In Yelp I Trust, Do you?

I decided my comeback should be on something that I am passionate about. Can you guess what it is? YELP!

I have been a yelper for some time so I may be biased on the recent article that was displayed in the Washington Post, "Review site Yelp under fire in business' lawsuits." I know some businesses do risky things to make some cash but I would like to believe that Yelp wouldn't do that.

First of all, if you don't know what yelp is then...STOP LIVING UNDER CHEWBACCA! Yelp is a social networking site that let's consumers rate and review businesses. For example, you are looking for a good Thai restaurant near where you live but you don't have any friends that eat Thai food (or you don't have any friends). Who can you ask? There's Google for starters, but it only suggests places nearby. It doesn't tell you whether they are good, what dish is best, what kind of atmosphere the place is or how to woo the hot server on Tuesday nights. These are things you need to know!

Yelp provides this information. If you are still confused then you can check out my yelp reviews here.

Getting to the point, Yelp "is being sued by several small businesses that claim they've been pressured to advertise on the site in exchange for getting negative reviews squashed." What it seems to me is that companies are complaining about free speech. If this was someones personal blog and they had positive and negative reviews and some went missing then the companies wouldn't sue them! If your business sucks and you can't give good customer service then stop complaining. Maybe you should improve your business and then people wouldn't write anything negative. If I were the business then I would take it upon myself to read the reviews as constructive criticism. Make an account and offer the people that write negative reviews an incentive to come back after you fix the problem they are complaining about.

I think Jerry Stoppelman, Yelp co-founder and CEO said it best,

"the businesses suing the company don't understand how Yelp works. Some reviews might come and go because it relies on an automated program to weigh reviews and filter out ones that might be untrustworthy, such as a negative review a spa owner might write about a competitor. Yelp does nothing to manipulate reviews, aside from allowing advertisers to choose one review they would like to feature at the top of the page about their business...the automated filter has helped Yelp stay relevant to consumers, even though it frustrates some businesses."

Although, I'm starting to wonder if by chance this could have been a scam. If it was, then Yelp would have denied the accusations. Maybe Yelp is guilty but for now, I'm going to believe they are not. If it wasn't for yelp, I would not have found the gym that I love so dearly. I should write a review about my gym. To bad I can't write a review about the person talking real loud about their intimate relationship with their boyfriend in Starbucks.

What do you think about this Yelp dilemma? Do you trust them or not? Do you dare to Yelp? I dare you!

Spokeo your E-mail, Forget Google

When you were applying for a job, you knew that the employer most likely Googled your name to do some background checking. What if they used Spokeo?

Spokeo is a social network aggregator, it searches and collects public records of fifty social sites like LinkedIn, Facebook, MySpace, Twitter, Flickr, Amazon Gifts, and the blogosphere just by using an e-mail address. Meaning you enter in the e-mail address of a person and then POOF, you have information of what social networks their on and what they are posting online.

Kawaski gives a great example using his e-mail address to show us his results. It shows his social networks, blogging, employment, and pictures including Flickr (170 photos), MySpace, LinkedIn, his blog, and a total of nine social networks. Click on "View More" to find out which social networks and your taken to the sign up page. You have to pay $2.95/month for one year or $4.95/month for three months to see the details.


When you pay, you see more details like the exact social networks Kawaski belongs to (as seen above). When you click on the matches, it takes you to the person's public page on those sites.

What about privacy? Can they really do that? Spokeo has a page on privacy, where they write that “Spokeo finds only publicly available information by default. In other words, everything on Spokeo could have been seen by you and others all these times.” They compare it to Google-ing someones name but this is a quicker way to find all the information your looking for.

If you are worried they will find out, then don't fear because Spokeo doesn't notify people that you're looking at their online content. This means that employers could easily track employee's online adventures and ex-boyfriends could track ex-girlfriends without their knowledge. Bradley says that "It must be a gold mine for private investigators, stalkers and other unsavory people."

This does cause me to be concerned. I know that if you are careful and don't make things public or if you use a dummy e-mail account for social networks then you will be fine. Although, it bothers me that searching with my professional e-mail address, it claimed I had social network accounts that I was unaware of. Therefore, it is either lying or providing false information.

Either way, It can be a positive tool for a small business, consumers, Craiglist and eBay users, job applicants, employers, investors, entrepreneurs, consultants, parents and others. It can be used to get more information about an employers that you have an interview with. Parents can check on who their kids are dating. You can check on who you're dating or a someone you are thinking of dating.

