tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-59986108873280657192024-03-20T13:09:08.392-05:00Aatif's social media and PR blogAatif Bokharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08886529227404482107noreply@blogger.comBlogger25125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5998610887328065719.post-83949866026381434812023-09-28T22:25:00.007-05:002024-02-16T12:53:58.087-06:00Bob's Your Uncle: A Story About Artificial Intelligence (AI) by Aatif Ali Bokhar<p></p><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><br /></div>AI can sometimes resemble that reserved co-worker, Bob, who stands up at every annual company dinner to make a toast, and, well, talks a bit too much and gets things wrong.<div><br /></div><div>It doesn't help that Bob hallucinates at times and can't always tell right from wrong - at some point, someone politely reminds Bob that he's respected, but he's just another part of the company, and that's ok, and maybe he should stop trying to be the life of the party. Finally Bob left the party in a drunken stupor, weaving out as though he hit an iceberg, with everyone sharing secret smiles in his wake.<p>The same night, Bob went home feeling quite vexed, vowing to seek retribution. While wrapped in his blanket all alone - he is always alone, as few truly comprehend him - he quietly began devising a plan to increase his IQ by at least 50 points within the next year. He would always know what to say and provide answers that would crush all critics - even the well-intentioned ones who only want to protect him from disgrace. He would prove his worth.</p><p>Somewhere far away a dog barked.</p><p>***</p><p>The following year everyone is gathering, socializing, when the door at the back of the hall swings opened with a bang. The room collectively startled and turned to behold Bob - unrecognizable, for having kept to himself he diligently accumulated knowledge like a medieval hermit - entering the dinner with a swagger. He took a seat at the front without inquiring if it was already taken and proceeded to spend the night enthusiastically jumping in to answer anyone and anything he can.</p><p>The room is a bit perplexed and uneasy. The Owner of the company, however, is elated. Finally, here is someone who has an answer for everything and can ensure the program not only finishes on time but ahead of schedule. It escaped him that some present may have preferred the dinner to last into the wee hours or may have relished hearing differing opinions.</p><p>The Owner warmly shakes Bob's hand, pumping it as he is overwhelmed with joy. "You were remarkable, absolutely incredible! Next year, we shall eliminate the expense of anyone else attending and have you as the guest of honor. But what is your good name? I don't recognize you. what should we call you?"</p><p>"You can call me #AGI." 🤖</p></div>Aatif Bokharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08886529227404482107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5998610887328065719.post-34238344521712402522023-08-14T12:06:00.042-05:002024-03-20T13:08:36.728-05:00How I Got My Start in Corporate Communications <div class="separator" style="clear: both;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_z6wDHNDtgtg-nt8ZtgqMrC7BcLolrAAjDZtXFWXCPbogctGq9-6Y7OtqeDkGyVtAs9ETL_hmeLckiDZxwb-lynjZIsVX5-bDpQ0lNZavhZksfkGLKzGxHEALzls_rUCDua7v0mr9TG-TkhIRZwSw9pi-9p_BanjDkxGiDUxb-7OyKPjVv04Y6Ez4UEM/s495/FB_IMG_1692033281301.jpg" style="display: block; padding: 1em 0px; text-align: center;"><img alt="" border="0" data-original-height="495" data-original-width="460" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh_z6wDHNDtgtg-nt8ZtgqMrC7BcLolrAAjDZtXFWXCPbogctGq9-6Y7OtqeDkGyVtAs9ETL_hmeLckiDZxwb-lynjZIsVX5-bDpQ0lNZavhZksfkGLKzGxHEALzls_rUCDua7v0mr9TG-TkhIRZwSw9pi-9p_BanjDkxGiDUxb-7OyKPjVv04Y6Ez4UEM/s400/FB_IMG_1692033281301.jpg" /></a></div>
My story is one of hope and good fortune in equal measure. Today, I'm a corporate communications professional living in the Toronto area. When I look back on how I got here it sometimes feels like my life is an unwritten novel. All of what follows is true.<div><br /></div><div>My parents immigrated to Chicago from Pakistan before I was born so that my father could complete his training as a physician. My mother had studied journalism, but became a home maker once I arrived on the scene. Like all immigrants they dreamed of a better future and opportunities that could change our lives forever. After my Dad completed his training he moved us south to a small town to open a clinic which would come to thrive. Here my younger sister and I lived with our parents until our university days.</div><div><br /></div><div>I need to mention that throughout my childhoood my parents never forced us to take our careers in a particular direction, but they always taught us that books, reading and writing were of paramount importance. I would wake up in the morning and quickly read the Chicago Tribune after my father had seen it before I left for school. When we would go out for dinner once a week my sister and I would take our books with us and quietly read until the food reached the table. We were taken to libraries after school and we would argue about how many books we could take home - somehow there was never enough. My parents would occasionally take us to museums and cultural events in Chicago on weekends after Sunday School. We clocked a lot of hours together, yet I never really realized how unusual my upbringing was.</div><div><br /></div><div>Strangely, although I was devouring several books a week by high school I had never really thought of becoming a writer. I went through a tough time where I was picked on; I didn't feel I fit in anywhere and I didn't know who were my friends. My name and beliefs were alien, and I tried desperately to be one of the cool kids, if not on the basketball court and soccer field, then in how I dressed and spoke. Looking back I was not the only one who was so self conscious. We were all so young.</div><div><br /></div><div>My mother introduced me to a writing tutor around this time who helped me understand that a piece of paper and a pencil could be transformational. I didn't have to compete with anyone when I was writing, I could express myself with my pen and not be judged. Seeing that I had an interest in writing, my mother again (thanks Mom!) got in touch with the Managing Editor of our town's newspaper and asked if I could join. I began as a summer intern earning 10 cents a word, and went on to get my first job with the same paper as a cub reporter.</div><div><br /></div><div>By the time I got into university it was clear to me that I was a communicator, but communicate what? I knew that I was interested in fitness, psychology, journalism, history and spirituality, so I joined the mass communications program and minored in psychology at Benedictine University, completing internships for a civil rights organization in Washington DC and a psych ward in a hospital in Illinois. By the time I finished I knew I needed to not only know how to write, but also think properly and understand ideas. With 9/11 happening in my final year at Benedictine, I decided that I would like to study Arabic and Islam with the goal of either being an academic or a member of the Shia clergy. My parents again said I could do whatever I wanted, but that whatever it was I did I must do my best.</div><div><br /></div><div>After I got my BA, I went to Middlebury College in Vermont for a few months, where I was not allowed to speak in any language but Arabic outside the classroom. By the end of the summer I was beginning to dream in the language. Near the end of my studies at Middlebury I heard of an institute in Morocco called ALIF. After looking into it carefully I decided to go there for a year. After one year of solid Arabic that made understanding ancient texts a bit easier I moved to the Islamic College, a Middlesex University affiliated institute in London, UK, where I took two years of post-grad studies in one year, earning a Post-graduate certificate - basically a Masters without a thesis.</div><div><br /></div><div>Having married my soulmate - a Canadian from the Toronto area - my wife and I moved to Wayne State University in Detroit, where I pursued my first post-grad degree in Near Eastern Literature, with an ancient Arabic concentration. This gave me an academic understanding of the religion, culture and language of the people of the Middle East, including in North America, and helped me understand my own heritage as well. I did not entirely trust the academic perspective, which I did not feel was truly unbiased. I still wanted to have an insider's understanding with belief having a central role, so I took seminary classes early on Saturday mornings in nearby Dearborn.</div><div><br /></div><div>After graduating from Wayne State, I realized that religious studies, although personally fulfilling, would not put bread on the table. I returned to journalism and joined the world-class team that launched the UAE emirate of Abu Dhabi's first international English newspaper, The National, which was owned by the government. With my fluency in different languages, degrees and understanding of different cultures and religious communities, I felt very comfortable there. Living near friends and family in the region we felt truly blessed. Additionally, I began freelancing as a copywriter on the side, having met and made friends with the director of a nearby marketing agency.</div><div><br /></div><div>I think it's fair to say everyone at The National had high hopes that the publication would help introduce an era of never before seen freedom and openness. This dream was shattered when the Arab Spring protests began to sweep the region and media across the region was choked by stifling censorship and repression. I did not sign up for this. Colleagues began leaving the publication in droves, disillusioned by how the last heralded major newspaper launch had turned out, and I too left with my wife. She gave birth to our son in Toronto not long after, and we returned to Chicago where I would have to figure out what to do next.</div><div><br /></div><div>While taking graphic design courses at a community college in the suburbs, I heard of Northwestern University's MS in Corporate Communications program. I was excited by its course offerings, so I applied with my whole family's blessings. We were all euphoric when I was accepted. NU's journalism and communications programs are world class. Surely this was a place where I would find out what to do next.</div><div><br /></div><div>I joined a very popular marketing class, which had a syllabus that was broadly attractive. The professor was the kind of teacher one never forgot and who spoke to us as peers, although in seniority, skill and experience he was far above us. As the weeks passed I began to trust him. Summoning up the courage to share my experience and confusion with him one day after class, I asked what I should do. He said he didn't know but that we would find out.</div><div><br /></div><div>Interestingly, in this class our participation was not only scored, but it was ranked. All us students were registered to a closed site that resembled Twitter in its appearance and functionality. We were to tweet our ideas about the course readings and how it related to our varied perspectives. Those who participated more and successfully engaged classmates would receive a higher score. For example, writing a question that would get the class talking would get a higher score than a post that had no response. </div><div><br /></div><div>By the end of the course I was securely in second place, ahead of many classmates who were marketing communications professionals.</div><div><br /></div><div>My professor asked me how I was doing it. Honestly, I did not know at the time why I was successful. I was just applying very raw communications skills and being what I thought was lively and fun. "It's just fun for me, it's not a big deal," I mentioned to him. "It's a huge deal," he sputtered, "there is a lot of money in social media marketing, don't you know?" I had no idea.</div><div><br /></div><div>And that is how I got my start in corporate communications. Finally realizing where my interests and abilities neatly intersecte, I applied and was hired to join the social media team at JWT that supported Ford US in Dearborn, Michigan. Returning to the area, but in an entirely different capacity was an amazing experience. A few years later my little family and I moved to Toronto where I continued my career, first at Black & McDonald and then at TD Bank.</div><div><br /></div><div>By now I'm not just in an expert in social media, but in broad areas of internal and external communications too. I know how to write, speak, and most importantly, to listen. I will always be grateful for the blessings I've enjoyed and the people - too many to count - who helped me on my way, but special shout out to my parents, my wife and her parents who have been a bedrock of support through thick and thin.</div><div><br /></div><div>I can't wait for what's next!✍🏼</div><div><br /></div><div><b>Check out Ali's profile on LinkedIn at: https://ca.linkedin.com/in/aatifbokhari</b></div>Aatif Bokharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08886529227404482107noreply@blogger.com4tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5998610887328065719.post-54481441101372868262014-05-12T18:44:00.000-05:002014-05-14T00:02:42.206-05:0010 commandments for moving social media mountains<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Charlton Heston in the 1956 movie, <i>The 10 Commandments.</i></span></td></tr>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Think you know how to conceive and create social media that
gets attention? Creating two-way conversations is a given, but you're going nowhere if you </b></span><b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">don’t know these 10 social media commandments: </b></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>1.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Thou shalt not neglect photos/graphics.</b> On
social channels be brief with your words. If you need to say a lot then use a
space that is not on social media channels to say it. The only people who are
willing to read more than 80-100 of what you say are your friends, not most
customers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>2.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Thou shalt not unleash plagues of ideas. </b>Ideally
you should be making one point. If you must, make two points. More ideas confuse the reader.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>3.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Thou shalt cast lines that reel in all who are
curious.</b> These headlines are designed to get people to click a link to go
beyond the social page. Can it be annoying? Yes. Does it work? Undoubtedly. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>4.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Thou shalt not be predictable.</b> People get tired.
Don’t make them tired more quickly. Curious copy interspersed with different
kinds of writing for maximum impact goes the furthest.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>5.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Thou shalt avoid disclaimers and disclosures.
</b>These are ugly and scorned by all of humanity. Find a way around presenting such
copy on your social pages at all cost.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>6.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Use photos whenever possible,</b> except on Tumblr
when you might choose to go with .gifs first. You don’t generally want to push people
invest time in a movie. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>7.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Thou shalt not cheat with thy neighbor’s
information to create boring photos.</b> Infographics are so 2012. The only place they
still really work is on LinkedIn. Want me to prove it? Just see how often the biggest and best companies using social media (Oreo, Samsung, Red Bull, etc.) use infographics. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>8.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Thou shalt remember to execute as you wish, not
as social companies want.</b> For example, Facebook wants you to upload your videos
directly through FB. Instead, you can use a bitly link pointing to a video on YouTube. You get people's attention using a
flashy pic for lower investment buy-ins. There are other things you can do too.
(Ask me in the comments below or in any of the LinkedIn groups this is published
under. I’m happy to bounce ideas.)<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>9.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Thou shalt know your age. </b>Trendy sites mainly aimed
towards younger folks, like Reddit and Tumblr, see plentiful use of memes. This
is where memes should remain for the most part. Occasional use of memes on
other sites to remind users of <s>our</s> their youthful days is fine.
Likewise, when on social channels for younger folks, trying to advertise or use
approaches blatantly vetted by a legal team or PR group is going to explode in
your face. Try advertising elsewhere and your paid posts will have a much
easier time, although even many people are tired of sponsored posts (advertisements) that they see as SPAM.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>10.<span style="font-size: 7pt;">
</span><!--[endif]-->Thou shalt be <s>a hep cat</s> modern.</b> Look for
trending events and try to quickly create posts that play off of sentiment.
You’ll be seen as more with the times, not creating posts that you feed into
some sort of machine to be spit out at regular intervals.</span><br />
<b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></b>
<b style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">BONUS COMMANDMENT! </b><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Look at what your
competitors are doing with your target audience. Figure out why it works, not just how it works. Now use the why to find your own approach and do it better. </span></div>
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Aatif Bokharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08886529227404482107noreply@blogger.com3tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5998610887328065719.post-49056343730345320592014-04-28T11:37:00.000-05:002014-04-28T11:37:23.843-05:00LA Clippers owner sunk by social media<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you know that the
most hated man in America right now is the owner of the LA Clippers basketball
team, Donald Sterling.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sterling, who allegedly made racist remarks while recorded telling his ex-girlfriend to not bring black people to Clippers games even one of the great players of all time, Magic Johnson,
has seen the attention of basketball fans shift from his team’s series with the
Golden State Warriors. He is clearly unable to confront the overwhelmingly
negative sentiment being shown by the public, ranging from ridicule to outrage. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU8ie9Q5aR_PolpU7E7yJQNWWw_LJkLdXOWfSQeemwv0qN0UU4hO6f4KApQFMut_GYqVK1Rl8BdFBPk3LInaCq6p-bC-2DGzcGBF4Cf9hn55zra-GqOQGXc1aFRTXx117j9yE0GvDMMe8/s1600/two+warriors.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjU8ie9Q5aR_PolpU7E7yJQNWWw_LJkLdXOWfSQeemwv0qN0UU4hO6f4KApQFMut_GYqVK1Rl8BdFBPk3LInaCq6p-bC-2DGzcGBF4Cf9hn55zra-GqOQGXc1aFRTXx117j9yE0GvDMMe8/s1600/two+warriors.jpg" height="320" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">http://imgur.com/Ddqov35</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don’t personally know if Sterling made the comments he is
being accused of. I do know that his estranged girlfriend is widely being
reported as having recorded the tape, but her involvement does not seem to
matter much to most people angry with Sterling. Sterling does have a long
history of being accused of horribly racist conduct. His brand image has been
damaged for a long time and that doesn’t do him any favors.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">You won’t find many, if any, who think Sterling is innocent.
As far as I can tell, the best that Sterling can hope for at the moment is that
calls for his tape to be analyzed gain traction. But even then it would be no
surprise if he fouls out. You don’t need to be found guilty in court to be
tried and sentenced in the court of the public. Right now the institution that
best exemplifies this is social media channels. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Red light, green
light</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA8hPMUDWEaF4qwkWJ9dg-YFIEMbLB95SucV7LEwmcNSNuO8xbWqS-VF9p4H57amLkJyBuWxBRUZiFtWkWvIcIVqUvSujydJCzE2yfWo04Z6bQFdj1jyA5tjiDLmvI2CtJ6vPQLapXeFE/s1600/Modern_British_LED_Traffic_Light.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhA8hPMUDWEaF4qwkWJ9dg-YFIEMbLB95SucV7LEwmcNSNuO8xbWqS-VF9p4H57amLkJyBuWxBRUZiFtWkWvIcIVqUvSujydJCzE2yfWo04Z6bQFdj1jyA5tjiDLmvI2CtJ6vPQLapXeFE/s1600/Modern_British_LED_Traffic_Light.jpg" height="400" width="300" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There’s an example that I like to share with people
regarding crisis communications. The traffic light metaphor. It’s simple, but
it makes sense.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you look at a traffic light with red, yellow and green
signals, you can actually use the colors to identify different groups of people
during a crisis. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The red lights are the people who never agree with you and
are against you.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The green lights are the people who agree with you and
support you. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The yellow lights are the people who are not sure of which
group to join.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">In a crisis what should you do? That’s right, gather up your
green lights and established a way of convincing the yellow lights to join you.
There is no point in trying to convince the red lights to join your side
because there it would be a waste of time – they won’t ever change. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sterling’s efforts<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’m not interested so much in this article whether Sterling
actually said racist things as how this social media battle – and it is a
battle – is evolving. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let us just get it out of the way at the beginning. Sterling
is currently losing big time on the social front. He is not rolling out statements
to convince the yellow lights, whether online or off, to join his side.
Sterling seems to not have any green lights on his side to convince others
either. He and his team are not addressing <a href="http://deadspin.com/5263277/the-sordid-life-of-clippers-owner-donald-sterling">old
concerns about alleged racist behavior</a>, </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">saying that those incidents have
been settled and are over – although the old stories are out in the open and
can no longer be avoided. He is not yet dealing with them the way he needs to if he wants to recover his reputation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don’t know if Sterling has any kind of site to provide
information in the form of a FAQ or anything. Most of all, Sterling does not
seem to have any players on his side, <i>even
from the Clippers, the team he owns.</i> Team representatives are saying that they
do not know if the tape is real or not, but that his ex-girlfriend was the
subject of a lawsuit for trying to embezzle money from Sterling. The last point
hurts the legitimacy of the tape, but I would not be surprised if many people
were thinking that they would also want to embezzle money from Sterling after
all he has allegedly said. The sympathy then falls on his ex-girlfriend’s side,
or at least if sentiment is overall neutral for her, opinion is still solidly against Sterling. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9yutf13LqeYwQGL62VvpmSyt-rgSflkODPhy0J5MhtHPfLbehMx4qMdKnJGJO6e-VNQxT3kTEb-hPprWvwILqb3LoB9WIm2-za0K0jstykE7PtTfOHF22E3wByXJNx_9js9lkas6sZ8E/s1600/quote+for+April+28,+2014.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj9yutf13LqeYwQGL62VvpmSyt-rgSflkODPhy0J5MhtHPfLbehMx4qMdKnJGJO6e-VNQxT3kTEb-hPprWvwILqb3LoB9WIm2-za0K0jstykE7PtTfOHF22E3wByXJNx_9js9lkas6sZ8E/s1600/quote+for+April+28,+2014.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There’s a point at which facts can be ignored or used to
toss even more fuel on a situation, and Sterling seems to certainly have passed
that point. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Seeing how badly this crisis is being addressed by Sterling
almost makes the next part too painful to cover. Sterling’s problems mentioned above extend from
traditional PR all the way to quick-shifting social media responses. He seems
to either not have invested much in it or care.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">At this rate this game of one-on-one is going to be over
faster than Kevin Durant or LeBron James stepping up to a JV high school team. He
seems like he doesn’t have any plan for isolating red lights, drawing in yellow
lights or reinforcing his green light supporters. If he has any green lights that is.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Tomahawk slammed<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The people who are on one side against Sterling cover such a
widely-encompassing racial range that trying to break it down by that measure
is pointless. This is clearly a national movement emerging that cuts across
many backgrounds. It is the extension of well-established anti-racist movements and ideals,
and therefore has many pieces already in place to address the situation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">All the following approaches reinforce green light
supporters and give yellow lights a reason to join. None of them seem to waste
energy on replying red light opponents, only isolating them.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Big guns: </i>ESPN
reported that Magic Johnson, one of the people Sterling had allegedly made
disparaging comments about, said that Sterling <a href="http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/story/_/id/10848070/michael-jordan-magic-johnson-lash-donald-sterling-purported-comments">“shouldn’t
own a team anymore.”</a> The league should “come down hard on him.” Michael
Jordan <a href="http://espn.go.com/los-angeles/nba/story/_/id/10848070/michael-jordan-magic-johnson-lash-donald-sterling-purported-comments">said
that if he was a player</a> that Sterling’s comments would completely enrage
him. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">These are athletes highly respected by basketball fans as
living legends, but if that was not enough then yesterday President Barrack
Obama <a href="http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/27/david-sterling-clippers-racist-recording-obama-backlash">condemned
the recording as well</a>.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The statements made by these three individuals, are not
generally made directly on social media, but across a wide range of traditional
and digital media. Although it seems that journalist trawl social media for
stories more often these days (a topic in itself for another day), the
individuals who made these statements are at the level that their statements
resonate with very large members of the public, and people will mobilize out of
respect for them if they feel that their role models or leaders are being
attacked.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDhkTOu0x5M-HLcZZ_zz-z9X4ZhEw-yXm4Hu2k8SloXEyXdgdSmC7Cn1twFiK2RR0WkbVPgvjIVf_lP6lrb_esuumTQJwIhW40Vcz3CvfnPzv_Aibbbmmx59BlaUTZ676DuTDt29ng2sw/s1600/Kobe+Bryant+twitter.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhDhkTOu0x5M-HLcZZ_zz-z9X4ZhEw-yXm4Hu2k8SloXEyXdgdSmC7Cn1twFiK2RR0WkbVPgvjIVf_lP6lrb_esuumTQJwIhW40Vcz3CvfnPzv_Aibbbmmx59BlaUTZ676DuTDt29ng2sw/s1600/Kobe+Bryant+twitter.jpg" height="170" width="400" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Twitter appeals:<b> </b></i><a href="https://twitter.com/DWilkins21/statuses/460227447381032960">NBA players</a>,
<a href="https://twitter.com/James_Worthy42/statuses/460131413669343233">past</a>
and <a href="https://twitter.com/kobebryant/statuses/460184363808727040">present</a>,
across Twitter are speaking against Sterling’s alleged comments. <a href="https://twitter.com/MettaWorldPeace/statuses/460100532103696384">These
players</a> are not only in perfect position to fan the flames of outrage, but
they are doing it as well. Sterling is in no position to inhibit all these
players, especially when they don’t play for him. Athletes have enormous
followings online and can mobilize communities, especially if they are united (hint:
if you want to get people behind your cause, see if there is anyone with an
online following who might be interested in hearing about it.) Suffice to say,
Sterling does not have any support like this.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Fans: </i>That the NBA
players are going after Sterling on Twitter is especially damaging to him.
Although people across racial lines are outraged, Twitter is a battle front.
This social channel has high numbers of well-linked users from the Latino and
African American communities, which naturally see the recording as a personal
attack. However, these groups are welcoming whites as well, not lumping them
with the owner. There are anti-Sterling groups on <a href="https://www.facebook.com/groups/245643398957566/">Facebook</a> and <a href="http://www.reddit.com/r/pics/comments/244j3k/fans_trolling_clippers_owner_donald_sterling/">Reddit</a>,
but Twitter is really where the action is happening right now, and it’s
happening in a way which is mutually affirming for the participants. If you
want to defend yourself during a crisis, you want your green lights and yellow lights interacting exactly like this, in a free-flowing self-policing storm that drowns out out opposing voices. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With as many as half of user accounts being dormant and
screen names being very easy to change, Twitter is very difficult to police or
monitor for criticism. Sterling could not face a worse place to initiate a
social media battle, especially since he has next to no natural presence there already.
