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?

Jedi Mind Tricks and Google Voice will bring Change

When Obama was elected, everyone believed the world would instantly change. Well, I have always believed that if Google was elected president then the world WOULD change.

Getting to the point, there have been two new technology releases that make this blogger think that change is finally coming!
The first thing that caught my attention and really excites me is the Uncle Milton's "Star Wars" themed- FORCE TRAINER! It's a new toy that "harnesses the same technology doctors use to monitor brain waves." Basically, the toy gives you the ability to control the rise and fall of a pingpong ball in a clear tube by sensing a change in the user's brain-wave patterns. (I'm hoping that eventually they are able to make a device that actually let's you move other objects with your mind. Then again, wouldn't that make people similar to "Sylar" from Heroes or some other superhero?)
The next BIG release is Google Voice which I had been told about off the record about two years ago in London. At that time I thought that it was only going to be a way for people to make calls and send text messages. When I received an e-mail this morning from Google inviting me to open a Google Voice account, I was taken back by what they were really offering. As the e-mail said: "a service that makes using your current phones much better! Here's what it offers:

• A personal phone number that rings all of your existing phones when people call
• All of your voicemail in one inbox with unlimited online storage and free voicemail transcripts sent to your phone and email
• Low-priced international calling to over 200 countries and free SMS
• Other powerful features like the first phone spam filter to protect you from unwanted callers, the ability to ListenInTM on your voicemail messages while they are being left, conference calling and more

Please note that Google Voice is only available for sign up in the US."

Basically it's like turning your phone into an e-mail inbox. The only bad thing at the moment is that it is only offered in the U.S.. When I initially tried to register, it would not let me because of my IP address. I had to mask my IP so that I could register. (I was afraid all the good number would be taken if I didn't register now. Just like when facebook offered user names and I waited and then wasn't able to get a better name.) I've now tested it out about and am very excited to start integrating into my business. The only thing that I like about Skype versus Google voice is that everything is integrated in Skype. Maybe Google Voice will eventually add Google chat on the side and then we would be business! I'm just waiting for the Google Voice Ipod App.

So I hope you are all ready for the world to change. What do you think will be next due to these inventions? Do you think we could elect Google for president?

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.

Virtual Murder Equals Real Prison Sentence

A woman in Japan is facing five years in prison for killing her digital partner's avatar in the PC game Maple Story. (Unbelievable!)

The 43-year-old Japanese piano teacher killed her online virtual husband when he unexpectedly, without warning or reason, demanded a divorce. She hacked into her make-believe hubby's profile with his login information and annihilated his online character. (In my opinion, he was an idiot for giving her his login information in the first place!) The 33-year-old office worker from Sapporo, had spent a year creating his character and did not take his Maple Story alter ego's death lightly. (I guess an online marriage can seem real to some people. I'm glad it was an online marriage murder than a real world marriage murder.) He called the police and had her arrested for "illegal access on a computer and manipulating electronic data." She was taken 620 miles from her home to Sapporo and if convicted will be jailed or fined up to $6,200.

The couple had never met in person, but she told police: "I was suddenly divorced, without a word of warning. That made me so angry." (She reacted like ever woman does after a break-up. Irrationally.) Luckily, she had no intent of causing him physical harm. Instead she caused him mental and emotional harm?

Maple Story is a 2D, side-scrolling, MMRPG (Massively Multiplayer online role-playing game), free PC game with 50 million subscribers developed by the South Korean company Wizet.

Similar to World of Warcraft and Second Life, players create avatars that fight monsters and interact with other users. Creating a cool character can cost you and that's where profit comes in. The UK Times reports, "There have been reports of cottage industries in Asia where low-paid workers are employed to spend all day inhabiting the virtual worlds to create avatars that can then be sold online. "

This isn't the first time online virtual world issues have been brought to life. In August, it was reported a woman was charged for plotting to physically abduct the "boyfriend" she met through Second Life. After the man met her in person, he broke off the virtual relationship. She drove to his home and waited with a stun gun, duct tape and handcuffs.

There are more similar cases of crazy stories but it shows that people are letting these online personas warp their view of reality. People need to be careful with who they decide to betroth themselves to in the virtual world as well as the real world. What I'm wondering is, do they have prenups in virtual marriages?

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?!?!

I want to be an iBlogger, and you?

That's right! A company called illuminex has created iBlogger, a real mobile blogging for iPhone and iPod Touch users! iBlogger works with nearly any blog, including WordPress, TypePad, and MovableType, helping bloggers post quickly from iPhone and iPod Touch, anywhere, any time.

