’ needs
• totally reliable and determined to see projects to the end, even when that means working late
• committed to providing first class service to our clients
• curious about how things work and dedicated to identifying and solving problems and improving processes

Social Media Strategist

Are you passionate about blogs, Twitter, Instagram, Wikipedia, Reddit, Pinterest, Facebook, Tumblr, Stumbleupon and/or Quora? Good! Because we’re hiring a Social Media Strategist.  As our Social Media Strategist you will:

We provide:  

• a competitive salary commensurate with experience
• 100% employer-paid medical insurance premiums
• HRA for dental and vision
• long-term and short-term disability insurance
• a 401(k) plan with company matching
• generous paid time off
• opportunities for professional development

• Don’t apply if you want structure and monotony
• Don’t apply if you dislike music or dogs
• Don’t apply if you don’t want to learn and meet new people
• Do apply if you want to work with a collaborative, friendly team in downtown Durham
• Do apply if you have an interest in pop culture, advertising and media
• Do send us your resume in PDF format and tell us why you want to work for us at analyst@blogads.com

Do either of these positions sound like you? Read “22 things to think about when applying for a job.”

Want to take a peak at Durham and our Downtown office? Check out this video:

New companies are always popping in North Carolina, or moving here and thriving on the diverse, talented and highly educated workforce found in the state’s urban centers. But on May 8, North Carolinians will vote on an a constitutional amendment that would harm many of our talented citizens, as well as our state’s reputation as a entrepreneurial hotbed.

The amendment, known as “Amendment One,” seeks to define marriage between a man and a women as the only legal civil union recognized in the state. This harmful law denies basic rights to same-sex couples, and threatens the health care, homes and families of their children. And because of its specific wording, it also threatens the protections of families and couples in other forms relationships, like civil unions and domestic partnerships.

We’ve added our name to a list of NC Startups that are taking a stand against Amendment One, along with a statement from Blogads CEO, Henry Copeland:

Tobacco, furniture and textiles are dead. Modern economies depend on large pools of talented people, free-flowing ideas, diversity and tolerance… all things that are diminished if Amendment 1 passes.

The state of North Carolina is diverse indeed, and we like it that way. The town in which we work was recently recognized as America’s Most Tolerant City. As of now, North Carolina is the only southern state without a marriage amendment. And it is our hope that the spirit of progress, diversity and tolerance that brought so many us to North Carolina in the first place prevails next Tuesday.

photo by flicker user kittenry

We’re looking for some dog-loving social media fanatics to join us in our new office in Downtown Durham, NC. We currently seek two interns to help us with account management and social media strategy.

Check out the Blogads Careers page for more info and to learn how to apply.

From Bull City to the Capital City

In 2002, George W. Bush’s State of the Union Address was the first to be broadcast live on the Internet. Tomorrow night, President Obama’s White House will be marking another SOTU first with a live Tweetup.

Followers of the @WhiteHouse on Twitter were invited to apply for a chance to visit the White House and join a live online discussion of the State of the Union, followed by an in-person panel with Administration officials. We’re excited to announce that our own Political Advertising Strategist, Donald Hughes, was one of the Twitter users chosen to participate.

Donald often finds himself at the intersection of politics, technology and current events, so it’s no surprise to us that he was picked for this historic event. In the Tweetup application, which asked Twitterers to express their interest in 140 characters or less, he called Twitter the “Woodstock for Millennials.” Like Woodstock, he explained, Twitter is a venue for freedom of expression, where people can share everything about who they are and what they’re interested in.

In addition to their own questions and commentary, the Tweetup participants will also be able to ask questions on behalf of their own followers. So be sure to follow Donald at @DonaldHughes for live updates, photos and an opportunity to participate in the  White House Tweeteup (#WHTweetup) tomorrow night.

This new year has already brought some awesome news for Blogads. We’re in a new city, working in a new office and we’ve welcomed two new team members into new positions.

Meet Justin Weber and Zach Strom.

Justin joins us as an assistant project manager, with a speciality in quantitative research. When he’s not decoding trends on the Internet, you can find him writing about music, as well as performing it. He has degrees in Journalism and Mass Communication from UNC-Chapel Hill (MA) and Colorado State University (BA) and is well-acquainted with the Durham New Media scene, having interned at Durham-based ad agency McKinney.

Zach Strom is our newest sales strategist. He’s a graduate of UNC’s Kenan-Flagler Business School and comes to Blogads as a veteran of the Triangle tech scene, having worked for the Council of Entrepreneurial Development (CED) at the nearby American Tobacco Campus. Zach’s also an athlete and sports enthusiast, and has coached kids at a local sports camp and worked ESPN’s X Games in Los Angeles.

Welcome, gentlemen!

OH at Blogads HQ: "Whoa, looks like i'll be sitting on a patch of grass!"

It’s hard to believe we’ve only been in Durham for a week an a half. Every day, our new office feels a little more like home. And what home would be complete without — carpet tiles!?

Team Blogads came to work today to find our bright and colorful office a litte more vibrant and funky. It’s the little touches like these that make for a fun and innovative workspace in the middle of an exciting and dynamic city like Durham.

This well-lit room is the future home of our large conference space.

Sitting by the Squeezebox is more inviting than ever.

The dark blue carpet offers a nice contrast to the bright white break room.

Even a former bank vault can feel cozy with the right carpeting!

Our smallest space, the "phone booth." Now with less echo!

An a big tip of the Durham Bulls cap to Donald Hughes for leading the creative charge of our interior design efforts!

Starting in 2012, one the words we’ll use to describe Downtown Durham will be “home.”

We can’t wait to tap into the vibrant, energetic, creative, funky, hoppin’, eclectic culture of the Bull City.