There are positive and negatives of Spokeo but it all depends on how it is used. It can be used for either good and evil. What would you or will you use Spokeo for?

Social Media Hits DC with Insight

As I mentioned in my previous post, I went to the Social Media Club - DC event at the National Press Building on social searches versus Google searches (not how they phrased it but it addresses the point). The speakers were Chris Seline (@dumbfounder), Laurence Hooper (@lhooper), Jared Goralnick (@technotheory), Greg Gershman (@greggersh) and Aaron Brazell (@technosailor). The reason I have names in parenthesis are because these are all their twitter names. I'll explain that more in a bit.

They started off discussing the difference between social searches and Google searches. There were many conflicting views amongst the board but here is what I got. Google searches will get what you want but it cost time. Social searches are more customized and personalized to the user. Aaron Brazell gives the example of Thomas Hawk whose goal in life is to publish 1,000,000 photos on flickr. He has already posted about 20,000. If Aaron wanted to find a photo that Thomas took of New York a couple years ago then it would take him awhile searching Google to find that pictures. If he searched Flickr then he would speedily find what he was looking for.

These social searches interact with people because the results are based on other opinions. It comes down to the perception of trust in social networks. We tend to put a trust value on the information we find by ratings like Yelp.

Julie Minevich, who also attended, gives a good run down of the remaining questions that were discussed:

• Is there any value in organizing and archiving old social networking actions?
• Are mobile communities the next step in this media revolution?
• What are the ways social networking sites are trying to create revenue?
• Why isn’t Google more involved in this social media space?

I'll try and highlight some of the responses from the panel on these questions from the notes that I took. (Yes, I took notes with a pen and paper! I felt very lame. Especially because it was on an HP paper notepad)

• The reason Google has not gotten involved in social searching is because they have not found a way to make money off of it. They are waiting to see how to make money off of Facebook and Twitter.
• Blogging, twitter and all these other mobile communities are affecting the future by creating a universe in social networks. These social networks describe who we are as a person and/or company. It is becoming a way in which we create our identity.
  
• Some sites for tracking social media: Trakr, Twitterbox, Radiant 6?, Blogpolls? and Relevant Noise (Someone let me know if these are correct...)
• Facebook is behavioral advertising and behavioral marketing. The new form of advertising.
• The great thing about social networks are that they are free. Compared to the past where you would have to pay to go to a social networking event.
  
• Social Networkers are finding ways to make money by finding ways to share ads on things like FanBox.
• Keep an eye out for Aardvark, a new start up that is like Yahoo Answers and Twitter meshed together.
  

The last point of discussion was on what's next. As Aaron responded, "we are finding ways to merge real life and online life. The closer you bring both together is better." We are constantly on our phones and online. For example, the best thing about this meeting was that every person was on their iPhone, Blackberry or mobile device (sadly I have not gotten an iPhone and am very uncool). While the speakers were talking everyone was on Twitter responding and making comments. As Julie said, "It was almost like there were two interconnected conversations taking place concurrently but separately. The second, the one on twitter, was, of course, a result of the in-person discussion and the twitter comments were mentioned a few times in the live discussion, but again, for the most part, they were taking place independently and simultaneously."

By the end of the night, I walked away with more than I expected. The discussion won't end due to all the new twitter friends I have attained. ( Follow me @cbenton!) It gave me a new perspective on the future and my career in life. I am looking forward to more events like these.

What are your points of view on some of the questions.

Wi-MAX in USB for Wireless Freedom Everywhere

Motorola is launching a USB WiMAX Device called the USBw 100, the nation's first mobile WiMAX network. Flatley from Engadget say, the "thumb-drive-sized slice of heaven will be available in three flavors, providing high-speed mobile broadband on your 2.3GHz, 2.5GHz or 3.5 GHz network."

Not a lot of information has been released yet, but the company says to expect the product by the fourth quarter of this year.

For those of you that don't know the difference between WiMAX and Wi-Fi; WiMax can provide broadband wireless access up to up to 30 miles (50 km) for fixed stations, and 3 - 10 miles (5 - 15 km) for mobile stations. Wi-Fi is limited to about 100 - 300 feet (30 - 100m). (This is obviously a very big difference. I like to have more access than less, but that's because I am American. We like to have more.) Also, WiMAX allows higher data rates over longer distances.

