Tide Rolling 1st Night             Case-Mate Booth!!                    OLED TV’s                              Only hybrid I would drive

Robert Horry @booth      Smart Motion…..                     Hanging w/ 50 Cent                View from The Mix!

Let’s set the record straight…if I hear one more time “what happens in Vegas…” then I will jam a laser pointer into my ear.  Other than that, great trip.  I lost $30 playing War (which my 5 year old daughter beats me at constantly), I danced more in 4 days than in 4 years and I finally found a hybrid I would drive!  Oh, since 50 and I are now boys, I refer to him as “Curtis”….

Very cool week indeed!  The coolest part was hanging with lots of new people and rekindling old friendships from my Panasonic days.  Looking forward to CES 2013 and seeing how much thinner those TV’s get (maybe they can make a machine to thin me down, P90X is not my bag)!

Check out my 2 minute Vlog on the subject of “choices” and look for more post on this topic.  Would love to hear comments on choices you have made (life, career, etc…) good/bad and how they impacted your life short/long term.

April 1999 – August 2005:  I was working for a great company and as the Talent Manager had spent 6.5 years building a 450+ person team!  Like any company we had ups and downs, but there were a lot more ups!

September 2005:  With great remorse, I resigned.

October 2005:  The great company, were I grew, learned, laughed and played (a lot!) announced their closure…many saw it coming, many did not.

This was the same month I decided to organize and manage my massive network and never reach a point in my life where I was dependant on an unknown hiring manager with only a piece of paper and one hour to decide if I may be ”a fit” for their job.

Networking is an absolute MUST for any aspect of your life!  Networks are like your butts, everyone has one; some are larger and some are smaller, but we all have one!

October 2005:  Searching for a tool besides Outlook to manage my network, I stumble upon something that I think will be useful in staying connected; LinkedIn.

March 2011 – October 2011:  Time for a new challenge!  Begin a confidential job search…

Since March, I spent several months searching for a job through traditional methods….apply with a piece of paper and let someone I don’t know decide my fate.

October 18, 2011:  Campaign specific people in my network for leads on new jobs
October 20, 2011:  Interview with potential new employer
October 21, 2011:  Receive offer for new gig!

It’s never to late to begin growing your network.  It takes time, effort and lots of work.  Connect and network with great people and always be willing to help others.  Remember, networks are like butts, and in the immortal words of Sir Mix A Lot, “I Like Big Butts and I Can Not Lie”!!

1. What is your overall social media strategy and how does a blog platform fit into it.
2. What is your blog strategy?  It should consist of; messaging, information and positioning
3. Goals and objectives

The first thing anyone should do when designing something new is develop your strategy.  Your blog strategy should consist of the following six components;

Appealing message
Does your message have a large enough appeal?  Is the topic of your blog one of interest.  Don’t worry about numbers/visits at this point.  A small, engaged following can be better than thousands of views.  Point is make sure your message appeals to your targets.

Target audience
Who are you trying to reach?  Why are you trying to reach this group?  What is the benefit to your social strategy for engaging this group of people.

Provide a value
Why would someone read/subscribe to your blog?  What are the benefits of readership?  Anytime I visit a site it is with a purpose….learn something!

Communicate important information
Informative and “how to” blogs are the most read, be sure your audience can learn something for your blog.  If you are blogging about “why someone should use Facebook”, good luck!  Now if you were blogging about using Facebook as a sourcing tool for new business….better!

Engaging conversation
Blog are designed to be conversational and in a conversation, two people speak.  Ensure that people can comment and engage in dialogue.  If you receive “negative” feedback, address it vs. delete.  We all don’t agree in life and it will not happen on your blog!

Cross pollination
Is your goal to drive traffic to other social platforms?  This is normal and a blog is a great way to engage people across platforms, visually via video or pictures or written words!  Make it work for your strategy!

Remember your blog will become your brand, whether you are a consumer good or a person building an on-line reputation.  Ensure your strategy drives to quality!!

I have read, listened and studied many times over the topic of “what makes a person successful”.   Today at the SHRM-Atlanta 2011 HR Conference I was 50 feet away from the embodiment of the answer to this business mystery.

If my eyes were closed I would have heard the poise of an Ivy League education, the maturity and experience of a baby booming, Fortune 50 executive and the heart of someone that overcame every obstacle in life to achieve success.  Only the last statement describes what you see in Kat Cole when you open your eyes.

Here is a highly energetic, 33 year old, corporate President (that is not a typo, she is 33 and the President of Cinnabon – the bomb in tasty treats) who did not have “a life of privilege”, who never listened to the words of all the naysayers and had every reason to fail by the “norms and standards” that our society set.  If we have been taught anything over the past several years, it is how wrong the “norms and standards” can be!