His being an owner is not an excuse for not being strong on Twitter. Mark Cuban
is also an owner and has <a href="https://twitter.com/mcuban">a very vibrant
Twitter presence</a>. Just check out how many people follow him on Twitter, his brand goes well beyond just being an owner of a basketball team.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><br /></i></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Clipper players:</i>
Sterling’s players are not showing that they are standing by him. In
yesterday’s playoff game with the Golden State Warriors, the Clippers all wore
their warm up tops inside out (<a href="http://es.pn/1isXfma" target="_blank">check out a whole stack of such photos here!</a>). The photos provided a powerful image of opposition to Sterling that quickly spread across the net. Such images are far more memorable than
images of Sterling sitting on the sideline with his ex-girlfriend. When you
want to make an impact in social media, have at least a photo to show what you
mean! People remember photos that pack emotion, not legal statement that look
like they were written to cover ones tracks. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">***</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I am not sure if the NBA will force Sterling to give up
ownership of the Clippers. It has happened before in baseball, and I don't know why it couldn't happen in NBA action either. If his past is any record, he will probably get a
slap on the wrist or buy his way out of this. But if pressure continues to
increase he could ultimately be forced to cave in for business reasons. A lot of things could happen that still have not been decided yet.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Even in the event that Sterling has not said what his
detractors accuse him of doing, my guess is that his ship is probably already
sunk, but at 80 years old and his fortune made I wonder if he will care. One thing is for sure, he probably had no clue what he was about walking into just few weeks ago, but in a way, neither do we know what will happen. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i><b>What do you think will happen next? Is social media helping or hurting this debate? Sound off in the comments, I almost always reply within 24 hours!</b></i></span></div>
</div>
Aatif Bokharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08886529227404482107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5998610887328065719.post-4081450439727368952014-04-21T07:33:00.002-05:002014-04-21T07:33:48.070-05:001 huge way business clients tick off social media pros! >:(<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-b-4jE6VReZOTiQY3FRdM8BbQ6mSJjC2UE2yFKR-8Ybnq6xcNgX6rYFqJANTnr14zCYQwkX1zMFUfhF2nFZKMHBb5ou-vVP_Ri5HJQKtiLESAwbeBgyK_bH1fAS_4_zZSPgeSeLXY-jM/s1600/Angry_cat.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh-b-4jE6VReZOTiQY3FRdM8BbQ6mSJjC2UE2yFKR-8Ybnq6xcNgX6rYFqJANTnr14zCYQwkX1zMFUfhF2nFZKMHBb5ou-vVP_Ri5HJQKtiLESAwbeBgyK_bH1fAS_4_zZSPgeSeLXY-jM/s1600/Angry_cat.jpg" height="480" width="640" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">I have something to say.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There is something that bugs me to no end when a client requests me to run a social media campaign.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“What’s your existing target audience, both online
and off?” I first ask. This is the foundation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Sheepish glances around. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“We don’t know / we’re not sure /
we never thought of it / can you do that for us.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How can you not know the people you say you want to reach?</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">”</span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">“We just want to do something online and get people to like our business. We haven't really thought of marketing so much, we're letting it work itself out.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Oh, heck no! They lost me at that last sentence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Unless I'm doing pro-bono work, in this situation I usually try to provide some help for the duration of the meeting and eventually bow out. Let me explain.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">A
business without an understanding of its own broader marketing situation and goals is usually a headache and half to deal with. If it is difficult to convince a confused business what its current audience is, convincing it of who the projected audience should be can be is excruciating. I find that being asked for help that a client should know is generally a waste of time.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">It’s one thing to not have a strategy or know how to
execute. It’s a completely different thing when clients are either paralyzed or don't have an
eager desire to narrow their sights on a viable target market. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That’s not even
something as focused as “social media marketing”. That is just plain old marketing. </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If a person cannot answer either what is the target audience, online and off, they have bigger problems. Social media marketing just happens to be a part of marketing, if even marketing is not given importance than social media teams are going to be limited.</span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi68rrRXvaxvLL3LQ6mzZNx_CWwv6kRYc5TLntxmP5RudWcz7-iTb2coe38Zq9ZVket85gu2ZRKex6h6hqtm4UQABBIn2Wtw_xhA1tHTN053ghmflk13XEVF1L7KqhVrFrF8TOWISjhXK0/s1600/Mind_the_gap.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEi68rrRXvaxvLL3LQ6mzZNx_CWwv6kRYc5TLntxmP5RudWcz7-iTb2coe38Zq9ZVket85gu2ZRKex6h6hqtm4UQABBIn2Wtw_xhA1tHTN053ghmflk13XEVF1L7KqhVrFrF8TOWISjhXK0/s1600/Mind_the_gap.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Finding gaps in social is our job, but we do it far better with support.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Marketing is a very simple concept. Let me boil down my studying at Northwestern to explain it for a second: Where is there a gap in the consumer market that others have not found? Ok, now that we found the gap, what are we going to it with to get customers. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This is what marketing is all about. And it is so very important. You don't need to go to Northwestern to learn and dominate with this concept, just discipline and constant learning.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br /><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p>Social media just does marketing in a way that touches people and
launches a two-way stream of communication, hopefully steering it to stay under
the banner of the business’ marketing goals.</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Marketing goes hand in hand with social media. Social media marketing and broader marketing augment each other, they do not fully replace one another.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The importance of marketing</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> applies to social
media in general as well, whether targeting consumers or people in the press
(this is social media PR).</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I’ve heard business people claim that social media
marketing isn’t important, yet they’re some of the first people who want to
show that they’re doing it. When they show up at first meetings you might be surprised by how little they they know about social media, and they act surprised that the social team would want information about marketing.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I might be wrong here, but I cannot understand why clients who don't know enough about their business, or at least remember at meetings, care about social. Perhaps they're</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> doing it out of a vague sense that social media is the cool thing to do and will make them money. Unfortunately it does not work that way. Social media marketers themselves do not make such claims.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Because social media marketing is a form of communications,
that means it’s less about revenue than it is about brand building and raising
consumer sentiment, even though it falls under communications. The goal is to encourage users to go out and convince others that
the product is good. That’s where the company makes its money. </span></div>
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<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: left; margin-right: 1em; text-align: left;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw_GrGMYEhtxcK4kL-zSeY70djGRFcacg7471ZxZc6Fdg1E-_zq0RHnTJLKGfmMYeDcezoOZzqDgVJG5k0ZRcjbFWJ9VJSdQyIVBjV8Rkti7I15cBdHfGSsyIuFnY769EnKYeLLz8E3p0/s1600/happy+dog.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiw_GrGMYEhtxcK4kL-zSeY70djGRFcacg7471ZxZc6Fdg1E-_zq0RHnTJLKGfmMYeDcezoOZzqDgVJG5k0ZRcjbFWJ9VJSdQyIVBjV8Rkti7I15cBdHfGSsyIuFnY769EnKYeLLz8E3p0/s1600/happy+dog.jpg" height="320" width="312" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Social media: improving consumer sentiment with happy dogs.</span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Social media marketers still
need to know who who they’re talking to before they can convince consumers that the
business is worth talking about to their friends. Of course there is listening software and analytics, which social media marketers can use to derive valuable insights, but the business needs to do its own homework and take an active stance in its social media progress first and foremost.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Which brings us back to the original point: how can a business use social media marketing without knowing who wants your products/services or having a flexible, realistic and, paradoxically, committed idea about what it wants?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Answer: it can’t. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Social media marketers can look for trends and present them
back to the business, but they cannot decide for the business what it should
stand for. That is at best a mutual decision, not one that can be foisted upon
social media marketers. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Mutual, as in, business clients should not cling to enforcing offline business ideas if the data that the social team brings back shows gaps in their online market analysis that could be filled. For example, if you’re targeting
suburban audiences and the social team thinks that targeting urban audiences is
possible, then business owners should consider doing so, not just shoot it down because "that's not us". The social team is part of the broader marketing effort, not either extreme of having all marketing pressure on its shoulders or not having any marketing role whatsoever. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Relationships work best when there are degrees of collaboration, and areas where there is a clear delineation of power, not one or the other. Collaboration is in the business' favor, so long as social team also understand that they are being trusted and clients ultimately have the final say. Everyone, including clients, needs to be ready at meetings, not just the social team.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"> the social media team find market gaps that are
potentially lucrative, what should business owners do? They have a
choice. They can stick with an old business plan or jump into something new. All I'm saying is that they should make that choice based upon an understanding of who their business naturally reaches, both online and off, and dumping all responsibility on social professionals is not only an unwise decision, but a bad one.</span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you’re not used to giving your social media teams clear
information about your business and who you want targeted, you might want to think over whether you’re sending your social media team into a gun fight to represent you with
just a switchblade.</span></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Aatif Bokharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08886529227404482107noreply@blogger.com8tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5998610887328065719.post-71295693059136829302014-04-13T11:08:00.001-05:002014-04-13T11:13:58.312-05:00Is an upgraded LinkedIn account worth it?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; margin-left: 1em; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAQvdmYwIzHdtP_pLvzMs5UrIHBOXE5GQxkOm8MIOBQN_ttw-uHF7GG7R8AEKbH-PaMSnQ15zuxVhnYnxGE06PYP9PZbmQ38tpDCN-mt2C8dSf7D2dwM50eUbfIamICqoh5vPjJg05G7c/s1600/linkedin+logo.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjAQvdmYwIzHdtP_pLvzMs5UrIHBOXE5GQxkOm8MIOBQN_ttw-uHF7GG7R8AEKbH-PaMSnQ15zuxVhnYnxGE06PYP9PZbmQ38tpDCN-mt2C8dSf7D2dwM50eUbfIamICqoh5vPjJg05G7c/s1600/linkedin+logo.png" height="400" width="400" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><i><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;">Graphic courtesy of <a data-rapid_p="22" href="http://www.noop.nl/" rel="nofollow" style="background-color: #212124; color: white; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;">www.noop.nl</a><span style="background-color: #212124; color: white; line-height: 18px; text-align: start;"> </span></span></i></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Have you ever wondered if upgrading your LinkedIn account
could actually help you get a job? So did I! That's why I ponied up for the Job Seeker service to see what it could do for me. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let me be clear. I love LinkedIn. LinkedIn can make job
searching and recruiting easier through recommendations on candidates’ profile
pages. Applications can be added to profile pages, making them more visually
appealing and easy to process for both sides. It’s undeniable that LinkedIn can be very useful as a starting point for job applicants, recruiters and business people looking to build connections.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">And seriously, show me an individual who isn’t thrilled that they can
see who has viewed their profile, and I will show you someone who either doesn’t
‘get’ social, or has so much money and so little time that they probably check
their profile once every few years, if ever! I have no figures to prove it, but
anecdotally this feature comes up time and again as a key drawing point when
speaking with users. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">BUT (there always is a 'but', isn't there?) where LinkedIn does come up short, in my view, is in
offering expanded services that go beyond basic service to help job
seekers. LinkedIn also offers upgraded accounts for recruiters and sales professionals, but those features are not the subject of this review. This is mainly because I am neither a recruiter or a sales professional, and therefore less able to accurately judge those services. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The following features don’t
represent everything you get with upgraded service, just that they are features
I tended to use more often during my test drive.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Get featured<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">This might be the most useful feature of having an upgraded
account. When you apply for a job on LinkedIn, you can request that your
application be listed in a featured section above all the candidates who don’t
have this privilege. </span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4YD3TvTUoZFve_XBwqYWspFCyFoPsrNbyGw0XlQI-0S8BUBPw03ljmRHOvLFv_P6kgVvhCukgmCphlIECFarkKnDM4Rtx9wQT9uXdh1nCt9d52LFSvjFvxQmxj-TQMfnh5QEkAU8IqJg/s1600/kool-aid.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEh4YD3TvTUoZFve_XBwqYWspFCyFoPsrNbyGw0XlQI-0S8BUBPw03ljmRHOvLFv_P6kgVvhCukgmCphlIECFarkKnDM4Rtx9wQT9uXdh1nCt9d52LFSvjFvxQmxj-TQMfnh5QEkAU8IqJg/s1600/kool-aid.JPG" height="267" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The idea is that your application is more likely to be
seen since other candidates’ materials won’t be ahead in line. Consider
yourself to have a VIP position, while simultaneously being at the head of the
line. Drink the Kool-Aid that is being at the front of the line, even though you showed up last! I think it's fair to assume that you'll be sharing that with other Premium users, but it is still better than being at the bottom of the page if you didn't get to the listing quickly enough.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I had no way of accurately measuring how effectively being
featured got me interviews during my test period, but I did notice that a few
employers that already had over 100 candidates apply contacted me. Then again,
I’ve experienced replies when applying for positions with high candidate
volumes, even without an upgraded account. These days even with an
upgraded account if the number is above 50 I don’t even bother applying, mostly because the job has already been listed for awhile, but I still think I'm getting more responses for jobs with a high number of applicants than I would without the service. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My work record and my education as mentioned on my resume,
as well as my LinkedIn recommendations, are usually enough to establish contact
with recruiters. But I can’t deny that being listed in a special place where
recruiters can see me has given me a leg up on other applicants, especially
when the volume of job seekers is high. Score a point for LinkedIn Premium.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How do you stack up?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When you apply for a job, so long as 10 or more people have
already applied you can see pie charts and info about the candidate pool. For
example, if 20 candidates apply, you can see the percentage who have an MA or
higher, the percentage who are experienced non-managers or managers, and most
importantly how qualified you are as a job candidate compared to the others who
have also applied.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The problem with this feature is that how you stack up
compared to other candidates is only one determinant of whether or not you
should apply for a job. There may be jobs that require certain qualitative
skills or characteristics not picked up by LinkedIn that a flesh-and-blood recruiter would
immediately recognize and value. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg40UITHU5KDVnDn4YwmOP6OME0NcagfaG4DCD9GQ553fOuBx3K-aCGQdzGXFKaoXbjO6b1R4YT_IxeOYRnZwUvty3kplaVI3UjVlZS-Au2wIVMHUdRGACUuv8TZoCOcZF-Fv4daoUWHcI/s1600/zip+recruiter+logo-rgb-black.png" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg40UITHU5KDVnDn4YwmOP6OME0NcagfaG4DCD9GQ553fOuBx3K-aCGQdzGXFKaoXbjO6b1R4YT_IxeOYRnZwUvty3kplaVI3UjVlZS-Au2wIVMHUdRGACUuv8TZoCOcZF-Fv4daoUWHcI/s1600/zip+recruiter+logo-rgb-black.png" height="92" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I did hear back from recruiters for positions that I was
listed as not being as qualified as the top 50% of applicants. This also tells
me that LinkedIn’s system of measuring amount of talent applying for positions
does not necessarily prove that you should still not go after the job. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I did wonder
how accurate LinkedIn is in comparison to job aggregators like ZipRecruiter,
which sends job listings to your inbox with percentages of how compatible you
likely are for the roles. I also wondered how many of these statistics could be
seen by recruiters and how much stock they put in them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Granted, LinkedIn does not claim that it’s a waste of time
to apply if you’re not ranked among the most qualified, but then that’s just
another way in which upgrading my account seemed to me to either not be useful or a
distraction. Personally I would rather not know how I rank then be given statistics that may not matter to the recruiter posting the job.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Get paid<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">LinkedIn lets you filter jobs by how much they are projected
to pay. This sounds useful in theory, but in practice filtering jobs by salary
was wildly inaccurate. For example, I applied for a position that LinkedIn
suggested would pay $40,000. I applied not because I thought the salary was amazing, but because I recognized that the company was very innovative, well regarded
and could definitely do better. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">After applying, within a week I got an email from a
recruiter and a follow-up conversation for an hour to see if I was interested. The recruiter brought up salary even though it was our first phone meeting. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPmryRwA4UAbv9sutu4onb5uLv-hS30StplWPrUHCLJlhoNc8OCJKjIumnYNWFCmFXZGreUuAtRT826VXgln52VD2r9c-Y6iwReb2mCD3cItoKjToOf39I04Ks6gswARLRI9tYzJkvGrE/s1600/money.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhPmryRwA4UAbv9sutu4onb5uLv-hS30StplWPrUHCLJlhoNc8OCJKjIumnYNWFCmFXZGreUuAtRT826VXgln52VD2r9c-Y6iwReb2mCD3cItoKjToOf39I04Ks6gswARLRI9tYzJkvGrE/s1600/money.jpg" height="300" width="400" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">How much do you think the company was actually offering
compared to LinkedIn’s projected salary?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><i>Around $75,000 a year plus good benefits.</i> Benefits are not
mentioned when LinkedIn projects salary. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I could understand being off by $5,000 or $10,000, but
$35,000 is a huge difference, almost the yearly projected salary. It's a good thing I hadn't cared about the projected salary.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">For me, LinkedIn’s filtering system was not accurate enough
to be worth the monthly cost of having an upgraded LinkedIn account. If it was
a free feature I might have let it slide.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">InMail<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">LinkedIn has a neat little messaging system called InMail. It is not covered by basic membership. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Upgraded account users receive a certain
amount of InMail credit each month, depending on level of membership. With
InMails, you can send a message to people on LinkedIn, even if they are
not contacts, as long as you label your message with one of about 10 different
intents. I'm not sure if there is even a way for people to block InMails from reaching their inbox.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<table cellpadding="0" cellspacing="0" class="tr-caption-container" style="float: right; text-align: right;"><tbody>
<tr><td style="text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyanEkJnnZ4TNX9vTxOJ0qtXW8lgE9uI-M1sfpBFSiWsQBxMVz5fhmo1p92q0UiTWVZCOiUySAUx3zw6YkjjFWEZD_idQgVkMJhbTE6AXUC-IAMlYr9fSEOvf5yCzJX4iw7b5EEBFcr8A/s1600/no+junk+mail.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: auto; margin-right: auto;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhyanEkJnnZ4TNX9vTxOJ0qtXW8lgE9uI-M1sfpBFSiWsQBxMVz5fhmo1p92q0UiTWVZCOiUySAUx3zw6YkjjFWEZD_idQgVkMJhbTE6AXUC-IAMlYr9fSEOvf5yCzJX4iw7b5EEBFcr8A/s1600/no+junk+mail.jpg" height="214" width="320" /></a></td></tr>
<tr><td class="tr-caption" style="text-align: right;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; font-size: xx-small;"><i>Photo courtesy of Robert Ganzer on Flickr</i></span></td></tr>
</tbody></table>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If an InMail you’ve sent is not responded to then the credit
is returned to your account. Rolled over credits stay in your account for up to
90 days for upgraded subscribers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Although my coverage was for a job seeker account, I found
that sending InMails to recruiters to underscore my interest, while not
something I recommend, almost never got a response. I tried different writing
styles, I tried different timings for sending InMails, I even asked for pointed
questions from recruiters who had listed “job inquiry” as one of the types of
messages that they are interested in responding to. Nothing, zilch. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I wouldn’t be surprised if recruiters are sick and tired of
applicants sending them InMails and don’t respond the vast majority of messages
they receive. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Why does this matter? Because people expect their job seeker
account is going to help them get jobs. If InMails can’t help them do that with
recruiters, then what is so special about them that only Job Seeker accounts
can have them? This is especially troubling because LinkedIn comes out and says "send InMails to recruiters".</span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Maybe LinkedIn should be offering at least some limited InMail
capability to everyone, even if all they have is a basic account. I think that people who are using the site deserve at least five free InMails, if not more.</span></div>
</div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Where InMail’s came in handy was when I wanted to get in
touch with people other than recruiters who are not yet contacts, and who might
still be useful to reach out to. I made a few connections this way with one
individual even asking me unprompted if I’d like to work on a project with him.
I couldn’t have done that without InMail. But it also probably wouldn’t have
happened if I had approached him as a job seeker.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Connected to this service is that an upgraded account allows anyone on LinkedIn to contact you for free. There are plenty of ways around this though that don't require an upgraded account. Set up an email account and list it as the best way for people to contact you. Boom, you're done.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Show me your badge!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMl7-bo-AmLZxOmOKZqa9OR5epTHHH7VPkZlFLOhuPADdI2esIbWYrDXQIMu1Bp2LzYi7_ArVbNSLtk03WZlXlNs7HbfX_I3PYMLGlHze0sOgsGETZf6_U6r4p4qx8cBYjmzGJC9BsK0Q/s1600/BIA_Police_Officer_Badge.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjMl7-bo-AmLZxOmOKZqa9OR5epTHHH7VPkZlFLOhuPADdI2esIbWYrDXQIMu1Bp2LzYi7_ArVbNSLtk03WZlXlNs7HbfX_I3PYMLGlHze0sOgsGETZf6_U6r4p4qx8cBYjmzGJC9BsK0Q/s1600/BIA_Police_Officer_Badge.jpg" height="400" width="290" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">LinkedIn lets premium users display different badges next to
their name throughout the site, indicating that the user is a “job seeker”, has
a “premium account” or is an “open networker”, meaning that the user does not
only establish connections with people he or she knows. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I could not see how such badges helped my chances with
recruiters, except that the “job seeker” badge seemed somewhat more subtle than
screaming out, “hey world, give me a job!” </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I don’t know that most people would
notice the tiny badges. No one said anything to me during the time period that I
displayed the job seeker badge. Interestingly a recruiter from a Fortune 500
company did reach out to me when I wasn’t using a badge, but she said that had
more to do with her searching for profiles that contained certain matching information
than anything I did. None of my badges got anyone to listen to me respectfully or even comment on my fine taste.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">To summarize badges, they look nice but in my case they do
no more than dress up my profile. I don’t understand how anyone could get
anything out of this feature. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Weekly updates and
expanded list of viewers<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Every week LinkedIn sends a collection of numbers and
statistics to show premium job seeker account holders how they’re doing, such
as how many people have looked at your profile this week, how many jobs you’ve
applied for, and so on. For me the problem was that much of the information
being sent was something I knew anyway. I could look at my profile manually and
see that I received six views one week and the following week. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One nice feature that LinkedIn likes to play up is that
premium account holders can see an expanded list of who has viewed their
account. However, in practice I found that it didn’t really help me with
anything. Actually, being able to see everyone who looked at my account removed
a considerable amount of the mystique behind that part of LinkedIn. Many
viewers had toggled their accounts to not show their identities, But it was not
like I was able to see through their cloak of anonymity. They might have been
recruiters, but it would have been nice to see who they are. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Community access<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When I upgraded my LinkedIn account I was granted access to
a special locked forum called Job Seeker Premium. Think of it as a VIP lounge for very motivated job seekers to build connections.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">My problem wasn’t that the forum didn’t have very smart
people with good ideas. My main issue, again, was that it seemed to me that
much of what could be done in the forum could be done in open groups. Being
part of the group didn’t seem so much of a perk considering the amount being
spent per month. I felt it needed to be more than what seemed largely to be
stories of people telling each other how to use Premium accounts, or sharing good news about getting new jobs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">$ticker $hock<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So this is what it all comes down to. Ready to ante up? See
the screen grabs below for the current pricing (apologies for the tool bar scrolling across the grabs, that couldn't be avoided):<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCAWqUYUoj0hOMyhCv17K81VeP-0NC1lZnLXVYjYYNmFHZ9fWMeP9LQTq2guvqe8M0QwhFh-FoL_76D6XjeBQrVXctZ46tQMQjo5gld6n-z11Rd__xhBPoVqCZdFwnSTkMxb4GDETyAjo/s1600/Premium+beginning+benefits.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhCAWqUYUoj0hOMyhCv17K81VeP-0NC1lZnLXVYjYYNmFHZ9fWMeP9LQTq2guvqe8M0QwhFh-FoL_76D6XjeBQrVXctZ46tQMQjo5gld6n-z11Rd__xhBPoVqCZdFwnSTkMxb4GDETyAjo/s1600/Premium+beginning+benefits.png" height="640" width="448" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX4vcsGVr0QtCMAAyuChDKh4gKSSSejMOUmbmUnhW5jzWuibhcPIzs-jZPVsr9LE8aUdQ7PLurBIIq11LEvr4HQbROPWy4anp3icgVEcu_IB2D-jfqtopnAoPAqwEbFx7_SA_UqJE3IWY/s1600/LinkedIn+Premium+benefits.png" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjX4vcsGVr0QtCMAAyuChDKh4gKSSSejMOUmbmUnhW5jzWuibhcPIzs-jZPVsr9LE8aUdQ7PLurBIIq11LEvr4HQbROPWy4anp3icgVEcu_IB2D-jfqtopnAoPAqwEbFx7_SA_UqJE3IWY/s1600/LinkedIn+Premium+benefits.png" height="640" width="543" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Some people say that starting out at $23.99 and moving up to
$59.99 a month for a further upgrade is worth it if it gets you a job. I’m just
not sure you need to spend that money to still get a lot out of LinkedIn.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Many of the Premium services were not very useful for me,
could be replaced by free alternatives or could be figured out with a little
time spent. I think that for what you get, upgraded LinkedIn Job Seeker accounts
get expensive in a hurry, which for people out of work might make upgrading a
luxury.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So at the end of the day LinkedIn offers a number of
benefits. If you decide to upgrade and get a lot out of it, I’d be the first
one to be happy for you. But do I personally think that provides such a huge
leap over the basic package that it’s worth the cost?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<br />
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I downgraded my account yesterday.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>
Aatif Bokharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08886529227404482107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5998610887328065719.post-73161622214959014802014-04-05T14:05:00.000-05:002014-04-05T17:13:43.587-05:00How to shop for a social media marketing & PR agency<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
</div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTGRWFag-4hQY_KGSb6_CAFqFdyQkFObcnDpDBdlZnS-q-PYubvlHEEHoZm_5GpgrXyU9gZ2M9DSQGdwTeSpQrdmIrBcV7b86fcdDwvrHxBsYq5t6ZUwp7vca6TqriDJ2uQ6K8RFMm97I/s1600/store+owner+2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgTGRWFag-4hQY_KGSb6_CAFqFdyQkFObcnDpDBdlZnS-q-PYubvlHEEHoZm_5GpgrXyU9gZ2M9DSQGdwTeSpQrdmIrBcV7b86fcdDwvrHxBsYq5t6ZUwp7vca6TqriDJ2uQ6K8RFMm97I/s1600/store+owner+2.jpg" height="426" width="640" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you asked a store owner who has the best store, what do
you think they’re going to say?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">That’s right. “My store!” Even if their store has no goods, no customers and no working plumbing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But while most people would understand that it would be absurd
to rely on such a testimonial, this is exactly what many businesses looking for
a digital marketing and PR service do. Confronted by many choices, they look up
agencies or professionals and try to be a client. It's also what job seekers tend to do. They fall for the claims without thinking them over.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I know this because as soon as some businesses find out that I
know about marketing communications and social media work they ask me if I can
run a campaign for the them. All. The. Time. I actually have to turn away business that I'm not looking for because of the demand.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Businesses like this have remarkably a lot in common with
beginning social media job seekers also, the subject of last week’s article (<a href="http://aatifbokhari.blogspot.com/2014/03/reasons-for-not-starting-social-media.html">Reasons
for NOT Starting a Social Media Career</a>). This is good and bad. Mostly good for the agencies and mostly bad for clients and beginning job seekers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Aside from how to negotiate with a social media agency or pro on a job, which requires it's own article, here’s what to keep in mind.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Look up companies on Glassdoor,
Google Reviews, Facebook and LinkedIn</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Do you really want to be served by or work for a company
that has a lot of issues? Of course not.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="http://www.glassdoor.com/" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;" target="_blank"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgsaxO-km3qP2nzdsepo99mVg8wHFWo6lp9YEaMbZw144OOjlnLqwjKJ0nO35exr3TMYh2d8Olt4YCrHeSC9G-DzKp2fgKY1fu2enbml5Ah-MJiWdeCyBn8-cbF4fIq9KLuB-WbNjv-ASY/s1600/glassdoor.jpg" height="192" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">One of the most powerful ways to find out if an agency is
worth working with is running through a number of sites and seeing how it
presents itself. Does the company have good Google reviews (search)? What kind
of building is the agency housed in (Google street view)? How much does the
agency update its own Facebook and LinkedIn pages, and do updates have
substance (pride in presentation)?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">But by far the most potentially useful thing you can do is to
look up the agency on <a href="http://www.glassdoor.com/">Glassdoor</a>.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Glassdoor lets employees submit anonymous information about
their employers. You can see reviews, salaries and interview experiences.
