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I began the 25Reasons Project On December 6, 2010 as a way to showcase my experience with social media through consistent, daily blog posts. In this series of wrap up posts I will discuss the results of the project as well as what I learned.
Here is a preview of the analytics I will be reporting on.
As you can see I experienced major gains from this project, which have impacted my blogging and career goals for 2011.
Stay tuned!
It’s New Years Eve!
As we countdown to 2011’s fireworks and merriment, I’d like to reflect on the past year by discussing what I will be leaving behind, changes I will make, and suggestions for changes we can all make. It’s time to move on from the past ten years. Here’s to MMXI! [Read more...]
Every Wednesday at 9pm ET #GenYChat’ers meet on Twitter to discuss topics that help bridge the perceived generational gap. The goal of #GenYChat is to learn from each other by exchanging ideas across all ages.
Being the week of New Year’s Eve, this week’s chat took a turn towards introspection. The goal was to see how each generation feels about the direction their lives have taken and what changes, if any, will be made for 2011.
The following are tweets taken from the transcript, highlighting the theme of the chat.
| GenyChat: | Q1. When is it time to move on from a job versus staying and working harder? #genychat |
| bbenishek: | Q1: This is a tough one. Several of my friends just can’t stand what they’re doing, job OR career–yet they have to pay bills #genychat |
| ArrowsWithSoul: | ahahha nice! RT @DaveYouTern: When your door access card is turned off? #genychat |
| JDEbberly: | Q1 I learned that one the extremely HARD way – I stayed too long at a BAD job – With negative repercussions that lasted 16 yrs #GenYChat |
| GenyChat: | Q2. Is there anything in your past that you wish you had handled differently? #genychat |
| kammerait: | @GenYChat How about – what in your past did you do exactly right the first time?  #genychat |
| DaveYouTern: | I agree… RT @bbenishek: Q2: Should have gone into internships vs snapping up the first job I found Good experience at least! #genychat |
| GenyChat: | Q3. How are you different now versus 10 years ago? Where would you like to be in ten years? #genychat |
| catelouie: | Q3: 10 years ago I basically did everything possible to “fit in” and “be liked” instead of just being true to myself. #genychat |
| danperezfilms: | @WriterChanelle 10+ years ago I sounded a lot like you guys – have sobered up since #genychat |
| elevatedhr: | A3: Learned to be more patient & less emotional. Learned how to play the political game & enjoy it. Understand not all is fair. #genychat |
| oppsproject: | A3- 10 years ago, I wish I’d realized there were multiple paths to success. And that I was stronger than I thought. #genychat |
| CathyWebSavvyPR: | Q3 How am I diff from 10 yrs ago? I am more confident in what I know & what I do, & more willing 2 admit what I don’t know #genychat |
| bbenishek: | @LisaNicoleBell I’m thinking I need to dig up things I wrote from 10 years ago and see what’s changed in me… #genychat |
| Data_Diva: | AMEN! RT @danperezfilms: Marriage, kids, mortgages, kidney transplants – makes you change your course in life, sacrifice… #genychat |
| mshahab: | 10 years ago I was an angsty pre-teen, definitely learned a lot and grown through experiences since #genychat |
| storeyourdorm: | Would love to see more of an emphasis educating youth about financial responsibility & setting personal goals & less on academia. #genychat |
| bbenishek: | @storeyourdorm I would have loved a course on any of those before I got out of college. #genychat |
| GenyChat: | Q4. Where does your motivation to succeed derive from? How will you succeed differently in 2011? #genychat |
| Data_Diva: | Debt & credit scores don’t define *YOU*. Yes financial health is important but too many of us boomers got caught up in “status” #GenYChat |
| CathyWebSavvyPR: | My goal – use my talents 2 build an amazing life & help others unlock their talents & create an Amazing World #genychat |
| WriterChanelle: | Love RT @LisaNicoleBell: @WriterChanelle my motivation is my legacy – my ultimate goal is for the world to be better b/c of me #genychat |
| GenyChat: | Q5. Is it realistic to backpack across the country and start a new life anymore? #genychat |
| UncompletedWork:
|
@WriterChanelle Road trips are great. You can be poor anywhere. Why not be poor where you might be happy? #genychat |
| onejillian: | A5: I think it is NOT realistic to backpack across the country anymore bc of COSTS and RESUME stress from hiring mgrs #genychat |
| GenyChat: | Q6. What is the difference between knowledge, talent and skill? Which should we focus on for professional careers? #genychat |
| LisaNicoleBell: | @WriterChanelle knowledge = info, skill = applied info, talent = natural ability. I think the focus should be on melding the 3. #genychat |
In addition to the question on preferred management style, a common interview question is how do you manage stress or pressure?