I e-mailed the Media Contact Haas Kathi about the product and she says it will be suitable for use globally (my guess is that it will be released worldwide?) "It will be offered through service providers initially, some of whom may sell it online, but it will be tied to a service plan, not as a stand alone device."

I asked her if she believed this USBw 100 will revolutionize Motorola as a company and why? She said "the USBw 100 is one of several WiMAX-enabled CPE we've introduced, and is part of our full portfolio of WiMAX infrastructure and device solutions. We're pursuing 4G technologies (WiMAX and LTE) as they will provide the broadband speeds and networks to enable the delivery of the personal media experiences that today's consumers want.. whether in their home, the office, or on the go. "

Sounds excellent to me! But what do you think?!?!

Forget Craiglist! Use NFL.com to Scalp

How many times have you scoured (I wanted to use this word) the Internet looking for tickets to a football game? After looking for countless hours, you start to think you might as well go to the game and pay a ridiculous price for a ticket from a scalper. (I've never done it, but I know people do.)

GREAT NEWS FOOTBALL FANS! The National Football League and Ticketmaster have teamed up (like a football team!) to offer NFL's first-ever ticket exchange service on NFL.COM.
The new service "enables fans to buy or resell tickets to NFL games through a convenient, league-endorsed website." the program developed by Ticketmaster will allow ticket exchanges for all 2008 preseason and regular season games, Playoffs and the Super Bowl.

The point of the service is to give fans (if they aren't going to the game then they are not a TRUE fan) who are unable to attend a game a way to sell their tickets to other fans who want to buy or upgrade their seats. (It's not like craigslist doesn't give you this option.) "The ticket exchange service provides fans the opportunity to find and buy resold tickets in a secure environment, in most cases with the ability to electronically validate the resold tickets at the time of purchase. Fans seeking to buy tickets may go to the site to view and purchase tickets offered for games that might be sold out, or obtain a ticket located in a specific seating section that might not otherwise be available."

Audi A4 Challenges IPhone Users Driving

The first major car manufacturer to tap into the iPhone phenomenon would be Audi. They created a new iPhone application called the "Audi A4 Challenge." As the news release states,

"a driving game that utilizes the iPhone's accelerometer (motion sensor) to steer
a digital version of Audi's entirely new 2009 A4 through a series of
progressively challenging courses. Players maneuver the course and race against
the clock to beat their own personal best time. The application is now available
free of charge on Apple's iPhone Application Store. The 2009 Audi A4 will be
available in Audi dealerships nationwide starting in September of 2008."

The game was created in two weeks and is featured on their specifically designed for the iPhone website: http://www.truthinengineering.com/a4/iphone. As Scott Mellin, CEO of Factory Design Labs (the ones who created this ingenious marketing campaign) says, "This is the first application by an automotive OEM, but it's also reinventing the shopping experience. In combination with the A4 iPhone web site, this is the first viable mobile marketing solution in the automotive space. Importantly, it is also a unique way to engage the consumer with the DNA of the Audi brand."

As a person that values a good marketing campaign and a company that embraces technology; I commend them on their approach to engage consumers. The other part of me is screaming at the idea that every car maker will be looking for a way to up the ante. It's only time before they find a way abuse this idea. hopefully it will not come to that and companies will continue to leave the choice to the consumer as to whether they want to learn about the product.

More infor go to http://www.audiusanews.com/

Kill Long Phone Waits with Fonolo

While checking out Seth Godin's blog, I ran across his post on "Deep Dialing." A company called Fonolo (Phone-Oh-Low) has created a "beta that spiders phone trees at big companies and promises to make it easy for you to go straight to the spot you want. Then it calls you when the phone is answered and records the call so you can keep a record.

Let me break this down a bit more. How many times have you called a company only to hear, “please listen carefully as our menu options have changed…” or “If your language preference is English, please press one now. Si su preferencia de la lengua es español, ahora presione por favor dos.” As GTDTimes explains, this is usually the company's IVR (Interactive Voice Response) system that takes up countless productivity hours. The time spent listening to menu choices, disgustingly annoying music or random promotional jargon could be spent doing something productive like blogging! FONOLO has answered companies and consumers prayers by saving them time which is money.

