You Might Be Addicted to Social Media If…

informationSocial media is a great tool for connecting with people, promoting your business and just plain socializing. You can learn great tips ranging from which gadgets best suit your lifestyle to how to make a great sandwich. If you’ve got a quirky interest, there’s probably someone else (possibly dozens, even hundreds) out there with that same quirky interests.

Yes, some people see social media as a time waster, a useless popularity contest and a distraction from the important things in life. But it’s fun and has a lot of practical businesses as well. Of course, you can get carried away with it so, in the tradition of Jeff Foxworthy’s “You might be a redneck” here are some fun indicators that you or someone you know might be addicted to social media:  Read more... (560 words, 4 images, estimated 2:14 mins reading time)

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Are Business Cards Needed For a Job Search?

bizcardThe answer is an absolute “Yes.” I’ve been to far too many networking events where job seekers have attended unprepared. Yes it’s good to bring a stack of resumes with you (and even better to keep them in your car and/or have one handy at all times) but having business cards are especially helpful.

Why Business Cards:

Business cards are small, easy to carry and most people in the business world are used to dealing with them. Some people have Business Card ScannerAre Business Cards Needed For a Job Search?
that can scan them into their contact management system. Others have a filing system for them.  Read more... (681 words, 8 images, estimated 2:43 mins reading time)

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You Can’t Win by Sitting in the Crowd

I was watching a concert for the band Journey with their new singer (okay, he’s been there for two years now) and it got me thinking about how he wound up in that role. Arnel Pineda played in various bands in the Philippines for about 25 years when one of the members of Journey saw his videos on Youtube. At the time, Journey was looking for a new singer and they flew Arnel out to San Francisco to audition.  Read more... (493 words, 2 images, estimated 1:58 mins reading time)

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On-line Success: How Do You Use Twitter?

On-line Success: How Do You Use Twitter?When I first started using Twitter, I knew very little about the service or the benefits of using it. Now that I’ve used it a bit, I’ve finally figured out how to do the things I want to accomplish with the network. But I’ve also developed a number of pet peeves about the way some other folks use the service that I feel take away from the overall benefit to everyone. Some people are trying so hard to milk the benefits of the service that they’re missing out on the real purpose (and benefit) of the service — making real connections.  Read more... (1042 words, 4 images, estimated 4:10 mins reading time)

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Do You Need a Crazy Gimmick to Make it as a Speaker?

I’ve recently started participating in a few social networks, one of which is geared towards professional speakers and other people that make part of their living through speaking. One of the things that jumped out at me as I started receiving notifications and messages from other folks on this network is that many of them had nicknames or gimmicks. Now I’m not talking about someone named William going by “Bill” but instead people having names like “Mr. Make the World a Better Place Through Small Talk” or “The Make Things Happen Right Now Guru.” For a moment I thought I was checking out the roster for the WWE.  Read more... (748 words, 2 images, estimated 3:0 mins reading time)

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How Ignorance Will Make Your Small Business Fail

I was just in the car a few minutes ago and saw something which I feel is a bad trend – a vehicle used to advertise the owner’s small business that also had political bumper stickers on it (at least one of which that was somewhat harsh). It caught my eye because one would think that the owner would have enough common sense to not do this because not only is it unprofessional but it’s just plain stupid.  Read more... (686 words, 2 images, estimated 2:45 mins reading time)

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