Going on a Business Trip? Use the LinkedIn Events Application and Windmill Network!

If you’ve followed my Windmill Networking blog for awhile or read my LinkedIn book, you’ll know that I’m a huge fan of the LinkedIn Events Application.  Seriously.  I wrote an April Fools’s post back in 2009 complaining why Events wasn’t considered an application with a blog post rhetorically entitled, “What are LinkedIn Applications?”  I was the first one to ask “What Happened to LinkedIn Events?” when they mysteriously disappeared for a day in October of 2009.  So you can say that I have a personal relationship with Events, and when all of the “social media gurus” talk about Facebook Events, Eventbrite, and Plancast, which are all also great platforms for events, I still think they misunderstand or under appreciate the potential for using the LinkedIn Events application.
I’ve been traveling a lot the last few weeks, speaking on social media as well as attending award ceremonies for my social media book.  As I am an avid Windmill Networker, meaning that I see the value of social networking to be of networking outside of my present network, I am always open to connecting with others on LinkedIn.  There is value in plugging our windmills into the grid that is social media and virtually connecting.  But the deep value and trust that comes out of relationships are when they are developed offline in the real world.  That is why, whenever I travel outside of my native Orange County, California, I try to create a LinkedIn Event and use it as an avenue to not only bring together people that I am connected to on LinkedIn but have never met, but also an opportunity to meet new people that may have similar interests.
Through the advice that I present below, I have been able to meet with between 10 and 30 people apiece at networking events that I created in Portland, Oregon, Jacksonville, Florida, and New York City in the past few weeks…and I had never previously met any of these people!  Once you meet new people at a networking events, there are countless opportunities to learn from others, share information, help others, and maybe find a new business partner or even get a new lead either directly or indirectly from your new contact.  Rather than spending time in your hotel room by yourself, it is a way to enrich your professional life and make new friends.  You never know when your connecting with that person will help you or them out in the future.
So the next time you are on a business trip, follow this procedure to create a way for people to meet you through the LinkedIn Events Application and Windmill Network!

1. You first need to create a LinkedIn Event. This is not difficult to do, and step-by-step instructions of how to do so are in my LinkedIn book.  The important things that you need to prepare are a title (“networking event” makes sense), a description which should want to bring people out to meet and network, and you need to find a location.  I do this by going to Google Maps, figuring out both where I plan to be on business as well as where my hotel is, and then find an ideal area which makes logistical sense for the time that I plan to hold the event (late afternoons/early evenings seem to be the best time).  I then go to Yelp and find a location that has a bar/large party atmosphere located in the ideal area.  You can find these by using “large party restaurant” or “large group restaurant” in the search terms so that you can be assured that there won’t be an issue if a lot of people come!  Check out the reviews and take your pick of location.
2. After creating the LinkedIn Event, inform your network. As a LinkedIn Open Networker or LION, I have acquired a lot of LinkedIn connections over time.  When I did a search through my contacts of connections living in Portland, Oregon, I found that I already had more than 130 connections living there that I had never met!  Obviously the larger your network, the more connections you are bound to have in any given city.  Using the InBox feature, send out a blast with a link to the LinkedIn Event to your connections.  You can add 50 connections to the same message for efficiency’s sake.  If your network is smaller…
3. Invite those who are members of similar LinkedIn Groups. You joined a Group for a reason: you want to obtain or share information with others that have a similar interest.  Why not do an Advanced People Search using a keyword (I used “social media”) and look for people in Groups that you belong to that you may want to meet up with?  If you are a member of the same Group, chances are you will be able to send them a LinkedIn Message regardless of your connectivity status.  Go for it, contact them, but be clear as to why you want to meet with them in the first place.  And, remember, it is a pain, but every Message to a common Group member that you are not connected to must be done separately, one-by-one…
4. Send out a reminder to those that RSVP to your LinkedIn Event. This is something that I originally did not do, and I regret not doing it because I think that attendance to my networking events could have been greater had I sent out a friendly reminder to all of those that RSVPed “Attending” and “Interested” on the Event page a few days before the event.
5. Prepare for the LinkedIn Event by checking out the Profiles of those that RSVPed. Better yet, print out their profiles for airplane reading!
6. Enjoy your time with new friends!  You’re Windmill Networking!

Read more: Create a LinkedIn Event on Your Next Trip and Windmill Network! | Windmill Networking | Social Media Strategy http://windmillnetworking.com/2010/06/04/going-on-a-business-trip-use-the-linkedin-events-application-and-windmill-network/#ixzz0sDJiLD9g

Invincible Apple: 10 Lessons From the Coolest Company Anywhere

Everyone wants to be like Steve Jobs and his powerhouse company. It's not as easy as it looks.


On Wednesday, May 26, 2010, just after 2:30 p.m., the unthinkable happened: Apple became the largest company in the tech universe, and, after ExxonMobil, the second largest in the nation. For months, its market capitalization had hovered just under that of Microsoft -- the giant that buried Apple and then saved it from almost certain demise with a $150 million investment in 1997. Now Microsoft gets in line with Google, Amazon, HTC, Nokia, and HP as companies that Apple seems bent on sidelining. The one-time underdog from Cupertino is the biggest music company in the world and soon may rule the market for e-books as well. What's next? Farming? Toothbrushes? Fixing the airline industry?
Right now, it seems as if Apple could do all that and more. The company's surge over the past few years has resembled a space-shuttle launch -- a series of rapid, tightly choreographed explosions that leave everyone dumbfounded and smiling. The whole thing has happened so quickly, and seemed so natural, that there has been little opportunity to understand what we have been witnessing.
The company, its leader, and its products have become cultural lingua franca. Dell wants to be the Apple for business; Zipcar the Apple for car sharing. Industries such as health care and clean energy search for their own Steve Jobs, while comedian Bill Maher says the government would be better run if the Apple CEO were head of state. (The Justice Department and FTC, which are both investigating Apple's tactics, might disagree.) A Minnesota Vikings fan dubs his team the "iTunes of quarterbacks," serially sampling one track from a player's career, as with Brett Favre, rather than buying the whole album as the Colts have done with Peyton Manning.
This shorthand is useful but tends to encourage a shallow notion of what it takes to emulate Apple. And Apple doesn't delineate the key factors of its success. Those principles are more closely guarded than its product pipeline. Jobs did not comment for this article. On-the-record comments from the CEO occur in only the most orchestrated environments (at MacWorld, say, or in newsweekly magazine stories timed to new product announcements), or in late-night email messages that defy explication. When it comes to the special sauce that makes his company the paragon of U.S. and global business, the CEO is silent.
How does one become the "Apple of [insert industry here]"? After speaking with former employees, current partners, and others who have watched Apple for many years, it's clear that the answers center around discipline, focus, long-term thinking, and a willingness to flout the rules that govern everybody else's business. It's an approach that's difficult to discern and tougher to imitate. But everyone wants to give it a try. Here, then, is our report on the Apple playbook. Short of something falling into your hands in a Bay Area bar, this may be as close to the truth about Apple as you're going to get.

