On jobs and such...

So, the blog has been dark for a bit... Here's an explanation...



If you cannot see the video, click here. While we're rolling. if you have an embarrassing story or online gaffe you'd like to share - fire away in the comments.

Okay, so the question not answered in the video is No, I did not get the job. It may have been because of the phone, but then again...

I just don't think so. For the record for any future potential employers coming by the blog, I LOVE - huh...

What too much?

Okay, Talking on the phone for business and talking to your Uncle whom you love dearly, (in case he's reading) but does not know how to talk on the phone and / or hang up are completely separate issues. Business very often needs to be face to face or voice to voice if you will, and I am absolutely okay with that interaction.

Oh, and here's the incriminating post in case you were curious.

Alright, before I call it a day and because I am talking about jobs I want to talk about something I have going on tomorrow that is pretty cool.

I am a member of the Communications and Satisfaction team for Tech Connect Ohio. This is a terrific program put together by Dan Harris with the assistance of Rocky VanBrimmer in only about 4 weeks I might add.

From the website: In an effort to support these, (Central Ohio technology driven) companies and advance Ohio' s tech initiatives, promote the jobs available and help experienced tech professionals, recent graduates, and interns find and secure these important positions TechConnect Ohio was created. 

So really, how cool is that?

Roh roh:

I received a message last night that I have missed somebody and folks, I hate that. 

So, let's fix it right...

Let me tell you about Jodi Hoye. Jodi is the one responsible for recruiting, communicating, orchestrating and caring for ALL the sponsors who agreed to sign-up and attend this event. She managed this entire event from start to finish and is a key to this events success going forward. In fact, I've been told this would not have happened with out Jodi Hoye's involvement, and how I missed that is completely beyond me. 

Jodi's named responsibility was Sponsorship and Business Development. She did much, much more. Without question, Jodi was "instrumental" to the program's success, and Jodi if you're reading... I am very sorry.


Major bonus that I get to be on that team!

I believe the term is SCORE!

Ahem, sorry... Yes, I am a little excited.

In case you're interested - here is a list of the companies involved.
FastSwitch - http://bit.ly/FastSwitchJobs
TDCI - http://bit.ly/TDCIJobs
Manta - http://bit.ly/MantaJobs
Halcyon Solutions - http://bit.ly/HalcyonJobs
Limited Brands - http://bit.ly/LimitedBrandJobs
Northwoods Consulting - http://bit.ly/NorthwoodsJobs
Oxford Consulting - http://bit.ly/OxfordJobs
Nationwide Insurance - http://bit.ly/NationwideJobs
Huntington Bank - http://bit.ly/HuntingtonJobs
Ecommerce Advanced Services http://bit.ly/ecommjobs
BMW Financial- http://bit.ly/BMWFinJobs
Thirty One Gifts - http://bit.ly/thirtyoneJobs
NetJets - http://bit.ly/NetJetJobs
Motorists Mutual Insurance - http://bit.ly/MotoristJobs
2Checkout - http://bit.ly/2checkoutJobs

I know I have some friends out there who are looking... If I don't see you tomorrow, I hope you at least get a chance to check out the list.

More Branding?

(*Note: this is not a sponsored post. Yes, I got something free and it is really cool, but the blog post was my idea, after the fact. That said, I did get something free and I am propping that service here so... I don't know what that means, I just wanted to add some legal mumbo-jumbo to, you know, CMA and such.)

Okay - so - here it is: How do you like my new business card?

Kinda sweet, eh? You know Netter has written before about getting free stuff because of Twitter and I was always kinda jealous. Not anymore. I got some free stuff of my own this time.

My friend Cheryl Harrison tweeted that @4SightGraphics was giving away 250 free business cards to their 200th follower. I had a little time so I jumped over to their Twitter page, hit refresh a few times, and Winner, winner, chicken dinner - I had myself some business cards.

