Sunday, March 30, 2008

Is who you know the way to go?


Employers are using social networking websites to breach every bracket. It first began with searching potential employees on facebook profile but now there are social networking job websites like Linkedin and Jobster. I find these websites to be useful for employers and employees. They allow recruiters to narrow down and evaluate potential employees. Some of these social networking websites are used as tools. These tools like Linked In help people connect with one another. They are allowing employers to find accurate information about people. However, I still believe in personal and face to face relationships. A person may sound good on paper or screen for that matter but it is not until you meet the individual will you know if the candidate is a valid match.

Even Barack Obama formed a Linkedin page!

Sunday, March 23, 2008

Citizen Journalism is on the Rise

Last semester American University had two prestigious journalists speak at the school hardball Helen Thomas and MSNBC White House Correspondent David Greggory. When the floor was open for questions I remember a student asking how each of them felt about web 2.0 and the idea that John Stewart and his Daily Show was more hard news then the traditional nightly news. Gregory quickly answered the question and moved on to the next one.

Does this mean that journalists are actually scared of Jon Stewart? As Helen Thomas has says "there needs to be more hard news" and right now the traditional media is not producing hard news. This is why people are beginning to rely on non traditional media like blogs. News sites are now allowing users to write and report on there websites. The users are now the journalists. Citizen Journalism is the way our news media is now going and will continue to perpetuate.

Monday, March 17, 2008

Virtual Is The New Step to Reality

Remember when your professor said to the classroom that everyone would have to work in groups for the next assignment? A normal response from a classroom of students would be a moan. The professor would then respond how " you have a chance to see what it is like working in the real world." The question I am about to propose is that maybe students and professionals should require training in "virtual group projects". It is sometimes required for people to receive training in team building skills.

But has anyone thought of virtual teamwork skills? It is already hard for people to work together face to face. this article explains how a company who needs to work together online can create a successful team. According to a study in this article, "The Strange Beauty of Virtual Teams", it is more difficult for people to keep focused and on task with virtual groups. If someone is in a virtual group they need to be able to balance their online and offline work accordingly. If they do not, they will affect the rest of the team's project.

Monday, March 3, 2008

Facebook is yesterday, Lets Link in!

I remember the first time I heard about Linked In was this past summer while I was interning in Manhattan. It was the last few days of my internship and some of the supervisors were talking about their linked in profile and who they knew in common. Linked In is the facebook for business professionals. However, it does not have photo uploads and stickers like facebook and myspace. The sole purpose for this business tool is to network and to stay in touch with former colleagues. Linkedin has over 3.5 million usres and it allows people to build networks and to communicate with potential employers and contacts. Many people have even used it as a job search tool and found the job that will lead them to the next step in their career. The majority of students in the class are juniors and seniors. As we begin to look for jobs we should start utilizing this tool. When you are marketing you have to build and protect your brand. You are the brand and you have to sell yourself to employers.