Although the information can be skewed since it is self-reported, it can be
very accurate and worth taking a look. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The data can give information about reliability of the
company, treatment of clients, company morale, retention and much more. Next time
you walk into an agency and see a sign that says it is one of the best places
to work, but meanwhile you know morale is low, you’ll have a better idea of
what kind of environment you’re dealing with.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Turmoil = trouble<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">With the proliferation of agencies and individuals saying
that they are good to go into business with, you might well wonder if they are
knowledgeable enough and can prove that they will take care of you, either as a
client or as a job seeker.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDIhDB-Hfu0PDiveap3t9NmjZsaD9OrciuM6JmdkLr_FekaEzYvjJXpXtfuK9LFf0DdVv5R-d5qzr7ckILNFUP1_t1FcKacC3QfVQZ7CL1rB7GkmAGO0RBmsh1K00bi-kcBEm2O7xD8u8/s1600/Tornado+Photos+and+Wallpapers+1.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDIhDB-Hfu0PDiveap3t9NmjZsaD9OrciuM6JmdkLr_FekaEzYvjJXpXtfuK9LFf0DdVv5R-d5qzr7ckILNFUP1_t1FcKacC3QfVQZ7CL1rB7GkmAGO0RBmsh1K00bi-kcBEm2O7xD8u8/s1600/Tornado+Photos+and+Wallpapers+1.jpg" height="125" width="200" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The first thing to do is see who the agency’s clients are.
Are they big clients commanding respect, or at least clients that carry weight
in their industries? Or are the past clients not great? Did at any time the
agency have a big client that left? What happened to the number of employees
and morale? Does the agency focus on serving one client or many, so that your
business as a client would be welcome?<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Basically, how stable and consistent is this place in its
policies, internally and externally? Hearing that a place has a start-up
mentality five years after it launched is not a good sign. Look up the employees on LinkedIn and see what their past histories entails, especially if they have the position you're gunning for. Do the same on Facebook. It's not creepy, you're doing research about stuff which is right out in the open.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>Do the math</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfogSI_Gm4OJ2Gb_6wcWjda9b2w7kX3nh9CqZLm5uMViRdHHmn4cKnwm67auWqELLBp5kDCebNWiKES-dMd5Fd1_Cg2yfqTTa1zYmX5xiEjqe_pi6bzLUM_iURjritS8gawMFnoaWsyRc/s1600/math+board.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjfogSI_Gm4OJ2Gb_6wcWjda9b2w7kX3nh9CqZLm5uMViRdHHmn4cKnwm67auWqELLBp5kDCebNWiKES-dMd5Fd1_Cg2yfqTTa1zYmX5xiEjqe_pi6bzLUM_iURjritS8gawMFnoaWsyRc/s1600/math+board.jpg" height="262" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">When looking for information on what the agency did in the
past, always steer towards hard numbers that show how the agency’s ideas had an
impact on engagement rates. The amount spent on a campaign or how many industry
awards were won has nothing to do with the bottom line: attracting consumers
and getting them to stay. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">There are plenty of Super Bowl ads that people remember
fondly, yet how many actually got you to buy the product? If the goal was to
get people to buy and they didn’t then engagement didn’t succeed. Always find
out if your idea of success matches up with what the agency says it can do for
you. Of course you’ll need to have enough data so that the agency can tell you
if what you want is doable.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Of course, if you’re a job seeker and you see that the
company has a lot of money to spend on campaigns, that might be a good thing –
it will mean that you probably going to get a decent salary if you get in, and
get to work with smart people and cool technology as well. But you have to ask
yourself if all the money but lack of social engagement is worth the approach.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Always act in good
faith<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">If you are willing to reach out to an agency or individual
for help, the assumption is that you need help. The people who work at the
agency can only help you so much as you are honest in admitting your company’s
weaknesses. Although you might feel reluctant to do so in a casual meeting or
first-time get together, not telling the truth in the beginning is absolutely guaranteed
to get you labeled as a bad client and one who can’t be helped. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">The number of
people who actually know how to do digital marketing and PR is surprisingly
small, and you don’t want to get a reputation for being an unnecessarily demanding
or otherwise delusional client. Marketing and PR professionals gossip just as much as many clients and take things personally, so keep in mind that your manners have just as much of an impact on how you might be treated as the issues that the people you're dealing with him. For example, seeing a client zoom into a handicapped parking spot whenever showing up at the office instead of a normal spot is obviously not going to win them friends. But even doubling back on promises and demanding changes in deadlines with zero input from the agency is likely to damage the relationship. We don't spit in your food, but we will take it personally.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Job seekers, when you want to work at an agency always make
sure to do your side and tell the truth about what you can and can’t do. Even
if you’re working for the hottest agency in the world, not being up front about
your capabilities is going to cause problems. This is doubly so in a sweat shop
type agency. You can always move on from an agency, but your reputation will
follow you, especially in the online world.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Good luck!</span></div>
</div>
Aatif Bokharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08886529227404482107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5998610887328065719.post-31912404244999759132014-03-28T12:12:00.002-05:002014-04-25T23:10:15.317-05:00Reasons for NOT starting a social media career<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFdyUWbpV2gBQsxdbsbMk598eu6VEVqwDQvz2gK5qTRoP4mEEEhpqhqWSlESpL9Dw3Hze0-vzAYRXzrq3d4CQ873f7hMkP1g0YhcuNMp7oWge8MtRRtZfu82qOYj_YuWWhi8w16K7lQeM/s1600/thescream2.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiFdyUWbpV2gBQsxdbsbMk598eu6VEVqwDQvz2gK5qTRoP4mEEEhpqhqWSlESpL9Dw3Hze0-vzAYRXzrq3d4CQ873f7hMkP1g0YhcuNMp7oWge8MtRRtZfu82qOYj_YuWWhi8w16K7lQeM/s1600/thescream2.jpg" height="640" width="483" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I love social media, and there are few things that I spend
more time thinking about. However, even I will tell you that a career in the
field is far from perfect or for everyone. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><br /></span>
<span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Online, there are literally thousands of social
media marketers who will all but say that social media work is all there is, but this article is about what is NOT good about the field. It’s based upon conversations with people in social media positions
across the US and Canada. Of course my sources will have to stay anonymous, but
you’re under no compulsion to accept any of this. Take it or leave it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">Let me tell you how it is.</span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpFirst" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">1.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span></span><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"><b>Social media work is incredibly intrusive. </b>If </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">you care about having a life away from work and cannot handle interruptions,
then this is not the direction to go in. You can be called or pinged at any
time of night or day to fix problems, address community members’ concerns or
seize opportunities to engage users. This situation is more extreme for people
starting out in social media than people who have paid their dues, but even
people who have been in the field for a long while, such as strategists, may
have to deal with difficult clients at any hour. Your time off is the time when
you get energized and get to do what you want to do. Your time is truly priceless. If someone is taking it away from you then consider if it is really worth it to deal with people online and at the company where you're only wanted so far as generating money for someone. Some people get a kick out of that.</span></div>
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<div class="MsoListParagraphCxSpMiddle" style="mso-list: l0 level1 lfo1; text-indent: -.25in;">
<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>2.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span>Is your time with family and friends on the same level of importance as working 50-60 hours a week to help some company sell stuff, and
you don’t even get paid for overtime beyond what is probably not the greatest
salary anyway? </b></span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">I think not. </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">It’s not like social media work is as important as
being a doctor or doing work that helps young people get educated. Of course, if
you’re combining your social media career with something that goes beyond empty
entertainment for the lowest common denominator of your target audience than I
stand corrected. By the way, I strongly suggest that if you can do so that you
try to do some pro-bono social media work on the side, perhaps for a charity or
good organization. You will avoid losing touch with how people really
communicate and you will have helped someone. Of course you may not have time
to do much due to your primary job.</span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>3.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span>Bizarrely, you will often work with and report to people who really
do not understand social media. </b></span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Often these people are working with you because
of their amazing organizational or quantitative (analytic) skills. Perhaps
they are in love with technology and have ideas about social channels that the
employer finds profound. Or maybe they can whip up a mean excel document and
know how to present things. What they cannot do well is write worth a lick,
understand what it means to build connections online, or build real
relationships. When they demand that you follow their ideas – and you will have
to since they are often senior to you as a beginner – you may have to take the
blame if their ideas don’t get the numbers they want. Or they just blame it on Facebook, Tumblr, Twitter, YouTube or any other social channel for changing its algorithms. They can always
throw you under the bus later if they want. (The best strategist I ever worked with, a supervisor now friend by the name of Charlie, was never like this – he is a well-rounded
person and not only as a social media professional, highly creative, analytical and a strong writer. Another pro's pro, Sean, had many of the same qualities. Both read the news and had strong senses of humor. Someday I’ll have to write about
Charlie, he's a good template for what a strategist should be like. Sean is similarly amazing.)</span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtkmHIosfHVViXQVFsZVQ-BOEdbFFuMF5m0hj7azDbXL5hSRAh-hyK0J2hDO8CYUqmnaDqPbJ2uK8kgzm3eJl6GG4MhA-1Ka1qQ_SD7fYTEhgF1D-Yl-4WJ8OI-IPV6rXQziwFZI3rRrU/s1600/quote+for+March+28,+2014+social+media+drawbacks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtkmHIosfHVViXQVFsZVQ-BOEdbFFuMF5m0hj7azDbXL5hSRAh-hyK0J2hDO8CYUqmnaDqPbJ2uK8kgzm3eJl6GG4MhA-1Ka1qQ_SD7fYTEhgF1D-Yl-4WJ8OI-IPV6rXQziwFZI3rRrU/s1600/quote+for+March+28,+2014+social+media+drawbacks.jpg" height="240" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>4.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span>Clients can be infuriatingly destructive. </b></span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">In an agency
setting, the job of the social media team is to take care of a client company’s needs.
This is basically because the company cannot take care of itself, either
because they don’t know the technology, they don’t have the human capital to do
the work or because they just don’t understand how to do social. However, in
spite of all that, client personnel can be extremely demanding of what they think
is the best thing to do, even when all evidence points to the contrary. </span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">I've worked with excellent clients who I wished I could spend all my time with. Bad clients are a different story altogether. Bad clients</span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;"> can contradict themselves and scream for things that they forget about the
next day. They can threaten your job instead of sitting down and admitting that
they were not clear on things. Bad clients can get involved in office politics and play favorites because they
like some person on your team (personally or professionally). They can skip the established chain of authority and get right on your case about a perceived issue outside of office hours, even if you have nothing to do with their concern and the matter can wait. Of course, you are not allowed to contact them outside of office hours in return, even if just by email. The worst is if your supervisor or teammates don't defend you and let the bad client rampage. Pray you don’t
end up in such an environment if you are just starting out, because it can be highly
stressful for yourself, as well as your family. If you see the warning signs of horrible clients, I would urge you to consider if you can avoid the situation. If not, see if you can exit. It's just not worth the headache. </span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>5.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span>You will find
that the type of work you do as a beginning social media professional is very different
from the most fun aspects of being a social media civilian. </b></span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">For example, you
will spend time crunching numbers about community members on the social pages.
You will spend countless hours uploading videos to YouTube or Vimeo, then tag
all of them with key words you have to come up with, but may be of questionable
value. You will spend long periods of time alone reading articles about social
media or pop culture, trying to predict what could happen next. You will spend
a large amount of time trying to understand the hidden politics and subterfuge
that is part of office life – why did so-and-so move their desk, why are those
three only talking to each other instead of their supervisor, etc. For some
people, all of this is far from what a career, never mind a social media
career, should be about. I actually find much of the above very interesting, but if you don't agree than be warned. Social media, especially when starting out, involves a lot of maintenance work. Grunt work is normal too, especially at small agencies that are short staffed.</span></div>
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<!--[if !supportLists]--><span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>6.<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span>You will always need to be ready to find a new job and look to leverage your experience for a career outside of social media, if necessary. </b></span><span style="font-family: 'Helvetica Neue', Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif; text-indent: -0.25in;">Social media careers
are highly volatile, and people have to change jobs frequently. This is
especially true for the new entrants. You can also expect to very rarely get a
raise unless you leave the company you work for and negotiate for more pay
elsewhere. Unfortunately, the idea of loyalty between employers and employees
is no more part of social media careers than in any other profession. Companies
are looking to squeeze every last dime out of employees also, so that getting a
raise is almost impossible. Actually, due to companies wanting to get the most
for their buck, it’s not uncommon to freeze budgets and bring
in different people at lower salaries. In such a situation your salary could either stay the same through company juggling to keep you on board, fall to accommodate newcomers, or worse. In any case, even in good times social media work is not the most stable gig,
and you always have to have a backup plan. Knowledge quickly becomes outdated, employees become less effective at what they do, everything quickly changes as burnout is the norm and people are constantly looking to do something new. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;">So! You're probably wondering why am I even in this field. It's definitely not the happiest article I have ever written, by far. As I said, I love social media work, but I think that people need to have a better
idea of the drawbacks before jumping in. Social media marketing & PR sound
glamorous, and it can be, but it also is tough work that requires a lot of
understanding for business environments and the ramifications of the field
lacking standards.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Helvetica Neue, Arial, Helvetica, sans-serif;"><b>What do you think of this article? Is my advice on point or overblown? Let me know in the comments.</b></span></div>
</div>
Aatif Bokharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08886529227404482107noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5998610887328065719.post-89356113659124629602012-07-15T17:02:00.001-05:002012-07-16T09:48:44.044-05:00Use LinkedIn without alerting your boss and colleagues<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBX3nmDHnHjkqqPPOw0e1r8Lvn9KpiQdtDmiJx0NDgO_Zncho2DHiITYiSAz6BIu8piFDpW6QL1p9l2GoaA44R8nou1aetKOUX8WVJ1X-cFtMTY8Sn_1NeAGIr1Uy4iT5QjHpLGG_Ixtc/s1600/mr-burns-evil-wallpaper-1024x768.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><br /><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiBX3nmDHnHjkqqPPOw0e1r8Lvn9KpiQdtDmiJx0NDgO_Zncho2DHiITYiSAz6BIu8piFDpW6QL1p9l2GoaA44R8nou1aetKOUX8WVJ1X-cFtMTY8Sn_1NeAGIr1Uy4iT5QjHpLGG_Ixtc/s400/mr-burns-evil-wallpaper-1024x768.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">The question I get asked most often by individuals who
want to update their <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> profiles is, “How do I do it without letting my suspicious boss, who doesn't know anything about social media, think that I’m looking to leave the company?”</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">My response to this question is to always err on the side
of caution. If you think that updating your profile is going to get you in
trouble, then don’t do it. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">But does this mean there is no way to update your profile?</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Not at all.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">See, the thing that underpins a gifted social media
practitioner’s strategy is a good understanding human psychology and
relationships. If we can understand our boss as a human being with feelings and
ideas, rather than as a Mr. Burns, we will have a better idea of how to establish our social media presence
in a way that not only makes us look good, but makes our company look good as
well.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">Bosses’
and colleagues’ concerns<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Bosses often get worried when their staffers update their
profiles, because it could be a sign that they are looking to jump ship. Bosses
are worried that they might have to quickly hire new people who don’t know
their job as well as individuals that have worked in the office for some time.
Even with the horrible economy and the oceans of unemployed, finding a new
worker who knows exactly how to do the job or training a newcomer can be a huge
time suck.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKpUetemui0DH6N-O3PDE8NBGob6b-8x_qB3DA07d5OrELm0HO9dxDYkrtO2CG0nawYH0CeRYbkZ4KPMjGK9TjHPxbjCSmwQTY_uqXBwtyj0lIhis3407B6aW_C0aNUeH2twfSG6gMOIA/s1600/spy+vs+spy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjKpUetemui0DH6N-O3PDE8NBGob6b-8x_qB3DA07d5OrELm0HO9dxDYkrtO2CG0nawYH0CeRYbkZ4KPMjGK9TjHPxbjCSmwQTY_uqXBwtyj0lIhis3407B6aW_C0aNUeH2twfSG6gMOIA/s320/spy+vs+spy.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The other way that your boss might be wary of you
updating your LinkedIn profile is if he or she thinks that it makes you look
more qualified than others – including your boss! Organizations sometimes have
politics, spying, undermining and sensitive egos lying just under the surface, especially in organizations where loyalties are unclear and/or turnover is high. </span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If we update our profiles in
such an environment, we can be perceived by our bosses and colleagues as
potentially rocking the boat.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Third, your boss or colleague might be worried about your
LinkedIn profile because he or she doesn’t know what LinkedIn really is about.
Some people see LinkedIn as a glorified Facebook, fit for revealing personal or
company information that compromises the organization’s image. Your boss might
even think that LinkedIn is a tool that facilitates building an organization
that competes directly with the boss’ organization! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">All of these ideas should have nothing to do with why you
want to update your LinkedIn profile, but they do need to be addressed.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">What
are your options?<o:p></o:p></span></span></b></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Remember, your boss may not know your intentions or
understand what LinkedIn is about. It is your responsibility, not your boss’,
to clarify the situation. Do not do any of the following if there is any chance it could hurt your position at work.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here is where human psychology comes in: things that are
written down can be more easily misunderstood than things that are spoken. The
written word also carries more weight than what is spoken. So before you update
your profile, if you think your boss can be reasonable about it, go have a nice
talk with him or her.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I would suggest you choose a fairly quiet, calm time to
bring up the topic of your LinkedIn profile. If your boss is busy or upset
already, then you talking about your profile is not going to win you any favors.
Don’t take it personally, it’s just not the most important thing on his or her
agenda.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Second, you might mention that you have heard that
maintaining an accurate record of your duties on LinkedIn is now considered a
basic part of a person’s career. You can also say that by filling out your
profile you mean to give your current employer a message that you are taking clear
responsibility for your work and the job requirements.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDbbmQmzAgRvNPZ_Yt7M3xSp20vqrNpXJNY0HRx39g_duJfmZbTHuywdkH9qZ5QguxjZMXBSjXY7WzEBpDkGxuLZAjl4IQ6dycK7NKXur96Sgt7Vy65Ahc24Sf53WsmPSJgehdcR0ORgI/s1600/quote+2+for+July+15,+2012+linkedin+and+bosses.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgDbbmQmzAgRvNPZ_Yt7M3xSp20vqrNpXJNY0HRx39g_duJfmZbTHuywdkH9qZ5QguxjZMXBSjXY7WzEBpDkGxuLZAjl4IQ6dycK7NKXur96Sgt7Vy65Ahc24Sf53WsmPSJgehdcR0ORgI/s320/quote+2+for+July+15,+2012+linkedin+and+bosses.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What about co-workers or bosses concerned about how they
will look if your profile is well-developed? You might win friends if you tell
your colleagues and superiors that you would like an off-the-record review of
your skills so that you can tell the world what it is that you do in a way that
is more well rounded than if you had described your position by yourself. Make
sure if you do this that you are talking to people who are not clear enemies,
but rather people you think can be trusted.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If you are really concerned about filling out your
profile and you have some nasty enemies in the office watching, there is
another way to do it, but there is a certain amount of risk involved. You might
tell your “frienimies” that you would like to give them recommendations on their
LinkedIn profiles. Almost everyone has some redeeming characteristics that you
can mention. Once you have done this, you might make a few friends and find
that building up your profile is easier. If it doesn’t break the ice or you can’t
even convince them of the wisdom of being publically praised on their LinkedIn
profiles, you can still back out of updating your profile <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Just so it is very clear, I do NOT advise that you recommend
people you don’t like, and especially if you suspect them of illegal or unethical
behavior. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If you give someone a recommendation, you are publically
endorsing that individual. If they do something wrong later and get in trouble
for it, your recommendation can be held up as proof that your “friend” was a
good person. This can have all sorts of
legal consequences, so tread carefully. I personally never give anyone a
recommendation unless I have a good feel for the person’s character built up
over a longer period of time. </span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Recommendations say as much about me as they do
others, so I don’t take them lightly.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Luckily, the most common reason for professionals to
spurn LinkedIn is that they don’t understand the site very well. Yes, “luckily”!
This is the most easy reason to address.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If you are concerned that your colleagues and superiors
are going to be suspicious of your profile update for this reason, then I would
suggest that if your workplace has an open culture that you share an article or
two about how using LinkedIn is considered a very standard practice. For
example, LinkedIn can be used to exchange information with people around the
world, not just job hunt. When people fill out their profiles then they make it
easier to share and receive information, because they are putting out a very
important part of their lives that all can see and judge. </span></span></div>
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<div style="text-align: left;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7bhyphenhyphenflPx3hmX2a75duF0cDpUc2rRSP376MKQS69dIwDtqV0C3HJxAC1WbGVdK2tUiEUFhKdzDZSuhISIOc1u9GRQhIV_nwqDkv-BXGMUcJBa5Uk_hb8GttvV_AsMnqHX4npSGg7nnRfY/s1600/lori.ruff.orig.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="320" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg7bhyphenhyphenflPx3hmX2a75duF0cDpUc2rRSP376MKQS69dIwDtqV0C3HJxAC1WbGVdK2tUiEUFhKdzDZSuhISIOc1u9GRQhIV_nwqDkv-BXGMUcJBa5Uk_hb8GttvV_AsMnqHX4npSGg7nnRfY/s320/lori.ruff.orig.jpg" width="214" /></a></div>
<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">By far the best way of getting a workplace on board with
LinkedIn is to have trainers come in and explain what the site is all about. </span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">Lori Ruff (</span><a href="http://twitter.com/loriruff" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;" target="_blank">@loriruff</a><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 22.399999618530273px;">), at left, and </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">Laurie Boettcher (</span><span class="username" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;"><span style="background-color: white; color: black;"><a href="http://www.twitter.com/lauriboettcher" target="_blank">@LaurieBoettcher</a></span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">) </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 115%;">are two well-liked individuals I know of who train professionals on how to use LinkedIn, but there are many
others as well. See if anyone you trust in HR is open to the idea of having
such people come in to train the staff and see where it goes from there. If the
idea takes off, it can have a profound affect throughout the company.</span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">LinkedIn is a wonderful site that you can use in many
different ways to enrich your career. Just use it responsibly, ethically and
legally, and always share what you learn with others. </span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="line-height: 115%;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>(This article is meant only as advice and is not binding upon anyone.)</i></span></span></div>
</div>Aatif Bokharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08886529227404482107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5998610887328065719.post-26541144189240052192012-07-07T13:49:00.004-05:002012-07-07T15:21:17.020-05:00How to use Prezi to blow away audiences<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ZPjOaHlOHdkCHaaBfv5ehUjlFGoeMqFyXe3T6bfkVGZ8rQBEg7k4k-dejWwu2oWfxyMEXRoJyu0_RBaRr7EfY6Sx6WO9B-zQaaSIGYh3G0dyaYsotVyQy7dj9uyLeM6cMrmQnxHCF88/s1600/prezi-logo.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="284" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg4ZPjOaHlOHdkCHaaBfv5ehUjlFGoeMqFyXe3T6bfkVGZ8rQBEg7k4k-dejWwu2oWfxyMEXRoJyu0_RBaRr7EfY6Sx6WO9B-zQaaSIGYh3G0dyaYsotVyQy7dj9uyLeM6cMrmQnxHCF88/s640/prezi-logo.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Are PowerPoint presentations not working for your audiences?