As we move towards more transparency, employers are naturally cautious of their employees’ participation on social sites such as Facebook and Twitter. Knowing that the Library of Congress is keeping records of all public tweets might have caused some to change their account to “protected”, but many are still airing their grievances in public.
Did you know Microsoft Word has an elevator pitch template?! I’ll be using it to formalize mine. An elevator pitch is the communication of your value to someone. It is called an elevator pitch because it is short – short enough to get through in an elevator ride. If you’re out in the dating world, an elevator pitch is a great icebreaker. Both men and women seeking long-lasting relationships want to see your professional side as well as your personality.
How someone might respond to your elevator pitch
“How do you see that affecting my business?” “What do you think are the characteristics of your ideal job?”
Specify your target audience:
(Examples: customers, employees, suppliers, partners, investors, personal networking contacts, business networking contacts, family, and friends)
Specify topic:
(Examples: product/service, company, personal, new job)
Message Component Development
Who do you do it for?
(For example, start with “For small and midsized healthcare providers”)
Why do your customers/clients care? Or, what’s in it for them?
(For example, include “so that they can,” “who can no longer afford,” or “who are tired of”)
What does your company do?
(For example, start with “We provide”)
Why is your company different?
(For example, include “as opposed to” or “unlike”)
What is your company?
(For example, start with “We are an insurance”)
Optional Questions
What environment is your company operating within?
(For example, start with “Our industry is challenged to implement Sarbanes-Oxley compliance”)
What single thing does your company do better than any other?
(Example: “We are the best in the industry at mitigating risk in this critical area.”)
Prevalent in most interviews is a question about management style.
My dream manager has done the work I’m doing and understands what it’s like to be in a new, challenging role.
Patience, leadership, and a willingness to answer questions and hear my ideas are hallmarks of a great management style.
In watching episodes of Undercover Boss, it is evident that these CEO’s who take on tasks relegated to the frontline workers become better bosses in the process. I’m always in tears at their generosity and good spirit at the end of each show.
What is your preferred management style?
Would you ask this question to an employer in this new economy? I wouldn’t – lest I be cast off as one of the self-obsessed, entitled brethren of my generation.
When I saw this scene (again) in Good Will Hunting, though, I realized how much it oozes the spirit of Generation Y. To our own fault, in some cases, we would rather work for a company dedicated to promoting societal benefit than blight. His type of genius is remarkable and extremely valuable, thus companies and individuals pursued him. Steadfast in his beliefs, he sought the personal triumph in standing on his principles.
When you have bill collectors on your back and financial pressure causing discord within your family, can you afford to hold onto principles? Watch the clip. Let me know what you feel in the comments.
WILL
So, why do you think I should work for the National
Security Agency?
NSA AGENT
Well, you’d be working on the cutting edge. You’d be
exposed to the kind of technology that you wouldn’t see
anywhere else because we’ve classified it. Super string
theory, chaos math, advanced algorithms…
WILL
Code-breaking.
NSA AGENT
Well, that’s one aspect of what we do.
WILL
Oh, com’on, I mean, that is what you do. You guys
handle 80 percent of the intelligence workload. You’re
seven times the size of the CIA.
NSA AGENT
We don’t like to brag about that, Will. So, the way I see
it, the question isn’t Why SHOULD you work for the
NSA? The question is: Why shouldn’t you?
WILL
Why shouldn’t I work for the NSA? That’s a tough one.
But I’ll take a shot. Say I’m working at the NSA, and
somebody puts a code on my desk, somethin’ no one else
can break. Maybe I take a shot at it and maybe I break
it. And I’m real happy with myself, cus’ I did my job
well. But maybe that code was the location of some
rebel army in…
Sean’s Office
WILL
…North Africa or the Middle East and once they have
that location, they bomb the village where the rebels are
hiding… Fifteen hundred people that I never met, never
had no problem with get killed. Now the politicians are
sayin’, “Oh, Send in the marines to secure the area” cus’
they don’t give a shit. It won’t be their kid over there,
gettin’ shot. Just like it wasn’t them when their number
got called, cus’ they were off pullin’ a tour in the National
Guard. It’ll be some kid from Southie over there takin’
shrapnel in the ass. He comes back to find that the plant
he used to work at got exported to the country he just
got back from. And the guy who put the shrapnel in his
ass got his old job, cus’ he’ll work for fifteen cents a day
and no bathroom breaks. Meanwhile he realizes the only
reason he was over there in the first place was so that
we could install a government that would sell us oil at a
good price. And of course the oil companies used the
little skirmish over there to scare up domestic oil prices.
