Twitter Approved – Five Fantastically Fun Fansites

Original Post: Here By POYZN of WamWan – Follow them @POYZN.

---

Uploaded on January 27, 2009
by respres


There’s countless Twitter widgets, tools and sites out there to make your Twitter experience more enjoyable. But the following sites are the pick of the bunch chosen from those sneaky discreet third party text-ads on Twitter itself, placed on user profiles, displayed under the stats.

Since Twitter is officially endorsing these third-party fansites for free, then they must have some user benefit, right? Well, the following five chosen are actually pretty fun and useful:

• We Follow – Directory of interesting Twitter accounts. This site is terrific for fishing out the Twitter users in your niche, or the ones which simply interest you. You can add your own Twitter account to the directory too so others can find you. All users are neatly categorized and tagged for you to choose from by; industry, niche and location. All the celebrity tweeters are listed there too. Happy stalking.


• Favstar – Fast way to discover people’s favorite tweets. Favstar lets you track what your friends, followers, and everyone else has labeled as ‘favorite’ on Twitter. Ofcourse, you can also know how many Twitter users have your tweets as their favorite. Depending on your findings, it’ll either boost your ego or deflate it. Be prepared for a reality shock.


• Twitter Counter – Fun way to explore your social graph. This is basically Feedburner in a Twitter costume. It lets you show off the number of Twitter followers you have. Which is useful for the braggers. For everyone else, it’s a great tool to explore your account’s statistics in terms of overall rank, followers, friends, updates, etc, all broken down in a neat graph. You can also compare your account to others too. For instance, you can compare yours to Ellen DeGeneres and Ashton Kutcher’s. Go ahead try it, aim for the stars.

• Hype Machine – Easy way to find Twitter’s most popular music. This clever little tool keeps track of what Twitter users write about in regard of music selection. It’s basically an interactive music chart of songs being posted on Twitter. It’s a great tool in a way which you are able to find out and listen to what your fellow tweeters enjoy music-wise. The only drawback is that you’ll soon discover so many of which have terrible taste in music.


• Trends Map – Simple way to pinpoint map of local trends. This tool is a real-time mapping of Twitter trends across the globe. It lets you see what the world is discussing right now on Twitter, and from which location the trend originated. It’s really neat. It’s Google Maps but Twitterized. You’ll particularly love this one if your Twitter trend obsession is few levels above the average Twitter addict.

© 2008 TwiTip Twitter Tips.

Ask The Magic Networking Question

Original Post: Here

---

Uploaded on February 21, 2008
by Mace2000


If your network is smaller than you'd like, think of it as a yeast cell, with the power to expand from its tiny origin until it produces something wonderful. In this case, a new job!

Tell everyone you know that you're looking for a job. Call or e-mail every single person in your address book. Now, here's the magic question -- at the end of every conversation, ask:

“Who else do you know that I should be talking to?”

This is how you expand your network by leaps and bounds! If everyone you talk to gives you two more names, and those people give you two more names, your network will explode like crabgrass in July -- try it and see.

Eventually, someone should be able to put you in touch with a decision maker who can hire you.

Even former employers can help. If you parted on good terms with your last boss, he or she might be able to refer you to hiring managers in other companies.

Action Step:
Stop thinking that your network is only as large as the people you know. It’s not. It’s FAR bigger and more valuable. When you ask: “Who else do you know that I should be talking to?” the sky is literally the limit – you could be only one or two phone calls away from talking to the CEO of General Mills, the owner of your dream company down the road … or Kevin Bacon. But you’ll never know unless you ask.

Compliments of David Perry and Kevin Donlin

Grab your Free Guerrilla Job Search Audio here.

3 Ways to Monitor Your Brand with Twitter

Original Post: Here By Nathan Hangen of Making It Social. Follow him @nhangen.

---

If you don’t know what you are doing, measuring your brand online is like sticking a finger in the air and trying to gauge the direction of the wind. It just isn’t as easy as it looks. However, once you understand the tools required to make it happen, brand monitoring becomes 2nd nature. The trick then, is knowing what to monitor and how to do it.

In the past, people relied on Google alerts to send notifications of brand mentions, which usually came in the form of links. Although this is a great way to measure trackbacks and general sentiment, I don’t feel that it offers a complete picture. Not only that, but the results are delayed, meaning that if you get trashed on a forum or in a blog post, then you won’t be able to react until it’s too late. This is why Twitter is changing the way the game is played.

With Twitter, you can track your brand mentions in real time, using a variety of excellent tools. You can track via keyword or hashtag along with the standard mention/RT tracking on the homepage. If you have Twitter integrated onto your blog, then you can add even more firepower to your arsenal by using Tweetbacks and RT’s as comments, which might flesh out an otherwise empty post footer.

The beauty of Twitter tracking tools is that they tell a much greater story than Google does.

