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Is Google Wave for You?

Jennifer — Mon, 16 Nov 2009 13:00:16 +0000

Google Wave is among the latest tools that people are dying to get their hands on. Invitations are exclusively doled out, and I’ve seen folks on Twitter raffling them off. Of course, that just builds up hype, and a lot of people don’t even know what Google Wave is – they just know they HAVE to have it. But is it vital to your business?

I haven’t wrangled an invitation yet – I admit I haven’t even tried. I’ve never been an early adopter of technology – I usually wait for the first round of bugs to be fixed before I jump into something new. So here’s what I’ve learned about Google Wave.

A Wave is a combination of a document and instant messaging, and it can include a group of people. Folks can review a document and chime in with their thoughts, editing the doc along the way, and you can include video, photos and graphics. The whole Wave can be saved for later reference. As a business tool, Google Wave could be used for group projects, meetings and brainstorming, whether people are in the same office or off-site. It’s an open source code, so people can even develop their own features to suit their needs.

Google Wave is expected to remain in development through the end of the year. Current users are encouraged to provide Google with reports on their experiences and any bugs they encounter.

The reviews I’ve come across have been all over the place, from, “So confusing! I futzed around with Google Wave for about 30 minutes then gave up,” to “Woot! This is going to be a game changer.” While I like the idea of being able to hold a meeting entirely on a computer with everyone sharing in real time and then saving the whole thing, I can only imagine some companies with their non-tech-savvy staffs spending a lot of time just learning how to navigate Google Wave.

Have you tried out Google Wave? What’s your experience been?

Nerd cred: The name “Wave” was inspired by the short-lived Joss Whedon TV series “Firefly,” in which a wave was an electronic communication. The crash message for Google Wave is, “Curse your sudden but inevitable betrayal,” a “Firefly” quote. That right there might sell me on giving Google Wave a spin. Anyone have an invitation to spare? Shiny!

Career vs. Job – Does It Matter?

Jennifer — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 19:18:14 +0000

If you’re in your 30s or 40s, your parents’ expectations of your adulthood may have resembled this: Graduate from a four-year college with a job offer and work toward a gold watch after 25 years of service. But then reality set in: The economy bottomed out, people were laid off in droves, and college graduates found themselves in limbo.

Many of us grew up with the notion that if we earned a diploma, we’d be guaranteed a career in the field in which we studied. But with the United States’ unemployment rate at 10.2 percent, people these days are looking outside their career paths for jobs – something that is not their No. 1 choice but at least might pay the bills. But is it possible to be satisfied that way?

A lot of the members of Generation X and Y have been programmed to have a sense of entitlement – if we work hard enough, we’ll achieve our career goals. But the recession has been quite a blow, and many of us have been forced to learn to expand our job search. How many former colleagues do you know who are now working in grocery stores? As administrative assistants? At temp jobs? Is it such a bad thing to accept a job instead of a career? Can you afford to wait around for a satisfying career opportunity, or is it time to branch out and take on a job?

Matt Cheuvront on the Brazen Careerist declares that loving your job is overrated – love is a word that shouldn’t even be used for work.

Attitude is an extremely powerful thing – some would say it’s everything. If you keep telling yourself that you’re stuck in a rut with no way out, you’ll ultimately always hold yourself back. But if your attitude is that you aren’t putting anything off – that you’re working your way toward achieving your goals and dreams, then you WILL get there.

I’ve come to believe that theory, too. The present is not the be-all, end-all of your career. Also, as long as you find fulfillment in other places – yourself, your family, your friends, your hobbies – then you don’t need to place as much emphasis on your career.

When I’ve gone through a spurt of unemployment, I’ve always marveled at the beaming attitude of the clerks at Trader Joe’s – the people who get to wear Hawaiian shirts and interact with people all day. Hmmm … maybe it’s me who chose the wrong career path! Just maybe there’s something to be said for taking on a job for a while rather than a career – especially one that offers a discount on groceries.

Four Business Invitation Ideas

Britt — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 19:48:08 +0000

Mailing out formal invitations is a great way to promote business events such as workshops, seminars, conferences or fundraisers. Printed invitations can communicate the level of credibility, authority and professionalism tied into your event and make guests feel special.

Use the four ideas below to create successful business invitations that also market and promote your company or service.

1. Introduce yourself
To get the conversation started, try formally introducing yourself to potential guests and clients. Include a business card in each mailing, offering your name, title, website and any social networking links relative to your company or the event. This way, guests will know who the invite is coming from and can seek more information about you and your company. As long as you can respond to each message, include your telephone and/or e-mail address, allowing guests to contact you with questions.

2. Market the event as “exclusive”
Events are always more appealing when they are billed as “exclusive” or “for ticket holders only.” Printing up tickets or event passes, and inserting them into each invitation, can generate a feeling of exclusivity around your event. Remind guests to bring their tickets to the event. Print all the relevant event information on the ticket, including the date, time, event summary and URL, so that even if guests throw away the invite, they’ll still hold on to the ticket as a reminder with all of the necessary details.

3. Collect information and register guests
There are two ways to use a business event invitation to collect more information about guests. One is to set up a Web page with a digital registration form and direct people to the URL from the invitation. Another way is to include a response card in each invitation with a return, postage-paid envelope (or include a postage-paid postcard reply). Having guests fill out and return a response card or registration card, helps with head count and updates to your customer database. By including a few marketing questions, you can also learn more about the people on your mailing list.