Go to their site, find the indexed company, go through the visual map of the automated menu and click on the location in which you want to reach. " Fonolo will now place a call, do the navigating and waiting for you and then ring your phone once it has reached the location in the IVR system that you had previously specified." (See picture of map to the right from GTDTimes).

As I mentioned, this will definitely benefit companies as well as consumers. For example, health providers and consumers can get through medical insurance companies long IVR systems without losing productivity during the normal workday hours. Saving time and money is the first aspect that most people seek in a service. The next thing is the reliability and quality which the company seems to have at the moment.

I'm looking forward to this service because I know the company I currently am working for could really BENEFIT from this. Meaning I will no longer have bruises from banging my head on my desk while listening to automated voices!

Calvin and Jobs Comic on Steve

Thanks to Gizmodo, I couldn't help feel the need to share. No idea on who did the comic strip but it wasn't Bill Watterson. There is the belief that it was in MAD Magazine (July edition). This strip was found on Flickr. To see a couple more, visit here.

Slydial to Voicemail

When reading about this new technology service, I thought that everyone already had this capability featured on their phone. You might want to check your voicemail features before getting excited about this service. I'm sorry I should probably mention what the service is first before commenting on it.

Slydial is a new service that connects you directly to some one's voicemail. In other words, you can avoid speaking to a person directly by using Slydial. It saves you time (if you don't count the ads that you have to hear before getting connected to the voicemail.) and awkward or long conversations. For example, you want to call in sick to work and are afraid if the boss answers then you have to answer questions and explain yourself. This makes it a lot easier to be a coward and go straight to voicemail. By the time your boss has gotten the voicemail; he will be to busy to call and check up on you (to make sure you are not playing hookie.) Here are some more situations. (Please do not use this service to voicemail break-up, unless your dating a psycho or your dog.)

The service is free to use but you can get a membership if you want to get rid of the ads. This leads me to what I was taking about in the beginning of the post. When I listen to my voicemails, I have the option to record a message and send it to a number. This is basically the exact same thing. To my surprise, this option is not available to all.

If you don't have this feature then I would suggest it as a great way to speak to your mother or girlfriend without having to listen to an hour long session of yapping. (No offense, but women can talk for hours!)

From another perspective, this service is making us more of a coward and continuing to change our way of communicating with each other. We are trying to find ways around directly communicating with people.

Spiffy Photoshop Online

Ask and you shall receive Photoshop Express!
Some people may be big fans of Photoshop (like me!) and some may have no idea what it is or how to use it. For those of you living under a rock or are slightly familiar with Photoshop, please step right up to Photoshop Express!

It doesn't have all the features, benefits or cool abilities that the Adobe Photoshop CS3 program has. But it does have some nice features. There is 2GB of space for photos and the ability to organize all your pictures in one place. For example, some people use Facebook, Picasa, Flickr and many more photo sites to organize and share their pictures. Photoshop Express works with these sites so that you can edit the picture and post them to any of these sites. As the site says, "It's an online photo library, editing and sharing website. You can crop, rotate, change colors, enhance, remove red eye, and even some crazy special effects like twirling and distorting. When you're done, you can share the photos using galleries and even give people a link to go see them."

There are some drawbacks . . . since it runs on Flash, it doesn't play well with the IPhone and IPod Touch. Lori Grunin from Webware points out,

"a policy pothole . . . Adobe's claims on your publicly shared photos. From the
Terms of Service: Adobe does not claim ownership of Your Content. However,
with respect to Your Content that you submit or make available for inclusion on
publicly accessible areas of the Services, you grant Adobe a worldwide,
royalty-free, nonexclusive, perpetual, irrevocable, and fully sublicensable
license to use, distribute, derive revenue or other remuneration from,
reproduce, modify, adapt, publish, translate, publicly perform and publicly
display such Content (in whole or in part) and to incorporate such Content into
other Materials or works in any format or medium now known or later
developed. (emphasis mine)"

With that being said, she mentions some other drawbacks here.

I don't want to bash the Beta (meaning it is still in the works and dying for testers and feedback). There are positives about the easy to use online photo sharing site. It integrates all the different photo sites you may be using, helps organize and provides a photo editing play area. If you make a mistake or don't like what you did to the photo at a later date, then you can easily revert it back to it's original state.

With every program, social networking site or gadget there are positives and negatives. The point is to decide whether it will make your life easier because that is what technology is for!

