The Future As Seen By Me In 2010

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Well looky here, things one has scanned in eh. (ignore the photo, that's some guy that made some accounting software, not sure what became of him ;) MIKE RIVERSDALE is fuming. The expensive headphones he bought in Sydney three weeks ago have just died. His first reaction is not to randomly spill expletives into his coffee, but to use his iPhone to vent his frustration to his Twitter con- tacts, under the moniker Miramar Mike. "I will also put, 'What should I do?' It's a conversation. I'm reaching out to the people following me." The council predicts hand-held digital devices such as smartphones will rule the world in 2040. They already rule the life of Mr Riversdale, whose company WaveAdept helps businesses adapt - their computing sys- tems to allow staff to work from anywhere - and with anyone. In order of fre- equency, he uses his iPhone to tweet (1136 followers; 8363 tweets since joining), e-mail, make phone calls and use online services, such as checki
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LinkedIn Is A "Recession Happy" Service - Are You Using It?

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It's interesting to watch the growth of LinkedIn during these troubled times (ie, redundancies). I can almost detect those that have lost or think they're going to lose their job by the flurry of activity as they connect themselves to those around in order to cushion the change.

But merely connecting to others you already know on LinkedIn misses out on a larger audience - those seeking you because of your skills.

A while ago Chris Brogan wrote Write Your LinkedIn Profile for Your Future that is of the same mind:
It’s an opportunity to stay connected to people, and to demonstrate where you are now, and where you plan to go next.

Chris then outlines a stack of very practical tips to achieving that:
  1. Review your LinkedIn profile. Look at it as if you’re a prospective new boss, or a client. Would you hire YOU to do something? If not, rewrite it. Keep it tight. Do as much editing as you can.
  2. Enter your blog’s RSS feed on the profile page. People want more color.
  3. Add a photo. Not one of those weird grown up versions of a school class picture. Find a good candid. If you don’t have one, go to a social media meetup. Someone will snap you a good one. Worried about discrimination? Guess what: they’ll figure it out eventually. Get it out of the way up front.
  4. Start writing quality recommendations for people you can vouch for. If they can do the same for you, ask for one back. If not, hold off. No sense making someone feel awkward.
  5. Grow your network. LinkedIn and I don’t agree on this. I say connect to whoever. It helps you build a network. (I only recommend people I can vouch for, and to me, that’s where who you know or don’t know really matters).
  6. Keep looking at your profile as it applies to your future.

The one insight I would share is that true, deep and ultimately useful connections are not made in the panicky moments surrounding a redundancy (although I most certainly understand why we all do it) but during the more solid and smoother times. Take the long view on the use of LinkedIn and start small, stay with it and make sure you're consistent.

Good luck everyone that currently needs it.


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The Future As Seen By Me In 2010

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Well looky here, things one has scanned in eh. (ignore the photo, that's some guy that made some accounting software, not sure what became of him ;) MIKE RIVERSDALE is fuming. The expensive headphones he bought in Sydney three weeks ago have just died. His first reaction is not to randomly spill expletives into his coffee, but to use his iPhone to vent his frustration to his Twitter con- tacts, under the moniker Miramar Mike. "I will also put, 'What should I do?' It's a conversation. I'm reaching out to the people following me." The council predicts hand-held digital devices such as smartphones will rule the world in 2040. They already rule the life of Mr Riversdale, whose company WaveAdept helps businesses adapt - their computing sys- tems to allow staff to work from anywhere - and with anyone. In order of fre- equency, he uses his iPhone to tweet (1136 followers; 8363 tweets since joining), e-mail, make phone calls and use online services, such as checki

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