A cute little ancillary benefit for them but it ain’t
helping my buddy at two-fifty a gallon. They’re takin’
their sweet time bringin’ the oil back, of course, maybe
even took the liberty of hiring an alcoholic skipper who
likes to drink martinis and fuckin’ play slalom with the
icebergs, it ain’t too long ’til he hits one, spills the oil
and kills all the sea life in the North Atlantic. So now
my buddy’s out of work. He can’t afford to drive, so
he’s walking to the fuckin’ job interviews, which sucks
because the shrapnel in his ass is givin’ him chronic
hemorrhoids. And meanwhile he’s starvin’ cus’ every
time he tries to get a bite to eat the only blue plate
special they’re servin’ is North Atlantic scrod with
Quaker State. So what did I think? I’m holdin’ out for
somethin’ better. I figure fuck it, while I’m at it why not
just shoot my buddy, take his job, give it to his sworn
enemy, hike up gas prices, bomb a village, club a baby
seal, hit the hash pipe and join the National Guard? I
could be elected President.
SEAN
You feel like you’re alone, Will?
WILL
What?
SEAN
Do you have a soul mate?
WILL
Define that.
SEAN
Somebody who challenges you.
WILL
I have Chuckie.
SEAN
You know, Chuckie’s family, he’d lie down in fuckin’
traffic for you. I’m talking about someone who opens
up things for you. Touches your soul.
WILL
I got..I got..
SEAN
Who?
WILL
I got plenty.
SEAN
Well, name ‘em.
WILL
Shakespeare, Nietzsche, Frost, o’Conner, Kant, Pope,
Locke…
SEAN
That’s great. They’re all dead.
WILL
Not to me, they’re not.
SEAN
Yeah, but you don’t have a lot of dialog with them. You
can’t give back to them, Will.
WILL
Well, not without some serious smelling salts and a
heater.
SEAN
Yeah. Well, that’s what I’m saying. You’ll never have
that kind of a relationship in a world where you’re
always afraid to take the first step because all you see is
every negative thing ten miles down the road.
WILL
What? You’re going to take the professor’s side on this?
SEAN
Don’t give me a line of shit. No.
WILL
Look. I didn’t want the job.
SEAN
It’s not about the job. I don’t care if you work for the
government. But you can do anything you want, you are
bound by nothing. What are you passionate about. What
do you want? I mean there are guys who work their
entire lives laying brick so that their kids have a chance
at the opportunities you have here.
WILL
I didn’t ask for this.
SEAN
No. You were born with it. So, don’t cop out behind “I
didn’t ask for this.”
WILL
What do you mean “cop out?” I mean, w-w-what’s
wrong with layin’ brick?
SEAN
Nothing.
WILL
There’s nothing wrong—That’s some– That’s
somebody’s home I’m building.
SEAN
Right. My dad laid brick. Okay? Busted his ass so I
could have an education.
WILL
Exactly. That’s an honorable profession. What’s wrong
with..with fixing somebody’s car. Someone can get to
work the next day because of me. There’s honor in that.
SEAN
Yeah, there is, Will. There is honor in that. And there’s
honor in, you know, taking that forty minute train ride
so those (college kids come) in the morning and the
floors are clean and the wastebaskets are empty. That’s
real work.
WILL
That’s right.
SEAN
Right. And that’s honorable. I’m sure that’s why you
took that job, I mean, for the honor of it. I just have a
little question here. You could be a janitor anywhere.
Why did you work at the most prestigious technical
college in the whole fuckin’ world? And why did you
sneak around at night and finish other people’s formulas
that only one or two people in the world could do, and
then lie about it? Cus’ I don’t see a lot of honor in that,
Will. So, what do you really want to do?
WILL
I wanna’ be a shepherd.
SEAN
Really.
WILL
I wanna move up to Nashua get a nice little spread get
some sheep and tend to them.
SEAN
Maybe you should go do that.
WILL
What?
SEAN
You know, if you’re going to jerk off, why don’t you
just do it at home with a moist towel?
WILL
You’re chuckin’ me?
SEAN
Yeah, get the fuck out.
WILL
Hey, no, no, no. Time’s not up, yet.
SEAN
Yeah it is.
WILL
I’m not leavin’. No!
SEAN
Listen. You’re not going to answer my questions, you’re
wasting my fuckin’ time.
WILL
What? I thought we were friends. Whadoyou mean
you–
SEAN
Playtime’s over, okay?
WILL
Well, why’re you kickin’ me out, Sean? I mean, what? I
mean…you’re lecturing me on life? Look at you, you
fuckin’ burnout. What winds your clock?
SEAN
Workin’ with you.
WILL
Where’s your soul mate? You wanna talk about soul
mates? Where is she?
SEAN
Dead.
WILL
That’s right, she’s fuckin’ dead. She fuckin’ dies and you
just cash in your chips and you walk away?
SEAN
Hey, at least I played a hand.
WILL
Oh…You played a hand and you lost. You lost a big
fuckin’ hand and some people lose a big hand like that
and have the sack to ante up again.