{1} Go Into Your Cave

If Steve Jobs were an architect, he'd work at the futuristic glass-and-steel San Francisco offices of international architecture and design firm Eight Inc. The walls are bathed in white, and the vibe is akin to working behind the Genius Bar. Here, on the second floor, look to the back wall. There you'll discover a frosted-glass door emblazoned with a white Apple logo. Behind it is Eight's Apple team -- a small group that has worked with the company since the late 1990s to conceive the look and feel of its "branded consumer experiences," which include its trade shows, high-impact product announcements, and 287 retail stores. The door is locked.
What goes on behind the locked door? "We really can't say too much," says Wilhelm Oehl, a principal designer, when I visit him one cloudy spring afternoon. He describes his work with Apple in only the vaguest, most anodyne terms -- to "redefine elegance," to keep an "integrity of design" that "makes the product the hero." Finally, Oehl mumbles, "We try to capture something that feels like magic."
These frosted-glass doors, and similar ones all around the world protecting other caves of Apple thinkers, are emblematic of Apple's fanaticism for secrecy. But those doors are more than mere paranoia. Apple sets its own agenda and tunes out the tech wags -- competitors, industry observers, analysts, bloggers, and journalists like myself -- who constantly spew torrents of advice, huzzahs, and brickbats in its direction. Behind its doors, Apple can ignore us all.
Jobs has never cared much about what the tech industry has to say. Back in the early 1980s, when he was leading the team building the Mac, Jobs would often give his engineers guidance on what the computer should look like. "Once, he saw a Cuisinart at Macy's that he thought looked incredibly great," says Andy Hertzfeld, one of the engineers on the original Mac team and the author of Revolution in the Valley: The Insanely Great Story of How the Mac Was Made. "And he had the designers change the Mac to look like that." Another time, he wanted it to look like a Porsche.


Get the picture? Computers should be more like sports cars and kitchen appliances. That's Apple's audience: high-end mainstream, the folks who buy -- or aspire to buy -- Porsches. You don't connect with those consumers by listening to Silicon Valley. Techies, even after all these years of Apple watching, still get bogged down in specs, speeds, and developer contracts. Magic doesn't happen in an echo chamber.

{2} It's Okay to Be King

Mike Evangelist (yep, that's his name) still remembers one of his first meetings with Jobs. It took place in the Apple boardroom in early 2000, just a few months after Apple purchased the American division of Astarte, a German software company where Evangelist was an operations manager. Phil Schiller, Apple's longtime head of marketing, put Evangelist on a team charged with coming up with ideas for a DVD-burning program that Apple planned to release on high-end Macs -- an app that would later become iDVD.
"We had about three weeks to prepare," Evangelist says. He and another employee went to work creating beautiful mock-ups depicting the perfect interface for the new program. On the appointed day, Evangelist and the rest of the team gathered in the boardroom. They'd brought page after page of prototype screen shots showing the new program's various windows and menu options, along with paragraphs of documentation describing how the app would work.
"Then Steve comes in," Evangelist recalls. "He doesn't look at any of our work. He picks up a marker and goes over to the whiteboard. He draws a rectangle. 'Here's the new application,' he says. 'It's got one window. You drag your video into the window. Then you click the button that says burn. That's it. That's what we're going to make.' "
"We were dumbfounded," Evangelist says. This wasn't how product decisions were made at his old company. Indeed, this isn't how products are planned anywhere else in the industry.
The tech business believes in inclusive, bottom-up, wisdom-of-crowds innovation. The more latitude extended, the greater the next great thing will be. Nowhere is this ethos more celebrated than at Google, where employees are free to spend some of their working hours building anything that strikes their fancy. A few of these so-called 20%-time projects have become hits for Google, including Gmail and Google News.
Apple's engineers spend 100% of their time making products planned by a small club of senior managers -- and sometimes entirely by Jobs himself. The CEO appoints himself the de facto product manager for every important release; Jobs usually meets with the teams working on these new gadgets and apps once a week, and he puts their creations through the paces. "He gets very passionate," Evangelist says. "He'll say, 'This is shit, we can do much better.' "
How can it be wise for so few people to have the authority -- not to mention the time -- to make most of the creative decisions at a company as large as Apple? Bottlenecks do result. According to one former Apple engineer, a staff of about 10 "human interface" designers is in charge of the entire Mac operating system. With such a small group making decisions, Apple can put out only one or two new products a year.
But this approach works because Jobs and his team know exactly what they want. A more decentralized company like Google may launch dozens of products a year, but more of them fail. (Have you Waved much lately?) Apple hits for a high average. And Apple's strong management keeps the troops focused. "Everybody knows what the plan is," says Glenn Reid, a former Apple engineer who created iMovie and worked on several other iLife apps. "There's very little infighting."

"I still have the slides I prepared for that meeting, and they're ridiculous in their complexity," Evangelist says, remembering how everyone in the room understood, immediately, that Jobs's rectangle was right. "All this other stuff was completely in the way."

Read The Full Fast company Article

9 Essential Ways LinkedIn Improves My Business

Posted by Sarah Mitchell

Are you getting the most of LinkedIn? I’m always surprised when I hear people say they need to think about opening an account on LinkedIn. I understand the reservations professional people have about creating a social media persona. When it comes to LinkedIn, the benefits far outweigh the perceived risk associated with many online tools.

Defining Feature
For those of you that don’t know, the curriculum vitae (resume) of the account holder anchors each account. LinkedIn is a professional networking tool in the purest sense. The architecture of the site ensures your experience will be relevant to you because it’s based on professional accomplishments, not pop culture or social chatter.
Fun Facts
LinkedIn is one of the granddaddies of social media, launching in May 2003. It has grown from strength to strength in the seven years since its inception.

• LinkedIn has over 70 million members.
• Membership is across more than 200 countries.
• LinkedIn supports multiple languages: English, French, German, Italian, Portuguese and Spanish.
• More than half the accounts are from outside the USA.
• Executives from every Fortune 500 company are LinkedIn members.
• A new member joins LinkedIn every second.

Practical Application
Still not convinced? Here are some of the ways I’ve found benefit from LinkedIn:
1. Preserve Your Network
LinkedIn gives you the ability to establish an online repository for your business network. You never have to worry about keeping your address book up-to-date. You can throw your business card folio and rolodex out the window.
2. Find Former Colleagues
We all plan to stay in touch when a co-worker leaves or you change jobs. It’s not always easy and a busy schedule often gets in the way of good intentions. I’ve found or been found by dozens of people I’ve lost touch with as we’ve moved companies, countries and jobs.
3. Find Good People
One of the best things I’ve ever done is use LinkedIn to find prospective business partners. Since accounts are based on a resume, it’s easy to find the people you want to meet or work with. The search function is comprehensive allowing you to zero in on a specific location, company, school or industry. It's no wonder recruiters view LinkedIn and social media channels as essential tools for vetting candidates.
4. Free Company Listing
LinkedIn lets you enter your company details giving you a free listing connected to their powerful search feature.
5. Research
The Company Buzz feature keeps track of what’s being said about your specified keywords on Twitter. It’s a great way to keep your eye on the competition or track what’s being said about your own company.
6. Find Events
The Events feature will show you all the events being attended by people in your wider network. It’s a great way to keep track of what’s happening around town.
7. Get Recommendations
Word of Mouth referrals are the lifeblood of small business. I’ve yet to meet a person that didn’t appreciate having a colleague or client giving a recommendation on his or her work. LinkedIn makes it easy to request recommendations and makes it super easy to give one, too.
8. Integration with other Social Media Tools
LinkedIn is continually updating their product to provide a clearer picture of the professional qualifications of their members. Slideshare, Amazon.com, Wordpress and Twitter all have useful integration features with LinkedIn.
9. Special Interest Groups
Perhaps the most powerful feature of LinkedIn is the multitude of special interest groups. These groups allow you to meet other professionals with similar interests and participate in worldwide discussions. The discussion groups also have a feature allowing for sharing of news articles. It’s a great place to stay informed, get the opinion of your peers and network with a global community of like-minded people.
My Recommendation
LinkedIn is a wonderful tool for people from any profession. Participating in LinkedIn is a low risk proposition due to the career focus attached to the membership profiles. I consider it one of my key strategic tools for running a successful business. If you’re not already a member, I encourage you to join.
What benefits have you received from your LinkedIn activity? What features do you use the most often?

The un-Googling of Mick Gzowski

A writer burned by a moment in the political spotlight seeks an online image makeover: Can search results be sanitized?