Birthday this Month?

I've noticed that many people have a birthday this month so here are a few shopping suggestions:



1. Think Geek

2. Noisebot

3. Give them a rock

4. Hand painted Martini Glass (for every occasion or person)

6. Some "Sweet Honey" that plays music while refreshing the air

These are just some ideas.

Otherwise, give your friend a sound card and call it a day.

I Smell Coupons!

First I wanted to tell everyone about Microsoft's "Mojave Experiment" but since I have been dealing with Vista all day, I thought not.

There are many things to blog about but not enough time to blog about it all. Unless I wanted to hire people to blog for me but then that would take away the enjoyment of doing something. I'm not sure if that made sense. My brain is slowly shutting down as we speak.This is my escape or "lunch break" at my insane temporary job (not insane like fun crazy but the other evil insane).

Getting to the point! Tokyo has introduced a new style of advertising using "Scent-emitting LCD Display system."
It "emits appetizing aromas along with the advertising videos shown on a 42-inch LCD display." It was created by NTT Communications Corp. and began in July. They plan on continuing this experiment until Aug 1st. The video advertises cafes and restaurants in the underground mall of Tokyo Station and in front of the monitor there are coupon books for the restaurants. IN other words, smell the food and pick up a coupon to buy today!

I would be angry by this new advertising because it would make me consistently hungry!

Cheap, Easy and Different for Business

This post isn't anything new, fancy or jaw-dropping shocking. I thought I should warn you.
I recently had a discussion with the president of a marketing communications company. After investigating my future aspirations and career interest, he gave me some bloggy advice (Yes, bloggy is a word. I should know because I JUST created it!). His suggestions were great (I'm not telling you what they were. Otherwise, you would steal them.) but what stood out to me was his comment. He told me to keep in mind that he would be reading these posts. Obviously, this doesn't mean I will be censoring my posts or creating dull post subjects. What this suggested to me was to begin sharing some things that the older generation (or less-technically advanced generation. No offense.) may not be aware of or know how to use.

This leads me to Zoho! You may think Google has it all and no other site could offer more open based software than Google. I am sad to tell you that you are incorrect. Zoho has a couple things Google does not. For example, it has business applications (Online Invoicing, CRM, DB and Reporting, etc.)as well as all Google products. You can easily get an account through you're Gmail or Yahoo account.

It can also be seen as a safe alternative. In case someday Google crashes and the world comes to an end. If this happen, I will travel to China and hope they have the cure for Googleitis.

[Picture taken from Larry Hendrick]

Is Nokia Tracking you?

Nokia is heading toward the world of social networks. Nokia plans to integrate a Berlin, Germany based social networking start-up Plazes with their mobile phones. This will allow mobile users to

"plan activities with your friends, make people aware of where you are now,
where you were and where you will be in the future. On top of that they also
plan to incorporate the more common aspects of social networking including being
able to share your experiences and communicate with friends."

This looks like another marketing attempt to compete with mobile providers and social networking sites. The sad thing is that this has been done before. Plazes needs to offer something more or unique that other social networking sites like Yelp.com, Facebook or Twitter do not. Maybe the service could integrate celebrities to use this service. The paparazzi would never have a hard time finding them. If the service had the right key media spokespeople then it could have a chance of spreading.

The only thing I see this service doing is providing my crazy stalking mother another means of knowing where I am. If anyone has a mother like mine, they constantly call wanting to know what you're doing and where. The best means of escape is making something up. . . Or not answering the phone. This makes me seem as if I have no moral compass. Try having a mother that is very religious and has spent the majority of her time Micromanaging your life growing up. Don't get me wrong! I love my mother but at times she can be difficult. Although, what mother isn't? On that note I think I need to get back to what this post was supposed to be about.

The thing that scares me about real-time social networking on mobile phones is the dangers this can lead to. For example, the next scary movie will be about a girl (sorry don't want to be sexist) people being chased by a killer from the social network on your phone. Ahhhhhhhhhh!!!!! SO SCARY! The best part would be when the killer finds a way to kill his victims with the cell phone. Maybe his victims could be the annoying cellphone people that don't follow cellphone etiquette. We all know who these people are.

My ending point is, the new addition of a social network to Nokia phones will not benefit mobile users but create controlling mothers and killers.