Kat Cole not only shared a motivating story, but had the ability to help the audience feel the emotion in her discussion regarding “Transformational Leadership”.  As I circled the event all day, interviewing HR  professionals regarding their experience on Day 1, there was one common theme:  Kat Cole!

As a father of 3 daughters I am thrilled to know that there are role models for success in life and business, no matter the obstacles, no matter the naysayers and no matter the situation! My only critique of this well delivered keynote, “WHERE IS YOUR BOOK, I WANT TO BUY ONE”!

If you missed today’s keynote you missed the best!  TEASER: Look for it on the SHRM-Atlanta YouTube channel and SHRM-Atlanta website sometime in the future!

I can only imagine what is in store for Day 2!

Everywhere you turn you hear one buzz word; social!  I am in the field of talent acquisition and companies are always looking for the fountain of candidates; that one place where strong candidates are abundant, java developers fall off of trees and the purple squirrels carry around blue acorns!

Guess what?  Just because you join a social network does not mean you will suddenly find yourself in some utopia of candidates where it rains skill sets and flying unicorns pee coffee and poop sugar cubes!

One thing is certain, there are over 1 billion people (thinking of Dr. Evil as I type this) within social networks; our job is to meet, greet and network with them.  This requires a strategy not bombardment of useless and pointless…..crap!

Creating the strategy is the most important thing you can do PRIOR to jumping into the social land of milk and honey.  Your social strategy requires meaning and must tie into the bigger picture of your company’s goals and objectives.  The three keys of social media include;

1. Strategy:  plan that marries your business objectives and your business insights to your users.
2. Enablement:  active commitment to becoming a social business, “social” being a part of the company DNA
3. Content:  Storytelling!  What you’re saying must pass the “Who gives a crap” test!

Developing your strategy is the first step, which I will take you through in my Building a Social Strategy presentation below, designed as a 2.5 hour interactive workshop.  Also, you can find a Social Strategy Template  I created to go along with the presentation and document your plan!

Good luck on your strategy and if you see any purple squirrels or flying unicorns I know several companies that can use them!

References:

Three Keys To Social Media found in article HERE

So let me boil it down, You may not be a social media expert if you …….

1. are the owner of a really dumb phone.
2. were the 743,127, 698th person to join Facebook.
3. refer to any social media medium as “The….”, example, “The Facebook”.
4. think LinkedIn is a type of fence to keep the dogs in.
5. believe HootSuite is a type of hotel for owls.
6. hear the term “hashtag” and instantly think of the movie “Dazed and Confused” or any Cheech and Chong flick.
7. actually believe you are the Mayor or Duke of Starbucks because your phone says so.
8. see the “@” symbol and wish you could draw your “a’s” that way.
9. have never seen a “blog” in the wild and still unable to google a picture of one.
10. are still not sure what type of animal a RSS is and what you should feed it.
11. think YouTube is a type of clothing similar to a tube top.
12. hear the term “tweet” and think of Tweetie Pie from childhood cartoons.
13. clicked on any of these links to find out what they are!

In all seriousness can some really be a social media expert?  Social media has so many uses and there are tons of tools.  You can be a strategist, because you create strategies around social media or an enthusiast if you love social media and push it’s use for different campaigns.

So please stop using this term as a title!  If someone calls you an expert, take it as a compliment but refrain from revamping your business cards and updating your LinkedIn account.

Logged into LinkedIn tonight and guess what I found…a new layout!  Back in 2009 they tested a new layout that went over pretty well (remember the picture on the right side).  A lot is changing at LinkedIn, especially since May, and looks like they are gearing up cosmetically….or is it just cosmetics?

Upon a quick review there were several things that jump out, but initially it is the layout!  Here is a quick recap of what I noticed;

Like:

1. Much cleaner look to the site, has an Apple….esque feel, love the clean lines and appearance gives the impression of an easier to read site.
2. Changes are slight, so does not jump out, but sensible and well placed for additional technical features.
3. Share button in the top right makes it easy to share profiles, as I was always forgetting where the “share” / “forward” button was located (in the bottom left…keep reading).

Dislike:

1. Share button in two locations; I like it on the top right, but bottom left is redundant and could have been used for something else (which may be coming).
2. I would like to see a “help” or “view as application/resume”  button to view your profile as a resume to coincide with the latest “apply now” button.  How will your profile look when someone applies for a position (currently if mine is printed it is 11+ pages due to 30+ references)?