Mick Gzowski

From Saturday's Globe and Mail Published on Friday, Jun. 25, 2010 4:50PM EDT Last updated on Friday, Jun. 25, 2010 5:27PM EDT

When I Google myself, it hurts.
It used to be that when I ego-surfed my own name, that well of digital knowledge delivered me harmless hyperlinks, mainly connecting me with my famous Canadian father. Ho-hum. About a year ago, that changed dramatically. The Net now paints me as the Peter Gzowski progeny who sank Stéphane Dion's coalition.
The worst thing is, it's partly true. I am my father's son, and I was Mr. Dion's videographer on the day when his taped statement making the case for overturning the government showed up late and less than sharply focused.
The links that pain me aren't even that bad. Most of them say I was unfairly scapegoated. Still, it smarts to be forever associated with that ignominy, and I also suspect it does my career no favours. So I decided to see if I could change it: Could I un-Google myself?
When I investigated, I found out that “online reputation management” is currently one of the biggest growth areas of the Internet, according to the digital marketing group Econsultancy. Googling the subject delivers pages of competing companies, with ads bannered across the top and down the sides of every page.
I instinctively distrust those sponsored results; clicking them usually leads into a maze of slow-loading graphics and unhelpful information. I called one, via a toll-free number, and spoke with “Carl” in New Jersey (“Joisey”) – he refused to give me his last name, saying that if it were published, his competitors would launch an online attack. “Dirty business,” he said.
After only a few moments' explanation, he said he was sure he could help me, for between $1,500 and $2,000 (U.S.) a month. For life. I passed on his offer, but realized I needed to know more about Google and the term Carl mentioned, Search Engine Optimization.
Swallowing the spiders
This term (SEO) has two meanings: First, to make your website easy for Google and similar search sites to find; second, to seed the Internet with so many nice things about you that the bad things are buried. The catch is that nobody really knows how the mysterious algorithms that Google employs to find things function, and they're continually being updated.
Google doesn't actually search the Web every time you ask a query. It searches its archived index of the Web. That's created by software programs called spiders that visit pages, fetch their content and then continue following all of the links on those pages.
When you ask Google a question, it searches its voluminous index, then modifies the results by asking more than 200 questions like: How many times does this page contain your key words? Do the words appear in the title? In the address? Are there synonyms? Is it a high-quality or low-quality page? And what is this page's PageRank?
PageRank is the key. It's the formula invented by Google founders Larry Page and Sergey Brin that, according to Google, “rates a Web page's importance by looking at how many outside pages point to it and how important those links are.” So the art of un-Googling yourself is really the art of fooling PageRank, a wizard's curtain behind which we mere mortals are forbidden to glimpse. People are making careers guessing.
However, Google officially frowns upon manipulations of its ranking systems. And in the U.S., the Federal Trade Commission's consumer-protection branch has required paid endorsers to identify themselves since 1980; last year it ruled that those guidelines also apply to social media. So hiring some American college students to troll the Net saying sweet nothings about you is technically illegal. No such rules are in place in Canada as yet, but the industry here expects them soon.
An alternative approach is to ask anyone who may have posted unsavoury things about you to please take them down. If the statements are libellous and you have a lawyer handy, some Internet service providers may be persuaded to remove them on your behalf. Asking politely is preferable, though in some cases, a blogger, for example, could simply take your request and make another, even more insulting post of it. So I decided against sending a note to, for example, Ezra Levant, the uber-conservative blogger. He might make too much hay of it for my liking.
Besides, while blogs might be flexible, unflattering mentions in mainstream media are virtually impossible to have removed. (“Hi, New York Times? Eliot Spitzer here …”)
So I would take the opposite tack: I'd just tell the world all the good news about me. I sought out professionals to help me with a standard do-it-yourself SEO campaign, for which they would be compensated only by being quoted in The Globe and Mail (and therefore having their online reputations improved).
Denise Brunsdon, director of social media for the public-affairs firm GCI Group, says online reputation management is one of the fastest-growing areas of their business. It seems like whenever she tells people her title these days, she gets asked if she can do another contract.
There are black-hat and white-hat methods, but setting up quickie, flattering sites or blogs and dumping links to them in every imaginable Web cranny won't fool Google for long, especially if you have active haters. This kitchen-sink approach “is tiring and does not win,” Ms. Brunsdon said.
She prefers the “teach a man to fish” approach – showing clients how to do the ongoing work of reputation management themselves: First, decide what elements they like and want to promote; then create profiles on “polished self-advertising sites” such as linkedin.com and Twitter that rank highly in Google results (she has a longer list, but considers it proprietary information).
Tell a consistent story
Jaime Watt, the chair of communications company Navigator Ltd., is certainly considered a good guy in a crisis. He recently steered former Ontario attorney-general Michael Bryant through the subsequently dropped charges in the death of cyclist Darcy Allan Sheppard.
Mr. Watt advised that you can't be phony or contrived, because “people are very good at figuring out who's being honest and authentic and who's selling a load of crap.” He added that it's important to be fighting for something that you know you can defend – the narrative you construct must be consistent.
While Mr. Watt also disavowed underhanded methods, he did advocate creating counter-blogs or websites to “answer every attack, and don't let things go.” In situations much more dire than mine, and for people with the money to afford it, he said, instead of keeping your finger in the proverbial dike, you must send back a flood of your own.
In that spirit, I asked him what effect this article could have on my online reputation – surely skeptics would just see it as another whitewashing effort, setting up a battle I'd be sure to lose. “Not necessarily,” Mr. Watt said. “If you don't want to be infamous for something, you've got to become famous for something else. … Talking about it is not bad, as long as it gets you into something else.”
True, I thought. The words in this article are not coming from the mouth of a politician reading to camera in two official languages, scant moments before the nation decides his and many others' fates. I was a journalist and a filmmaker before I entered the world of politics. I am a journalist and filmmaker now. Writing for the newspaper could help to remind people that I am more than the impossible situation I became associated with.
So I hope, honestly and authentically, that you enjoyed it. And the next time you Google me or anyone else, remember that the fastest-growing business on the Internet is the one trying to skew your search results.
Mick Gzowski is a Toronto-based writer and filmmaker.


Original Article 

What’s different in LinkedIn Groups today?

What’s different in LinkedIn Groups today?
1. An improved look and feel
We’ve made the conversations within groups similar to face-to-face professional interactions by removing the wall between original remarks and off-site content such as shared news articles. The rich link-sharing experience you already enjoy on your LinkedIn homepage is now also available within the context of groups.

Even better is the ability to easily recognize the participants of a conversation by linking to individual profile pictures that makes the experience more personal. It also brings to your finger tips profile information of the professional participating in that discussion.
2. Ease of use
The new design makes it easy to browse through the latest updates of a discussion and make comments quickly and easily. You can roll over the images of the last three participants on any thread to see comment previews and click their profile pictures to jump to their segment  of the conversation.
Alternatively, you can chime in right away by commenting in line without drilling down into the whole discussion. If you’re new to the thread, clicking the discussion headline or the “See all comments” link will take you to the beginning of the discussion.
3. Surfacing the most popular and recent discussions in a group – faster
A key part of the new groups experience is the democratization of discussions, as group members actively curate the conversations that will be seen by the group. This is most obvious in the carousel of new content – original posts, RSS items, and off-site links shared by group members – that can be voted up or down by any group member.
This feature allows users to quickly peruse new content and vote either by “liking” or commenting on discussions they deem worthy of the group’s attention.  Users who prefer to see all discussions sorted chronologically can just click on the “See all new discussions” link on the homepage.