1. Most of the people that read your blog don’t have one of their own, so commenting on Twitter is the only way they can voice their approval/displeasure.


2. It is much quicker to post a comment on Twitter than it is to create a blog post. Also, since RT’s and mentions are part of the game, people want to talk with you…not just at you.


3. The results are real time, which means that you can respond to a fire before it becomes a wildfire.

Twitter is where most of the conversation takes place, and if you aren’t there watching, then you are missing out on valuable information about your business. Rather than holding your finger in the air, you are armed with instruments that can provide you with detailed analysis of what you are doing well, and what you need to improve upon.

The Tools

There are 3 particular tools that I’m fond of, but you don’t have to stick with these. Just take what we do here and find a way to make it work within the scope of your favorite Twitter application.

1. TweetDeck panes: From my experience gazing at laptop screens during the Blogworld Expo, it seems that TweetDeck is by far the most popular Twitter desktop client. It makes sense, because TweetDeck is robust and easy to use. The simple way to set up monitoring in Tweetdeck is to add a few search panes for the keywords and hashtags that represent your brand. For instance, I have a search going for #twitterrockstar and Twitter Rockstar to see what people are saying about my Twitter course.


2. Hootsuite tabs: Hootsuite is slowly growing into a fabulous web client that has all of the features of TweetDeck without having to download an application, which is perfect places where you can’t download (like at work). You can handle multiple accounts here as well, but the best feature of Hootsuite in my opinion is being able to set up a tab for each brand. I set up tabs for Twitter Rockstar, Beyond Blogging, Nathan Hangen, and any other product or name that I want to track. Since everything is saved to my account, it’s always ready and waiting for me when I log in.


3. Tweetizen: Tweetizen was developed by Adarsh Pallian and is a great way to not only track your brand, but to show it off to others. Tweetizen allows you to create a “group,” which you can use to track keywords or hashtags, but the difference here is that you can embed the results in any web page. This is great for product pages or launch pages so that you can build hype for your brand without having to force it on your own. Get the conversation going and watch it take off. You can also filter Tweets via user, which means if you want to plant Tweets (which I don’t recommend doing), you can easily do that.

I use all 3 of these tools on a regular basis for my own brand, and that of my clients. As a business owner or consultant, you simply cannot afford not to ignore what others are saying about you and your brand. Create a daily practice of listening with both ears open and then respond where necessary. Nurture those devoted fans, and earn the trust of the negative ones. Do this for yourself and you’ll be ahead of the game. Do it for another business…and you will look like a rockstar.

[image credit]

© 2008 TwiTip Twitter Tips.

How 3 People Found Jobs 73% Faster, in the State with America’s Highest Unemployment Rate

Original Post: Here - By Kevin Donlin | November 16th, 2009

---

The average job search in America takes 26.9 weeks, according to U.S. Bureau of Labor statistics for October 2009.

Yet 3 people were recently hired for new jobs in only 7
weeks — less than 1/3 the time — in Michigan, the state with America’s
worst unemployment rate, 15.3%.

How did they do it?

The full story will be released in the coming days, but here’s a preview …

1) Gail Neal, from Detroit, Michigan, accepted a job offer as a sales professional for a radio station on Wed., November 11, 2009.

She had been unemployed since June 7, 2009.

• Time spent in an ordinary job search: 15 weeks.


• Time to hire in a Guerrilla Job Search: 7 weeks.

2) Mary Berman, from Farmington Hills, Michigan,
accepted a job on Thur. Nov. 12, 2009 as a executive assistant for a
local marketing firm.

She had been looking for work since February 2009 before starting her Guerrilla Job Search in late September.

• Time spent in an ordinary job search: 25 weeks.


• Time to hire in a Guerrilla Job Search: 7 weeks.

3) Jeff Donaldson, from Oxford, Michigan, got two
job offers the week of Nov. 2 and accepted one, as a project manager
for a design firm.

He left his job at Chrysler in December 2008.

• Time spent in an ordinary job search: 4 weeks (after taking a sabbatical). Job interviews: 0.


• Time to hire in a Guerrilla Job Search: 7 weeks. Job interviews: 3. Job offers: 2.

The complete story will be released in 3 more blog postings this
week. For now, it’s enough for you to know that each of these 3 job
seekers had two things in common:

1. Using ordinary resumes produced ordinary results — from 15-25 weeks of fruitless job hunting. (Sound familiar?)


2. Using Guerrilla Resumes, each was hired in only 7 weeks.

Your LinkedIn Profile Picture Maybe Killing Your Job Prospects

Original Post: Here

---

image via ceoworld.biz

I don’t really consider myself an HR person. I like to think I’m a practical technologist. However, I do occasionally attend HR related training. Yesterday was one such occasion and inevitably, I had a shock.

The discussion moved from hiring techniques, to LinkedIn photos. Many of the folks in the room would agree with us that LinkedIn photos should be professional. No argument. But someone told us a story that made us cringe. And if you are in HR, you may cringe as well.