Overall the changes are slight, but I believe we will see more additions as LinkedIn is setting up to be the go to of job search vs. strictly business networking (not to mention that little IPO thing)!  My guess is the cosmetic changes will be the first step to additional technical applications.  My prediction; look for new features over the next weeks and months!

Check out the new LinkedIn profile  You may need to click “view full profile” to see the changes.  Also, if you are unable to view, they may have only rolled out to select users.  You can find a screen shot HERE

I recently heard the following comment about “improving” customer interaction and relationships ”well it has worked for 25+ years, it should work the same way today. ” “Why change it?”  This got me to thinking, some things may work the same as 25 years ago (toilets, sinks and other household items) but what about communication and interaction with people?  Think about the following;

• 25 years ago the best way to apply for a job:  send a resume via mail for .12 cents and wait…  Today, email or upload to a site for free…… and then wait!
• 15 years ago the best way to communicate with your distant loved ones was get a cheap calling card (love it when you missed a digit and had to re-enter the 16 digit code) or wait till after 10:00 for the cheapest rates….  Today, VOIP  or Google Chat with whomever, whenever, wherever free!
• 10 years ago if you had an out-of-state/country friend, you may see/speak with them 1x per year (or less)…. Today, Skype, Facebook Video Chat or Google Hangout with them anytime of the day/night for free!
• 5 years ago, you had long lost touch with your classmates from the class of 90′…  Today, you have a Facebook group with ability to video chat and watch their children grow up in daily status updates!

So how does this apply to work relationships?  If your job is dealing with people, certainly it involves several generations.  Will the techniques of 25 years ago work today?  Of course not!  However let’s not take away from the core principle:  Building Relationships!

Take a chance and Skype with a customer sometime, invite a friend or co-worker to join your tribe on Facebook or LinkedIn, start a Google Hangout about a specific topic or interest.  Don’t forget, it is possible to build a relationship in 140 character or less, Twitter Scouts Honor!

Thank you Mark Zuckerberg (Facebook), Niklas Zennström (Skype), Jack Dorsey (Twitter), Larry Page and Sergey Brin (Google) and Reid Hoffman (LinkedIn) for not doing things the same way and improving our relationship building!  I reach more people today, in less time, for less money!

Now time to remove those incriminating Class of 1990 “Party Like It’s 1999“  prom pictures when Prince ruled the airwaves, cassette tapes got stuck, MC Hammer pants were awesome and Mississippi Mudflaps (aka a mullet) ruled!  Now that is change worth skyping about!

Related articles

• Facebook launching in-browser video chat with Skype this week? (geek.com)
• Facebook taking Skype relationship further with video chat (gigaom.com)

There are so many mobile tools that have or will affect most aspects of our life.  My latest question is, “why do all the cool tools come in a small square shape?” I recently discussed QR codes, however their was one flaw that left me puzzled.  Once I load the link, then it was forever attached to that bar code….until now.

More QR Code Stuff

I recently discovered a tool (FREE) that allows you to generate a QR code in a variety of colors, and then edit the links while never changing the bar code. Hipscan has the ability to send mobile devices to your website, social profile, or anything else. The best part is that you can change it any time you want!

They offer a variety of other cost effective custom services including creating mini-stickers, t-shirts and mini-cards ranging from $14-$18 dollars!  This is a must check out for the QR enthusiast!

Get Paid Quick and Easy!

Now let’s assume you render services, be they social media consulting, small business owner or your roommate owes you for their half of the rent.  Square is a device that takes minutes to set up, is easy to use and includes a free square device for use.  Did I mention the software is an app and you guessed it…. is free to download.

You will be able to accept credit/debit payments instantly with a simple slide.  Want to stay green?  You can email/text the receipt versus printing (although this is still an option) to the person making payment.  The fees are flat and minimal (2.75%)…what’s not to love?

Jobseeker and Hiring Mobile Apps

Lastly, everything, and I mean everything is going the way of the mobile app!  Are you searching for a job?  Check out Indeed’s app that will allow you to search for jobs on your phone…anytime, anywhere… but of course never @ work!

The flip side, do you have a job opening but can’t afford to build your own app?  Check out the JobSpeek site and app (yes that is the correct spelling).  They allow you to:

• record 60 second audio ‘hiring message’ to describe the job
• upload a picture of your business or office environment
• free distribution to 10+ million job seekers through sites such as SimplyHired
• ability to manage/edit/add listings quickly and easily
• social media integration

Guess what?  All the above is FREE (well JobSpeek is for now…)  Obviously many of the job boards have their own apps, however I really like Indeed because they compile all the jobs into one easy location!

Mobile is taking over!  You never leave home with it, it is always with you and it is ever evolving!  Make your life a little easier and go square!!