My so called (second) life

I must admit, I find those into second life kind of... dorky? It was interesting reading through some my classmate's opinions, ranging from "I can't wait to sign up for it!" to questioning it's true value ("Second Life yielding corporate training results?") though those that have their doubts usually have not tried it out, while the ones that enjoy it have tried it out in some capacity.

I was not surprised to find out that my future employer, IBM, uses Second Life as a means of training and to meet other IBMers out there. During the interview process, some of the managing partners mentioned how their avatar got new clothing. I guess if I want to be cool and schmooze with my future bosses, I would jump on the Second Life bandwagon.

Even though I admit that those into Second Life are kind of dorky, I myself fit into that category. Like Kate, I too went though a phase where I was into the Sims and would create a house for myself, my sims family and multiple pets. There was something strangely addictive about making yourself become a surgeon, or five star general or rockstar while trying to live a normal life (almost like Hannah Montana!).

The Sims was a fun game, though cheat codes could be used to gain more money. In Second Life, you have to earn it or put in REAL money, which kind of scares me. Why spend real money on a virtual world when you could spend it in the real world? Of course, it would be awesome if you could spend virtual money in the real world! Anyways, to put back on my business hat, I think Second Life is a good way to meet people either within your own company or socially, as it provides a way to meet someone that perhaps might live far away and it wouldn't be practical to meet them, and also it makes for a fun social experiment.

Of course, nothing will replace a true face to face meeting and conversation, but it wouldn't be a bad way to start, and I think at the very least, it would make for a good ice breaker if you actually met someone from Second Life into your First Life.

Thanks, I am now considered dumb

In some ways, it does not surprise me that Nobel Prize winner Doris Lessing made the comment that the internet is making us dumber. After all, she did win her Nobel Prize in Literature through old school writing with pen and paper and the brain. But I think she forgot to see that some of her Nobel Prize peers have used the internet or maybe even "invented" it, and utilize technology to spread their message.

I don't think the internet makes us "dumb". Rather it is another channel of communication that can be utilized to gain knowledge about something quickly, rather than having to rely on traditional methods (like going to a library to research something, or having to mail a hand written letter to a friend). The internet won't replace traditional research or communication methods completely. But, it provides an alternative to those methods, and both have to be used to prevent us from becoming "dumb".

When reading the Digital Emperor has no clothes article, it sort of goes back to this argument of who really is the expert and what makes them qualified to be one. Perhaps those in high positions feel threatened that web 2.0 might take them down from their lofty "expert" positions and they have to come down to our "commoner" level. However, a true expert would not have to worry, because their knowledge of the subject matter should be able to show through their accomplishments. In a certain sense, web 2.0 is good because it can distinguish true "experts" from those who just might be faking it with a nice degree from Harvard but not having a deep understanding of the matter.

As for us non-experts, web 2.0 is a good way for us to voice our opinion and understanding of the matter, and for the experts to clarify if they can. It's also a way for non-experts to become experts, and web 2.0 could enable us to find those Good Will Huntings or Finding Forresters that maybe be hidden from the "expert" circles but are just as qualified. Experts should not feel threatened about their expertise if they truly know it, and may even learn something new from a non-expert if they keep their mind open to it.

Look at what web 2.0 (and TV) did for Susan Boyle (see below). Can you imagine the hundreds if not thousands of people that are just as talented in different areas that have yet to be discovered? Let's keep this healthy tension between experts and the rest of us, to make sure we can find true, accurate subject matter.

Susan Boyle Youtube video - sorry the actual video is too large to post on blogspot. Just follow the link

Networking for dummies

I’m not sure how many times by how many people I’ve been told this, but the key to landing a job or getting a promotion or just being at the top of your game during your career is networking, networking, networking. I hear it until I am almost blue to the face from career services, recruiters, friends, etc. It’s amazing how many times I hear this, and it’s almost like the “location, location, location” mantra that real estate has.

Normally when I hear this, I get tired of hearing it. The main reason is that people have the best intentions to tell you to network, but don’t have the faintest idea how to do it effectively. Many times they tell you to sell yourself, be bold and aggressive, and do nearly anything to get the job you want. However, Penelope Trunk’s article on networking for those who hate networking has a surprisingly refreshing and simple approach to networking: be nice and be yourself. Also, as mentioned in the article “Job hunting with social media”, you can use tools like linkedin, facebook and such to utilize networking

I love this simple approach. Looking back on the jobs that I had been hired for, all of them were not the result of schmoozing recruiters and hiring managers, nor was it my extensive job experience or grades or abilities. Simply put, it came down to being myself and sharing my positive experiences with those in my network. That’s it. No magic formula. This approach took quite a bit of pressure off, although I must say, it’s still not easy to do, especially when you’re out of work and looking for a job, because that situation in of itself can cause you to not act like yourself. An added bonus of the social media portion is that if you do use it for social purposes, networking on it isn’t much different from social aspects, except to stay professional and to put on your “work” face instead of your social one.

So to all those who say network, network, network, I agree with you, but next time, be yourself when doing it, and try not to give so much advice on how to schmooze.

A few of my favorite things...

I'm a big fan of the independent restaurants, grocery stores and dry cleaners. These places take me away from the monotony of chain stores and many of them are hidden gems with high quality goods and services. However, finding out about them can sometimes be a pain, as many of these places may not have the web presence and rely on word of mouth that may or may not always be reliable.

Enter Yelp, a website where people enter in reviews for pretty much anything, though the focus of yelp mainly caters to restaurants, salons, spas, and independent stores. I've used this site quite a bit to look for good restaurants and my wife uses it for the salon and spas, usually in areas that we are new to after moving.