It's said to be compatible with Blojsom, Drupal, ExpressionEngine, MovableType, TypePad, and WordPress. (If you didn't see your blog hosting site there then DON'T FRET! . . . like I did.) iBlogger has optimized plugins for easy configuration and compatibility to: LifeType, LivingDot, My.Opera.com, SquareSpace, TypePad (I thought we already did this one), WordPress (um...I know we already mentioned this!), Xanga (that is old school!), Blogspot/Blogger (that's what I use! To bad they haven't added picture posting yet.)

It can work with any blog engine that can connect to an iBlogger generic API type like MetaWeblog or MovableType.

The point is that iBlogger will be able to let bloggers take pictures, add their thoughts, tags, categories and geotag links on the go. (That means no more carrying around a laptop and taking up space in Starbucks. BUT it means I can blog while talking to my friends. Time to be a Pro Multi-tasker!)

If you are a mac user (like me!) and have used ecto, then you might just appreciate this new app that was based on ecto. "ecto, the popular blogging application on the Mac, is the heart of iBlogger, and it purrs like a V8 motor." said Gary W. Longsine, illumineX CEO.

So what are the features?

* easily configure a blog in seconds, with RSD (Real Simple Discovery)
* post your thoughts
* effortlessly include a picture from your library, or take a picture on
the spot
* automatically saves your post in case you get a call while posting
* categories and tags to promote your blog
* customizable standard signature
* one-touch geotag location link
* works great on WiFi, 3G and EDGE networks
* Secure HTTPS connections

More Information: http://illumineX.com/iphone/iblogger/

iBlogger is available for $US 9.99, from the iPhone App Store

Sadly you have to pay for the app, but isn't $10 worth the ability of mobility?

Virgin Mobile Fest Greens Technologic

I did not get a chance to blog at all this past weekend due to the Virgin Mobile Festival that I worked at.

I thought I would share some of the things that worked and some things that didn't work.

The festival wanted to focus on being green and eco-friendly. At the same time, they want to increase brand awareness by associating themselves with many non-profit organization and music. I felt they did a fairly good job at this but they lacked in some areas. For example, they did not train or inform their event staff of everything that was happening. (I found this out when I was passing out free sunscreen. This woman (an event goer) thanked me and mentioned that she wished she had known there was free sunscreen earlier. This was due to the fact that a 15yr old staff member told her there was no sunscreen to be found throughout the concert venue and another staff member told her there was NO FIRST AID! When has there ever been a music festival with NO FIRST AID!) They did not clarify what type of trash was designated for the different recycling bins. The initiative to recycle at the event was not prominent and the music line-up was poorly done. (They spelled Kanye West's name as "KAYNE" West. How does that happen!?!? As well as all the best bands were playing at the same time and at opposite sides).

There are many ways they could have fixed these problems but it was only their third year holding this music festival. I should say some things they did right.

The use of eco-friendly technologies such as recharging your phone, camera or Ipod via bike was very convenient. They had a Dell Dome where people could make their own buttons, T-shirts and use computers to sign up for Buzzd (a new social networking service like Twitter and Yelp.)

Real quick rant on Buzzd: It is described as a "location-sensitive entertainment
listings service with branded editorial and real-time user generated content on
the mobile device.'Your city, in real-time,' buzzd allows consumers to know
what's happening at any venue right now, rate events, and connect with friends
and people in the area." I can see how this could beat Yelp but they really need
to keep pushing it. They need to get more publicity if they want to beat their
competitors. When I heard about the service I automatically thought it was another social network trying to make it big. It did not strike me as a "OMG! THIS IS SOO COOL!" It needs to offer more to users.

On that note, let me finish what I was saying before this post gets to long. They had a spiffy VIP areas that gave free drinks and had actually beds to sleep on outside. They had a Recharge Dome for people to check out the new Kyocera Special Edition Virgin Mobile Festival "Wild Card" mobile (texting from this phone made my hand cramp up) which they could use to make phone calls, send a text message to the concert stage screens or ride a bike and recharge their phone. They had a Refresh Dome for people to cool off and they had a recycling program where people could get stuff for collecting empty bottles and cans.

There were more positive and negatives that I could list about the music festival but I don't want to drag on. They should have integrated the idea of charging your phone by dancing . . . Maybe I'll make a list and send it to Richard Branson.

[picture via Mobilecrunch]

Mobile Partying Gets You Free Drinks

If you are living in or plan on visiting the Metro New York, Jersey Shore, and Hamptons areas then you may want to pay close attention to this post.