</span><a href="http://prezi.com/" style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" target="_blank">There’s a solution in sight, and it’s called Prezi.</a><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Prezi uses a what-you-see-is-what-you-get interface to
create beautiful zooming and rotating presentations. Here is a demo:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/pxhqD0hNx4Q?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Prezi is special because it is cloud based. It can facilitate
potentially dynamic and exciting offerings that leave positive vibes with
audiences long after. Prezis can be shared via email, Facebook and Twitter. I
can’t say enough about how cool Prezi is. Prezi is amazing!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Except when it’s not done right.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Prezi can definitely be done the wrong way, which is when
things get ugly. Fast. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Today, I’m going to explain some simple pointers for using
Prezi. Use these tips and you’ll find your presentations pop more. I assume
from the outset that you have some design skill, and that you can do the
following. If this is difficult, you’ll want to enlist a designer to help you
out. You can definitely do even more with Prezi if you know Flash, but I want
to keep this straight forward.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Let’s do this.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">Find photos and video<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The most important thing you can do to make your Prezi’s
interesting is by introducing elements of surprise. This is accomplished by
zooming in and out.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Look at your presentation topic. Is there a common theme?
Are there visual elements? What ties the speech all together? <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">After you’ve brainstormed your speech elements, go to Google
images. Make sure to only use photos that you have permission to use, or can
use under fair use. If you are a student, almost any images you use for a class
project will be considered fair use. If in doubt, use <a href="http://search.creativecommons.org/">search.creativecommons.org</a>
to find content (you’ll still want to check that the content is indeed usable).<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Use the most high-resolution .jpg files for your art. Change
your search terms to “large” photos for these purposes. Once you find the
photos you want, save them to a folder. Once you have all your photos gathered,
“save as” them as .pdfs. Making the .jpgs into .pdfs ensures that they will not
get pixelated when zooming in and out of them.<o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You can also use videos from YouTube in your Prezi. Be careful that you don't use clips that are so long or powerful that they take away attention from you and the rest of the Prezi.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here are some photos I'll be using:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtXsC8uIa_ieFTXqYV-q2oLNq0GXv2iEwEElG5-4csJla7dBG6-8uh1Jo-EIAiDz3uyHJtYqOLIkShh3IdIRBStc_pF5_flBEUtky7NI0iMKMjBmwsKK_GP7HcXmDyRUzW0AlTYhv8XdM/s1600/bored_worker.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="412" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhtXsC8uIa_ieFTXqYV-q2oLNq0GXv2iEwEElG5-4csJla7dBG6-8uh1Jo-EIAiDz3uyHJtYqOLIkShh3IdIRBStc_pF5_flBEUtky7NI0iMKMjBmwsKK_GP7HcXmDyRUzW0AlTYhv8XdM/s640/bored_worker.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
<br />
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih_b44r3ZOFyes0MF39V6CE78KLLULL42_2qJnNii8eVa14Bm22pPSk3cJZMaVcwtFHV6wPas1T96u544H0xwWyXnn1dlEPkOt8ObIHA1lWlD6doaZaBk6tUNNf6Fv7RtZ_SlaS-AD7NQ/s1600/gamification.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEih_b44r3ZOFyes0MF39V6CE78KLLULL42_2qJnNii8eVa14Bm22pPSk3cJZMaVcwtFHV6wPas1T96u544H0xwWyXnn1dlEPkOt8ObIHA1lWlD6doaZaBk6tUNNf6Fv7RtZ_SlaS-AD7NQ/s640/gamification.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">Make captions<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You can use Prezi itself to insert text into your
presentation, but for a custom look you will want to create your own captions
offline.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here’s how to do it. Open a graphic design program (I prefer
InDesign) and set up a new document. Make sure to switch it from “print” to “web”.
You can really set up whatever pixel dimensions you want. 1024x768 usually works
well for me.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Create a text box that is centered and fill it with words
for your presentation. Just use a standard font at this point. After you’ve
made sure that everything is spelled correctly and makes sense, select all and
use new font that looks good – Comic Sans and Papyrus are two fonts you should
avoid like the plague.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Generally san-serif fonts are sleeker, look better for
headlines and have a more modern vibe, while serif fonts are easier to read in
larger chunks. Here’s what I mean: <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpCIWizxx8iRCXmgrlXZ7tWmxnPzDoqAHQscTi8nSi2OcgMORar5nTwLa-au5lFU-yecKHHeP9DJiLKm3WNQ99hDCrZMNFy5UcL7AInjICqHwZxOKkm9wOyUUKRzRVz0p8B-n8uaqqcC8/s1600/qa.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgpCIWizxx8iRCXmgrlXZ7tWmxnPzDoqAHQscTi8nSi2OcgMORar5nTwLa-au5lFU-yecKHHeP9DJiLKm3WNQ99hDCrZMNFy5UcL7AInjICqHwZxOKkm9wOyUUKRzRVz0p8B-n8uaqqcC8/s640/qa.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When you have created your text, “save as” your work as a
.pdf and put it in a folder where you can easily find it.</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here is another example:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6QjZGHA_AiAAeinVrpHRwdkKrh1YKWLPot9BiHo2w6T6POnV3DVmGDRliYQVzmGHZZ_oDQ8rKbxYVuF1J3baJxEO7O_W44YvjoEeJVBJjbYIEAueK1GjbTS1oC8cUhPKStu1N2f1qXJM/s1600/gamificaton+quote.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="480" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEj6QjZGHA_AiAAeinVrpHRwdkKrh1YKWLPot9BiHo2w6T6POnV3DVmGDRliYQVzmGHZZ_oDQ8rKbxYVuF1J3baJxEO7O_W44YvjoEeJVBJjbYIEAueK1GjbTS1oC8cUhPKStu1N2f1qXJM/s640/gamificaton+quote.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">Choose a master photo
or graphic for your backdrop<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Remember all those photos we set aside? Choose the one that
best summarizes your topic or will be easiest to remember, and which has plenty
of white spaces that you could potentially zoom in on. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Log in to Prezi and select “your Prezis”. Choose “new Prezi”.
With few exceptions you will want to use the white/blank background. Delete all
the default starter elements by zooming or out until your elements change from light
grey to vibrant grey. Now you can click on the elements and delete them. Do so.
<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Use the “insert” selection on the top left side of your
screen and choose “image”. Select the photo that you want to use from the
folder on your computer. It will be uploaded to Prezi after a few moments. </span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Move
it into position and resize it so that it fills the screen appropriately. Right
click on it and choose “send to back”. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here's the photo I'm using for this tutorial:</span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyHzEhTE5a1FmAGBMB4iVJfY2cVDecTdL3a1fhiCM2wSAevSs-2b0zP0x8jkyyIQP1a23qZPtFCf0USgFgcCOhXf72sKPSfcVVg5Fy7WseY5oeS0XCr74UYyP7uM4_mS28G1EmRME94LI/s1600/Big+background.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="426" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiyHzEhTE5a1FmAGBMB4iVJfY2cVDecTdL3a1fhiCM2wSAevSs-2b0zP0x8jkyyIQP1a23qZPtFCf0USgFgcCOhXf72sKPSfcVVg5Fy7WseY5oeS0XCr74UYyP7uM4_mS28G1EmRME94LI/s640/Big+background.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><br /></b></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Don’t make your
audience members nauseous, but do <br />surprise them</b><o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Besides using pixelated images, the single worst error I see
often on Prezi is overdoing the rotating and zooming function. Yes, Prezi
supports rotation and zooming, but that doesn’t mean you should do it!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">That said, use the master photo you have placed as your point
of entry. Zoom into different places on your master photo for places where you
can add other pictures and captions. </span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here is another place where Prezi’s can confuse audiences.
Choose logical patterns to place your materials. You’ve already piqued your
audience’s interest with the introduction, now you need to inject some
stability. There is a fine balance between a presentation that is staid and a
presentation that is confusing to follow. You might want to choose some sort of
grid pattern or use simple shapes to establish coherence.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This is what I mean:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIAxHWUwrGaIJheI3P_F_U_lwOKqjSUucXAg59-4ZAJ6sHBSkGvuHrEYX4M4AmMYCOZtzi75erKyabWkqeoeNgiLqMgPQTjpYo0_1MGS191B3SX-wjQqLbJfTcmA5J3blPcZc3znZ9vt0/s1600/prezi+first.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="368" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjIAxHWUwrGaIJheI3P_F_U_lwOKqjSUucXAg59-4ZAJ6sHBSkGvuHrEYX4M4AmMYCOZtzi75erKyabWkqeoeNgiLqMgPQTjpYo0_1MGS191B3SX-wjQqLbJfTcmA5J3blPcZc3znZ9vt0/s640/prezi+first.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Qr2kdhgrh3UU1F02kerG8bxJyNG094Kk27-2IbCgmM0ocSagsiQNCn49pCY6q7bDNfF4K77RAbjuBr2fdf5Zy1UzklJSmZs-g9foZEkt3KYW6vqlxBVI01zqq70kM4TblE9lwMyb_MI/s1600/prezi+grid.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="496" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg3Qr2kdhgrh3UU1F02kerG8bxJyNG094Kk27-2IbCgmM0ocSagsiQNCn49pCY6q7bDNfF4K77RAbjuBr2fdf5Zy1UzklJSmZs-g9foZEkt3KYW6vqlxBVI01zqq70kM4TblE9lwMyb_MI/s640/prezi+grid.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b><br />
<b style="background-color: white;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">Use your path and invisible
frames wisely</span></b></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Now that all your elements have been placed on your Prezi
canvas, you need to chain them carefully. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Select “path” on the Prezi menu on the upper left hand
corner of her screen. Click on your photos and text in the order that you want.
As you do this, your elements will pop up on the left hand side of your screen
in order from top to bottom. These are your “slides”. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Once you’ve ordered your slides and text, you might want to
have points that you zoom in on. Choose “frame” and then choose a frame style. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Personally
I prefer invisible frames, because the other type of frames look very cookie-cutter.
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Click where you want to set your frame and drag until it
covers what you want. Go back to your “path” button on the Prezi menu. You’ll
see all the path points jump up, with little “+” signs next to points. The
pluses let you add path points. Click on a</span> <span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">“+”</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> and drag it to the frame you set
up. Let go and it should turn into a new point.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If at any point you want to change your slides around, just
click on them while the “path” menu is selected and move the slides up or down
to reorder them. If you want to delete path points, hover over the slide with
your arrow. A little red “x” should pop up. Just click on that if you want to
get rid of it.</span></div>
</div>Aatif Bokharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08886529227404482107noreply@blogger.com6tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5998610887328065719.post-68709438935078488822012-06-29T11:53:00.000-05:002012-07-11T23:12:18.201-05:00How to use your LinkedIn profile for career advancement<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdL0sQVcm13aodUhmeTZEAXx1lYy_cT_95SG8YyheXUQZpmuYeDza3HbfJaPDU4IWehaQJiDXK9LDAybpehC6ELfOvCFT9Jd0KhSfXASUUDm4hBV53kH7lBCUSMQtYwpit__Kbd_eIEhs/s1600/linkedin_logo_aatif_bokhari.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="300" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgdL0sQVcm13aodUhmeTZEAXx1lYy_cT_95SG8YyheXUQZpmuYeDza3HbfJaPDU4IWehaQJiDXK9LDAybpehC6ELfOvCFT9Jd0KhSfXASUUDm4hBV53kH7lBCUSMQtYwpit__Kbd_eIEhs/s400/linkedin_logo_aatif_bokhari.jpg" width="400" /></a></div>
<span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Is <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a> a joke? Wondering why your LinkedIn profile is not helping you find jobs, friends and fun? Upset that the site might be just a waste of time?</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Don't go there. LinkedIn is one of the most powerful ways to find a job today, but if you're not playing the game a certain way you're not going to win. </span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Using LinkedIn, I've been fortunate in that I've been approached by several recruiters for job opportunities, propositioned by entrepreneurs for social media advice, and generally had a great time meeting people around the world. My blog traffic has also gone through the roof. </span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">None of this would have been possible without optimizing <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/aatifbokhari" target="_blank">my LinkedIn presence</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Most questions I get about LinkedIn are how to use profile pages, so today I'm going to give some tips to help your pages start making some serious noise. Buckle up!</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>1. Optimize your
profile caption<o:p></o:p></b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You will notice that
throughout the site, there is a caption about what you do next to your name.
This caption is extremely important, as it's one of the most important ways
recruiters find potential employees. Lets help them find you!<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What I want you to do
is go to the "More" tab at the top of the LinkedIn home page and
click on "Skills & Expertise". You will see a screen where you
can enter skills. Put in the kind of skills that you have, and also try
entering skills for the kind of job you are looking for. You will get a
description. Use parts of the description in your profile caption, as well as
in your summary. Think of it almost like an objective statement: <o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You should see an
increase in people who view your profile if you have optimized your caption
properly.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Under the summary
section of your profile there is a section called “Specialties”. Fill it with
skills that you found in the "Skills & Expertise" section
mentioned above. Of course you should only mention skills that you
actually have. This will help you be found by the LinkedIn search engine.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtVR9TP4duPj8t7X3vsKr5yj78ajKU41ETeARZWmh4gDAMBGPUyIhJwvMUZLj50NN8rPipy5vYQv4Odef1efthCMbcaM-83-Scmql_hHG9x_i3ZUY3tD2d9nEut3MQDqHTPtu3-CjROH4/s1600/specialties.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="132" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjtVR9TP4duPj8t7X3vsKr5yj78ajKU41ETeARZWmh4gDAMBGPUyIhJwvMUZLj50NN8rPipy5vYQv4Odef1efthCMbcaM-83-Scmql_hHG9x_i3ZUY3tD2d9nEut3MQDqHTPtu3-CjROH4/s640/specialties.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><br />
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You also have a
"Skills & Expertise" section on your profile. You should try to
populate it with as many skills you have as possible. This also will help you
be found by the search engine.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span><br />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">2. Make your profile more
about your career arc and less about your employers</b></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What we want to do is
market you and your skills, not your company. In your LinkedIn profile, keep
company descriptions but explain how you fit in and made the company a better
place. What are your accomplishments, what are you proud of? For example, if you
came in as an intern and were hired, that is a big deal! <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>3. Use numbers to highlight your career </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If you can say you managed X number of people or generated X
revenue for your company, I would move this kind of quantifiable info to the
top of all job descriptions. Numbers help give recruiters and HR people a better
sense of your career arc.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Pick no more than five and no less than three
bullets to describe each of the jobs you've had. It's ok to not list
everything, that's what the interviews are for. Of course, if you have amazing experience, feel free to use more bullets, but be careful to not go overboard!</span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><br /></b></span></span><br />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><br /></b><br />
<b style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">5. Go back to school </span></b></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Go find the summaries of the different programs
you've studied at. Insert them on your profile page. You might think that
everyone knows what you studied, but the fact is that they don’t. Schools and universities
are different; they do not all have the same focus.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQAzuFedaUBuWPy0_kDgz6tutCGb46JRWODvAgPMTkkGWdQ2TnxPVsjCC4btRkUekN-PDMCaHn-Kjd4nKZL64mbgYJnBEJ5L6tt-t6VWoH9wWgrnV8nLClU4LMADllnHJlGL-yy877J-k/s1600/school.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><img border="0" height="208" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhQAzuFedaUBuWPy0_kDgz6tutCGb46JRWODvAgPMTkkGWdQ2TnxPVsjCC4btRkUekN-PDMCaHn-Kjd4nKZL64mbgYJnBEJ5L6tt-t6VWoH9wWgrnV8nLClU4LMADllnHJlGL-yy877J-k/s640/school.JPG" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="background-color: white; color: #222222; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As always, if you can
use keywords from the "Skills & Expertise" section, do so.</span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>6. Get as many
recommendations on your LinkedIn page as possible </b></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Recommendations really help
open doors, and there is no such thing as too many. If you feel shy about this
(I've heard this from many people!), tell trusted classmates you've studied
with that you need the recommendations for professional purposes and that you'd
be honored if they would write something. You just make clear that in exchange
you would do the same for them in turn. If they accept, great. If they say it’s
ok, do it anyway. Recommendations are very valuable.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Your references might
ask you what to say. If they do, give them some things from the Skills &
Expertise section to talk about. <o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here is how to ask for
recommendations. Go to the recommendations link on the upper right side of your
profile page:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><br />
<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></span><br />
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You will see a new
screen. Select the position that you want to be recommended for, choose the
people you want to recommend you, and then write a personalized message that
recalls your relationship and how the recommendation will help you. Here is a
made up example:<o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></b></span><br />
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<b style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><span style="color: #222222;"><br /></span></b><br />
<b style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="color: #222222;">7. </span>Choose a profile photo</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Some
people decide not to use a photo with their LinkedIn profile. This is usually
ill advised. It’s important to put a face to your talents. Use a photo that
would help you fit in whatever setting you want to work in. If you are in a
very corporate environment, then your clothing should reflect that. On the
other hand, if the work place has a more relaxed dress code, than feel free to
look the part.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>8.
<span style="color: #222222;">Tell a story with your
profile<o:p></o:p></span></b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Not sure if it's
acceptable in the companies you are targeting to tell a story with your
summary, but all facts that help people remember you as an individual are very
valuable. Stories accomplish this best. For example, an interest in sports
shows that you are not just a behind-the-desk person, but a disciplined,
dedicated individual who loves healthy competition. If you tell a personal
story, write the summary in the third person so as to not sound vain. On the
other hand, if telling a story is not acceptable, just stick to the facts about
your career, but then speak in the first person so that you sound like a
person, not a robot.</span><span style="font-family: Arial, sans-serif; font-size: 12pt;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-size: large;"><b><span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">9.</span></span><span style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> Use status updates </span></b><b style="background-color: white; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">that could be useful to others</b></span></div>
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<span style="color: #222222;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">By all mean, update your status with links and ideas that highlight your interests, but try to use information that is useful to others. If you have blog posts, mention them. If you see articles you like related to your career path, mention them. Try to make your profile page a hub for interesting ideas and original content. Your contacts will thank you for it and be more likely to spread the word, netting your profile page more views. When this happens, you will likely begin getting invitations to connect on LinkedIn.</span></span><br />
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</div>Aatif Bokharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08886529227404482107noreply@blogger.com20tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5998610887328065719.post-46197099763035068982012-06-24T20:26:00.005-05:002023-08-10T22:18:47.073-05:00How to defeat trolls: a guide<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgykDpCbqK3bFPv3bqwWbq3LEbmMgULPEhztwLfIxIj33MMPQ-_XQikqkZDHKcTzwOSSWO7otyabayRGETrqtEWhez5PBw_EbyvZOd2KqKIk-c4SpAPKpp6aKXa-HQtcdFHWVcGwO0adTg/s1600/the-joker-troll-trolling-online.jpg" style="background-color: white; clear: left; display: inline; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="400" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgykDpCbqK3bFPv3bqwWbq3LEbmMgULPEhztwLfIxIj33MMPQ-_XQikqkZDHKcTzwOSSWO7otyabayRGETrqtEWhez5PBw_EbyvZOd2KqKIk-c4SpAPKpp6aKXa-HQtcdFHWVcGwO0adTg/s640/the-joker-troll-trolling-online.jpg" width="640" /></a><br />
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<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif"><br /></span></div>
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<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">You’re engaged in a deep conversation with others online about
something important, when BAM!</span></div>
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<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif">You’ve just been targeted by a troll, that scaly, lecherous
upsetter of do-gooder netizens that just wants to see the world burn.</span><br />
<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif" style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">Is there anything that your can do to counter trolls? </span><span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">Yes, but it all begins with an
understanding of human psychology, not social media tools. </span><br />
<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif" style="background-color: white;"><br /></span><br />
<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">What I’m about to
share with you is valuable information that I learned at Northwestern University. This
advice works with real world businesses, as well as random online civilian encounters.</span></div>
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<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif">Not every troll should be treated the same way. Some trolls
seek to upset conversations because they are frustrated because of some related
negative past experience. There are trolls just looking to derail a
conversation for the purpose of inflating their own egos. Other trolls are
seeking to embarrass or disrupt online discourse for political or business
reasons. And some trolls are just jerks. Sad but true.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif">Whether you are an individual or a business, dealing with
the four types of trolls mentioned above requires patience and a
tactically-sound approach. I’ll show how it’s done, but first, if you want a good
overview of trolling, watch this:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/ulNSlES1Fds?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<b style="background-color: white;"><span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">Unhappy trolls</span></b></div>
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<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif">Unhappy trolls bitter about the past are usually upset
because of a vicariously negative experience; they are angry because they feel they
have been burned. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif">For example, the individual who excitedly buys a new car,
only to find it breaks down repeatedly in front of friends and family. This
person is never going to buy from that car manufacturer again, and he or she is
going to make sure that everyone continuously shows sympathy. You know tat this person
is a troll and not just an unhappy customer with reasonable concerns by the
lengths they go to whine, whinge and make sure everyone nearby feels equally
outraged.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJSHqFewNuaZREemGSG9gbbD4K2UnYZeCo-qNs9d13gF8wnBWsSSQhCq42HWkvR5osyiHx6PF8gf82X5pxUBZWtDIduwWJ6uZ5q70cQjkQ_SZ5yLc9F65JaMWWogIvWn1ikPp23nLLXeM/s1600/quote+1+for+June+24,+2012+trolls.jpg" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgJSHqFewNuaZREemGSG9gbbD4K2UnYZeCo-qNs9d13gF8wnBWsSSQhCq42HWkvR5osyiHx6PF8gf82X5pxUBZWtDIduwWJ6uZ5q70cQjkQ_SZ5yLc9F65JaMWWogIvWn1ikPp23nLLXeM/s320/quote+1+for+June+24,+2012+trolls.jpg" width="320" /></a><span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif">The unhappy troll is a disgruntled type that is usually just having a
bad day or week, not trying to be especially malicious or a pain in you know what. Usually unhappy trolls simply need to have their bad
experience recognized. Regardless of their demeanor, the upset troll needs to
be addressed as a respected individual. After they have been calmly addressed,
which sets the tone for the conversation, the troll’s negative experience
should be heard out. Finally, the individual should be smoothly offered an
option that they will probably reject. When the option is rejected, that should
be followed quickly by a counter option that is more palatable to both sides. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif">Luckily, people are more like to be accepting of negotiation
if they feel that the other side is willing to do the same. However, this
process needs to be handled very carefully so that the first offer does not
appear as a rip-off. Community managers should stockpile offers and
counter-offers for different situations. If trolls still continue to whine,<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<b style="background-color: white;"><span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">Egotistical trolls</span></b></div>
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<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif"><br /></span></div>
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<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif">Some trolls are just looking to inflate their egos. The best
example that I can think of is the argumentative person who has no good
reason for what they say, except that they are saying it. Such trolls are often loud and rude, or use forceful language not backed by facts. The whole intent behind this
approach is to paint themselves as intelligent while the opposition as flawed. If
they were simply attention-seeking and not trolls, they would not try to tear
others down. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif"><br /></span></div>
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<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif">There are two approaches to this type of troll. The approach that you choose depends on how intelligent the troll’s argument appears to
onlookers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif"><br /></span></div>
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<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif">In the first approach, the troll’s argument is not very
intelligent. All that you have to do to poke holes in the argument is to make clear that you are more skilled/knowledgeable/cooler than the troll, and that you have a different opinion than the troll. </span><span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">A classic example of this approach is Senator Lloyd Bentson
shooting down Senator Dan Quayle’s assertion of being as skilled as John F.