SEAN
Look at me. What do you wanna do? You and your
bullshit. You got a bullshit answer for everybody. But I
ask you a very simple question and you can’t give me a
straight answer. Because you don’t know. See you, bo
peep.
WILL
Fuck you.
SEAN
You’re the shepherd……Shepherd…Fuckin’ Prick.
In my daily job searches I find descriptions that are either lacking in detail or rife with detail but seem to expect too much. This new economy has created an employers market wherein workers without degrees are suffering. If college graduates are increasingly in jobs that don’t require degrees, what does that say about the ability for non-degree’d workers to get past resume screenings? As a result, jobseekers without degrees are taking on work that they should be paid for just to get the experience that overworked HR departments are concluding they’re not qualified to receive.
I took a snippet from a recent listing. You tell me. Are these requirements evocative of an exploitative work environment or not?
an immediate position for an Intern to build and chart our Social Media Web content presence. This is an unpaid Internship. You will be responsible for charting and creating our professional corporate image on FaceBook, Twitter, LinkedIn, YouTube, RSS, eNewsletter, Blogs, as well as the redesign, layout and content of our existing web site. The ideal person will need to be innovative, passionate about online marketing, extremely creative and have an innate ability through their own personal knowledge and/or education that will allow them to immediately take responsibility as the Social Media Web Content Coordinator.
Responsibilities:
* Create, develop and maintain all content for our FaceBook, Twitter, YouTube, Blogs, LinkedIn, eNewsletter and all other web site or social media outlets.
* Identify opportunities to drive traffic and sales through social media platforms.
* Act as the voice of our social networks by providing relevant and interesting content.
* Increase the number of followers/fans to our accounts through community outreach and interesting content.
* Connect with and engage customers to help us better understand what they want.
Can these tasks be done well by someone who is financially responsible for themselves?
There are job descriptions that suggest a great working environment with adequate pay. Is this one of them?
What is “strength”?
Strength is the likelihood that your brand is being discussed in social media. A very simple calculation is used: phrase mentions within the last 24 hours divided by total possible mentions.
What is “sentiment”?
Sentiment is the ratio of mentions that are generally positive to those that are generally negative.
What is “passion”?
Passion is a measure of the likelihood that individuals talking about your brand will do so repeatedly. For example, if you have a small group of very passionate advocates who talk about your products or brand all the time you will have a higher Passion score. Conversely if every mention is written by a different author you will have a lower score. Most frequently used keywords and number of times mentioned. Number of mentions by sentiment.
What is “reach”?
Reach is a measure of the range of influence. It is the number of unique authors referencing your brand divided by the total number of mentions.
CarlSorvino: Not sure marketers even understand the way GenY and younger go about things #GenYchat
amfunderburk1: @EmilyBennington I feel that way as well. My generation is being targeted a lot, but what
about the other generations? #genychat
j2_whittington: Re: Q1 Marketers are trying to market archetypes to us that we largely don’t conform to and
outright reject #GenYChat
THO_R: It’s not? 
RT @nicole_gary: A lot of companies think posting their message to social sites
counts as “engagement” #genychat
YouTernMark: Marketers will serve us all better when they market to demographics specific to the individual
vs. some arbitrary age group #GenYChat
MarieDenee: @MillennialTweet Here is a new infograph of Twitter vs. Facebook w age, sex, income, and
engagement, and actions! #GenYChat
MarieDenee: @MillennialTweet #GenYChat http://bit.ly/fpuUQY here you go
CASUDI: @GenyChat A3 ~ I am not a good example here ~ I tend to do the opposite when I hear
everyone does it a certain way #genychat
RT @Karen5Lund: A4: Wondering if difs are result of demographic or age? I am different now than I was in my 20s & Gen Y will be different too. #GenYChat
RT @Karen5Lund: @nicole_gary @jmorganemma I’ll agree that it’s a bad time to be graduating. Then again ’80s weren’t all that great… This worse. #GenYChat
RT @JDEbberly: @GenyChat This devastating recession plus unprecedented geopolitical change in US government is even MORE difficult for boomers #GenyChat
RT @BillBoorman: Reverse mentoring in the work place works well for me #GenYChat
RT @BillBoorman: My 11 year old son will probably never need to use a pen and says ask google. forget gen y, what about gen z? #GenYChat
RT @YouTernMark: Does anyone — regardless of birth generation — want to take advice/counsel from a “Because I said so…” type? #GenYChat
The full GenYChat transcript is up now!
Marketing+trickery = Marketery (pronounced Mar.ke.tree)
I know someone is going to laugh and think, “Oh she is so naïve” because gaming the system has been going on for as long as marketing has existed. I’d like to make it through the noise, though, without employing the tactics that seem to appeal to so many. I’d like to believe that marketing isn’t about the equivalent of black hat SEO. If certain trends in social media marketing are any indicator, though, I worry about its future.
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