The site is receiving some criticism for its practices with reviews. Since the company receives its money almost exclusively from advertising, businesses that advertise complain that "bad" reviews get posted, even though they pay yelp for ad space. Also, some reviews are not posted, as Yelp periodically "updates" the reviews, and removes others but don't have strong reasoning as to why reviews are removed. On other review websites like TripAdvisor and Cnet, businesses can reply to a particular review if they like it or if they want to correct mistakes, or reply to a bad review. Yelp does not have this feature and asks businesses to reply directly to the reviewer by e-mail.

Much of the frustration comes from lack of Yelp specifying certain policies. I think they can make some simple changes to please both business owners and reviewers alike. The reply feature on TripAdvisor works well for the company to reply to reviews that may seem unfair or inaccurate. Yelp can easily adopt this policy for businesses that advertise. This allows for the people to have their voice, but independent business owners can respond publically. Also, if reviews are removed, there has to be a consistent reason and policy which gives the criteria. It seems as if Yelp is doing it somewhat randomly, and taking off good reviews or bad ones can significantly distort the overall accuracy.

I don't think Yelp should censor bad or good reviews for any company, because the opinion of the reviewer is what makes this site vital. Business owners that advertise on Yelp should understand the risk that they take when advertising with a site that has reviews done by a third party. It is not Yelp's job to remove these reviews. It is the responsibility of the independent store owner to address the review if they deem it unfair or inappropriate.

I like the idea of small, independent businesses using Yelp to leverage their company, especially those with good or bad reputations. I find the businesses that get good reviews from a large variety of sources usually do live up to their word, and the ones with bad reviews are the same way. Of course, you have to take it with a grain of salt, because if there's only one review and its either good or bad, it might not reflect the true accuracy of quality. The quality comes in the number of reviews and the opinions they get. Regardless of opinion, Yelp provides a place for individuals to go to if they aren't sure about the reputation, and they should continue to do so with a few little modifications.

I don't show favor to anyone in my blog ring, so I will link to everyone's!

Kristen
Chris
Nisha
Walter
Ameir

Your brilliant idea or mine?

Ever get that moment where you come up with an idea that your company (or any company) should adopt but never do because either you're an outsider or maybe they do take your idea, and you don't get credit for it! On the same token, imagine being the company, and nobody from inside can generate a good idea, or all ideas are limited to stay within the company. Isn't it so frustrating?

Well, this could all change with Open Innovation. Essentially, Open Innovation is when a company turns to the outside public to generate ideas and opinions instead of relying just on inside talent. This idea initially started with tech companies going to online communities for open source code and is also the basis of wikis where anyone can contribute and edit their opinions. This is now seen cross industry. Starbucks used Open Innovation to ask its customer and the general public about simple ideas to save costs instead of closing stores and laying off workers. Thousands contributed simple ideas such as using cheaper material for cups to simplifying furniture in stores. Starbucks used several of these ideas to save thousands on cost. IBM used Open Innovation to find uses for its Blue Gene computer - a complex supercomputer that can solve complex calculations. People submitted ideas to use Blue Gene to track and simulate cancer mutations to see the effects of heat on a gas turbine engine. Brilliant!

Speaking of brilliant ideas, it would be nice to consolidate my e-mail, igoogle, chat, facebook, linkedin, and schoolwork all into one page. Thankfully, that dream is getting closer to reality with gmail and yahoo trying to integrate their social network tools with e-mail. A majority of people use facebook as their social networking tool of choice, but google and yahoo are trying to compete with this by vamping up their own tools and integrating them into gmail and yahoo mail.

If this is successful, I think facebook will have some serious competition from the big hitters in Google and Yahoo. Of course, the best would be if either company merged with facebook so that consumers can get the best of all worlds. I'd hate to have to choose between different social networking tools, and would rather have all my preferred tools on one portal. Until that day comes, I'll stick to have 6 different firefox browsers open. That's not a brilliant idea, but it's all I have to work with at the moment.

Real World or Informal Networks: One giant popularity contest?

I'm not sure if I ever want to re-live my junior high and high school days, but it seems that these discussions on informal or real world networks are reviving haunting memories of those times.

During junior high and high school, I was NOT the so called popular student. I participated in the non cut sports, had only so so grades, and always somehow fell through the cracks of making friends and social networks. Maybe my only claim to fame was being the only Asian guy on the track team that could run on a relay with 3 football/basketball stars that were about a foot and a half taller than me.

What does these high school memories have to do with informal or real world networks? (beside the fact that it's been nearly 10 years, and I'm hopefully a little more secured of myself now than in HS) Upon reading Wired Magazine's article on Real World Networking and MIT's article on Informal Networks, there seems to be commonality of having a central or super connected person that can make or break the network. This person is almost always overworked, overstressed and does not have enough support to maintain his role. Yet at the same time, if this person does a good job and can handle the central role, he/she often is seen as a leader and is a valuable resource to the school and to all the people that he/she has meaningful connections with. Do a bad job, and the networks break down, and those connections are severed. I guess you could say my network in high school was one of few connections and according to the MIT article, that puts me as "isolated" and "lacking skills, social and otherwise, for the job". Thanks. I really needed that confidence booster.

Doesn't this feel like a popularity contest? How do you judge the Prom King and Queen? Is it based on their achievements? Or is it how they work their networks and become central to so many people that their success validates the success of many others? Think of it this way: would you vote for the jock quarterback that has the support of the football, basketball and cheerleading squads? Or would you vote for the nerd of the math, science and language clubs? Or would you vote for the class President that happens to know who you are and helped you out with your classes and to make new friends and just happened to be good at everything?

I hoped that after high school was done that I could leave the popularity contest and become comfortable being myself. However, as real world/informal networking become more and more mainstream, I could find myself with braces and a new driver's license all over again...