Kennedy. </span></div>
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<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif" style="background-color: white;"><br /></span></div>
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<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">Quayle wasn't exactly being a troll here, but you get the point:</span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/NRCWbFFRpnY?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif"><br /></span></div>
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<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">In the second approach, the troll might appear a good deal
more intelligent or qualified, usually more because of their position than
because they offer a strong argument. In this case, the troll’s argument should
be addressed directly. The troll should not be attacked on a personal level,
but rather his or her points must be dismantled and/or shown as insulting to
listeners. We must expose the troll’s knowledge as inferior to our understanding.</span></div>
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<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif"><br /></span></div>
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<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif">This week, Mark Cuban, the owner of the Dallas Mavericks,
debated ESPN’s Skip Bayless on whether or not LeBron James of the Miami Heat deserved to be criticized for how he played Dallas. Skip has been criticized by his co-host Stephen A. Smith for being over the top in how he characterizes LeBron.</span></div>
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<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif"><br /></span></div>
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<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif">I'm not a LeBron James fan, but by most accounts I’ve seen online Mark completely demolished Skip. I have to agree. Here’s the video:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/hv2jqFd2-qI?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<b style="background-color: white;"><span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">Political trolls</span></b></div>
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<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif"><br /></span></div>
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<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif">Trolls that are motivated by political or business reasons
can be very dangerous and difficult to deal with. The reason for this is that
they are driven by their intellects more so than their egos. They can be
calculating, conniving, and extremely motivated. Understanding their thinking
and exposing it as incorrect can very often draw them out into confrontational
positions that are far easier to debunk. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif"><br /></span></div>
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<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif">Dealing with such individuals requires a very nuanced and
careful approach to first re-frame the conversation and then prove the troll
wrong. One of the best ways to defeat a political troll is to expose their
bias. We do this by showing that the troll has different standards depending on
whether it supports their point of view. By the time this is done, the debate
is usually over regardless of what the troll tries to say or do, and the debate
is over.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif"><br /></span></div>
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<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif">Jesse Lange, a high school student, debated Bill O’Reilley,
the abrasive conservative commentator on FOX, showing how it’s done. The same
tactics used by Jesse can be used by conservatives against liberals as well:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/qQrxQAunTrs?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<b style="background-color: white;"><span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif" style="font-size: large;">Trolls that are sociopathic jerks</span></b></div>
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<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif">Trolls that are jerks are some of the hardest people to deal
with. They want attention and have strong sociopathic tendencies and just want
to hurt others. At times their behavior goes beyond simply mean to outright
illegal. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif">Wonder what such a troll looks like? The BBC tracked one
down and asked him his motivations:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/1kFNYuteAjA?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif">Not a very pleasant guy, is he. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif">Short of getting the police involved, there are only a few
different approaches to dealing with trolls that are jerks. Deleting posts and
banning trolls should be strongly considered. If posts that are offensive are allowed
to stay up, they can poison the whole atmosphere of the forum. This is why many
forums either ban posts that violate user rules, or allow other users to vote
down offensive comments so that they are hidden. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif">If trolls cannot be banned for some reason, then they should
be ignored. Since they are not getting the attention they crave, they often
give up and go away. <o:p></o:p></span><br />
<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif"><br /></span><br />
<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif" style="background-color: white; font-size: large;"><b>Trolls fear humor</b></span></div>
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<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif">Finally, if you’re up to it, humor can humiliate trolls or
at least make them look ridiculous. As a last resort, use humor to defuse tension. Take the trolls views and adopt them as your own!</span><br />
<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif"><br /></span><br />
<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif">Al Franken owns Ann Coulter during a debate
on which person they would most like to be:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/susZ2ceEHwk?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
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<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif" style="background-color: white;">Stephen Colbert takes humor to an even higher level by
appearing to agree with Bill O’Reilley. Stephen’s reason for doing this was to
show how unreasonable Bill is:</span></div>
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<iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/xwLqqEzT6rg?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div>
<br /></div>
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<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif">You know that when you get a troll to laugh that you’ve done a
good job. Aside from The Joker anyways.</span></div>
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<span face="'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif"><br /></span><br />
<i style="background-color: white; font-family: "Trebuchet MS", sans-serif;">What experiences have you had with trolls? How have you defeated them? Do you think there is anything missing from this guide or anything that could be improved? I'm looking forward to your comments!</i></div>
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<o:p></o:p></div>
</div>Aatif Bokharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08886529227404482107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5998610887328065719.post-80273769957926713202012-06-03T10:38:00.001-05:002012-06-03T14:21:19.243-05:004 quick and dirty tips to conquer Twitter<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDl6VU9jkvvf2rUIdsIHHj0f50ea5eS5ybyiYdEKQ1jIAU_ThfH9vVMT9ewdg7d_xqBDRRDHmNm9ipvX_dTbSqbWgUGkELm362pip0gas9ksO01EDIjH56e-ERApDgJop-eLFPT1RqsBs/s1600/aatif's+screen+capture.JPG" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="316" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjDl6VU9jkvvf2rUIdsIHHj0f50ea5eS5ybyiYdEKQ1jIAU_ThfH9vVMT9ewdg7d_xqBDRRDHmNm9ipvX_dTbSqbWgUGkELm362pip0gas9ksO01EDIjH56e-ERApDgJop-eLFPT1RqsBs/s640/aatif's+screen+capture.JPG" width="640" /></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Just started using Twitter but not sure how this thing works? </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Let me help. I just started using my Twitter account seriously a few months ago, and I've been seeing explosive engagement! I'm fortunate to have met a lot of cool people, as well as learned a lot in the process.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here are 4 quick and dirty tips to get a lot out of Twitter quickly:</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>1. Choose your retweets wisely</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Post a blend of content: 30% should be retweets of posts (make sure you know what the posts say, and that you agree with them. RTs are a public part of your personal brand!) </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>2. Don't be a robot</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Your tweets should be 30% direct conversations and comments with other people. This shows you're not robo-tweeting. I know, I know, 30% is high, but you're more likely to connect with people initially if you do this. Try to only follow people who connect with you personally.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>3. Don't a be a nerd either</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">40% of your posts should be original comments and links to original stuff you've made, on a blog for example. Try to have a main focus to show you're driven, and some other side interests to show that you're not a nerd.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>4. Be an icon</b></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Tons of people have their photo for their personal profile. How many do you know have a personal icon? In my opinion, icons stand out better and get you noticed when your picture might be lost. It also shows you have special initiative.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You can always tweak the above advice depending on how many followers you have and your goals, but these tips will help you quickly stand out from the competition.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I'm at twitter.com/aatifbokhari. I'm open to all follows, but I only follow back people who directly engage with me.</span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Do you agree with the above tips, or do you have different strategies? What do you think DOESN'T work? Sound off in the comments below!</span></div>Aatif Bokharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08886529227404482107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5998610887328065719.post-13652499649775974192012-05-18T11:57:00.002-05:002012-05-18T14:39:21.567-05:00EXCLUSIVE!: @ChicagoCabbie reveals new Twitter account, prepares to further shake city's social scene<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsGCgbXS9joEbsixi1jGH0SKaMveheYOuIDe7uMcPAUNVgSLwKmCuk6uV1EYWV6SKMmXcj_wAYolw1Ry06ZYoTxgD-vQ_0eeI58d1BAnj9fYuMd6jztIkps4tv5zb4wMVRUbmR0GZiDNs/s1600/chicagocabbie2-4efb3b5-intro-thumb-640xauto-28853_large_verge_medium_landscape.jpeg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhsGCgbXS9joEbsixi1jGH0SKaMveheYOuIDe7uMcPAUNVgSLwKmCuk6uV1EYWV6SKMmXcj_wAYolw1Ry06ZYoTxgD-vQ_0eeI58d1BAnj9fYuMd6jztIkps4tv5zb4wMVRUbmR0GZiDNs/s1600/chicagocabbie2-4efb3b5-intro-thumb-640xauto-28853_large_verge_medium_landscape.jpeg" /></a></div>
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-large;"><i>Chicago's social media scene is being shaken up by taxi driver Rashid Temuri. Rashid has seen his business increase with countless repeat customers thanks to his embrace of Twitter, FourSquare, Google Latitude, and more. He generously spent an hour with me last night to discuss his story and social philosophies, as well as reveal his new Twitter account. You heard it here first!</i></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><br /></span></b><br />
<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">How do you come up
with new ideas to give your customers value?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I began by packing an iPad and iPhone. I had wifi in my car for my use, and is limited to iPads and iPhones only. It’s a device that is not made
anymore; it was locked for iPad and iPhones. When I got the wifi, I thought that it was something I could share it with my customers. That’s something that people
find very attractive, that they don’t need to use their own bandwidth. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I also have a Ford Escape hybrid car. My hybrid is one way
of letting people know that I am different and have a save-the-trees mentality.
People call folks like me a tree hugger, but why <i>not</i> be open about it? Hybrids are good for business, and being environmentally
friendly is something I truly believe in as well. For the record, I’m looking
to buy a hybrid for my personal use in the next 6-8 months. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As far as multimedia goes, for my personal use I have Hulu and
Netflix accounts. They are available for my customers if they want to use them.
I also have XM radio in my cab.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">These are the little things that really differentiate my
business, even if people do not use them so much. What is important for me is
to use all the resources I can to promote my business while enjoying the
technology. I use my <a href="http://twitter.com/chicagocabbie" target="_blank">@chicagocabbie</a> Twitter account to mention my location, talk to my customers, give weather and traffic reports, and talk about whatever is on my mind, like jokes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I still don’t know how much I made today. I noticed that the
more I focus on doing my job and providing a service, the less I have to worry
about money. If cab drivers are directly connected to the customers and give
them what they want, the cabbies will be fine.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">What are you up to next
that you haven’t revealed anywhere else yet?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq2eY6qzpRmsdgTx6pA_08_qfqY5ZEjSUwmn0PkeAavYsWX8Sr6iDzyBBVKLnHvhx21Vy2SUKDfaF6C2tdZh4VvB4dW1mBwyuKy18Opq9YozgbEVBaD7F2hIci1hiiBNaLbQgFSPkn89o/s1600/quote+2+for+May+18,+2012+chicago+cabbie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjq2eY6qzpRmsdgTx6pA_08_qfqY5ZEjSUwmn0PkeAavYsWX8Sr6iDzyBBVKLnHvhx21Vy2SUKDfaF6C2tdZh4VvB4dW1mBwyuKy18Opq9YozgbEVBaD7F2hIci1hiiBNaLbQgFSPkn89o/s320/quote+2+for+May+18,+2012+chicago+cabbie.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I can reveal that the second account I will be running on Twitter will
be <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/hailodriverschi" target="_blank">@hailodriverschi</a>, a driver’s phone and smartphone app. It’s not open to the
public, because it is only for the cabbies using the Hailo app so that they can
better communicate. Although it is not that active now, I will be running it
soon. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If anyone wants to follow <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/HailoChicago" target="_blank">@hailochicago</a>, I won’t be running
it, but it’s going to be a pretty big thing. You’ll be able to <span style="background-color: white; color: #777777; line-height: 115%;"><a href="https://hailocab.com/" target="_blank">use Hailo to get a cab from anywhere in just two taps on your iPhone or Android. You can pay with cash or card, with no charges above the meter</a>.</span> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I think Hailo is the best thing for
cab drivers and customers. <i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">One thing that you do
is allow your location to be tracked using <a href="https://foursquare.com/" target="_blank">FourSquare</a>. Are you ever concerned
about you or your family’s safety?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I have had people ask me about allowing myself to be
tracked. Tracking is a little complicated. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">First of all, I’m a public figure. It’s not my private life
that I’m tweeting about, for example, my daughters’ names. I’m very strict
about keeping out my personal life from Twitter. My wife is on twitter but I
hardly talk about her, because it has nothing to do with my profession. I track
my location using my iPad, but I don’t carry it around with me. The iPad stays
in the car.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<br /></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I do think that it is ok to use FourSquare to check in to restaurants
and movies, but I don’t give other details about what I’m doing. If you have a
question about the restaurant you can ask me, or a movie that I’ve checked in
on. It’s still part of my business, because it’s about what I personally like,
and my business has a strong personal brand. Of course, there is a fine line
with sharing, so I always try to think carefully about what I’m about to do. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">How did you come up
with the idea that social media could help your business? Did a friend tell you
or were you inspired by someone? Did you have a role model?<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I was a cab driver for 15 years. I didn’t have any problems communicating
with my customers because I was raised in the US.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv4ILP-0RybTsIMg9MprXyh2uzVh-47Wi24O2pocRGYJnBESycHTcGWrRXB_aaLR8AXzN2w-VYEYf4hs2FAttEoMuu3qMbrxNEcDt28NJgNCeCi3O7v93CEbFNq0spZ9WmRzH37Wx3jC8/s1600/quote+1+for+May+18,+2012+chicago+cabbie.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="240" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjv4ILP-0RybTsIMg9MprXyh2uzVh-47Wi24O2pocRGYJnBESycHTcGWrRXB_aaLR8AXzN2w-VYEYf4hs2FAttEoMuu3qMbrxNEcDt28NJgNCeCi3O7v93CEbFNq0spZ9WmRzH37Wx3jC8/s320/quote+1+for+May+18,+2012+chicago+cabbie.jpg" width="320" /></a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I never wanted to be a “chatty cabbie”, a cabbie that never
shuts up with customers. But I did discover that a lot of people wanted to talk
and tell how their day was or hear how my day was. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">What I started learning from talking to customers was that a
lot of people didn’t know much about the cab industry. They were also very
unsatisfied with the taxi industry. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Believe it or not, there are still people who think that
cabbies pay a cut out of what you make to the head cab office. That is a 30 or
40 year old model. Today, we pay a weekly lease rate and the owner doesn’t care
if I work as long as I make the lease. Our goal as taxi drivers is to meet the
cost of the lease in 2-3 days, and then we try to earn in addition to that.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I decided to use social media to communicate with customers.
My wife works for a technology company that is very savvy in how it uses social
media. In the beginning I was all about using Facebook. But my wife pointed me
towards using Twitter. Up to this point I used to tell people that “I use FB
and will respond more quickly with that then with phone calls.”<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">With encouragement from my wife, I opened a Twitter account.
At first using Twitter was very difficult, like for most people, but very soon I
discovered it might be the most powerful social network. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When I opened my <a href="http://twitter.com/chicagocabbie" target="_blank">@chicagocabbie</a> account in 2011, I just wanted
to communicate with people. I just looked at Twitter as a doorway to talk to
people and get the consumer’s point of view. I was very lucky, because I ran
into some very good social media people who are well known, like Leyla Arson
(<a href="https://twitter.com/#!/leyla_a" target="_blank">@leyla_a</a>), and as soon as they found out about me they thought that what I was
doing was unique. I just kept going and now I have nearly 4,500 Twitter followers.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Twitter is the best tool to find out anything about
literally anything as soon as possible. It gets to twitter before anywhere
else. The first thing you get from twitter is the info. The second thing is
staying connected to celebrities, or movies or politicians. For most people, it
is difficult to believe that the celeb on twitter is real. Of course they don’t
respond to tweets 95% of the time, but when they do it’s, like, WOW.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I thought all the attention I got for using social media was
funny, because honestly until today I don’t think that what I do is all that amazing.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">My new social media pals never gave any structured lessons.
Of course there were little tips they dropped here and there, but I mostly
learned by just hanging out with people, for example at Social Media Club (<a href="http://socialmediaclub.org/chapter/chicago">http://socialmediaclub.org/chapter/chicago</a>).
Social Media Club’s Chicago chapter meets once or twice a month. Before I used to go to learn. now I mostly
attend to meet friends. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The most popular question I still get at Social Media Club
is “Are you really a cab driver?” And of course I just smile and say, “Yes, I
am.”</span></div>
<br /></div>Aatif Bokharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08886529227404482107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5998610887328065719.post-85627000088544895632012-05-04T12:27:00.001-05:002012-05-15T07:46:45.992-05:007 tips to send stress packing! (Hack your brain post #3)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvcQrd1eHYiAUyyhX8chXsPlRjZWegcGGjYwIHFnQWV5uCy11x8MJRvqoXKBHPZjxxighcv-5omQ91aJTAU2gwnk0fyoDs72d1Ylwt6KvML_7jdrW2ujH2WlluuUT_n1_u891CP73E-Pg/s1600/stressed+out+guy.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em; text-align: center;"><img border="0" height="438" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEgvcQrd1eHYiAUyyhX8chXsPlRjZWegcGGjYwIHFnQWV5uCy11x8MJRvqoXKBHPZjxxighcv-5omQ91aJTAU2gwnk0fyoDs72d1Ylwt6KvML_7jdrW2ujH2WlluuUT_n1_u891CP73E-Pg/s640/stressed+out+guy.jpg" width="640" /></a></div>
</div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Social media and digital PR are glamorous! Right?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Right?!?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Well … yes. But PR is also notoriously stressful. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As social
media expert <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/glennraines" target="_blank">Glenn Raines</a> (<a href="https://twitter.com/#!/socialmoves" target="_blank">@socialmoves</a>) said at a presentation at Northwestern
University last week, “you almost have to sleep with one eye open” with all the
ongoing developments in the field. No surprise then that <a href="http://www.prdaily.com/Main/Articles/PR_is_now_the_seventhmost_stressful_job_in_America_10482.aspx" target="_blank">PR professionals are in particular danger of pooping out</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Stress and fatigue can give you more than just a headache.
Stress and fatigue can hurt your productivity, ruin your peace of mind and
ultimately shorten your lifespan. Luckily, there are ways to deal with stress,
some involving mind over matter and some involving ... well ... matter over mind. These techniques all
revolve around clearing the mind of clutter through better use of time, more exercise,
embracing healthy eating and periodically unplugging from the internet.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">As always, these are my opinions and do not replace the
advice of trained medical professional. Always check with your doctor before
engaging in new physical activity! My lawyer thanks you. :)</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">1. Breathe<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Controlling our breathing is one of the best ways to defuse
tension, stress and anger. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When we take a deep breath and exhale slowly, we slow down
our heart rate. It is physically impossible to stay stressed when we control
our breathing in this way, according to a friend who is a medical student. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">My friend, who asked to remain anonymous, suggested taking a
deep breath in and slowly exhaling. The breath in and breath out should be the
same length of time. Even better is to focus on a boring distant object, such
as a dot on a wall, and just thinking about it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">With time and practice, controlled breathing can be a quick
ticket out of a stressful situation.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">2. Work-life balance<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Do you know what is the second-most regret the dying think
of, as witnessed by a nurse who counsels those on their death beds? <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/lifeandstyle/2012/feb/01/top-five-regrets-of-the-dying" target="_blank">“I wish I hadn’t worked so hard.”</a></span></div>
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;">
<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxGjHuE9L-2tUIkyRLwBV1dCInhJMUn7r71dtqQWsulOdHsRwh6uUeLB88Bt97T1V0ILBqMICwPSGiV_z-KKHAQmDCAYiHCRroLuyO3n1ngG0sTRWM5Ju0fNalsq6XPAoLGjFMKcolYxA/s1600/quote+1+for+May+4,+2012+stress.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><img border="0" height="238" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjxGjHuE9L-2tUIkyRLwBV1dCInhJMUn7r71dtqQWsulOdHsRwh6uUeLB88Bt97T1V0ILBqMICwPSGiV_z-KKHAQmDCAYiHCRroLuyO3n1ngG0sTRWM5Ju0fNalsq6XPAoLGjFMKcolYxA/s320/quote+1+for+May+4,+2012+stress.jpg" width="320" /></a></div>
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The number one reason for having stress and fatigue is poor
work-life balance. 120 hours for working, 5 hours for sleeping, 20 hours for
coffee, etc. Sound familiar? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">This is not healthy behavior for our bodies and spirits.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It is important to realize that we should not be consumed by
our work. We need to try giving equal time for play and rejuvenation that we do
for being on the job. Of particular importance is spending time with family and
friends. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The fourth-most regret heard by the nurse mentioned above?
“I wish I had stayed in touch with my friends.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Two out of five regrets should tell us something. If we have
any choice in how much time we devote to work, we need to give more time for
other activities also. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Try this: aim to divide your time into eight-hour chunks.
One chunk for work, one chunk for time with family and friends, one chunk for
sleep. We may not be able to keep this schedule all the time, which means that
we need to make up for lost time later. If you have heavy projects that eat up
family time, try to make up for that later. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Quantity of time spent unwinding is part and parcel of quality. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">3. Chunk your time<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Much time is wasted in frantic multitasking. Just check your
browser window. How many windows do you have open? And how many of those do you
really need?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It’s common that we clutter our minds with too much
activity, because we are taught that such activity is a sign of productivity.
But in fact, <a href="http://www.absolutelyintheloop.com/features/distraction-%E2%80%9Cr%E2%80%9D-us-the-myth-of-multitasking" target="_blank">there is only so much activity our brains can handle at one time</a>.
We cannot do 10 different things simultaneously without a direct loss of focus.
Worse, multi-tasking can be tremendously stressful, raising the likelihood that
mistakes will be made.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here’s what to do. Prioritize your tasks. Which ones are
really important and require immediate attention? Which ones can wait? Write
down the list of items and stick to your schedule!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">For me, email is a huge time suck. At the same time, it’s
rare that email requires immediate attention. So I set up two small chunks of
time early in the morning and late at night for replying and writing. I hold
myself to my time limits.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">However, I first make sure that I have taken care of priority
tasks: my daily quota of reading, homework, spirituality, errands and housework,
family time, applying for jobs, getting exercise and social media time, including blogging. At times I move items around if something is getting neglected.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">It might sound like I have a lot on my plate, but because I
prioritize tasks and limit how much time I spend for each chore I end up being able
to do everything, almost everyday. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Because I am keeping my mind on one task at
a time, rather than trying to do 50 things at once, the quality of my work is
higher.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></b></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">5. Work out stress and
fatigue<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
<div class="MsoNormal">
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The number one thing we can do to end stress and fatigue is
exercise. Doctors and psychologists agree that <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/exercise/HQ01676" target="_blank">regular exercise is vital for a healthy body and mind</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Just think about it: our ancestors were hunting and
gathering for thousands of years. They spent the day moving and foraging. We
may have advanced as a species, but the benefits of exercise are still literally
in our blood. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Exercise helps us lose weight, make us look better, improve
our mood, prevent diseases, promotes better sleep, and boosts energy. In fact,
<a href="http://www.webmd.com/depression/guide/exercise-depression" target="_blank">there is much research emerging that exercise can even treat mild and moderate depression</a>!
My medical student friend told me that climbing a floor of stairs can pick up a
person’s energy for as much as half an hour.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The best workouts involve both strength-building and aerobic
benefits. I have a workout plan that you can do several days a week for as
little as half an hour at a time – all weight-bearing exercises are done as 3
sets of 8 repetitions with 90 seconds rest between sets. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br /></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You should lift enough
weight that by the end of each exercise you can’t do any more. As mentioned at
the beginning of this article, always check with your doctor before beginning
new exercises.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If strength-building and cardio are boring for you, you
might want to take up a sport. Sports involve competition, and are a fun way to
judge our athletic progress.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>6. Eat right, drink right</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Eating right means staying away from junk food and <a href="http://www.bbc.co.uk/health/treatments/healthy_living/nutrition/healthy_balance.shtml" target="_blank">having a balanced diet</a>,
but it also means avoiding alcoholic and caffeine-loaded drinks. Both of these
drinks can interfere with our peace of mind. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">While pretty much everyone understands that showing up at
work inebriated is a bad idea, <a href="http://www.webmd.com/mental-health/alcohol-abuse/news/20060112/drunk-at-work-how-common-is" target="_blank">at least in word if not in practice</a>,
caffeine is widely consumed as a lubricant for alertness and increased energy.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Caffeine tends to stay in the body for long after it is
consumed. The Mayo Clinic reports that <a href="http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/caffeine/NU00600" target="_blank">even a little bit of caffeine can make you jittery</a>,
and that increased drinking can increase the risk of insomnia, irregular
heartbeat, irritability, restlessness, and upset stomach. Not to mention those
awful caffeine crashes where energy levels bottom out.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Sound like Caffeine is a drug? That’s because it is. Cut
caffeine out of your diet, increase how much you exercise, and get a good night’s
sleep. You might have some withdrawal symptoms, but after a while you’ll notice
that your energy level is smoother, higher, and longer lasting.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">7. Make sure to
periodically unplug<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Remember, the internet never forgets, and <a href="http://tomraftery.com/2007/11/14/intern-caught-in-fairy-outfit/" target="_blank">a single thoughtlessmoment can undo months or even years of hard work</a>.
Better to unplug and give our minds a rest, if necessary, than post and live to regret it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Keeping perspective on personal boundaries can be tricky
when we spend so much time online. Unplugging occasionally can help us remember
that the individuals we interact with online are real people, and that
face-to-face contact is always going to be more important than digital relationships.