This recruiter was working with a candidate, who had hired her to position him for a job. He had a fabulous resume. Literally, she had trouble finding anything to change. But then she took one look at his LinkedIn profile photo.

The guy looked like an axe murder. She said, “No wonder he wasn’t getting any interviews, despite his killer credentials, no pun intended”.

So he retook his photo, and I kid you not, within a week, he had several opportunities arise.

(Lets just ignore the more frightening social implications of that for now, and accept the fact that your photo makes a big impact).

So I ask you, does your photo strive too hard to be what you think professional is supposed to be?

Or are you using it as an opportunity to convey personality?

I’m not a photographer, but I would like to offer some profile photo tips.

1. Don’t be afraid to show personality. You can have personality and be professional at the same time.
2. Experiment with action shots. There isn’t a lot of room, but the more you can demonstrate YOU in action the better. Can you fit yourself giving a presentation in the photo, shaking hands, or even leaning on a hand?
3. Play with the negative space. You notice the first photo in this post has uniform negative space around the guy’s head. The second photo is visually more interesting. He accomplished this by turning his body and tilting his head.
4. Smile and think inviting thoughts.

That’s my armature photography advice. If you have some more ideas, please share them in the comments below.

Ditch Unemployment And Land That Job

Original Post: Here

---

The following post is contributed by Richard Hemby who frequently writes about online degrees and college related topics for Online College Guru, a directory of accredited online degrees

Especially in today’s economic environment, many people have found themselves among the ranks of the unemployed through no fault of their own. Some people are fortunate enough to find other work immediately; others are not so lucky and seek work in vain for months or even years. Unemployment benefits bridge the gap for many out-of-work individuals but, over time, this can become a trap for some who become accustomed to drawing unemployment and lose touch with the working world.

Unemployment benefits are meant to be a temporary measure; workers who forget this can find themselves in serious difficulty when those benefits run out. Milking your unemployment benefits for all they are worth is not only bad for the economy; it’s harmful to your future employment prospects as well. Here are some hints on how to maximize your employment chances while minimizing your time on unemployment.

Learn new tricks

Instead of staying at home and becoming addicted to soap operas, many unemployed workers choose to brush up on basic skills or learn a new trade. Incentives and financial assistance can provide an entry point for furthering one’s education. Whether you opt for a degree program, advanced certification, or a few credit hours in a new field, these educational excursions can show prospective employers that you’re open to learning new things and willing to take risks; this can make the difference between a job offer and another polite rejection letter.

Stay in the game

Even when you feel discouraged by constant rejection, it’s essential that you continue sending out resumes and working toward the career you want. Perseverance and determination are the keys to finding the right job opportunity for you. If you want to work for a particular company, send them a resume even if they are not hiring; in most cases, your resume will be retained by the human resources staff and you’ll be the first name they see when an opportunity becomes available.

Shape up

Unemployment is not an excuse to let yourself go. Devote some time every day to fitness and health. This will improve your energy level, your self-esteem, and ensure that you stay healthy and in good shape for job interviews and other activities.

Be willing to compromise

Look into jobs that may be slightly outside your field of expertise; these can open up far more opportunities than a strict adherence to the type of work you’ve done before. If you’ve been employed in public relations, look into fundraising or human resources; the skills and experience necessary are largely the same. Don’t unnecessarily limit yourself to one specific job description. Similarly, be willing to accept a temporary or part-time job in order to get back into the marketplace. Employers tend to look with suspicion on large gaps in your job history; two part-time jobs may provide approximately the same level of income as one full-time job. By being flexible about your employment expectations, you can often find the right job far more quickly.

Most importantly, don’t give up. Don’t relax and collect your unemployment benefits, regarding this period as a vacation. It’s not. Instead, consider it as an opportunity to hone your job skills and enhance your employability. By maximizing your qualifications, persisting in your job search, and thinking outside the box, you can improve your chances of landing a job that’s precisely right for you.

For more advice from Richard Hemby check out his site.

Learning by analogy

Original Post: Here

---

Image by Thonhaugen


Some people are way better at this than others.
The other day, I was talking to someone about a complex and specialized issue. It's quite possible that this was the first and only time in the history of the world that this precise set of circumstances had ever occurred. He said, 'do you have an example of how this has worked before for you?'

I was puzzled. I mean, not only hadn't I ever had this precise problem, but no one in the world had.
It's like the left-handed chiropractor in Berkeley wondering how he can use new technologies and marketing techniques wondering why there aren't more case studies about left-handed chiropractors in Berkeley.

Sure, the industries change, the goods/service ratio changes, regulation changes, names change. Doesn't matter. It's all the same. People are people, and basic needs and wants don't vary so much.

Put aside your need for a step-by-step manual and instead realize that analogies are your best friend. By the time there is a case study in your specific industry, it's going to be way too late for you to catch up.