A few messages back and forth and I had a mock-up from Brett at MakeMeCards.com. It had a lot of MJB Foundation info on it though, and I already have an MJB Foundation card so I talked to Netter about an idea I had, then I asked Brett if we might come up with something with all my Social Media information, maybe ghost in the MJB Foundation as a background image. A few messages later I was in receipt of the image above, and a short time after that the very nice, high-quality cards were delivered to my door. It was an incredibly easy process. Brett was terrific to work with. Thank you Brett!

To answer a few questions:

No, I'm not really sure what I'll do with these. I've been handing out a few to folks who I want to find me online, (Did you hear that out-of-town family?) and I do wish I'd had these cards for my first two speaking gigs last year: Social Media for Your Business, and Using Social Media For Your Job Search.

Who knows... maybe I'll get some more gigs. I hope so. I've got these cool cards to share you know.

How Are You?

Have you ever considered this phrase? Or maybe you say "What's up?” or “How's it going?” “What's going on?” Any one will do. Here's the question I have today. When you ask this question, do you really care?

I once asked a friend how he was. His reply: "Do you care, or are you just asking to be polite?"

It was a fair question at the time, we weren't really close friends, didn't see each other very often, just passing by from time to time. In such an instance this question could reasonably evoke such a response.

How do you answer this question when you're asked? Do you ever catch yourself answering the wrong question? Someone asks you "what's going on," and you respond "fine." Or they say "how are you?" and you respond "nothing."

This has been rattling around in my head for awhile. I've posted before about being a better listener. I think really hearing folks when they respond or ask this question is a great first step.

What do you think?

I Am Listening

It seems I talk a lot about making changes, changes in fitness habits, changes in church-going habits, in diet and exercise, in career, etc... and so on.

Sometimes I'm good at making those changes. Sometimes I get derailed in my efforts. Always, I'm trying. It may not seem like it, but I am. It's that good Catholic guilt. What can I say?

This week, I'm working on a change that should be easy, but has honestly proven to be more difficult than I had anticipated. I'm trying to spend as much time as possible just listening.

Yep. Just listening.

About 7:00 Sunday night I popped out my Blackberry and put up my first update of the day. For me.., well it's no secret that's a touch out of the ordinary. I'm usually plugged in and interacting all day every day and sometimes well into the night. The keyword there being interacting. I'm trying to be involved in the conversation and building relationships both old and new.

Only lately, especially on the weekends, I don't feel like I'm interactive at all. In fact I'm kind of a broadcaster - and my friends, I am not fond of the broadcasters.

Now it's true, I'm usually posting updates from football parties where I'm connecting on a face to face level, and I post about the Buckeye games and other similar topics, and sometimes big conversations get started from some innocuous comment about the kicking game, or a freshman running back. There are times when I'm involved in those conversations. More often I'm revisiting them on Sunday or even Monday morning - catching up as it were. Ultimately, I appreciate that folks are involved, and commenting, but I want to give something back.

So, this week the goal is listening. Everybody talks about two ears, one mouth and such right... I wonder how many keep that in mind on a day to day basis.

I'd like to think I'm not a bad listener, but I want to be a really great listener. I know some great listeners. I want to be like them.

I want to hear the things folks want me to hear.

What do you want me to hear?

And just for kicks - riffing off a series of Q&A posts my friend Cammie is currently working on, I am wondering if there are things you'd like to know or topics you'd like to discuss?

Ask away...

I'm listening.

Too Transparent? Not enough? Overthinking? Hmmm...

I get a lot of comments from folks that my blog, (and pretty much all the information I put out for public consumption) is very open, deep, revealing, and sometimes - too revealing, too open, too deep - Man Jim why do you put all that out in the open like that?

My reply is pretty simple:

Why not?

As I've talked about before, my aim in using social media, in being part of the community is to make sure people know the real me, to know the things I value. I've talked about how I had let myself, and the way folks perceived me to become someone, something I was not, or at the very least somebody I didn't like to be. I want to be sure I don't go there again, and I want to be held accountable.

