Archive for March, 2009

Please Teach Kids Technology

This is my son Kaden as he’s playing in the dog water last summer on the patio behind my house.  (He’s smiling because he knows he’s not supposed to play in the dog water.) Kaden is now two and a half years old and knows that with Daddy’s help, he can find all of his favorite Disney flicks on YouTube.  We actually play games with this in mind.  Kaden picks the subject or movie title and Daddy types the search terms.  In the past few months we’ve found videos on Disney characters, cars, snowboarders, lions and tigers and bears – oh my! You and I both know that the content is there and it’s ready to be consumed. That’s crazy and different and astounding all at the same time.  My son is part of a generation that will grow up where uninhibited access to people and information is the standard.  The new web is simply a platform shift to using technology tools that allow us communicate and share information across all boundaries. It’s incredibly cool watching peer-to-peer communication reshape the world.  Why?  Here’s seven reasons: Our kids will never know a world without mobile phones or text messaging or broadband internet. A good portion of our kids are were born after the launch of Facebook.  Thanks to proud moms and dads everywhere, the next generation of web users is already online in the form of content and images and video.  I had Kaden’s first baby pictures on Facebook hours after he arrived.  In fact, St. Anne’s Hospital actually posts new born pictures on a web sharing platform for parents and families to download. Our kids may never open a hard bound encyclopedia to look for information.  Instead, they’ll grow up using search engines to find whatever information they need. There’s [...]

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You Might be aTwitter Addict

Twitter can be addicting.  For people who naturally love to meet new people and receive the most up-to-the minute information, reading and sending Tweets is like a drug feeding an intense craving to connect. Not that connecting is bad.  It’s a good thing for those who enjoy it.  But like all good things, moderation and control are necessary.  If you’ve been feeling like your having trouble logging off of Tweetdeck or putting down Twirl, here’s a list of signs that might indicate that your on your way to becoming a Twitter addict. You make it a point to Tweet “good morning tweeple” upon getting out of bed. You’ve tweeted something to the extent of  “OMG!  I was just almost in a traffic accident!” less than 1 minute after you’ve actually almost been involved a traffic accident. You’re signing your @name after your signature on checks.. You have @reply conversations with your followers about the 10tv Bot. You’ve suddenly started having trouble speaking in sentences that contain more 140 characters. You proudly wear a t-shirt that displays the words “follow me” and has your @name. You’re eliminating vowels and reducing spacing when you write hand written notes to people. Yesterday, you walked into a door because were too busy sending your latest a twitpic. Your spouse has threatened divorce if you send one more tweet from the dinner table. You’ve recently traded DM’s with @mchammer, @barakobama and other celebrities. If you or a loved one are experiencing any these symptoms, please disconnect your internet connection immediately, walk away from your laptop or phone and legit seek face-to-face interaction as soon as possible.  Maintain direct human contact until the cravings subside and then return to Tweeting only a few short scheduled intervals per day. Remember, Twitter addiction is serious condition and can [...]

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Send References on LinkedIn

I get asked for my references a lot.  You probably do too.  It’s happens in the interview process and when you’re selling services, and even when you trying to get capital to get your start up off the ground.  It happens all the time.  The traditional delivery method is usually  an email  containing the names, email addresses and phone numbers of the people you know will give you glowing recommendations. Here’s the thing – this is an ‘old school’ way of doing things.  Historically, it’s worked worked out and people are used to a standard of doing it this way.  But now we have LinkedIn.  Profile-based networks are powerful because over-time, you can build and display an organized history of your personal brand.  And because most profile-based networks are served on a templated system, users learn very quickly how the information is organized and where to find what they need. The basic pain point with the old school method is this:  In email, your references are simply contact info on a screen.  Whereas, on a profile-based social network like LinkedIn, your references exist as their own personal brands, backed up by the volume and quality of who they are connected with. Applying LinkedIn References to the Job Interview  I love LinkedIn and how vast it’s become in recent years.  In 2005, when I used to send out-of-network contacts a email invite, a good portion would reply, asking if I was aware that I was spamming people.  Things have changed.  Today, chances are that the people  you need to back up your  great interview, as well as the interviewer who needs to meet them are on LinkedIn.   The amount of time they spend working the network is a crap shoot, but it’s likely that at very least they’ve stated a profile. [...]

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