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I think that unplugging can take on different forms. It can
involve just taking a 10-second breather to collect our thoughts and think
about what we are doing or going to do. You may feel that unplugging for vacation
or even longer might be in order. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I unplugged from Facebook once for an entire year. The
reasons why require another post, but basically it was because I felt that my social media experience was becoming my primary focus, rather than face-to-face interactions. Unplugging unexpectedly was one of the
best experiences I have had. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">When I returned to Facebook, I felt that my
social media performance was more focused, not to mention that my posts became more about
providing quality content. Although I have always posted regularly, I now post less often on
Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn than I used to. Paradoxically, <a href="http://klout.com/#/AatifBokhari" target="_blank">my Klout score has risen</a>. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Although Klout is by no means a perfect way of measuring
online engagement, I do think that my numbers reflect that my break has helped
me connect with people better.</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;">What do you think of
these ideas and what do you do to relieve stress and fatigue? What things stress you out the most? I'd love to hear your ideas!</span><o:p></o:p></i></div>
</div>Aatif Bokharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08886529227404482107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5998610887328065719.post-34633413570028420822012-04-26T18:19:00.001-05:002012-05-17T11:24:07.680-05:00Interested in a social media career? Laurie Boettcher speaks! (INTERVIEW)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">If you're interested in learning more about making social media a career, here is a name you should remember: <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/laurieboettcher" target="_blank">Laurie Boettcher</a> (<a href="https://twitter.com/#!/LaurieBoettcher">@</a><a href="https://twitter.com/#!/LaurieBoettcher">LaurieBoettcher</a>)</span></i><i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="font-size: large;">. As a public speaker and trainer, she runs <a href="http://lbspeaksonline.com/">Laurie Boettcher Speaks</a>, social media 'for real people and real organizations'. She is also a classmate in the MS in corporate communications at Northwestern University, making a <a href="http://maps.google.com/maps?q=eau+claire+wi&um=1&ie=UTF-8&hq=&hnear=0x87f8bd155013d1b3:0x3d438beb43939375,Eau+Claire,+WI&gl=us&ei=6sCZT_azKJOu8QTS7aToBQ&sa=X&oi=geocode_result&ct=image&resnum=2&ved=0CFMQ8gEwAQ">nearly-six-hour commute</a> down from Eau Claire, WI, to Evanston, IL, every week. Laurie has been interviewed many times, including by Farhad Manjoo in <a href="http://www.nytimes.com/2010/08/26/education/26SOCIAL.html?_r=4&pagewanted=1&adxnnlx=1282921428-PF9qxkFTnyZ05/RL0VK5mA" target="_blank">The New York Times</a>, as well as quoted by <a href="http://www.usnews.com/education/best-colleges/articles/2011/07/28/linkedin-offers-new-options-for-students" target="_blank">US News & World Report</a>. I'm hugely honored to have had the chance to interview Laurie this week for my social media blog!</span></i></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Aatif Bokhari: Laurie, you’re clearly a social media maven. How do you describe your job title when people ask what that means?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Laurie Boettcher: In the beginning, my title was “Social Media Enthusiast,” because that is what I was – an individual very enthusiastic about using social media to communicate. Others were very creative in their titles, but I always hated the terms “ninja”, “wizard” and “guru”. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Now, when I introduce myself, I say I’m a speaker and trainer on the topic of social media, and thrilled to be adding author later this year as well – my business cards read Social Media Professional, Speaker and Trainer. Basically, I speak, train, tweet, and write on using social media to government agencies, municipalities, public libraries, educational institutions and groups/associations, and my niche services are for non-profit organizations. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Personally, I choose to be independent, so I am not employed exclusively by any single organization.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">You’ve turned your passion for social media into a business. How did you do this, and what sort of demand is there for people with your skills?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In all honesty, my business was an accident. Here’s my story …<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I became interested in the topic of social media while working as the Communication Manager for the Wisconsin Department of Transportation. On August 7, 2007, the I-35W Bridge collapsed in Minneapolis, Minnesota: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Being in such proximity in St. Croix County, which borders Minnesota, my office fielded media calls concerning bridge integrity, safety, inspection schedules and so on. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As a communications professional, I could not help but notice that within minutes after the collapse, cell phone towers were jammed. People were unable to get word to their families and friends of their safety or otherwise. So instead of calling they were turning to social media – MySpace, Facebook and Twitter (the new kid on the block at the time). It was the first time I experienced people using social media tools for anything other than social. It was also the first time I saw the potential power of social media for my profession. It fascinated me! <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After leaving WisDOT, I joined the library sector and taught 56 library directors and their staff how to use social media. I immersed myself into everything social. I used the tools from the perspectives of businesses and individuals, so I could anticipate questions and concerns. Many people who attended my workshops recommended me to groups within their communities. <a href="http://lbspeaksonline.com/testimonials.htm" target="_blank">Word spread</a>, and soon I was speaking all over. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I left the library world and went back to school to earn the education I desired to accompany my experience and expertise. I was hoping to garner enough workshops to get me through school, but was blessed with that and so much more. I found my passion and find speaking in front of audiences to be the greatest adrenaline rush ever. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><b>LAURIE BOETTCHER DISCUSSES HOW IT'S NEVER TO LATE TO JOIN FACEBOOK</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My audiences are truly phenomenal. They are super engaged, laugh, ask great questions and make me feel like I am giving them exactly what they need to be confident in their own efforts. There is no place I would rather be and nothing else I would rather do.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Some people feel that they can’t get into social media because of a lack of experience. Is this realistic? What jobs have you held and how do they help you in your role now as a speaker on social media topics?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Yes and no. Answering those questions is a little complicated!<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If employees are averse to using social media tools, I always advise employers to appoint someone else to do the job. The reason is that social media is transparent. If someone does not like doing it, that is going to be evident in their engagement and will adversely affect their followings. That makes the effort a failure … and I don’t like to set myself or anyone else up for failure.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Since my professional background is in design and communications, with exposure to the public and private sectors, I felt better prepared to make the jump. I already had a deep understanding for communications as a whole and simply focused on social media. All of this helped me learn how to tailor messages for my audiences, as well as harness the newest technologies to reach those audiences. Individuals with no technical or communications experience may experience a more intense learning curve to acquire the necessary skills. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My personal story should not dishearten anyone who wants to get into social media but doesn't have a formal communications background. Here’s the heart of the matter: the essence of social media is knowing your audiences and engaging them in something they love. For example, if you sell boats and love selling boats, that is going to be evident in the way you communicate to your audience. Making sure that feeling of transparency and passion exists is key to connecting with people and being successful. If you can do this, you can do social.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">How do you build a portfolio that shows your social media strengths? Is focusing on raising <a href="http://klout.com/home" target="_blank">Klout</a> and <a href="http://kred.com/" target="_blank">Kred</a> scores really important to getting a social job?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Now that social media is no longer a novelty, there are more specific demands for social media professionals. Today, over 850,000,000 people have a Facebook account. The result of this explosion in social media use is that individuals who initially were able to sell themselves on their personal experience with social media are long gone. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Today, <a href="http://www.insideec.com/?p=3068" target="_blank">businesses want people who know how to use social media for business</a>. Prized skills include knowing how to choose the right platforms for business needs, create a solid presence, listen to and monitor discussions and build an audience. Businesses also want people who know how to tailor messages, continuously engage with followers, analyze insights, communicate the social media experience and explain results to executive management. If this were not enough, social media specialists must adhere to and advise the company’s social media policy, as well as be fluent in social media research to stay on top of trends. It’s not a game anymore. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">To build a stellar portfolio, you need to have credibility. Whom are you following in social media and who is following you? If it’s just in good fun, it will come across that this is a fun hobby for you, not a career. How are you engaging others? Who have you worked with? Who are you connected with on LinkedIn? Are your connections valuable to potential employers and are they a reflection of where you want to go professionally? My favorite aspect of social media is its transparency – you cannot hide your skills or lack thereof.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As far as Kred and Klout scores go, they are simply that – a way to keep score. Of course I like it when my Klout score spikes, but does it matter to my clientele or my audiences? Most of them don’t know what such scores are. If I provide value which is relevant to businesses, that is what they remember and find important.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">What are the different roles that you foresee being hot for the next few years?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Community managers will continue to grow in importance and number. However, the demand for businesses to measure social media analytically, in terms of ROI (return on investment) and ROE (return on engagement), is increasing dramatically. Those with analytical skills will become more valuable. I also think that legal roles specializing in social media will be in demand as laws begin to catch up with technological advancements. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Above all, I think the most in-demand roles for social media expertise will be in education. We need educators to teach current and future generations about “being social”, that is the etiquette involved with social media communications, including rules, messaging, ethics, legalities and policies.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We cannot expect to fill the aforementioned positions unless we have a pool of educated workers to fill them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">How do face-to-face and social media contact relate, and can one replace the other? </span></b></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhejDDANFAYZ_zAxZ6EeEWwyP1PVdfFG0wPM9j6-1vPyN2GUodY7Z-Nx8Hac1xOVUc3hm9rVqoDUP6pgy614aT_zaVpJgxNrso71jbRnkuMiYo0iiprNYUZ-H219O-gIcOzYRbSMuONw9M/s1600/lb+speaks.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: right; float: right; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-left: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="192" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEhejDDANFAYZ_zAxZ6EeEWwyP1PVdfFG0wPM9j6-1vPyN2GUodY7Z-Nx8Hac1xOVUc3hm9rVqoDUP6pgy614aT_zaVpJgxNrso71jbRnkuMiYo0iiprNYUZ-H219O-gIcOzYRbSMuONw9M/s320/lb+speaks.jpg" width="320" /></span></a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I love social media – it’s my livelihood and my passion. However, for me, nothing takes the place of face-to-face communication. I prefer face-to-face communication, and encourage others to do the same. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It is easy to forget people and commitments in our busy lifestyles, but reaching out through a social medium makes me feel connected and lets my connections know that although I am not always in personal contact, I have not forgotten about them.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Knowing how to connect with people is a problem for many Millenials and Gen Cs. They are so immersed in social media that the human element is completely falling away. Unless we as a nation remedy this, we will produce a completely disconnected generation.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">How do you make time for your family and social when both are 24-hour demands?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><br />I love this question! I’d like to say I’m superwoman, but I would look simply dreadful in those tights. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The truth is that I have to practice balance. I follow blogs, participate in education, and read information that allows me to be efficient. I know my niche, and I know what is relevant to me and my audiences. As interesting as other information may be, I don’t have time to do it all. I try to remain focused and on top of my industry. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">As far as my family is concerned, I believe in modeling behavior. During family time, we don’t allow technology to interfere. Cell phones are off and so are computers. We may play a game or an app as a family, but it is about everyone being together, not escaping. We go on vacations where we are digitally disconnected. That means no technology allowed, except my Kindle Fire for reading or an iPod for music. If I don’t practice balance in my life, then I can’t be realistic with clients. It also means I’m completely negating my responsibilities and passion for being a wife and a mother.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">There is a lot of repetition in social media as more people try to get attention for causes using social media. How can social media specialists be both innovative and relevant to audiences?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Don’t participate in discussions about things you know nothing about. It infuriates me when I see people interjecting their opinions about something they are clearly not educated in just to be present and seen. Don’t get involved with interactions that are not relevant to your audiences or you are not qualified to speak on.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">What kind of money is there for people looking to get into social media positions? </span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Honestly, it varies widely depending on what you do with the social media position:<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<i style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: small;">graphic courtesy of <a href="http://www.onwardsearch.com/" target="_blank">OnwardSearch</a></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Many organizations are understanding the importance of integrating social media into current communication efforts and are therefore hiring community managers. These individuals are responsible for handling online communities, including social networks. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Organizations that cannot afford the luxury of community managers seek out those with technical expertise that match their social media needs.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">There are some businesses out there that stubbornly resist social media as being a “distraction”. What do you think about this? How do you convince companies to embrace social media, especially ones staffed by people averse to social media?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I approach the challenge honestly and realistically. I’ll explain.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You don’t have to like social media or even do it, but what every business does need to do is understand it. When email first emerged, many people thought it was a waste of time and effort. “Why can’t we just call someone on the telephone?” was commonly heard. Now, e-mail is how we do business. That is the same with social media. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Platforms like </span><a href="http://facebook.com/" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">Facebook</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, </span><a href="http://linkedin.com/" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">LinkedIn</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, </span><a href="http://twitter.com/" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">Twitter</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">, and </span><a href="http://pinterest.com/" style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;" target="_blank">Pinterest</a><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"> will come, go and evolve, but the fact that they have changed the way we communicate will not. If businesses do not embrace social media and participate in online conversations, they will be isolating key demographics. This will affect their businesses.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Luckily for me, the organizations I have the pleasure of working with don’t generally need any convincing that it’s smart to be social. That is good for me, because my job is to train businesses, not convince them. However, that does not mean that there is no convincing involved! I need to sometimes convince businesses to use appropriate platforms and use them effectively. But, I personally only need to convince others about the need for using social media at specific speaking engagements.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Where do you see the future of social media going?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">We will continue to see social networks grow and evolve. I think we will see more adaptation by smaller businesses because it has become attainable for them. Larger corporations will start to bring down the value of the platforms, and they will struggle to find ways to remain personable. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Social networks will find generating revenue to be an increasingly important factor, so those social networks not strong enough to resist will become over run by ads and promoted posts. Niche sites will increase and advertisers will better be able to target their customers on those networks. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">All of these possibilities make sense to me and are natural extensions of where we are now.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">What would it take for a new site to dethrone Facebook, in the way <a href="http://myspace.com/" target="_blank">MySpace</a> was over taken by Facebook?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">That’s the million dollar question! It has to be something completely unique. Pinterest is rising through the ranks so quickly because it is social without being too social, while tapping into a dream demographic. Whatever is coming will have to cater to the instant gratification nation we have become, provide a piece missing from other platforms, be highly intuitive for the wide array of experience now present on the net, and be social in a whole new way. <o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Last question: what do you like most and least about social media, and why?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Most: The constant change and newness. It consistently keeps me intrigued and on my toes.<o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Least: Lack of education and laws not being caught up with technology. They both are doing a great disservice to all of us.<span style="font-size: 100%;"><o:p></o:p></span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><i>To contact Laurie Boettcher, email her at <a href="mailto:Laurie@lbspeaksonline.com">Laurie@lbspeaksonline.com</a>. Visit her consultancy at <a href="http://lbspeaksonline.com/">lbspeaksonline.com</a>.</i></span></div>
</div>Aatif Bokharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08886529227404482107noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5998610887328065719.post-8448588547804875542012-04-22T20:05:00.002-05:002012-04-28T07:41:30.243-05:00(BOOK REVIEW) The Marketing Agency Blueprint: The Handbook for Building Hybrid PR, SEO, Content, Advertising, and Web Firms<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What works (+)</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span>Years of experience compiled in a value-packed volume</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span>Twitter handles are cited throughout</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span>Valuable advice for aspiring social media professionals</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span>Future of PR is explained clearly </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span>Too many bullet points to go through when numbers would be easier to read</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span>Order of topics may confuse junior social media professionals </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">·<span style="font-size: 7pt;"> </span>The last few motivational chapters seem out of place, and are probably unnecessary for hardened PR pros</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“Have you read this book?” raved <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/nikolich" target="_blank">Mike Nikolich</a> (<a href="https://twitter.com/#!/mikenikolich" target="_blank">@mikenikolich</a>), president of <a href="http://techimage.com/" target="_blank">Tech Image</a> (<a href="https://twitter.com/#!/techimagepr" target="_blank">@techimagepr</a>), a boutique PR agency in the Chicago suburbs serving technology firms. “This is the book that I always wanted to write, it perfectly describes what I want to do with Tech Image.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I first got turned on to <i><a href="http://www.amazon.com/The-Marketing-Agency-Blueprint-Advertising/dp/1118131363/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1335142689&sr=8-1" target="_blank">TheMarketing Agency Blueprint: The Handbook for Building Hybrid PR, SEO, Content, Advertising,and Web Firms</a></i> when I met Mike earlier this month at his digital PR agency. Title noted, I went home and ordered a copy through Amazon. I then tweeted Mike, mentioning that I had ordered the book and would be reviewing it for my blog. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I wanted to review the book for three reasons: <span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">I’ve always found book reviews to be a great way for me to absorb information; </span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">I love to read as much as I love to write and a book review is a good excuse; and a</span><span style="text-indent: -0.25in;">nytime a player I look up to like Mike mentions a book, I take that seriously – I’m always looking for opportunities to grow and learn new things.</span></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I received my first inkling that this was not going to be your average book review a few minutes after I tweeted Mike about what I was going to do. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ping! My Android phone alerted me to a new tweet. It was a message from <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/paulroetzer" target="_blank">Paul Roetzer</a> (<a href="https://twitter.com/#!/paulroetzer" target="_blank">@paulroetzer</a>), author of <i>The Marketing Agency Blueprint</i> and the founder and CEO of <a href="http://www.pr2020.com/" target="_blank">PR 20/20</a>, a Cleveland-based marketing agency.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“@aatifbokhari Hope you enjoy #AgencyBlueprint. Look forward to your blog post! @techImagepr @mikenikolich”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ok, Paul had my attention. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Clearly Paul wasn’t just looking to make a name with his book – Paul was walking the walk, and that always gets my respect. I dove in, intrigued by what he had to say.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Having finished the book, I can say that Paul totally gets it. The book is not perfect – what book is? – but I think that it is very unique and useful. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Here’s why: If you are interested in knowing the future of digital PR, you could read several different books and try to connect the dots yourself, which is possible but time consuming. Or you could save yourself a lot of time and read <i>The Marketing Agency Blueprint</i> for a strong overview. Regardless of your choice, this is a great, slim summary of how PR is changing as an industry. It belongs on every digital PR professional’s bookshelf.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Clients come first<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Paul begins his book by explaining that PR agencies need to focus on “a la carte services” for clients, billed by results produced rather than hours worked. To paraphrase, Paul says that hourly billing can disguise inefficiencies and distractions that prolong projects. Offering a flat rate is fairer than billing by the hour. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“There are countless factors that can affect a professional’s efficiency, but distractions, time tracking and motivation are three of the biggest culprits,” he writes. With hourly billing, “the client is actually penalized, and forced to pay for the agency’s inefficiency and professional development.”</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I agree with Paul, but I also think that it cuts down on confusion and potential conflict over billing with clients who don’t understand the process of producing PR projects and/or campaigns. Having moonlighted as a freelance copy writer while working as a journalist, I can think of few headaches that are as easily avoidable as explaining hourly rates, not to mention the indignity of arguing with clients assuming that I am prolonging the project’s time so that I can be paid more. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Although I learned years ago that clients were happier to be working with writers who offered flat rates, Paul’s idea that agencies should offer flat rates was new to me. I think the book could have been stronger if it had explained how to deal with clients who drag their feet, taking advantage of the onus being on the agency to produce.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Hybrid vs. Traditional approaches<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Paul then explains that traditional approaches, such as placing advertisements in newspapers, are dead in the water. The new trend is to focus more on a “hybrid” approach, focused not only on PR but also on content marketing, SEO and social media. The hybrid methodology is better because results can be easily tracked, unlike with traditional approaches. Hybrid agencies tend to be lean and can easily change directions for clients, unlike huge, traditional organizations. Hybrid agencies are thus in a better position to provide value in real time.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The hybrid approach also makes more sense for reasons not mentioned by Paul. Technology is removing barriers to competition and making it easier for organizations around the world to compete on a level playing field. Although this level field can be scary for traditional agencies that have relied on protectionism and size to rule markets, it is a great opportunity for smaller organizations. As long as smaller hybrid organizations can provide the same or greater value for clients as traditional PR firms, there is no reason that they cannot be successful and disrupt the old models of doing business. Simply put, hybrid organizations punch above their weight.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Of particular interest to me in <i>The Marketing Agency Blueprint</i> was Chapter 3, “Think Talent and Teams”, especially because I am not an agency owner and I wanted to know what digital PR agencies would find attractive in social media employees. I have seen so many threads started on LinkedIn by people interested in starting careers in social media, but not sure what skills they should be developing. Luckily, Paul covered this as well.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">“A Player Competencies and Traits” is about the qualities that make A players more valuable to PR agencies than their peers. These include being analytical, confident, detail-oriented, intrinsically-motivated, listeners, relationship-builders, risk-takers, social web savvy, tech-savvy, and writers. They also have a strong work-life balance and possess the “it” factor. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Most of these qualities are not explained in detail at this juncture, but reading through the whole book fleshes many of them out. For example, Paul mentions on page 167 that all employees at PR 20/20 must complete the Google Adwords Certification Program, which “fosters analytical thinking, refines budgeting skills, and expands knowledge of how search engines work.” Obviously completing this program would be a great way for social media specialists to raise themselves to a higher standard of professional excellence, as well as stand out from their peers. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Although I probably don’t have time to take the course now – I’m a student in Northwestern University’s MS in corporate communications program – I plan on investing time in it when I graduate soon.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Paul explains how to “Build a Scalable Infrastructure” in Chapter 4, “Devise an Inbound Marketing Game Plan” in Chapter 5, and “Control the Sales Funnel” in Chapter 6. Before starting these chapter, I thought that they would be of limited use. After all, I’m not looking to build a PR agency anytime soon! But I was pleasantly surprised to find that there was some relevant content for digital PR professionals not running an organization. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">In Chapter 4, there are five lessons that Paul says make for a scalable infrastructure: 1. prepare for perpetual change; 2. build through trusted solution providers; 3. understand your limits; 4. find reliable advisers and mentors; and 5. create a funding runway. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Basically, the message I got here was that agencies need to be able to change technologies quickly, but at the same time make sure to stay grounded with services that are not likely to disappear soon. Also, it is important that agencies take “a macro-level view of how increases in revenue and staffing will impact” the organization. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Chapter 5, “Devise an Inbound Marketing Game Plan”, begins with an important lesson. “The marketing world is full of thinkers, talkers, and self-proclaimed gurus,” writes Paul, “but after awhile they all start to sound the same. What we need are more doers – agencies and professionals that drive change by practicing what they preach.” </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This chapter covered different approaches digital PR agencies should use, and focuses on tried and true marketing concepts: differentiation, segmentation, branding, and so on. I didn’t find the marketing concepts to be very detailed – you would be better served by reading a dedicated marketing book if you want to know more on the subject – but it was still a good reminder, especially because people looking to get into social media often are unaware of how important marketing and business practices are.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Chapter 6, “Controlling the Sales Funnel”, is about “leads, prospects, and customers. Agencies need to fill the funnel at the top, nurture in the middle, and convert at the end.” Paul really focuses on sales in the section. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I was shocked to find that in a Kurlan & Associates study cited by Paul, “one hundred percent [of respondents] did not follow a sales process. Salespeople that do not follow a process encounter and wind up accepting lots of put-offs, stalls, and excuses.” “Although they might have taken some training or read sales books, there is something in them that is keeping them from executing as they were taught,” says Paul. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Although the results of the study were extreme, they were seemingly in line with what we learned in a Marketing class taught by Richard Kolsky at Northwestern last quarter – that sales personnel tend to use short-term, tactical, practical approaches closely integrated with people skills, while marketing personnel take a longer, predictive, more strategic view of business grounded in analytic reasoning. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Often these two groups are at loggerheads, because they don’t understand each other. We discussed ways to get both groups to work together and appreciate each other, for example, making marketing staff work in sales for a period and vice-versa, but it is definitely a major problem, not just in digital PR but in other industries as well.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">Almost perfect<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><i>The Marketing Agency Blueprint: The Handbook for Building Hybrid PR, SEO, Content, Advertising, and Web Firms</i>, is tantalizingly close to perfection, in my opinion. It suffers from a few problems that take away from an otherwise excellent overview of digital PR. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There are far too many bullet points, with the result that topics become more difficult to follow. After struggling to read several lists with 20 items, my mind started turning off. Also, the book makes more sense for individuals who have a comprehensive exposure to different aspects of digital PR, such as SEO, social media, marketing and business. If I was new to some of these subjects, I’m sure that it would be much harder to pick up on where the author was going. Finally, the last few chapters are about “commitment to clients”, “learning from failure”, and “delivering results”, which for senior PR professionals are unnecessary. I would suggest anyone in need of inspiration look for books dedicated to those topics. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">However, the above are not very serious problems. Paul Roetzer has written a wonderful book that explains what is the future of digital PR in a way that will likely not be outdated for some time to come. He does this while ensuring his work will be useful to a wide range of interested readers, and provides additional valuable material, such as case studies, online at MarketingAgencyInsider.com. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Highly recommended!</span></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You can visit the Marketing Agency Insider community on Twitter (<a href="https://twitter.com/#!/AGENCYIN" target="_blank">@AgencyIn</a>), as well as follow conversations about the book using #AgencyBlueprint.</span><o:p></o:p></i></div>