Now, I don't put "everything" out there, and there have been times when I wonder if I've been putting too much... I don't want to risk holding back to a point where it feels like I'm being dishonest. I would hope you would let me know if things weren't comfortable.

We all share the same concerns. We all have similar experiences. I think it's okay to talk about them, to be open, to share, to help each other.

Not everybody does and I get that. That's okay.

Recently, I was quizzed by one of my co-workers about some of my social media use. My co-worker, let's call them, CW uses Facebook, and is starting to blog a bit, but isn't sure just yet about "putting oneself" out there as it were. (Yes, I kept all references to CW very non-gender specific and I understand that the grammar police might come after me. I'm okay with that.)

Today, I thought I might share our exchange and get your take. What do you think?

CW's first question: If you have a certain "online persona" how does that overlap/interact with your real life persona?

My reply: I try really hard not to have an online persona, but instead to just be me as much as possible. I censor myself a little bit, but that's also a part of my process of trying to lose the "curmudgeon in the corner" image. My life had become about everything negative and I
was miserable, and miserable to be around I would imagine. In the spring of 2008 I ran into an online chat room watching hockey games. It was easy to just be myself, open up, and try as much as possible to keep it positive. As the summer progressed and we, (CML) moved into "Learn and Play," it was easy for me to transition that positive using the new (to me) tools, and let people know that the curmudgeon wasn't really me, but just someone I had allowed myself to become over time, and that I wasn't happy with it. I wrote a blog post about it if you want to check it out.

CW's second question: How do you relate the "curmudgeon in the corner" with the "600 followers, (on Twitter)" guy?

My reply: "The 600 followers guy was unintentional, but who doesn't like to be popular right? :-) Just kidding. (Point of fact, I'm not concerned about numbers. That really was a joke.) Twitter is the tool I use to keep in touch with people I don't see everyday, and to meet new people who share similar interests. Think of it this way, Even with your best friend you probably didn't dive in as soon as you met them and start having heart to heart conversations. You took some time to get to know each other, sharing small parts of your life,
until a trust was built, molded, hardened and such and you felt you could open up. Twitter is pretty much the same thing, but it takes it a step further, or could because with these new tools people are collaborating, doing business, and still in some cases just making new friends. But - it is a small incremental process just like real life.

Most people who dive onto Twitter and bombard folks with way too much detail, and try to pitch their business deals or advertise their blogs right away are shunned almost immediately. (Just like we run away from the salespeople who attack as soon as we walk into the store.)
Those who get into Twitter for the reasons I mentioned above are far more likely to be valued so that when they do post a new blog or have something to share, or even have a business proposition people will listen. (Just like the sales person we know was watching and paying attention to what we are looking at, approaching us with answers when we have questions, but waiting for us to ask.)"

CW's final, and probably most important question: Who is more important, your twitter audience, or the people you interact with face to face every day? :)

This one was easy if I used my wife and my kids as my only example, but the answer didn't come out quite like I had intended. Tell me what you think?

"As far as my audience - I don't generally separate the two, but if I need to I always choose face to face first. The Social Media tools are just that, tools. While I hope to build valued relationships that will be face to face eventually - Ultimately the existing, (face to face) relationships are what is most important to me, and the people in front of me bring a more valued relationship. Just like customers in the building come before customers on the phone."

I was trying to emphasize the value of face to face, but I feel like I left a part of this unanswered, or something is missing in my reply. In many cases, my online relationships are also face to face relationships. Perhaps that means I'm using the tools effectively, the right way?

But not all of these relationships are face to face, at least not yet. Does that mean I'm not placing enough value, investing enough time? I know that not "all" of them will reach the next level, but what about 1/2? 1/3?

Perhaps I'm guilty (again) of over thinking. (You saw the smoke right?)

Above all else I want to be sure that I am doing things right, that my positive remains positive, and that my emphasis remains on building honest, open, relationships whether that be in the cyber community or the face to face world.