In a live discussion, nodding fuels a conversation and the new “Like” button is a simple way to do this virtually.  You can also see who has liked a conversation to get a sense for topics that group members are gravitating toward. The “More” drop-down in the carousel also makes it easy to flag new items as a job or as inappropriate for the group.
4. Making it easier for you to receive email updates from select group members
While you may check in to groups ever so often to get the latest news and discussions from your fellow group members, you may also like to set up a persistent email alert when select members of the group make a contribution (like or comment) within the group. This is easily accomplished from the global Groups’ People I’m Following page.
5. Shining a spotlight on users who add most value to the group each week

Finally, the new groups interface introduces an easy way to discover participants who truly drive the activity of the group’s discussions each week by highlighting them as “top influencers”.  This designation is given not only to those who contribute the most, but also to those whose contributions stimulate the most participation from other group members.
Members who are highly regarded and heavily followed in the group often play a key role in stoking the conversation with their comments and Likes even if they don’t start a thread.  Of course, the authors of popular threads are often the most influential.
We’re all about nurturing the professional conversation, and we hope the changes to LinkedIn Groups will make it even easier for you to contribute and participate in a professional groups setting. We’d love to hear your feedback, so please feel free to leave a comment at the bottom of this post or @linkedin us on Twitter.

How I Graduated from Harvard, Turned Down Google, Got a Job On Twitter, And Joined A Startup Called Clicker

HOW I GRADUATED FROM HARVARD

derek flanzraich

Honestly, the hardest part is getting in. But, after four years, I graduated this past May, cap, gown, and my very own Harvard diploma in tow. This story, though, starts a few months before then. Like many seniors, I had spent a lot of time trying to figure out what I wanted to do after college. Graduating from Harvard means you can do anything, right? Wrong. It turns out it’s a bit more complicated. Turns out they don’t just hand out awesome, challenging, creative, and entrepreneurial jobs to Harvard grads. What the eff? While most of my friends had faithfully decided they were going to be investment bankers, consultants, or teachers– the only thing I was sure about was that I didn’t want to be any of those three. All I knew was that I wanted a job I’d be excited to wake up for every morning.
Meanwhile I read Chris Dixon’s “Every time an engineer joins Google, a startup dies” and James Kwak’s “Why do Harvard Kids Head to Wall Street?.” I even watched J.K. Rowling’s 2008 Harvard Commencement speech on “The Fringe Benefits of Failure, and the Importance of Imagination” (it’s awesome, by the way). Seems like they were making this stuff for me (thanks, Chris!). Except, the thing is, I was never worried about risk-taking. At Harvard, I had started a comedy news show as a freshman without any idea what I was doing (it’s been pretty successful, too– watched by over half the school and grown into a 50+ student organization) and had revitalized the central TV organization on campus to relative success as well. I had the startup bug. I was willing, ready, and able to fail and fail spectacularly. I got that there was no better time than right out of college. But I just wasn’t sure that was the smartest thing to do, to leverage that degree I (barely) earned in the best way to further my future.

HOW I TURNED DOWN GOOGLE

So truthfully, I did some consulting interviews. I flirted with some VC firms (turns out it helps to have actual out-of-school startup experience before you try to invest in any). But, one thing led to another, and there I was, mediocre GPA and all, interviewing at the Mountain View Googleplex for their entry-level sales associate job. I’ve always been passionate about digital media, media & entertainment, and technology– so I figured, why not Google? Plus, gyms, massage therapy, free shuttle service to and from San Francisco, more gourmet cafeterias than I could count, brilliant beautiful awesome people, and a hefty relocation bonus? Count me in. For some crazy reason, I got lucky and they extended me a job offer with two weeks to get back to them.
Everyone I knew was impressed– my parents even started telling their friends about it (the true measure of success). Two weeks to make an easy decision, right? But, instead of being happy that my long search was finally over, I went into panic mode. It had hit me at some point on my (Google-paid) flight from San Francisco to Boston– I didn’t want to be the 20,000th employee anywhere. I’m bad at that. I’ll get bored. And I’m dangerous when I’m bored. Despite the awesome company, the awesome people, and the awesome perks, I wanted something more challenging. Something with ups and downs– where the highs would be the tallest skyscrapers and the lows the pits of hell. Where what I’m doing actually makes a difference. I’ll work 18 hours a day, just make it matter. No one was pretending Google was like that anymore– instead, I was told, it’s basically a year and a half before your training is even completed.  I had nothing to lose so, basically on a whim, I sent my resume & what must now look like a pretty desperate cover letter to two startup companies, exciting startups run by incredible people playing in the field I’m passionate about making a difference in. To me, those were the only two that seemed to fit all that criteria– that I could get 100% behind. Maybe I should have sent out more.
Of the two, both responded. But both saying thanks, but no hiring now– we’ll keep your resume on file for the future! Got it. Google it is. Or was it?

HOW I GOT A JOB ON TWITTER

Then, Clicker CEO Jim Lanzone emailed back: “Hey Derek. Jim Lanzone here. Email me Jim@clicker. See being on Twitter pays off sometimes. Recognize your name.” I’d been a fan of Clicker.com for some time– I thought then (and now) that it was truly the best of any service trying to help users find what, how, and where to watch online. It had (and has) a killer UI, the smartest & most efficient video search, and a ton of potential. After it won TechCrunch50, I started following @jlanzone on Twitter and we ended up tweeting a few times back and forth: I recommended one of his great interviews, we discussed Harvard basketball (though there’s not much to discuss apart from friend Jeremy Lin), and I poked fun at SetJam.com’s redesign (sorry I’m not sorry?). Suddenly we were talking on the phone & discussing the possibility of working at Clicker. Jim’s awesome:  he’s got a killer background (read paragraph 6 of this), an inspiring leadership style, and just watch him handle Shelly Palmer– who wouldn’t want to work for this guy? I had two more “interviews” for Clicker– speaking via cell for over an hour and a half with each. Lanzone’s attention meant a lot– but the two guys I spoke with, Oscar Rohen (content) and Ryan Massie (product ), basically made my decision that much harder. They seemed like awesome people that I got the feeling I’d love to work with and learn from, sure. They had read my “How To: Disrupt TV” blog post– and asked me about it. Their questions were smart, tough, and thought-provoking– both were by far the best and most interesting interviews I’ve had over my entire job search process. That was huge. I was impressed, even hopeful. Then, silence. There was barely one week left before I had to accept or decline Google’s generous offer– and time was running out. A day before my Google offer expired, Clicker made me an offer (along with a sincere apology about their delay, they had apparently been just a bit busy working on this).
It was the midst of senior week. I was graduating in less than two weeks– and had a big decision to make. Luckily, I had my closest friends nearby, my family just a call away, and a few incredible mentors to share their advice and opinions. But basically, they said the same thing: you’ve already made up your mind. They were right. Who needs micro-kitchens every 100 ft when you can help build awesome shit that matters?

AND WHY I’M JOINING CLICKER

I’ll be joining the Clicker.com team on July 1st– and, in case you can’t tell, I’m thrilled. I’ve had the opportunity to get to know Jim, Oscar, and Ryan through our interactions– and they’re super smart, super passionate, and contagiously enthusiastic about Clicker’s potential. I’m looking forward to getting to know them better, but also can’t wait to meet, work with, and learn from the rest of the world-class Clicker team that they’ve put together. I’ve only had limited interaction with a few them, but each is so far more awesome than the next.
Ultimately, I’m humbled to have been offered the opportunity. Clicker’s an incredible product (in my opinion, by far the best there is right now). And I’m expecting (and you should be, too) many more exciting things on the way. I’m moving to Los Angeles this weekend (and, in a few months, will be moving to San Francisco more permanently). Expect to hear more from me about Clicker soon.
And if you’re ever on the West Coast, feel free to shoot me an email if you want to grab coffee, drinks, chat digital media or anything, really. Once I get started, my email address will be derek [at] clicker.com or, as always, you can reach me at my personal email, derek.flanzraich [at] gmail.com. I’m looking forward to joining the startup world and starting this thing they call “real life.” It’s been a long time coming.