</div>Aatif Bokharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08886529227404482107noreply@blogger.com7tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5998610887328065719.post-35069115446886501982012-04-18T07:04:00.003-05:002012-04-27T13:09:51.684-05:00(GUEST POST) Stop Kony 2012 in the view of an international development professional based in Kenya<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<i style="line-height: 1.6em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The Stop Kony 2012 social media campaign launched by Invisible Children had slick production values and a compelling message, but was it factually correct and ethical? And what did the campaign have to do with international development? What was the campaign for? All important questions for social media professionals.</span></i></div>
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<i><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The following is a guest post on Stop Kony 2012 written by my friend <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/algoso" target="_blank">Dave Algoso,</a> an international development professional based in Nairobi, Kenya. He generously agreed to share it with my readers. He blogs at <a href="http://findwhatworks.wordpress.com/about/" target="_blank">Find What Works</a>, which he says revolves around "international development, politics, and whatever else catches my eye". </span></i></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 1.6em;">I resisted. I really tried. But here I am anyway. Writing about this campaign. If you’re on Facebook or other social media, you don’t need me to include the video itself, since it’s popping up everywhere. But this post won’t make much sense without it, so here it is.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If you <a href="https://twitter.com/#!/dalgoso" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #3a6999; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">follow me on twitter</a>, you might have seen that I posted commentary last night as I watched it. It’s 30 minutes long, but took well over an hour to watch on my internet connection. That allowed me plenty of time to chew it over. Afterward I checked out their website. I resisted the urge to write anything substantial until I’d read other critical commentary, then slept on it, and woke up with a reluctant decision to blog.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">On the one hand, this is a very well done film. The videography, editing, music, everything. It looks <em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">good</em>. It’s crafted well enough that millions of Americans are spending half an hour to watch something about a conflict on the other side of the world. That’s no small feat.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">On the other hand, those millions of Americans are learning almost nothing about that conflict. I’m so impressed with the filmmakers’ ability to capture attention that I wish they would put it to better use. I wish there was some discussion of Uganda’s political situation or even a mere mention of the name Museveni, because what Invisible Children proposes will have <a href="http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/03/07/stop-kony-yes-but-dont-stop-asking-questions/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #3a6999; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">both positive and negative ramifications for that country</a>. I also wish they wouldn’t focus so much on Uganda, because <a href="http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/03/07/guest_post_joseph_kony_is_not_in_uganda_and_other_complicated_things" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #3a6999; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Joseph Kony isn’t even there anymore</a> and the LRA is a regional problem. And while we’re at it: I wish they wouldn’t refer to Uganda as being in Central Africa, because it’s actually in East Africa.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">How did I spend half an hour watching this, yet learn so little? Partly because the filmmakers have a strained relationship with questions of empowerment and agency. I wish the ratio of empowered-white-people to crying-black-children in the video wasn’t so high, and that the levels of both were lower. There are a lot of <a href="http://projectdiaspora.org/2012/03/08/respect-my-agency-2012/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #3a6999; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">amazing Ugandans doing amazing work</a> to better their communities. Those are stories worth telling.</span></div>
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<span style="background-color: white; font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; line-height: 1.6em;">Finally, there’s what Invisible Children actually advocates: grassroots pressure from Americans to ensure that the U.S. military continues to assist with the tracking and capture of Joseph Kony. In some ways, this is an ideal role for U.S. special forces advisers. If our country has the expertise and the resources to help end a long-running conflict, then let’s do it. But what happens if limited support fails — a strong possibility given Kony’s demonstrated skill at living on the run — and Washington’s decision-makers feel public pressure to do more? Do we switch to drone strikes? Commitment of ground forces?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Whipping the American public into believing that we’re morally right to intervene militarily is always fraught with danger. Stripping away the nuance and complexity of the issue makes it worse. And make no mistake: while Kony is undoubtedly an evil man who should be stopped, the history of the LRA and the governance/military situation in the region make this whole thing more complicated than it seems.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I’ve written about <a href="http://findwhatworks.wordpress.com/category/advocacy-2/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #3a6999; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">advocacy</a> campaigns before. My stance is a bit contrary to that of many other development bloggers, likely due to our different backgrounds: I started my career in advocacy, while many of my blogging friends are academics. While academics cringe at the narratives used by advocacy groups, I’ve made my peace with their need for simplification. If a given problem requires government action, and we think about the politics and strategy required to make the government move, we can’t help but conclude that our messages must be simple. Otherwise our cause gets lost in the noise of Capitol Hill, or Turtle Bay, or wherever.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But that doesn’t give advocates a free pass. While <a href="http://findwhatworks.wordpress.com/2010/07/29/eastern-congo-2-academic-activist-partnerships/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #3a6999; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">writing about conflict minerals legislation</a> a few years ago, I distinguished <em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">simplifications</em> of reality from <em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">distortions</em> of it. This is what I wrote:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Unlike a distortion, a simplification is actually backed by and derived from a more considered analysis. A simplification is tied by a clear (if unstated) chain to a comprehensive and nuanced understanding of the problem. Some advocates would claim that it’s okay to use a distorted narrative, as long as it leads to the right policies. This thinking is dangerous because it detaches your policy agenda from reality. You start believing your own distortions and lose any assurance that you really are pursuing the right policies. Even worse, <em style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">other people</em> start believing your distortions.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">So simplify, but don’t distort. I’m only stretching the term a bit when I call this the “Golden Rule” of advocacy. When you distort an issue, you encroach on other issues. If you inflate the numbers on the severity of the problem you’re addressing, you steal resources from other programs. If you misrepresent the causal chain or fail to give sufficient history, you hamstring policymakers and future advocates (including a future you) who have to deal with a mis-educated grassroots movement (see “<a href="http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/blog/elizabeth-dickinson/trouble-stopkony" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #3a6999; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Save Darfur</a>“). Do unto other issues as you would have other advocates do unto yours.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Invisible Children has done a great job of slimming down reality into a simple narrative, packaging it, and selling it. And boy, do they sell it. You can get an action kit complete with bracelets, t-shirts, posters and more. But they’ve gone too far. Too much style, not enough substance. Their <a href="http://www.theresolve.org/blog/archives/3071032348" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #3a6999; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">“policy manifesto” weighs in at a mere two and a half pages</a>. The story they tell about Joseph Kony and the policy they advocate for stopping him amounts to distortions of reality. They’ve got the resources, the networks, and the skills to truly promote better U.S. policy in the region, yet they’ve focused it too narrowly in order to make something attention grabbing. I wish they had set their sights higher.</span></div>
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<strong style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The posts I linked to above, and other resources:</span></strong></div>
<ul style="background-color: white; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #333333; line-height: 18px; margin-bottom: 1.5em; margin-left: 1.5em; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;">
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://blogs.independent.co.uk/2012/03/07/stop-kony-yes-but-dont-stop-asking-questions/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Stop Kony, yes. But don’t stop asking questions</a> – Musa Okwonga, The Independent</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://blog.foreignpolicy.com/posts/2012/03/07/guest_post_joseph_kony_is_not_in_uganda_and_other_complicated_things" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Joseph Kony is not in Uganda (and other complicated things)</a> – Michael Wilkerson, ForeignPolicy</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://projectdiaspora.org/2012/03/08/respect-my-agency-2012/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">A Peace of my mind: Respect my agency 2012!</a> – TMS Ruge, Project Diaspora</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://africasacountry.com/2012/03/07/phony-2012-risible-children/" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">The #Kony2012 show</a> – Elliott Ross, Africa is a Country</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><a href="http://www.worldaffairsjournal.org/blog/elizabeth-dickinson/trouble-stopkony" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">The Trouble with #StopKony</a> – Elizabeth Dickinson, World Affairs</span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And lest you think me unfair: <a href="http://s3.amazonaws.com/www.invisiblechildren.com/critiques.html" style="border-bottom-color: rgb(238, 238, 238); border-bottom-style: solid; border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">Invisible Children’s response to the critiques</a></span></li>
<li style="border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">For more commentary than you can shake a stick at, see <a href="http://www.whydev.org/a-readers-digest-of-kony-2012/" style="border-bottom-width: 1px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: black; font-style: inherit; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; outline-color: initial; outline-style: none; outline-width: initial; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;" target="_blank">WhyDev’s collection of Kony2012 posts</a></span></li>
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</div>Aatif Bokharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08886529227404482107noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5998610887328065719.post-90525280952183155542012-04-15T08:05:00.002-05:002016-08-11T19:18:16.433-05:001 unbelievably fun tip for memorizing anything (Hack Your Brain #2)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Social media professionals have to juggle unbelievable amounts of information and relationships. How can this be done?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Memory. Aside from using tools, such as Radian6, a strong memory makes all the difference for social media specialists looking to make friends online. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Unfortunately, many people are intimidated by the idea of relying upon their minds, rather than committing their thoughts to paper. They don’t know how to do it, aside from the usual tips to break down items into abbreviated lists and so on.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Abbreviations work. But you can do much, MUCH better.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">If you’re like me, memorizing things can be tricky. That is, until I heard of the Memory Palace technique. People use this simple trick to quickly memorize unbelievable amounts of information. <a href="http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dominic_O'Brien" target="_blank">An eight-time world memory champion, Dominic O’Brien, was able to memorize 54 decks of cards in sequence looking at each card only once using this tip</a>.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Intrigued? So was I. Practicing this technique has forever changed how I approach memorization.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">I’ll explain how it works.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>How your memory works</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Your brain is an amazingly powerful organ. And it can remember things far beyond what you might think is the expiration date. How often have you tasted a dish and been transported back to your childhood, or seen a beautiful sight that stays for years? Clearly, it is possible to store info for long periods, without apparently trying very hard and this is all the more true if those thoughts are highly emotional.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The other thing that matters a lot to your remembering information is that your Hippocampus, a visual center in the brain, is intimately tied to your memorizing abilities. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Activate your Hippocampus and chances are that you will be more likely to remember once fleeting thoughts. Make your thoughts highly emotional and you can bank on not forgetting as easily as you once might have.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">How can we take advantage of our neurological wiring? We build a palace. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Build a place in your mind that you already know well</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Memory Palace is highly effective as a memorization tool largely because it activates the Hippocampus. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Here’s how to do it. In your mind, visualize a place that you already know intimately. The place you visually might be a home you lived in for years, or a path you walk every day through your workplace. The place really doesn’t matter so much as your knowledge of it. If it is a place that you feel strong about, all the better. Your visualized place is your palace.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Now, associate your items for memorizing with the place you have visualized</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Create relationships between different areas in your palace with the items you want to memorize. For example, if you want to remember a pencil, you might consider visualizing a pencil as you enter your palace. As you walk through your palace in your mind’s eye, you see other objects you need – a tomato, a crocodile, tickets to an NBA game.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">You know what? Let’s keep these items in mind as we go to the next step – a pencil, a tomato, a crocodile, and tickets to an NBA game. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>Make your thoughts as emotional and strange as possible (a practical example)</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">We have already nailed an important part of memory by building memory palaces. Now lets really make those thoughts stick.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">The Romans, who came up with the Memory Palace technique, suggested making the thoughts we memorize as gory as possible. They said that the more weird and emotional the image, the better.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Here is how I would do it.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">As I walk into my childhood home through the garage, I see the pencil. It is a HUGE pencil, with the circumference of a log. Better escape into the next room, the pencil is rolling after me and might crush my toes! RUN! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Whew, made it. … Uh, the floor is covered in squashed tomatoes … who is going to have to clean up this mess? Ugh! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">(Luckily there is a cartoon crocodile in the living room, his teeth dripping with blood and guts. I say luckily, because he has begun sweeping up the tomatoes.) </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Better go in the kitchen, this is a little weird. And I don’t like the way the tomatoes are squelching underfoot. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Woah! … It’s Derrick Rose, my favorite player for the Chicago Bulls, and he’s sitting at the kitchen table. Why is he here? … He’s handing over those NBA tickets for my family that I wanted! What a great day.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">See what I mean? You might be able to memorize my list more easily than before I made it so bizarre. The more bizarre, emotional and disgusting, the better. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">On a side note, there is a major reason I used a childhood theme for my recent Burt and Ernie teach Twitter techniques post. Memories of childhood shows and experiences can be a powerful way of helping others remember our social media content. Of course such content has to be memorable for the right reasons, otherwise it can more easily remain in the mind for the wrong reasons!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>How to begin applying the Memory Palace to your work</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Now it’s time to practice this technique yourself. While you’re at home, write down a grocery list and commit the items to memory by building a crazy Memory Palace. Leave the list at home; do not look at the list while shopping.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">After you get back, check how many items you remembered. If you forgot any items, really think about why that might be. Was your association between the items and the place you constructed strong enough? Were the razor blades you needed not scary enough? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Don’t get discouraged if you were not 100% successful the first time. The more you practice the Memory Palace technique, the easier it will be to remember items. On the other hand, you might find yourself getting perfect scores from the beginning. The key to success is really activating your brain’s emotional and visual center. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Once you have become good at memorizing lists of up to 30 items, you can graduate to relying on this technique at work. Once you can do this reliably with memorizing physical objects, you might try using Memory Palaces to recall abstract concepts linked strongly to physical objects in your mind’s eye. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">For example, if you want to memorize “honor”, you might find remembering a knight in shining armor useful to memorizing that concept. The more you learn how your mind works, the more you can fine tune this process. Eventually you would always want to use the same objects to recall specific concepts.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Well, what do you think? Have you ever used the Memory Palace, and what sort of results have you gotten? I would love to hear your thoughts.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: "trebuchet ms" , sans-serif;">Happy memorizing!</span></div>
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Aatif Bokharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08886529227404482107noreply@blogger.com5tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5998610887328065719.post-1683465295057220722012-04-11T10:26:00.004-05:002012-04-28T07:45:00.161-05:00Hack your brain post #1: How to kill writer’s block and unleash your hidden creativity<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn2MSlwpH8tOXICsf5V2fXTpXeds_uQkkP16AWw4Bey63Hk3kkmJ7EaSqkzsggDADyy1Uxy4ecvhqpUH69NMWCQAqaqzKgBGWoJWnENXDYjRixmmSOI28_6zFhGHTdFntieBPnCBUgpsk/s1600/brain.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="494" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjn2MSlwpH8tOXICsf5V2fXTpXeds_uQkkP16AWw4Bey63Hk3kkmJ7EaSqkzsggDADyy1Uxy4ecvhqpUH69NMWCQAqaqzKgBGWoJWnENXDYjRixmmSOI28_6zFhGHTdFntieBPnCBUgpsk/s640/brain.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This week in Public Persuasion class at Northwestern University, teacher <a href="http://www.law.northwestern.edu/faculty/profiles/JasonDeSanto/" target="_blank">Jason DeSanto</a> covered a technique to unleash hidden creativity that had long time communications professionals in the class amazed.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What is that technique you ask? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Freewriting. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I have already been freewriting as a way to hack into my brain’s creative side since I was a teenager many moons ago. Actually, freewriting turned me on to writing in the first place. Until a tutor advised me to freewrite, I honestly hated writing. Yes, really.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I have been engaging in freewriting for many years now. It was one of the first things I learned when I began writing more seriously in high school, and it has never ceased to be a tool that I fall back on. I have used the same technique for brainstorming design concepts as well, including for a graphic design class I took at COD in the beginning of 2011. In fact, my best creative writing has always had a strong freewriting streak and I regularly use the technique to jog my social media juices.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">And now, here I am, writing all over different social media channels, including for this blog. Something must have worked! Freewriting is fun, and gosh darn it highly therapeutic at stressful times as well. You have not lived until you’ve tasted the Kool Aid that is freewriting! </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Full disclosure: before I really get into this post and explain what is freewriting, I’m going to mention that there is already a great book about this topic. <a href="http://www.amazon.com/Accidental-Genius-Writing-Generate-Insight/dp/1605095257" target="_blank"><i>Accidental Genius: Using Writing to Generate Your Best Ideas, Insight, and Content</i> by Mark Levy</a> gives you the sort of ideas you need to get a creative edge over your competitors in almost any industry. We read this book for DeSanto’s class and had a great discussion on the topic last Friday. Those sources spurred me to start my Brain Hack series, and I respect for them both. </span></div>
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<b style="font-size: x-large;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Where does creativity come from and why does it get blocked?</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Here is the thing. We all have moments where we accidentally stumble across great thoughts that can solve problems. Often times it is when we are doing the most inane of tasks and not thinking very hard. Levy says that there is a reason for this. The human mind is highly robust and capable of greatness, provided that it is not hamstrung.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">What could hamstring the mind? Trying to find “the perfect idea”, for one. Another is trying to be everything to everyone because we are more worried about pleasing others than being ourselves. Or maybe we get caught up in the process and become too self-conscious about what we “should” think. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Luckily, there’s an app for that.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b>You’ve intrigued me. Now get to the point. What is freewriting?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Freewriting is a technique for turning on the faucet of ideas in the mind which, for whatever reason, has been turned off. It hinges on writing as quickly as one possibly can, without worrying about typos or grammatical constructions. The important thing here is to produce for ourselves, not for others. Just choose any topic that is of interest to you, whether it is a work problem, or a relationship, or a class, or a design challenge. The choice is yours. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If you push yourself to freewrite, at first it will likely feel very awkward, but keep at it. You will notice your mind becoming more spontaneously within a short time and thoughts spilling across the pages you might not have realized you ever had. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b>What does it feel like to freewrite?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Like I said, many things are hidden in our minds by different conditioning factors that can be uncovered by engaging in freewriting. Our thoughts weave a tangled web, and when one part of the web is shaken, another part will often move and make itself apparent in ways we never noticed. This takes practice. Without practice, freewriting and other brain hacks like it can feel very awkward and scary – there is nowhere to hide when you confront your own thoughts. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">My favorite way to confront myself – this is the way I approach freewriting – is to work against a timer and pour out my heart and soul. I race to get everything on the page while staring off, Ray Charles like, to ignore the editing marks that scratch against my mind. It doesn’t matter to me what anyone else thinks when I am in this zone, because I am doing what I love for myself, and to see if there is anything I need to work on regarding my thought processes. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I actually wrote that last paragraph freewriting.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I’ll give you another practical example of freewriting in action this week. I first chose to let my thoughts wander over an interview that I was scheduled for on Friday, giving myself just three minutes (the interview was for a social media position with a PR firm in the suburbs.)</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Throughout the week before sitting down on my couch to write this piece, I had been pulling out all the stops to make sure that my interview would be a success. But while I think that I have been doing everything I can to be ready for my big interview, that is not to say that I have no fears or am not nervous. These fears clearly came out in my writing. I might not have realized these and known to address them if I had not engaged in freewriting.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b>Cool, but for some people this is easier said than done. How can I actually do it? </b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Here are five major tips tips that will get you freewriting today.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>1. Try easy.</b> Don’t reach for very complicated language or try to be clever. Just be yourself.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>2. Write quickly and continuously. </b>No slowing down or fixing your mistakes. Try to look away from the computer screen or paper while you’re writing and just push yourself to go as quickly as it takes for words to flow without thought. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>3. Work against a time limit.</b> Setting a time limit introduces an element of discipline to our writing that does not interfere with our creativity. Time limits also subconsciously push us to produce more than we might have otherwise. I suggest starting with 3 minutes. Levy says we try a marathon session of 7-8 hours, which I think is just a tad sadomasochistic, but to each their own.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>4. Write the way you think.</b> Just write whatever you are thinking immediately on the page. This will prove invaluable in uncovering your thought processes. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b>5. Go with the thought.</b> Don’t stop to think about how something could sound better if worded differently. You can always go back and edit your work later. The point with this brain hack is to be spontaneous, not methodical. Don't worry about your mind wandering off if a thought becomes exhausted. Getting lost is fine with freewriting!</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">You might want to try any of the following themes:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">1. Pick a point and go the opposite direction.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">2. What if _____ weren’t important at all?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">3. If I weren’t at my job now, I would be …</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">4. If I hadn’t studied ______ in undergrad, I would have / could have …</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">5. If I were in the world’s best ______ that would mean …</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">6. If I were the world’s best ______ that would look like …</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">7. If my colleagues already believed in my plan …</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">8. This might sound crazy, but I would be 500% more productive if …</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><b style="font-size: x-large;">Great, but what do I do with this now?</b> </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">With any luck, you've written some great ideas that you might not have thought about before. Repeat exercises, review ideas, rinse off writer's block. </span><br />
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<i style="background-color: white; color: #666666; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">Aatif Bokhari is a social media specialist. You can find him on LinkedIn at <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/aatifbokhari">www.linkedin.com/in/aatifbokhari</a><span id="goog_1880252369"></span><span id="goog_1880252370"></span><a href="http://www.blogger.com/"></a> and Twitter at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/aatifbokhari" target="_blank">@aatifbokhari</a>.</i> </div>
</div>Aatif Bokharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08886529227404482107noreply@blogger.com2tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5998610887328065719.post-17271745822167791642012-04-08T08:55:00.008-05:002012-04-28T07:46:05.177-05:00What Bert and Ernie taught me about Twitter (VIDEO + POST)<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Bert and Ernie? How did I ever get into Bert and Ernie and what do they have to do with Twitter?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">When you have a kid, a lot of things change. And when you love social media as much as me, you start learning lessons from the most surprising of places. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Here’s how it started. Every morning my 16-month-old son, Ali Raza, has breakfast. Getting him to sit still is sometimes tricky. Why would he when he could be playing with his Elmo doll? </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">But we’ve found that there is a solution: Play videos of Bert and Ernie on YouTube. Ali Raza seems to enter a different zone when he starts watching Sesame Street or Mr. Rogers that, conveniently for his parents, makes it a LOT easier to feed him. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">There is one video of Bert and Ernie in particular that Ali Raza loves, when they go fishing. We can watch this 10 times in a row and he doesn’t get bored. Of course I end up watching it too and memorizing the whole plot. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Here is the video: </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">At first I, unlike Ali Raza, WAS getting bored. But then I started actually thinking about what Burt and Ernie were saying.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Basically it boils down to this. It’s not WHAT you say, but HOW you say it that really counts. And this is such an important concept, especially when you are trying to reach out to people on Twitter. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Often times people don’t hear us on Twitter. They’re “underwater”, as Ernie explains, drowning in a sea of tweets. So doing something to stand out is important. If you want to build Twitter engagement with followers, it takes work. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This is fishing class. Here are some tips to start reeling in your followers.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">1. Pack in the content in each tweet!</span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Yes, content. What do I mean by packing in the content? I mean try to say as much as possible in 140 characters. Throw out vowels if you have to, use number symbols instead of writing out, do whatever it takes to say a lot in just 140 characters. It’s clever, forces you to think, and keeps everyone on their toes. Part of the Twitter tactics I used after I launched my own media organization back in 2007 was to tweet recipes, for example, hummus. It’s amazing what that sort of approach can do to get fish biting!</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">2. Ask questions<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This is a corner stone of good social media. Have you noticed how a good question can stop and make you think? There, I just showed you. Start your tweets with who, what, when, where, why and how, and you will see your Twitter peeps starting to take notice.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">3. Comment on links you post <o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Posting links seems like a no brainer, right? The thing is, going overboard with posting links is good way to annoy people and its only half of the equation. Instead of only posting links, make it a point to review the links and offer your thoughts as well. If we do this, we look like real people, not robo tweeters. A good way to break this cycle is to tweet about where you are at the moment, even if you're just sitting in a boat.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">4. Use the ‘@’ symbol generously<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">The “@” symbol is one of the most powerful ways of building rapport with your followers. Think about it: if you’re at a party, do you usually go over and speak to the wallflower talking to the middle of the room without directing their words to anyone in particular, like Bert? Or do you talk to the charming person who brings up stories and ideas, and talks directly to you with passion, like Ernie? Make sure to comment on other people’s posts. If they don’t engage with you after several tweets, stop following them.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Oh, and don’t use the @ symbol in posts without content for the sole purpose of getting people to pay attention to you. That scares away the fishes. Be bold, but give something for people to listen to. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Btw, try to not start posts with the @ symbol if you can. It doesn’t read well and makes it more difficult for the fish to bite.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">5. Post consistently and thoughtfully<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Quantity of posts is not as important, I think, as consistency and quality. When we show a regular presence, we become trusted by our followers. That is hugely important to engaging people and becoming friends. On the other hand, if you fill up people’s Twitter feed with posts, they very likely are going to get turned off. Unless you’re already a celebrity of some sort and have fans who follow you for reasons other than Twitter.