Picture taken from netzkobold.com

Drive to Advertise, Internet Liscense Plates

A couple days ago I was driving my usual route home from school, when I couldn't help but notice the license plate on the car in front of me. Usually, a license plate will have some sentimental jargon that means something only to the 's vehicle's owner. This license plate had "DBASYS" with .com added as part of the design of the plate. I automatically thought it was advertising a database system but to my surprise the website leads you to a Spanish audio product and systems website. I couldn't help but think about how the Internet has become an intricate part of our society. We judge companies and business solely on whether they have a website and the quality of the site.

Another component to think about is what Steve Rubel wrote about in "Why Your Car May Soon Be Driving Digital Advertising." He mentions that GPS systems may "both send and receive data . . . Dash, for example, is integrating Web 2.0 crowdsourcing into its systems, allowing cars to send information back to the company to improve traffic calculations." This can be beneficial but at the same time it could backfire. For example, if someone wants an easy ride home from work, they may report traffic where there is in none. A system can not protect against itself against human error. Yet, we continually try to find ways to do so.

In my opinion, what we should be focusing on with cars is the ability to have cars run on something other than gas. If car makers haven't noticed, the one thing that sells with cars is the ability to use less or no gas. Is it better to buy a car with more features and luxuries or a car that runs on less fuel and saves you money?

You be the judge

Get the Job by Blogging

I found it funny that my assigned class reading for this week's blog entry had to do with employment. The one thing I have become concerned about for these upcoming months. Graduation is approaching and so is the question: what do you plan to do now with your life?

My responses have become a list of ideas or plans that have not yet become determined as my course of action. I am starting to feel like I should come up with some generic response like, “I plan to fly a kite.” It’s short and sweet.

I like that response but it doesn’t address the point I plan to make. In the search for that job or THE job, we discover we need to find a way to differentiate ourselves from our fellow competitors. One might think canceling or deleting their social networking site pages would help, but would it? Does it matter? Are they going to be able to get past my privacy settings? OR Do I need to set-up a blog resume?

Joshua Porter believes it is a good idea and says, “Your blog . . . represents you, is serious business, is an archive, isn’t the only mirror of your life and is your unedited version of yourself.” He makes some very good points but, I cannot fully agree with him. I question the belief that a blog is a pure representation of oneself. With people creating alternative lives online in social networks, then what’s stopping them from creating a fake blog? ^{I know, fake blogging is a bit of a stretch but my point is people could be blog posers.} An example of a blogger that made it big but could have been set for disaster is Glenn Kelman.

To be honest, the way to succeed in getting hired comes down to the company, occupation, market and the person hiring the employees. It depends on whether they are tech savvy or more conservative in their approach to technology. In time, people may find blogging a way to get hired or the thing to give them an edge on the competition.

For all those looking for jobs, this video interview gives some good insight into what I have talked about:

Real Teams vs. Virtual Teams

I was surprised when I first read this article stating that virtual brainstorming teams were more successful then "real" world brainstorming teams. I didn't want to believe it so I looked at some more articles. It seemed all the articles agreed with the first article. Until I read this article that presented some good points as to why a virtual team could be more beneficial then in real life. The article presented these ten rules that should be followed to create a working virtual brainstorming team.

1. Invest in an online resource where members can learn quickly about one another.
2. Choose a few team members who already know each other.
3. Identify "boundary spanners" and ensure that they make up at least 15% of the team.
4. Cultivate boundary spanners as a regular part of company wide practices and processes.
5. Break the team's work up into modules so that progress in one location is not overly dependent on progress in another.
6. Create an online site where a team can collaborate, exchange ideas and inspire one another.
7. Encourage frequent communication. But don't try to force social gatherings.
8. Assign only tasks that are challenging and interesting.
9. Ensure the task is meaningful to the team and the company.
10. When building a virtual team, solicit volunteers as much as possible.

I guess the world is changing and it looks like brainstorming teams are too. I hope it is as beneficial as the research shows. I still believe there is something to be said for "real" world interactions and brainstorming. I have always been more creative with people around then by myself, but maybe I'm an exception. Anyone else feel this way?

Picture from maxwideman.com

The Perfect Job & How You Get It

After being a part of hosting the PRSSA Regional Activity at AU this past weekend, I found this week's assigned reading very interesting. It tied into what PRSSA and most professionals try to stress: NETWORK!