4. Double your attendance levels
The tell-a-friend tactic works hand-in-hand with business event marketing. If you are mailing to a list of 500 potential attendees, chances are those folks have at least one other interested friend or colleague who’s not on your list. Try including a “Tell-A-Friend” postage-paid postcard in each invitation. All the guests need to do is drop that card in the mail to a friend, and you’ll get two participants instead of one.

When Ethics and Work Collide

Jennifer — Tue, 27 Oct 2009 18:34:36 +0000

You hold your own in a conversation about politics. You donate to your causes, and your wallet speaks for your values you when you shop. But what about when it comes to your career? In this economy, can you afford to turn down a job just because it goes against your ideals?

When I graduated from college, my school urged us to sign “rainbow pledges.” The document stated that as representatives of our alma mater, we’d only accept jobs that, essentially, were good for the earth. Holding my five-years-in-the-making diploma and being convinced I was about to embark on a course to change the world, I signed.

And then I accepted a job with a huge, international big-box store selling software wrapped in excessive packaging.

What are members of the creative professions to do – hold fast to their ideals or take work when they can get it? This is something that’s been on my mind the past week. First I saw a tweet from graphic designer Joann Sondy: “Yes, I have turned down work based on my set of ethics. Consider myself liberal but sometimes a job comes along that just isn’t me.” Then a friend of mine said that despite the fact that he’s desperate for a job, he turned down a well-paying gig with a man running for Congress because the politician supports the Defense of Marriage Act, and my friend is fiercely against it.

While I applaud these two for sticking to their guns, on the other hand, isn’t someone else going to get paid to do that work? Did these rejections change the other people’s minds? And will my friend’s ideals be paying his rent next month?

Some graphic designers depend on each and every check coming in. Freelancers can’t always predict when work will be steady, and even 9-to-5-ers have been experiencing layoffs in droves. Yet, are your ideals enough of a part of you to be bigger than a career?

What do you say: Do politics come into play when you’re weighing job offers?

Graphic Design Is a Low-Stress Job? Ha!

Jennifer — Thu, 08 Oct 2009 17:25:48 +0000

The stereotypical graphic designer thrives on coffee and deadlines, has a cluttered desktop, keeps late hours and often has demanding clients who think they’re the only ones who matter. It’s understandable, then, that the average graphic designer undergoes a lot of stress. Which is why I was surprised to read an article that cites graphic design as one of six low-stress career options.

“Creativity abounds for the graphic designer,” the article states, “and that can open doors to fun and relaxation even while you are hard at work.” While I wholeheartedly agree that a main reason for choosing a career in graphic design is the opportunity to be creative, let’s be realistic – for every project that calls for an original, engaging and fulfilling design, there are tons of jobs that call for mind-numbing tasks such as minor Photoshopping or cutting and pasting of text.

And relaxing? I’ve known several graphic designers who’ve developed stress-induced ulcers stemming from mounting deadlines, gallons of coffee and after-hours drinks and cigarettes. Not to mention the pressure the freelance artist is under to find ample work. I recall the friend whose doctor diagnosed his ulcer and gave him the death blow: “No more coffee, Guinness or gumbo.” That friend eventually switched to the less-stressful career of teaching at an inner-city high school.

Speaking of teachers, their average salary in the United States is $50,528, according to Salary.com, compared with $46,095 for graphic designers. That’s right – teachers, who are famous for being underpaid, make more than graphic designers.

Despite all my seeming complaints, I understand why people choose deadline-driven careers such as graphic design – after all, I’ve made that choice, too. There is a great sense of satisfaction when a project is completed. There’s the matter of pride upon seeing your name attached to it. And there is the bounty of ideas for future jobs that are born from the previous.

Low stress? I think not. But rewarding? Definitely.

Microblogging: embrace or ignore?

Jerry — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 20:25:22 +0000

Microblogging is becoming a whole new technological ecosystem. You can choose to ignore it or race to embrace it. What it does for your company is simple: lead generation and customer relationship management. Knowing that these two things are very important is not enough. You have to know which sites are the most effective. Here are the top five microblogging sites on the Web.

LinkedIn is good for business referrals and leads. It is a business-oriented site for professional networking. The primary demographic is men around 40 years of age. Becoming connected leads to becoming connected to one person leads to becoming connected to who he is connected to, etc. And all that leads to new business connections.

Twitter can be used to let your clients know about the latest developments, promotions and initiatives. The largest group of users is 35 to 49 years of age. This is one of the quickest sites to use. Each post can be only 140 characters long and goes to everyone who is following you at the same time. It is the fastest-growing community on the Web.

BizNik is a great way to establish yourself as an expert in your field by posting articles and content. There are many different ways to do this, including seminars, posts and online events. It is not a bad place to build links, either.

Facebook can be joined by city, workplace, school. Etc. Choose your friends and connections and security settings to allow the flow of information at your own pace. You have the opportunity to post free classified ads to those that are in your network. This is for the 25-and-older demographic.

MySpace is the most prevalent of the sites. You can recruit or educate, introduce or boost awareness of your business. This is the 18-and-older user group. This is a great site to post a bulletin to your group of followers. Full-service classified ads are available.

These five sites are part of an emerging marketing gold mine. Your company has to take advantage of them, or you will get left behind.