Meet Now Live (MNL) is a public beta service that allows users with a "Web-enabled cellphone or mobile device to broadcast their party location of choice -- and receive free drinks in return." you can register for free on their site and then use it to find bars, clubs, lounges or your friends. (What about the free drinks?!?! Where does that come in to play! I'm tired of reading this non-important stuff)

To promote this service, MNL has joined with The Town Tavern, Whistling Dixies Texas Tavern, and Porky's NYC to offer "Free Beer Fridays!" When people "broadcast" their location at these bars to their friends, they receive a "on-screen mobile ticket that grants them the right to unlimited free draft beers." This promotion is not lasting all year long, it's only until Labor Day weekend.

They plan for the service to become popular enough that they will start offering special deals from certain drinking venues specifically to MNL users. In other words they want it to become a mobile social drinking network. Let the drinkers unite!

The problem that I foresee with this is more drunken texting and one night stands. I could be wrong, but phones and drinking seem to always lead to trouble. My other concern is controlling mothers and stalkers. Do we see a similarity with MoSoSo.

Here's the Press Release

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

MoSoSo Cell Culture

While I was away this weekend in Atlanta, GA for the Passion Conference, I found it amusing that the part where people usually wave lighter’s or matches in the air during a slow song was replaced with people waving their cell phones in the air. Things have changed since cell phones have become a predominantly necessity in our culture. We use cell phones for everything and the While I was away this weekend in Atlanta, GA for the Passion Conference, I found it amusing that the part where people usually wave lighter’s or matches in the air during a slow song was replaced with people waving their cell phones in the air. Things have changed since cell phones have become a predominant necessity in our culture. We use cellphones for everything and the phenomenon of texting has impacted the way our culture predominately communicates. Here's a perfect example of what I'm saying:
Other than texting, the next biggest thing to change the cellphone culture is "MoSoSo" (Mobile Social Networking Software) as discussed by Gloria Goodale. The new consumer technology that combines cyber-social networks with GPS on cellphones, so you can be even more connected than you already are! They have created various MoSoSo software to appeal to consumers but for some reason it seems it has not caught on yet. Maybe it could do with what Goodale says:
Not only do they point to possible security issues with GPS running on a cellphone, but cultural observers worry about the growing preference of young users to stay plugged into a virtual network, often oblivious to the real world around them.
I have to admit that I'm somewhat interested in testing this out, but at the same time. Do I really want less security and to have people know where I am every second of the day? We already have a lack of privacy, even if we aren't celebrities. Is this going to far? Do we really need another tool to add to our phone to keep us consistently available and in demand? of texting has impacted the way our culture predominately communicates. Here's a perfect example of what I'm saying:


Other than texting, the next biggest thing to change the cell phone culture is "MoSoSo" (Mobile Social Networking Software) as discussed by Gloria Goodale. The new consumer technology that combines cyber-social networks with GPS on cellphones, so you can be even more connected than you already are! They have created various MoSoSo software to appeal to consumers but for some reason it seems it has not caught on yet. Maybe it could do with what Goodale says:

Not only do they point to possible security issues with GPS running on a
cell phone, but cultural observers worry about the growing preference of young
users to stay plugged into a virtual network, often oblivious to the real world
around them.

I have to admit that I'm somewhat interested in testing this out, but at the same time. Do I really want less security and to have people know where I am every second of the day? We already have a lack of privacy, even if we aren't celebrities. Is this going to far? Do we really need another tool to add to our phone to keep us consistently available and in demand?

Life Beyond Political Wikipedia

Don't you have something better to do?
I understand that when you live in D.C. then you should be prepared for a lot of political discussions. What I don't understand, is the reason for political debate over a candidates name on Wikipedia!

Wikipedia has become a great source of information, but it lacks the credibility. The content is edited or created by users and has the potential of being false or incorrect. Wikipedia has run into instance where people from a corporation or political party have changed their opponents or their personal page to omit information or change the truth.

After reading about political candidates and the issues that have arisen on Wikipedia, I decided to do some research of my own. I wanted to see if the Wikipedia page on George W. Bush would have any information as to him being booed during the first pitch at Nationals Park. Here's a video of the event:




To my surprise there was no link of any kind on his Wikipedia page about the event. This leads me to believe that you can't find everything on Wikipedia. Then again, I was only talking about politics and have not even covered half of the content on Wikipedia. Are other topics covered the same way politics are?

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?