It's quite simple yet most of the time it is overlooked by students and professionals. The best resource into learning how to network can be found here. The article by Priscilla March is a step-by-step guide to succeed in networking. I wish I had read this before the weekend, but luckily some of the information I already knew.

Another point to add is students or professionals should have business cards. It may sound overrated but I spoke to some professionals who said it makes the student stand out. If you stand out, then you are one step ahead of your competition.

Looking for work in D.C. is definitely competitive so getting an edge can definitely help the odds of getting employed. This would be where networking comes in as a very big component of getting an edge on the competition.



Knowing someone inside a company or knowing the right people can sometimes land you a job you didn't even know existed. I received my previous internship through attending a party. I happened to comment on how I was looking for an internship at the party. I came to find out that the gentleman hosting the party worked at a firm thatwas looking for a new intern. Next thing you know, I was interning at the firm and getting paid.

Eventually, I needed to spread my wings a bit and move on. Therefore, I am back to hoping for another opportunity to reveal itself. The best way to have that happen is to continue networking wherever I go. If it works, then I will be living the high life.

If it doesn't, then at least I will have met some new people and maybe expanded my amount of connections on LinkedIn!

With all that being said, anyone know someone who wants to hire me?

Google Me, I Dare You!

While reading different article about "You are What Your search result returns" and "When the Patient Is a Googler" made me think about how I have googled people and myself. As A Googler myself, I tend to Google people I don't know or people I'm interested in dating. I have come to find a lot of information by doing this. The Googled individuals seem to always be surprised at the information I find about them. It's simple yet some people seem to be unaware of the power of Google or search engines in general.

Here's a good example of what people are unaware of that Google can do. I was looking to purchase a temporary cell phone because I had recently had my AT&T phone stolen. I looked on craigslist and found a good deal and wanted to purchase the phone from the seller the next day. After e-mailing him, he responded very quickly. When trying to arrange a time to meet he became delayed in responding. I needed a phone as soon as possible and was getting impatient. I googled his name and his respective area that he mentioned he lived in. I found his name under a graduate from a local middle school. It appeared he was in his 40's and I thought this was the guy. That didn't help me to get him to respond any sooner.

I googled his e-mail address and found his AIM screen name on a paintball forum. This may seem creepy but I was desperate to get this phone! I IMed him which freaked him out a bit, but it got him to set up a time to met and make the transaction. I waited for him at the assigned location, and out jumped a 16 yr old punk (dressed like a wanna be gangster with a pimply face). I found my assumption to be wrong, but at least my googling got me my phone. I left him with this advice. If you don't want people finding you then make your contact information private.

After that occurrence it was nice to know some teens use their brains, as I discovered reading a Pew Report on Teen, Privacy and Online Social Networks that said:

Some 55% of online teens have profiles and most of them restrict access to their
profile in some way. Of those with profiles, 66% say their profile is not
visible to all Internet users. Of those whose profile can be accessed by anyone
online, nearly half (46%) say they give at least some false information. Teens
post fake information to protect themselves and also to be playful or silly.

Let's hope more teens follow these guidelines because privacy is really important if you want to stay safe in this Internet age.

Last thing, I am proud to say I have googled my name and nothing has lead back to the real me . . . yet.

Tech Spoofing

Who doesn't enjoy a good spoof? How many times do we surf youtube for something funny like someone making fun of company or person?

^{MAC VS. PC}

I have to admit the last techbrand spoof that I enjoyed was the I-Rack that made fun of the many different "I" products that Apple makes. "YouTubers Spoof and Mock Tech Brands" from silicon.com made me realize how the jokes on techbrands seemed to be more popular than celebrity spoofs like Paris Hilton.

I love finding user generated media, authentic media because it gives the brand a more personal and comfortable feel. A brand needs to have a weakness and needs to be able to be made fun of. What brands or companies have not been mad fun of and have continued to prosper? Most companies that are being poked at tend to do well in business. Companies need individuals to make videos about their brands because it's "authentic media" that is being watched. It's knowing an individual spent time and effort to create the content, and is not being paid by a big company to produce it that intrigues users. For example, my favorite spoof on Halo 3:

I'm not sure if Halo 3 really takes over your life as this individual makes it out to be, but if it does, then I would have never known if it wasn't for this video.

How addicting is Guitar Hero now that you can play it on Wii? I find it addicting, but is it spoof worthy?