What's your take on this? What do you think?

Where I Learn Things

I subscribe to a weekly email newsletter from Chris Brogan that provides a more personal perspective on social media. Monday, Chris had a great idea about sharing. In the sidebar of my blog there's a whole list of blogs I read and follow that I call "Where I Learn Things." You may have noticed this list. You might have even followed a link or two. Today, I'd like to share more about few of the blogs on my list, and how they influence me - you know "the whys and whatnots."

Each week I'll try and share more of my list. Perhaps you could share your list with me too, and then we can share our lists with everybody, and then they'll tell two friends, and so on, and so on. (70's flashback commercial moment there - sorry.)

Oh, and before I forget Go subscribe to Chris' newsletter. If you're interested in effective use of social media Chris should be one of your primary resources. He's also a heckuva nice guy who cares about his audience. He even makes this old geek feel important, and relevant in a land I've only been a part of for about a year.

More about my list - For flat out grins and laughter, with a touch of what life is like for all of us sometimes, I read Cammie's blog at The House of No Sleep. A warning to the fellas, Cammie talks about some girly stuff from time to time, but after reading this post - I couldn't not tune in everyday to follow the goings on in The House of No Sleep.

I started following the thoughtLEADERS blog after I saw Mike Figliuolo speak at the 2009 Ohio Growth Summit. I was really impressed with his talk about leadership and I could tell he would be someone I could learn from. Netter had kind of an "I told you so" moment here as she had been following Mike for quite some time on Twitter, and knew before I did how impressed I would be. Yep. You got me Honey.

Another blog I've been following pretty closely lately belongs to Ms. Single Mama. Though I am not single, and I am not a Mama I have been really touched by this blog. It is just a well written, positive commentary about life and the things we can accomplish if we believe in ourselves and don't give up. I haven't yet met the author of this incredible story, but I sure would like to someday.

I have been fortunate enough to meet and have coffee with the authors of two other blogs I've added to my list since the Ohio Growth Summit. I'm working on another post about those meetings, but that doesn't mean you shouldn't go read their blogs in the interim.

Nate Riggs is a master at communicating and connecting, especially for business marketing. Everytime I read one of Nate's posts I come away thinking - Wow! That's a great idea. How can I do something like that myself, or how can I improve what I'm doing from what Nate just taught me?

Angela Siefer founder of The Shiny Door is a social media genius who is jazzed about making the power of the online world accessible to everybody. Need an inspiring story - Check out Angela's.

See, I told you.

I want to close today by telling you about somebody who keeps falling in and out of my list because he only blogs intermittently. I wish he would blog more, and more consistently. (Maybe he'll get the hint if I call him out here? ;-) Gregor is not only a fellow geek, he is also a mentor and friend, who is very focused on finding ways to get things done more efficiently, and more importantly seeing that they are done with positive outcomes.

Greg and I were talking a few weeks ago and discussing the importance of relationships in social media, about building positive outcomes, and keeping things balanced. We talked about how much we love the conversations we find ourselves in on Facebook, or Twitter, or even here in blog land, sharing thoughts, and ideas, and...

Hmmm... Sharing - just like Mom taught us. It really is a good idea.

What do you want to share today? Tell me about the list of folks you follow.

Sorting things Out and Catching Up

Just a quick note on what's been happening. I can't wear my glasses when the camera is on because of the glare so there may be a technical glitch or two, like I can't really see if the stuff on my desk is all blurry or not. Sorry about that. Thank you all for every bit of your time in the last year. It has meant so so much to be able to reach out and connect with so many great folks.

Things are Changing 'Round These Parts

Attended the Ohio Growth Summit Yesterday, and in the process of meeting some fascinating folks, and being awed by their knowledge and passion I decided that it was time for a little overhaul, a fresh start.

I'll be talking about it more in the coming weeks, but wanted to begin by giving the blog what I hope is a cleaner look, and making it more functional for my readers in the process.

Let me know what you think?

Thanks!