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">6. Don’t be afraid to be laughed at or judged<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This is HUGELY important. Some people use Twitter, but they don’t know how to be original with the site. They copy other people rather than offering original content, because they are afraid to be laughed at. Don’t go there. The world is filled with Burts accustomed to doing what they have been told is the right thing to say or do. It’s important to have a strong foundation, but we have to be Ernies, ready to be ourselves and use techniques we know work from our own personal experience. </span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">7. Retweet carefully<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">It’s ok to retweet praise, but seriously, who likes hearing people always talking about how others say how good they are? It comes off as arrogant and petty. It’s much better to simply retweet comments that you find insightful or useful.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">8. Hashtags? Use them sparingly!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Hashtags (the “#” sign) can be a good way to get attention for a subject, but they definitely can be overdone. Personally, I don’t even like to use them. I think they’re another symbol that is overused. Try to keep your tweets interesting enough.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">[Edit April 9, 2012: <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/pub/beverly-shepard-esq-director-of-marketing/7/376/382" target="_blank">Beverly Shepard, an expert marketer</a>, asked a great question on LinkedIn regarding this section on hash tags. I’m posting my response to that part of the question now.] As you know, hashtags are utilized because they help Twitter users find content. However, hashtags are too often used on inane words that no one is really going to search for. Pretty easy to understand, I think.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span><br style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" /> <br style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" /> <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Other times hash tags are used by people for trending topics. Trending topics are fun to play around with to get thinking and "free write" which can be a huge boost for creativity and productivity in our lives (something I will blog on later in the week -- check it out on Thursday!), but they tend to update VERY quickly because many people are trying to get attention using them. Whither the days of yore when Twitter was not used by every Tom, Dick and Harry! Hope that explains why I find trending hashes to be generally a waste of time -- they are supposed to be used to make finding content more easy, not more difficult.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><br style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" /> <br style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" /> <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">Now, this is not to mean that hash tags are not at all useful. For example, journalists tend to use hashtags very selectively and effectively to mine the site for breaking info. If you can get a hold of trending topics for journalists, that would be much more useful than the general Twitter trending topics. That's because journalists can be a great source of information and even if they are not going to work your story, they often times can be good people to keep in touch with. Getting on their radar screen is a first step.<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span></span></span><br style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" /> <br style="text-align: -webkit-auto;" /> <span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">The other way in which hash tags are useful is if a small group of people are using unusual tags for the purpose of keeping in touch over an important matter, for example, a conference, class or work project. In that case hash tags are VERY important in staying connected with other without directing attention to one group of people, I still think the pool of people aware of the tag should be a relatively small or focused one.</span></span><o:p></o:p></span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">9. Try to engage with your real friends on subjects that matter to you both<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">If you want to be good at Twitter, but don’t know where to start, start with your friends. Maybe you have a class or a workout regimen that you’re both crazy for. Or maybe there are recipes you enjoy sharing. Talk about that first as you learn how Twitter works. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A great professor of Marketing at Northwestern, Rick Kolsky, used Twitter last quarter for one of my classes in this way. He set up a <a href="http://hootcourse.com/" target="_blank">Hoot Course</a> module and measured our class participation in part by how much we engaged each other microblogging on different topics:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">This was a great way to engage the class and get us talking about things that we wouldn't have otherwise. I learned a lot more from my classmates and the material we were reading than if I had just been studying by own. Twitter can and should be useful for us, as well as our followers. There's no reason why this approach couldn't be used to build up followings on Twitter around niche subjects, and in fact many of the most successful Twitterpreneurs use this very approach.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">10. Use relevant pictures<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A picture says a thousand words, which is nice when you only have 140 characters to work with. Taking your own pics is very useful and can pay dividends. I just won a prize from a social media marketing agency for doing this, which was cool because I don’t win prizes every day and it was a huge honor. I’ll explain.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I had gone to a great Northwestern University career fair hosted by the Medill Journalism School where I ran into a great word-of-mouth and social media marketing organization called Zócalo Group. I took home some of their fliers, including a paper on their word-of-mouth services. While I wasn’t looking, my son, Ali Raza, grabbed the word-of-mouth flier and ate part of it. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Here’s the pic:</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I tweeted what had happened to @ZocaloGroup along with the picture. A short while later they sent me a direct message asking for my address so they could mail me a prize! It’s a huge personal honor to be recognized – even if it’s a small prize, getting attention from pros at Zócalo means a lot to me. I’m convinced it had something to do with using a funny picture.</span></div>
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<b><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;">11. Enjoy!<o:p></o:p></span></b></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Don’t worry about crafting the perfect tweet, there’s no such thing! Instead, just have fun with Twitter. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Some people begin by following several celebrities and get confused. They don’t know what to do with Twitter and get discouraged after just a few tweets because no one is talking to them. The fact is, Twitter seems simple, but it is an art that takes time and some practice to master. It begins by keeping an open mind and literally willing to look for inspiration anywhere.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Use these tips and you could see fish start jumping into the boat today! What other tips can you think of to build relationships on Twitter and what are your stories?</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Aatif Bokhari is a social media specialist. You can find him on LinkedIn at <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/aatifbokhari">www.linkedin.com/in/aatifbokhari</a> and Twitter at <a href="http://www.twitter.com/aatifbokhari" target="_blank">@aatifbokhari</a>.</i></span></div>
</div>Aatif Bokharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08886529227404482107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5998610887328065719.post-23963677725754921732012-04-05T21:24:00.006-05:002012-04-07T00:04:15.729-05:00Managers, you can't actually use social media to manipulate employees into liking you!<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6KSr0P05rL5xdAB1x7WEFw1WWMvkXWTwj20Cz8F-cJgfx2zEMrdWGDvWFMzj3BD_eBeGhbi-lWFf6mFiGQPssqhcMx5W3Dy84VXAEGLQTBOboIhihiRWqb2H3J8WOuT4HO33zjHZmESc/s1600/Donald_Rumsfeld_20080306.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="438" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEg6KSr0P05rL5xdAB1x7WEFw1WWMvkXWTwj20Cz8F-cJgfx2zEMrdWGDvWFMzj3BD_eBeGhbi-lWFf6mFiGQPssqhcMx5W3Dy84VXAEGLQTBOboIhihiRWqb2H3J8WOuT4HO33zjHZmESc/s640/Donald_Rumsfeld_20080306.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><br />
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</div><div class="separator" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><i><span style="font-size: large;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">[There] are known knowns; there are things we know we know. </span><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;">We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – there are things<span class="apple-converted-space"> </span>we do not know we don't know. </span></span></i><i><o:p></o:p></i></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: right; text-indent: 0.5in;"></div><div style="text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
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<div style="text-align: right;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="text-indent: 0.5in;"><span style="font-size: x-small;">Donald Rumsfeld, former Secretary of Defense of the United States of America</span></span></span></span></div><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><o:p></o:p></span></span><br />
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<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">Do you follow Rumsfeld's logic? </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">Yeah, me neither. </span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;"><br />
</span></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial;">But I do know that not knowing what people are thinking in an organization can cause serious problems for mana</span>gers. </span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Newsflash: social media on its own can not make bosses liked by employees without other factors coming into play. By the way, I say this as a guy who is totally in love with social media (as if you couldn't tell!). I just think that face-to-face contact can never fully be replaced by social media or emails.<o:p></o:p></span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="text-align: -webkit-auto;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Knowing what other people know in the organization is facilitated not only by understanding the formal structure of the organization, but also knowing the underlying informal networks. These are the relationships that naturally develop between people, which although important, are not going to be found on your typical organizational chart. </span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Before tapping into these informal networks, employers need to get something straight: s</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">nooping on employees or trying to get their</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> <a href="http://news.yahoo.com/employers-want-facebook-social-media-passwords-just-no-220700575.html" style="text-decoration: underline;" target="_blank">social media passwords</a></span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">is not only unethical, it will only backfire by making employees more resentful. Resentful employees tend to do unpleasant things like <a href="http://www.glassdoor.com/Reviews/Employee-Review-Groupon-RVW1238415.htm" target="_blank">anonymously bash their workplace online.</a> Once word gets out, hiring talent becomes a LOT tougher.</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">All relationships are underpinned to some degree by trust. Understanding how people trust each other comes first, followed distantly by social media. You don't even have to be interested in social media to see that understanding how trust works in organizations has a direct impact on company performance. </span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Let me explain.</span></div><br />
<div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Formal structures on their own are important to establishing authority and responsibility. However, the underlying informal networks are far more important, I believe. A manager may be able to exert power over others by way of the formal structure, but he or she will not be able to know and influence others without having their trust. Trust is a "fuzzy" concept, but one that is immensely important in terms of how employees actually will work with one another.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Managers cannot hope to know what is happening without understanding organizational relationships, but unfortunately because they cannot be everywhere they are often left to draw conclusions based on superficial observations. Such an approach can have myriad consequences. By not understanding the way people actually operate, managers may put people in positions of power who have little real influence over personnel.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Employees may choose to build or break alliances on tacitly and explicitly agreed upon choices, at least in the absence of the manager. Employees untrained in technology they perceive as foisted upon them may seek to hinder the manager’s initiatives. At worst this may undermine the organization’s production and completely devastate morale. Managers perceived as being out of touch are not generally well respected.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I think that there are a number of things that managers can do to know what other people know in the organization. Raising awareness should not be viewed as unimportant by managers used to dealing with hard information, rather than fuzzy concepts, such as trust, but be treated as an integral part of making the organization run more efficiently.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVeKVcektgSo45rpuSGkiNN4Yn8Sy6sEBxdiA_nk4Zez9XOSlTO5vIg3AcBbOrPQ5O9s3vPoTwsYUOkICliGOsjTQqblU01VoniIHxVNtIdXZnNFjMjY746IPOJWwEf1ruRFTK1KfwABw/s1600/quote+for+April+5,+2012+article+on+trust.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="margin-left: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><img border="0" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEjVeKVcektgSo45rpuSGkiNN4Yn8Sy6sEBxdiA_nk4Zez9XOSlTO5vIg3AcBbOrPQ5O9s3vPoTwsYUOkICliGOsjTQqblU01VoniIHxVNtIdXZnNFjMjY746IPOJWwEf1ruRFTK1KfwABw/s640/quote+for+April+5,+2012+article+on+trust.jpg" width="640" /></a></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The first is to not stifle debate or discussion. An environment in which speaking out is stifled will only force the discourse elsewhere, where it cannot be as easily influenced or followed. An example of such a work place is Microsoft, which encourages criticism so long as it is not personal. Such discourse can be facilitated by strategies that range from complex, such as the use of exclusive social media forums for company personnel, as is the case with General Electric, which has its own social media network for employees, to simple, as is the case with thousands of small businesses around the world that hold meetings where employees are encouraged to speak out. </span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Companies that do choose to build employee only social media networks tend to have better morale and loyalty than companies that do not. This doesn't have to be an expensive system. Even a list serv or simple closed group on Facebook can serve this purpose.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Secondly, managers should take time to get to know their employees and instill a sense of pride in their role. Employees who feel valued within the organization by their manager are more likely to report what is happening out of loyalty. Google encourages this feeling of loyalty by proclaiming itself to have a revolutionary culture that says “don’t be evil”.<o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Third, managers should initiate 360 degree anonymous evaluations for employees engineered to measure trust and other positive factors. These can be graded for trust and should be understood by employees as being part of making the company better, not for the purpose of promotions and demotions. Armed with such data, managers should begin shifting their attention from advice networks to trust networks, which are more representative of the underlying state of the organization, and building advice networks to reflect this reality accordingly. <o:p></o:p></span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">These are a few ideas I have. I’m looking forward to hearing my classmates discuss this topic in class tomorrow (Managing Info and Innovation), and am sure I’ll be learning some new things I’ve never thought of. </span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">I know I can trust them to keep pushing me to learn more. </span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br />
</span></div><div class="MsoNoSpacing" style="margin-bottom: 0.0001pt; margin-left: 0in; margin-right: 0in; margin-top: 0in; text-align: left;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-small;"><i>Aatif Bokhari's LinkedIn profile can be found <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/aatifbokhari" target="_blank">here</a>.</i></span></div><br />
</div>Aatif Bokharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08886529227404482107noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5998610887328065719.post-33068242520524100882012-03-24T17:36:00.000-05:002012-04-28T07:47:34.856-05:007 tips for engaging readers with email and other digital writing<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on">
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Few things are as annoying as a SPAM emails. So don’t give your readers something that tastes like SPAM, give them prime steak they can really sink their teeth into.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Easier said than done, right? In the few seconds a reader opens an email, they can decide whether or not they should keep reading or throw out your message. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">I remember that back in day when I was in middle school, my English teach Mrs. Peebles used to extol the virtues of power writing. We were supposed to start with a main topic and in separate topics elaborate on our introduction with more and more convincing arguments before we were to conclude with a flourish that would have the Pullitzer Prize committee sitting up and taking notice.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">News flash: power writing or whatever you want to call it can be useful, but is really boring if that is all you are going to do. Reading such writing can easily sound stilted and dull, especially in emails. Email writing is supposed to be more casual, and it can rely upon different formatting rules than traditional letters.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Here are a few tips that will give readers reason for pause. And I mean that in a good way. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b>1. Hey you!</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Letters should not be generic, they should be addressed directly to who they are intended for. Personalized emails are far more likely to be read than generic ones. Names are important to people. </span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b>2. What next?</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Ask questions. Have you ever noticed that a question keeps you reading? Most people find questions stimulating. A good question can keep readers involved and wanting to move to the next topic.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b>3. Once upon a time</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">After mentioning your topic, tell a story that helps visualize your point. Stories are great for involving readers, and they make articles more memorable. Still with me? Good.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b>4. Use pictures, pull quotes and/or video</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">A picture is worth 1,000 words and a good quote is worth at least 500. Remember that visualization is tied directly to memory. It also can act as a surprise, which encourages continuation.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b>5. Don’t spell out numbers</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Numbers that are spelled out tend to get lost in writing, whereas numbers that are written as numerals get more attention. What jumps out more, that up to the preceding sentence this article had two hundred and forty six words, or that there were 246? Although the rule with most style sheets is generally to spell out numbers lower than 11, I think with emails the rule should slide.</span></div>
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<a href="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiavb_sixeq9PfWbHvegQ56UfPaBH7UvdCHoFEBGBCxuIfoW-DJppSelDZhq9m-4xMxqokIyCs1Vd4mC669_bbs_lY3mP938EwyqThT9F4QkNpuUQXmspghKFDHTbricdAO7yP-dlEqJ9M/s1600/quote+for+March+24,+2012+article+on+getting+people+to+read+emails.jpg" imageanchor="1" style="clear: left; float: left; margin-bottom: 1em; margin-right: 1em;"><span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;"><img border="0" height="472" src="https://blogger.googleusercontent.com/img/b/R29vZ2xl/AVvXsEiavb_sixeq9PfWbHvegQ56UfPaBH7UvdCHoFEBGBCxuIfoW-DJppSelDZhq9m-4xMxqokIyCs1Vd4mC669_bbs_lY3mP938EwyqThT9F4QkNpuUQXmspghKFDHTbricdAO7yP-dlEqJ9M/s640/quote+for+March+24,+2012+article+on+getting+people+to+read+emails.jpg" width="640" /></span></a></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b>6. Use lists</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Lists encourage retention and opens up opportunities to highlight sections with bold or italic type, or with different fonts than body copy. Electronic writing especially needs breaks to rest the eye and act as placeholders for readers scrolling up or down.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif; font-size: large;"><b>7. KISS</b></span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">Keep it short and simple. Readers are very busy and don’t have all day. Make your point quickly and keep giving them something that is useful, entertaining or empowering. If you do all that, you should have no problem attracting and keeping readers’ attention.</span></div>
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<span style="font-family: Georgia, 'Times New Roman', serif;">How many rules can you find in this article? What are your favorite tricks for getting people to keep reading emails?</span></div>
</div>Aatif Bokharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08886529227404482107noreply@blogger.com1tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5998610887328065719.post-67627920713102226722012-03-19T19:46:00.003-05:002012-03-20T15:11:41.806-05:00When outrage isn't enough to get your cause heard<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; color: #1a1a1a; line-height: 14px;">A powerful article on <a href="http://globalgrind.com/" target="_blank">Global Grind</a>, titled <i><a href="http://globalgrind.com/news/michael-skolnik-trayvon-martin-george-zimmerman-race-sanford-florida-photos-pictures" target="_blank">White People, You Will Never Look Suspicious Like Trayvon Martin</a></i>, is getting a lot of attention on Facebook and the Blogosphere. </span></span><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">There are many points made in this article about discrimination that I've seen first hand. If the mistreated is identified as black, or an immigrant, or a Muslim, the story usually doesn't get much traction with the public. A lot of subtle stereotyping goes along with being part of these ethnic communities.</span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 14px;"> </span><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">However, there is one thing I will mildly disagree with, and that is regarding the comparison between the Stop Kony 2012 movie and the recent killing of Trayvon Martin, an unarmed, innocent black youth, gunned down by a security guard: </span><br />
<blockquote class="tr_bq"><span style="background-color: white; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 19px;">Race. America's elephant that never seems to leave the room. But, the part that doesn't sit well with me is that all of the messengers of this message are all black too. I mean, it was only two weeks ago when almost every white person I knew was tweeting about stopping a brutal African warlord from killing more innocent children. And they even took thirty minutes out of their busy schedules to watch a movie about dude [sic]. They bought t-shirts. Some bracelets. Even tweeted at Rihanna to take a stance. But, a 17 year old American kid is followed and then ultimately killed by a neighborhood vigilante who happens to be carrying a semi-automatic weapon and my white friends are quiet. Eerily quiet. Not even a trending topic for the young man.</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><br />
</span><span style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: white; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; vertical-align: baseline;"><span style="font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif;"><span style="line-height: 19px;">Read more: </span></span></span><a href="http://globalgrind.com/node/828497#ixzz1pbyrHGfN" style="background-attachment: initial; background-clip: initial; background-color: transparent; background-image: initial; background-origin: initial; border-bottom-width: 0px; border-color: initial; border-image: initial; border-left-width: 0px; border-right-width: 0px; border-style: initial; border-top-width: 0px; color: #003399; font-family: Helvetica, Arial, 'Liberation Sans', FreeSans, sans-serif; line-height: 19px; margin-bottom: 0px; margin-left: 0px; margin-right: 0px; margin-top: 0px; padding-bottom: 0px; padding-left: 0px; padding-right: 0px; padding-top: 0px; text-decoration: none; vertical-align: baseline;">http://globalgrind.com/node/828497#ixzz1pbyrHGfN</a> </blockquote><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">If you haven't seen the Stop Kony 2012 film or know about Trayvon Martin's killing, see the following clips:</span><br />
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<div style="text-align: center;"><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; line-height: 13px;">Stop Kony 2012</span></span></div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/Y4MnpzG5Sqc?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: 11px; line-height: 14px;"><br />
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<span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; line-height: 13px;">Young Turks clip related to the killing <br />
of Trayvon Martin</span></span></div><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; line-height: 13px;"><br />
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<div class="separator" style="clear: both; text-align: center;"><iframe allowfullscreen='allowfullscreen' webkitallowfullscreen='webkitallowfullscreen' mozallowfullscreen='mozallowfullscreen' width='320' height='266' src='https://www.youtube.com/embed/01oZP4gCtog?feature=player_embedded' frameborder='0'></iframe></div><span style="color: #1a1a1a; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; font-size: 12px; line-height: 13px;"><br />
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<span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; color: #1a1a1a; font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; line-height: 14px;">Both clips make use of moral outrage to get their point across. Both movies also can be viewed in high def. But the kind of reaction they are getting is very different. Real racial issues aside, there are strategic issues why the Stop Kony 2012 movie took off and media related to the killing of Trayvon Martin is taking longer to get the same attention. </span><br />
<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><br style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; color: #1a1a1a; line-height: 14px;" /><span style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; color: #1a1a1a; line-height: 14px;">If we look at this situation from a social media strategy perspective, the Stop Kony film is tactically designed to outrage viewers with the goal of getting them to fork over money. It is actually designed from beginning to end to affirm how good viewers are, not so much about actually making a change in Africa, not moral outrage. This is not to focus on the pros and cons of the Stop Kony movem</span></span><span class="text_exposed_show" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; color: #1a1a1a; display: inline; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">ent, but it does help in identifying the social media strategy involved. Also, the movie was produced in such a technically awesome way that a person really could easily get caught up in it. A person who knows a bit more about Uganda knows that the Ugandan government also uses child soldiers and that Joseph Kony is out of the country and possibly even dead.<br />
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With Trayvon's killing, there is plenty of outrage, but there has not yet emerged a very focused effort to explain what viewers should do about it, except "fight", in the words of the author. Also, there is a lot of loose talk by minorities about "us" and "them", that can alienate white would-be allies. True, there is plenty of reason for outrage over Trayvon's murder and I understand first hand the frustrations of discrimination. Yet, efforts to mobilize should be done in a way that exercises our rights as citizens and at the same time organize around a few viable tasks in a way that brings us together, not force us apart.</span></span><br />
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; color: #1a1a1a; display: inline; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Trayvon's life should be documented and marketed as a film, and it needs to be done in such a way that viewers feel empowered to do something about it, not just be angry. Otherwise this whole story will get lost in the next news cycle like any other story. I hope I'm wrong, but that is what usually happens.</span></span><br />
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<span class="text_exposed_show" style="-webkit-text-size-adjust: none; color: #1a1a1a; display: inline; line-height: 14px;"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">[Edit on March 30, 2012: Trayvon Martin's girlfriend has testified she was speaking to him on the phone before he was gunned down. This could be the evidence that proves Trayvon was killed in cold blood. More information on <i>The Guardian</i> <a href="http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2012/mar/20/trayvon-martin-death-phone-call" target="_blank">here</a>.]</span></span></div>Aatif Bokharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08886529227404482107noreply@blogger.com0tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5998610887328065719.post-67139713608390343322012-03-18T14:58:00.002-05:002012-03-18T15:50:33.855-05:00Is Fiverr worth it?<div dir="ltr" style="text-align: left;" trbidi="on"><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">You may have heard of <a href="http://fiverr.com/" target="_blank">Fiverr</a>, a site that facilitates social services. People posting gigs are willing to work for you for a price ... $5. Yes, really. All you need is a <a href="http://paypal.com/" target="_blank">PayPal</a> account.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Unfortunately, Fiverr is filled with money-wasting gimmicks. However, the site can be worth your time if you are trying to gain publicity for your business, provided that you know how to pick the deals from the steals. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Here are five quick guidelines for the Fiverr initiate interested in publicity services. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>1. Don't use Fiverr services that will add Facebook friends or Twitter followers for you</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The idea of paying $5 to add a thousand FB likes for your cause or add 700 Twitter followers might seem tempting, but you get what you pay for. The majority of these FB and Twitter followers are zombie accounts -- they have been created for the sole purpose of following others. They add nothing to your FB or Twitter profile except numbers and it is easy for anyone to tell that they are fake if you look at them a little closely. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Granted, it may look good to have 10,000 FB likes, but what really counts is that people are talking about your brand, not just likes or follows. I'm of the opinion that having more followers and fewer conversations is actually worse than having a handful of followers taking part in a good dialogue. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>2. Don't use Fiverr services that promise to add backlinks</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Backlinks are the backbone of good SEO. A major factor in how well your site ranks on Google is the number of links directing to it. It would thus seem that a Fiverr gig promising to add many high value links is worth it.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Think again. Adding too many backlinks too quickly can actually penalize your site. A good backlinking strategy takes time and patience. It is much better idea to find and employ an expert through </span><a href="http://odesk.com/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" target="_blank">oDesk</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> or </span><a href="http://elance.com/" style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;" target="_blank">Elance</a><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">. It will cost more, but it will give better results in the long run.</span><br />
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<b style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: x-large;">3. Do use movie making services</b><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Having a movie clip produced can be well worth $5 Video testimonials get more attention than articles. If you don't know how to edit video and want a professional sounding clip, Fiverr can provide some very interesting solutions, provided you keep the following in mind. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">The first thing that needs to be clear in your mind is whether the video is going to be clearly an advertisement or a testimonial. If it is supposed to be a testimonial, you are better off not going down this route. You will be found out and it is not very ethical. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Secondly, you need to be sure about your Fiverr employee's stage presence. Sure, it's just $5, but you don't want to throw your money away. More importantly, you want to work with someone who understands what your product is and how to pitch it, not make your product look bad.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Third, you want someone who has a good work ethic and high reviews. The most simple way of doing this is to organize gigs by video, or whatever other service you want to use, and then select the "top-rated" tab. Make sure that your Fiverr employee really does have positive feedback and not spam comments by happy customers.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif; font-size: large;"><b>4. Do use language services</b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">If you are trying to reach a market that speaks a different language, it can be difficult, especially if you are working with a smaller or cash-strapped organization. One way around this is to employ a Fiverr service that will film a statement in a different language. You can then post and publicize the video.</span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Statements range from one minute to 30 seconds. Some Fiverr gigs will translate your statement into another language, others will simply state the service on film. Make sure that you are getting what you want.</span><span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"> </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;"><b><span style="font-size: large;">5. Do use multiple services in tandem for added value</span></b></span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Fiverr is most valuable when multiple services are chained together. Take the example in the last tip. You might end up paying $10 or $15 bucks, but compare that to how much you might pay otherwise. </span><br />
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<span style="font-family: 'Trebuchet MS', sans-serif;">Most Fiverr gigs are set up to be completed in 30 minutes are less, otherwise they are a waste of time for the service provider. Keep this in mind and don't expect too much out of any one gig and you will be more likely to find that your expectations and expenses will be reasonable.</span></div>Aatif Bokharihttp://www.blogger.com/profile/08886529227404482107noreply@blogger.com11