Original Article

5 Tips for Managing Remote Teams from the "One Minute Commute"

By Wayne Turmel


One of the best resources for working remotely and managing remote teams is Zack Grossbart’s “One Minute Commute” book and blog. As an engineer who has worked and managed projects remotely for years it is full of great ideas.
I interviewed him recently and got some great tips based on his own experiences –  good and bad. Take a look:

• Keep status and out of office messages updated. One of the biggest sources of tension for remote teams is not getting timely answers to questions. The problem is, you never know if people are not answering because they are unfeeling boors, or if they’re just not actually in the office (or, heaven forbid, having a real life somewhere). Everyone on the team should keep their email, Instant Messaging and other status messages current. It sounds simple, but you’d be amazed how sloppy people get about this.
• Allow people to choose how they communicate. We all have different communication styles- some people are telephone junkies, some only like to communicate by email. While you should set team norms, as the manager you should allow people to play to their strengths. Particularly in international teams, many people feel more confident in their written than spoken English. Calling on them on a lively conference call may not be the best way to get the benefit of their wisdom.
• Email doesn’t happen by accident — think before hitting “send”. Zack has some great pointers about email. Here are a couple: 1) Use clear subject lines so people actually know what the email is about. 2) Create distribution lists and use them judiciously. If you constantly send email to people who don’t care about it you’ll be seen as a pest and even your useful emails will be ignored.
• Not all communication needs to be instantaneous- use tools like blogs and discussion boards. One of the best ways to build team cohesion (and stop people from coming to you for all the answers) is to use team blogs, wikis or shared site discussion boards and files. As the leader, your job is to encourage and support their use. Let the team set the questions and rules about response time. Reward and support those who use the tools and encourage others to use them by not giving in to unnecessary personal requests for the latest version of something. Make them use the shared file site til it becomes a habit.
• Become a good web presenter. Being a good web presenter doesn’t necessarily mean elaborate webinars for all occasions. It really means using the tools appropriately and well. Don’t plan a full presentation when a design document and a white board will do the trick. It does mean becoming proficient, though. Practice and seek to improve. Have your team take turns leading virtual meetings so everyone gets a chance to shine. it also prevents sniping because your harshest critics quickly learn it’s not as easy as it looks.

Check out his One Minute Commute blog here.
Hear a full interview with Zack on The Cranky Middle Manager show.

Blogs and tweets could predict the future

by Jim Giles

In the time it takes you to read this sentence, more than a thousand tweets will have been twittered and dozens of blogs posted. Much of their content will be ephemeral fluff: personal gripes and tittle-tattle interesting to no one but the parties concerned. Yet despite this, it is possible to use that torrent of information to make predictions about social and economic trends that affect us all.

Interest in the idea of analysing web data to make predictions took off around a year ago, when researchers at Google used the frequency of certain search terms to forecast the sales of homes, cars and other products.

In their landmark study, Hal Varian, Google's chief economist, and his colleague Hyunyoung Choi showed how the volume of searches for certain products, such as types of car, rose and fell in line with monthly sales. Google keeps extensive records of what is being searched for, and that information is available almost instantaneously. That could make Varian and Choi's method a far quicker way of gauging purchasing behaviour than traditional sales forecasts, which are often made by looking back at purchasing patterns.

Other researchers have since analysed search terms to look at all manner of behaviours. In late 2009, economists at the Bank of Italy showed that the volume of searches for terms like "job search engine" is a good indicator of coming changes in the unemployment rate in the US. Researchers at the Ruhr University in Bochum, Germany, showed that tracking Google searches for consumer goods provided a better means of forecasting US retail sales than the traditional method of using surveys of consumer attitudes - the so-called Consumer Confidence Index.

Now other sources, such as blog posts and tweets, are being mined too, and the variety of subject matter they address might mean that phenomena other than purchasing patterns can be explored. "The possibilities are enormous," says Joseph Engelberg, a finance researcher at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill.

Tweets may prove useful to political pollsters, for example. Bryan Routledge and his colleagues at Carnegie Mellon University in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, ran a sentiment analysis on tweets posted in the run-up to the 2008 US presidential election relating to candidates Barack Obama and John McCain. They used the results to try to assess voting intentions as the election neared.

The researchers found that this Twitter rating tracked more formal opinion polls closely. And while they were not able to improve on the accuracy of those polls, the work did show that Twitter could provide a cheaper, quicker alternative, says Routledge.

Blog posts can be used to predict stock market behaviour, according to Eric Gilbert and Karrie Karahalios at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, who presented their findings last month, at the International Conference on Weblogs and Social Media in Washington DC.

They used over 20 million posts from the LiveJournal website to create an index of the US national mood, which they called the Anxiety Index. It is a measure of the frequency with which a range of words related to apprehension, such as "nervous", appear in the posts. Gilbert and Karahalios described how they have used the index to improve forecasts of the movement of the S&P 500, a stock market index based on large, public US companies.

Movement of the S&P 500 can be predicted with some degree of accuracy using a model that extrapolates from the past three days' prices. Gilbert and Karahalios found that when the Anxiety Index rose sharply, the S&P 500 ended the day marginally lower than the three-day model predicted. This shows, the researchers say, that the index can be a useful bellwether of economic behaviour. "Blogs provide a sample of what is going on in society," says Gilbert.

Posts on Twitter may hold similar predictive power. Johan Bollen and his colleagues at Indiana University in Bloomington have created an anxiety rating based on an analysis of hundreds of millions of tweets by people in the US. Their paper has not yet been published, but Bollen says they too found that increases in anxiety on their scale correlated with lower than expected stock prices. "We're astounded," he says. "We didn't think it would be a predictive relationship."

The frequent appearance of words like 'nervous' in blogs correlated with lower stock prices

That's because very few of the tweets were actually about stock trades. Instead it seems that the messages capture the "national mood", a collective feeling known to influence trading decisions.

Such a knowledge of national mood could be useful for stock traders. They will be less likely to take risks if they know consumers are pessimistic, for example, since consumer spending is a big part of economic growth.

Another group likely to seize on these kinds of predictive tools are hedge funds, for which anything that offers an edge can be worth millions of dollars. Engelberg has been analysing search engine terms to predict market behaviour and was asked to present his results to the directors of a New York-based hedge fund earlier this month. "They were very familiar with the data," he says. "I got the sense they were [already] using it."

It is likely that the predictive power of these techniques will increase as researchers develop more sophisticated methods for gauging the emotional content of blogs and tweets. For example, it may be possible for Gilbert and Karahalios to fine-tune their Anxiety Index to look at a broader range of emotional cues.

Other researchers are sceptical about the reliability of blogs and tweets, however. Paul Tetlock at Columbia University in New York studies how stock markets are prone to being influenced in unexpected ways. In 2007, he showed that the sentiments expressed in a column in The Wall Street Journal can influence stock market behaviour.

The problem with using sentiment analysis from blogs and the like, Tetlock says, is that it is only indirectly linked to trading decisions. "A person talking about anxious feelings in a blog or tweet may or may not be more averse to taking trading risks," he says. "Moreover, the people on many of these sites are kids, whose general anxiety is probably only weakly correlated with their parents' investing behaviour."

Search terms, on the other hand, are a "particularly promising" means of predicting market behaviour, Tetlock says. They are a direct measure of what people are paying attention to, and therefore likely to correlate to real-world behaviour.

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Original Article

Top 15 LinkedIn Groups For Job Seekers

LinkedIn is one of the most popular professional networking sites on the web, and if you haven't set up an account yet, you should do so right away! If you already have one, check out this list and see if there is one or two that you haven't joined.
Although LinkedIn is not as popular as Facebook or Twitter, it is offers one of the best resources for job seekers to network and find out about openings in their job field. For one, your LinkedIn profile is also your online resume, and there is also a recommend feature that allows other users to recommend you for a position, so it works as an instant personal reference.
LinkedIn groups are an invaluable resource for expanding your job. You can join up to 50 groups out of thousands of user created listings. Some groups are created by individuals and some by companies. Each group is a community where like-minded people who are in similar situations can discuss problems within the group. As you can imagine, this lends itself perfectly to the job search. Some of the groups are devoted to job listings and networking, and some focus more on support and helping others find jobs. Whatever your needs are, take a look and see if one of these groups can help you with your search.
Here is the top 15 groups for job seekers and their group summaries, if I am missing one of your favorite groups, please let me know.

1. JobAngels - “Become a Job Angel by helping one person find a job! It can be a friend, a colleague, a neighbor or a total stranger. And if you need help yourself, join JobAngels to locate someone who is willing to lend a hand. “
2. Project:Get Hired : A motivational support group for job hunters to share creative strategies and stay motivated. Whether you are recently downsized or have been unemployed for awhile, join for valuable information and insight.
3. Job Search Help : This group is for all Job Seekers. Share advice and leads. Network and help each other. Discuss Job Boards, job search engines, career sites, ways to write a good resume etc.
4. Executive Suite - Community of over 100,000 US-based executive-level and recruiter members.
5. The Talent Buzz - Job Seekers, Candidates, Recruiting, HR, and Marketing professionals interested in networking, and being kept up to date with the latest trends in Human Resources, Diversity, Talent Management, Recruitment, Social Media, and Social Networking.
6. Star:Candidate for Hire - Group working in tandem with Linked:HR, the largest Recruiters’ Group on LinkedIn, to help top candidates find jobs quickly and efficiently.
7. JobsDirectUSA - Official job search group on LinkedIn for JobsDirectUSA.com.
8. Career Rocketeer - Career Launch Network - Fastest-growing professional network for career search, career development and personal branding, bringing job seekers and employers, recruiters and career experts together for mutual success.

Groups 9 - 15 and Original Article

By-Melissa Kennedy: Melissa is a freelance writer, having contributed to various blogs and websites, a volunteer, a full time mom and an active job seeker.

Original Article 

FREE e-Book: Personal Branding and Job Search

Career Rocketeer is offering a FREE, downloadable version of Launchpad: Your Career Search Strategy Guide (Vol. 1).
Along with my contribution “8 Hot Tips for Today’s Executive Resume 2.0“, the 152 pages of articles include contibutions by other personal branding and careers experts: William Arruda, Meghan Biro, John Crant, Maria Elena Duron, Hajj Flemings, Phil Gerbyshak, G.L. Hoffman, Jessica Holbrook, Tory Johnson, Pete Kistler, Jennifer Kushell, Liz Lynch, Mike Michalowicz, Chris Perry, Brent Peterson, Phil Rosenberg, Jacob Share, Carol Tuttle and Tim Tyrell-Smith.
Articles cover a range of topics – career search, personal branding, networking, resumes, interviews, social media, and entrepreneurship – and include:

• Irrational Fear and Your Job Search
• Online Reputation Management
• Mastering the Art of the Ask
• The Best Storytellers Get Hired
• Blogging to Advance Your Career

The hard cover version is available through Amazon. Stay tuned for Launchpad Volume 3, coming later this month.

Why Don't You Have a Job Yet? - Help Wanted Help

by Brad Tuttle

Hoepfully, you'll be on the way to finding answers—not to mention actual paying employment—by asking some of these questions.


What's Wrong with your Resume?
Probably one or more of the issues addressed in gallery of 10 resume mistakes that turn off employers from the Boston Globe. (Not to be confused with all of those resume mistakes that get employers all excited so that they just have to hire you.) The mistakes include vague descriptions of prior responsibilities, a lack of direction in your career path, and oh yeah, lies.
Bargaineering's 10 Resume Mistakes You Must Avoid gets right to the point, with a hit list of pitfalls, such as a lack of keywords (play up the ones that are key), a dense mass of text (your resume should be easily scannable), and the untailored resume (customize it for the job you're trying to get and the company you're trying to impress).


Have You Gotten Creative with your Job Search?
Like, for instance, by turning to the church? Not to pray—though that may be a good idea as well—but to network, as this CNN piece suggests.
Meanwhile, the Washington Post reports that more and more of people with college degrees are turning away from the cubicle-office scene and looking instead to manual skilled labor positions, such as a plumber or electrician.


Should You Train for a New Career?
That's a perfectly logical approach. Unfortunately, according to USA Today, many, many unemployed have been retrained to become welders or nursing assistants or green technology workers—only to discover that even in these supposedly growing fields, jobs are hard to come by, and competition among job hunters is fierce.


So Who is Hiring Right Now?
A WSJ story lists 17 positions with the most openings, and the list is heavy on health care, engineering, and IT.


What's Up with all of these Seemingly Random Questions in Job Interviews?
When a hiring managers asks you about your favorite book or movie, it's a way of breaking the ice, but "the question isn't always as simple or innocent as it sounds and can be a minefield," says this Psychology Today story. Your answer will reveal something about you and your interests—both of which may give an impression as to what may interest you about certain careers and job responsibilities. Also, your answer will reveal whether you can formulate ideas and speak coherently about everyday topics. So these seemingly random questions can hurt as much as they can help you.


Is Any Job Better than No Job?
That was the debate recently at the NY Times' Room for Debate blog. The answer I agree with most is this one: Yes, so long as whatever work you take on—even if it's unpaid or worse, really annoying—puts you in a better position down the line to get the job you actually want.


Why Is It Easier to Get a New Job When You Already Have a Job?
Some companies, when looking for new hires, are just ignoring the unemployed, with some ads stating plainly "NO UNEMPLOYED CANDIDATES WILL BE CONSIDERED AT ALL" or "Must be currently employed."


Are We All Joyless Working Machines?
That's what author Mary Pipher is asking. And having no job is better than being a joyless working machine—though admittedly, the joyless job pays better.


Will We Continue to Need College Degrees?
Though there's been a lot of discussion as to whether a college degree is worth the money let alone necessary for many lines of work, the NY Times says, the number of jobs that requires at least a two-year degree is increasing—and is expected to continue to increase in the years to come.


Aren't Employment Rates Bound to Improve at some Point?
Not necessarily, according to Fortune. In the past, unemployment rates have always returned to normal levels after even the most severe downturns. But automation is rapidly eliminating certain kinds of jobs for good, and economists aren't sure how the jobs market will play out. The hope is that technology can create at least as many jobs as it eliminates.

Read more: http://money.blogs.time.com/2010/06/15/help-wanted-help-why-dont-you-have-a-job-yet/?xid=rss-topstories#ixzz0r7OyXd3H

From Blog To Job

Melanie Wanzek

CTW Features

When Adriana Willsie, 24, began blogging in October 2008, it was more to escape a job than to find one.

"My best friend and I were living 1,000 miles apart and working in uninspiring jobs," Willsie says. "Since we were both avid cooks and aspiring writers, we thought co-writing a food blog would be a fun way to stay in touch."

The blog, "Thin Crust, Deep Dish," quickly grew from a forum to share recipes to a launching pad for Willsie's culinary career. The blog led to Willsie's first professional writing job: ghost-writing introductory sections of a new cookbook for a prominent Chicago chef after the book's producer read her work online.

"The hours I spent cooking, photographing and writing what I was eating began to transform my career goals," Willsie says. "I began to take seriously the idea that I could work with food on a professional level."

Blogs give jobseekers an important opportunity to share their knowledge while keeping their minds sharp and fresh. They also give current workers the chance to show off expertise in an industry they hope to enter. Veteran marketing executive David Dirks benefited professionally from his blog, "Dirks on Strategy," when a newspaper editor saw his work. Now, Dirks is a weekly business columnist for The Times Herald-Record in Middletown, N.Y., runs his own weekly online "talk radio" show on job searching and has published a new book, "Job Search Marketing: Finding Job Opportunities in Any Economy" (BookSurge, 2009).

Using a blog to find an ideal career comes down to two things: positioning well to benefit a company and differentiating oneself from other job seekers.

Starting a blog takes mere minutes, thanks to sites like WordPress and Blogger. And the forum reaches large numbers: WordPress alone hosted 9.2 million blogs as of November 2009, with 220 million people visiting at least one blog on the site per month. But making your blog effective takes time and advertisement.

"By itself, a blog will not do much for a job search," Dirks says. "The key is to promote the blog as much as possible to get noticed."

A strategic blog requires a defined focus, quality content, consistent updates and active networking..

"Find other bloggers who are further along the career you're hoping to establish and ask to interview them for your blog," she says.

Dirks recommends writing often. Over time, search engines will find a blog and search its content, which increases odds of people finding bloggers through keyword searches.

"Many people start blogs but few stick with it long enough to see results," he says. "If you blog, be sure to blog regularly. You don't have to write a lot, just enough to get your point across clearly."

Dirks reminds job seekers that blogging is just one of several strategies of self-promotion. He recommends using additional tactics, such as consistent networking or even creating a free newsletter on a topic in your field and promoting it during your job search.

Don't rule out the unexpected.

Says Willsie: "We didn't start the blog with the idea it would help us professionally, but it has had a deeper impact on my own career than I could have ever imagined."

Original Article

Bacon Explosion - Time To Bring It Back

This was all the rage last year but with grilling season in full swing I thought it was time to bring it back..

Women in Social Media: Representing Artists, Mothers and Women over 40

The following interview is with Tatiana Keegan, a National Dance Champion who used social media to create her own come back.  If you are a woman (or man) in the arts – be it dance, fine arts, music – I recommend reading the whole interview.  If you don’t, here are a few golden nuggets:

• Be everywhere.  If your art is best displayed on video, you can’t afford NOT to be on YouTube, Flickr and Facebook.
• If you already have media out there, repurpose it!  You can’t just post things one time and expect it to go viral.  Post and repost those videos, those pictures, that interview.
• It helps if you have someone to help you with your social media efforts!
• Jump on opportunities in a timely manner – a week might be too long to optimize on that TV interview.  Get it onto YouTube, and into your Facebook page IMMEDIATELY.  Then ask all your friends to brag on you.
• Is your industry, age, talent under-represented on Social Media?  Great!  Become the thought leader.
• Do what you love.  And keep doing it.
• You are never too old, or too young to represent.

Today’s interview is with Tatiana Keegan. Most of my interviews have been with women in the
social media marketing realm , speakers or social media authors. This interview is a little
different – and targeted at female artists just getting into the realm of social media. Tatiana is a successful ballroom dancer, who has recently discovered the power of social media.  After launching  www.tatianawerner.com, she added links to her social media sites (keeping her fans updated on her international ballroom circuit comeback, after getting married and having a child.) And there’s been lots of news! In a span of less than two weeks last month, Tatiana and her new partner Werner Figar won the American Star Ball, then flew to Austria, where they qualified for the World Championships in Germany later this year, and then on to England, where they finished ahead of 75 percent of the field in the historic Blackpool Dance Festival against hundreds of the best dancers in the world. Whew! This is one busy woman!

Viveka: I’ve been watching you on YouTube (click here to see Tatiana do her thing)

Tatiana: Yes.  The National Championship. I won that, but nobody knew about it, ever.

Viveka: And we see your partner was Tony who was on Dancing with the Stars with Kate Gosselin, is that correct?  So that You Tube video is getting some play, but I notice you have also written several blogs in Faster Times with advice to Kate. I thought that was fabulous.

Tatiana: Yes – when it published the article even outdid the health insurance blog about Barack Obama!

Viveka: You know, that’s why I love social media.  Because what people are really interested in, that’s what gets top ranking and apparently, they are way more interested in Dancing with the Stars and our new health reform!

Viveka: So you first started using it about 3 years ago. Did you start with YouTube?

Tatiana: Yes.  But hardly at all.  I was living in a cave until I met my husband. He’s the one who is more into computers. I didn’t know how to use computers until like 4 years ago. I didn’t have a computer. I didn’t have a cell phone. I still don’t know how to drive.  All I do is dance, you know? And then I met my husband. He said: “Oh, my God, you’re a gem and nobody knows about you! Let me help you.” So he started promoting me online.

He created the website for us. Then created our Facebook account because it’s one of the things that is hot right now, and of course YouTube, which lead us to Twitter and then Flickr – and here we go. So I am everywhere now!  The skeptics can’t believe it!   Even if you are really talented – if no one knows about you… you’re pretty much ending up nowhere.

Viveka: That’s exactly right.  I think that’s why I love social media so much – It allows people either with talent, time or money to be seen!

Tatiana: Yes, that’s right. People started seeing me on TV about 2 or 3 years ago because there was a cable channel showing re-runs of all the ballroom dance competitions.  One of them was the Nationals in Miami. A few competitions were recorded and that’s how people saw me for the first time. After  September 11^th, since the budget was so low they stopped recording any competition  - so no media and no exposure.  So people forgot who I was.  I’m just some dancer teaching them – but they don’t know I’m on TV, or the competitions I won, or that I was on David Letterman , and a reality show.  Then suddenly I started getting so many students and I couldn’t understand why all these people now suddenly want me?  It’s because of the website. Once they saw me, they were really impressed:   “Oh, my God you can do that? You were on David Letterman and you’re dancing with Tony Dovolani? Oh, I want you! You’re a hot shit now!”  It’s amazing how it social media turned everything 180 degrees suddenly.
Viveka: So many women have talent that’s been bottled up, and if they only put it out there, if they only had some way to put it on YouTube, or Facebook, that might be the channel for their exposure and success.

Tatiana: Another thing, and I think it’s a big issue – when you become a mother, suddenly you lose authenticity.  “Oh, she’s a mother. What does she know? She can’t do anything. All she can do is change diapers.” And that’s the kind of attitude I got when I came back to dancing after I had my daughter 3 years ago.

People seemed to think I could only listen to lullabies and play with toys.  They all assumed I was out of shape because I hadn’t danced for a while. People in the dance industry actually said “Look, she’s a mother now. Who cares about you?”   I wasn’t trying to prove anything but I wanted to dance. I went back and started practicing everyday with my partner. I finally earned back their respect – but it’s kind of sad what I had to go through to get it back.  Unfortunately, that’s how a lot of mothers get it.

Viveka: Well it’s true and you know, the dance culture is so competitive and it’s so body conscious and it is kind of snippy, you know?

Tatiana: Right, right, right.

Viveka: And so I think what you’re doing and the fact that not only did you come back and dance after you had your daughter and you did it in a very powerful way but you’re really an excellent role model for other people whether they’re dancers or not.

Tatiana: My new partner Werner said, “Look at your body. Look at your mind.  You still look like you’re in your early 20’s, 30’s whatever. It’s not the number. Can you do this? Can you become a fast dancer again? Can you handle all this pressure? The number really doesn’t matter.” And I thought about it. I said, “Yeah, you know what? I can dance. For some reason I thought when you’re turning around 40s you have to be done.”  But everybody’s different. Everyone is different and I feel like I’m only 25 years old. It really doesn’t matter. When I go and compete, I think I’m the oldest there.  But you know what? It doesn’t bother me at all because I just also want to bring that message to people, “No, you don’t have to be done. If you have a family and have kids, you still can continue doing things and go strong.”

Viveka: You’ve got this very powerful message that you’re sharing, and I think that that’s what makes people successful using social media. I love going to YouTube and watching you dance. The powerful message is not so much about the dancing, but that as a mother, you’re not done. As a 39-year-old woman you’re not done.

So you’ve used obviously YouTube because it is a very, very visual art and you’ve got your website and that’s gotten a lot of play and then you’ve done the blog for Faster Times and you’ve used Facebook and Twitter as well.

Do you use them the same? Do you use them differently?
Tatiana: I just say, “Hey, guys, I have a competition this weekend, Come to cheer,” or “Here are my new videos,” or “Look, I have pictures. Here’s the link to them.”

You have different things for different places.  On Facebook I just put that little message, or mention my blog.  Of course when I mention I’m friends with Tony Dovolani, it goes to his fans, too.  And they see it and so that creates so much traffic and I get—yeah, I get a lot of viewers now because of that so it’s just amazing. I think it’s extraordinary.

Viveka: Yes, Facebook has really been a hub for you. I mean it’s like where everything comes in and everything goes out from there.

Tatiana: Right. Unfortunately, it doesn’t stay there too long.  You consciously have to embed the messages and videos constantly.

Viveka: Some people think Facebook or social media’s the golden egg but it’s work!

Tatiana: Uh!

Viveka: It’s not as much work as dancing but its work.

Tatiana: It is, it is. You consciously have to put it on top yeah, and it reminds everybody. It’s like “Okay, here I am guys. Remember me?”

Viveka: Exactly.

Tatiana: Yeah, but its fun.  I can go check it and if people comment, then I respond to that.  However, if we need to post something, then my husband and I do it together, because he knows how to do it technically.

I tell him what to do and he just presses the right buttons.

Viveka: See, I pay people to do that. You’re fortunate enough to have a husband who does

Tatiana: I know. That’s my secret.

Viveka: So your teaching has increased significantly as well as your exposure through the use of social media.

Tatiana: Because that’s what social networking is. It’s just word of mouth.  I think we are so lucky we were born in this generation

Viveka: Yes, and you come from Russia.

Tatiana: Yes, but I’m still like not very updated. I’m outdated because like I said—I mean I never use cell phone. My brother bought for me a cell phone and for the longest time I wouldn’t even use it!

So you know, I’m so thankful to my brother and my husband who make me do this. Otherwise I’d still be living in a basement apartment and nobody would know who I am.

Viveka: Wow. That really speaks for the power of this and the power of technology.  And in a relatively short time!

Tatiana: I have all these fans who then subscribe to my YouTube Channel. It’s really amazing.

Viveka: It’s very powerful in that it has had that much of a difference for you in that short of a time.  You know, some of the points that I like to talk about when it comes to social media and how women use it are the result.  You are a perfect example  - because you’ve got more freedom now. You’re able to operate in more venues.  So you’re much more visible.
It’s an excellent venue  - especially the video.  Dancing is expression – and video allows you to share that expression.  It’s increased your income. It’s given you authority in your industry. You’re becoming a thought leader in your field as a woman returning to dance as a mother.
Anything that you would like to say to other people who might be in the same situation? Any advice you would give them in using social media?

Tatiana: Well, like I said before don’t give up. Don’t look at the number, like 30, 40, 50 and you always can find time for whatever you love. Don’t give it up because I met so many women, they gave up what they wanted to do and then they look back and they regret it so much. So just try to find time. It’s all possible. You can fit it in your schedule but you really have to have the desire. Because it does make you a better person and a better mother and better wife.  Whenever you do something for yourself, it makes you just a better person. You spiritually become better and physically you feel better. You just have to do what you really love. It’s very, very important.

If there is something you love to do you have to stick with it! Follow your heart and eventually it will bring what you need to survive. You don’t want to do things just for money, you know. You do want to put your heart on it and that’s why I’m doing this.  I may be poor to others but I do this for my life and I couldn’t imagine doing anything else.

Original Article

Work Values Checklist

By Pat Boer, Monster Contributing Writer

Every day, we make choices -- some without careful consideration. Whether we realize it or not, often our career choice is based on values rather than the work. Values are the beliefs, attitudes and judgments we prize. Are you aware of your values? Do you act on them?
Use this checklist to get a better idea of what's important to you. It's divided into three categories related to intrinsic, extrinsic and lifestyle values.
Intrinsic Values
These are the intangible rewards, those related to motivation and satisfaction at work on a daily basis. They provide the inner satisfaction and motivation that make people say, "I love getting up and going to work!"
How important (on a scale of one to five; five being most important) are these intrinsic values to you?
1.   _____ Variety and change at work
2.   _____ Be an expert
3.   _____ Work on the frontiers of knowledge
4.   _____ Help others
5.   _____ Help society
6.   _____ Experience adventure/excitement
7.   _____ Take risks/have physical challenges
8.   _____ Feel respected for your work
9.   _____ Compete with others
10. _____ Have lots of public contact
11. _____ Influence others
12. _____ Engage in precision work
13. _____ Gain a sense of achievement
14. _____ Opportunities to express your creativity
15. _____ Work for a good cause
Extrinsic Values
These are the tangible rewards or conditions you find at work, including the physical setting, job titles, benefits and earnings/earning potential. Extrinsic values often trap people into staying at jobs they don't like, saying: "I just can't give up my paycheck!" They are commonly called "golden handcuffs."
How important (on a scale of one to five; five being most important) are these "golden handcuffs" to you?
1.   _____ Have control/power/authority
2.   _____ Travel often
3.   _____ Be rewarded monetarily
4.   _____ Be an entrepreneur
5.   _____ Work as a team
6.   _____ Work in a fast-paced environment
7.   _____ Have regular work hours
8.   _____ Set your own hours/have flexibility
9.   _____ Be wealthy
10. _____ Have prestige or social status
11. _____ Have intellectual status
12. _____ Have recognition through awards/honors/bonuses
13. _____ Wear a uniform
14. _____ Work in an aesthetically pleasing environment
15. _____ Work on the edge, in a high-risk environment
Lifestyle Values
These are the personal values associated with how and where you want to live, how you choose to spend your leisure time and how you feel about money.
How important (on a scale of one to five; five being most important) are these lifestyle values to you?
1.   _____ Save money
2.   _____ Vacation at expensive resorts
3.   _____ Have access to educational/cultural opportunities
4.   _____ Live close to sports/recreational facilities
5.   _____ Be active in your community
6.   _____ Entertain at home
7.   _____ Be involved in politics
8.   _____ Live simply
9.   _____ Spend time with family
10. _____ Live in a big city
11. _____ Live abroad
12. _____ Have time for spirituality/personal growth
13. _____ Be a homeowner
14. _____ Live in a rural setting
15. _____ Have fun in your life and at work
Once you have completed all three checklists, write down all the values you rated as 5s. If you have less than five, add the values you rated as 4s to the list. If your list of 4s and 5s has more than 20 values, you need to stop and prioritize your list. To prioritize, select no more than four or five values from each category.
Next, analyze which of the three categories is most important to you. Consider how each is reflected in the work you currently do or in the position you would like to find. Look for overlap or values that seem to go together, such as "be wealthy" from Extrinsic Values and "save money" from Lifestyle Values. If there is no overlap or compatibility between categories, or if everything is important to you, then reprioritize your list by selecting your top 10 values. Then narrow that list down to the five values you absolutely need both on and off the job.
Finally, write two or three sentences describing or summarizing how your values will translate into your ideal job. Knowing what's important will help you prepare for your next interview or help you find increased satisfaction with the job you have.
As you follow the process, if you notice that what motivates you is actually a reward or already part of your lifestyle, it means you're living your values. Congratulations and enjoy!

Original Article