Learning the Ropes of Twitter and LinkedIn for My Job Hunt

By Zack on February 5, 2010

Hey ThinkTalkers, my name is Molly and I am a senior English Major at CUA. As part of my internship for ThinkTalk, I will be blogging my epic search for a job in the D.C. area, giving you all my take on what has worked, what has failed miserably, and hopefully giving a splinter of insight to those of you who haven’t quite reached job hunting maturation yet in your young adult life.

Hello again ThinkTalkers. I hope you’re finding time in your busy schedule to repel the overwhelming sense of senioritis and hit those job sites and your local career centers. I know the job hunt is a daunting task but in a suffering job market such as this, we grads can’t afford procrastination. If you’re following my lead and have created Twitter and LinkedIn accounts, you might be wondering what now? I’ve come across just that very problem. Here is what I’ve found from reading a couple career blogs.

First, spend just as much time on creating your LinkedIn profile as you would your facebook. And you should probably spend more time than that because employers will not be impresses with interests such a “pong” or “watching Jersey Shore.” Do not choose a picture where half of someone’s head is cut out, or your out-of-focus formal pics. Then join some groups that speak to your business interests. Don’t be afraid to join or start a conversation amongst these people. Be a pioneer and ask questions, don’t be afraid to sound under educated- just be professional.

You should make this a daily thing actually, especially if you have an internship. Ask your supervisors and co-workers about the kind of work they do and why they chose it. You want to have these conversations because it shows interest and ambition to learn. Then you’ll have a foundation for a practical business relationship. Add your co-workers to your LinkedIn network. If you get a business card from professors at school, internship or work clients, add that person to your LinkedIn network in a timely fashion. This is how you build your network of contacts.

Twitter has been quite an adjustment for me. I believed in the stigma that it was only for people who felt the world needed a play-by-play in their daily life. However, after glancing at different organizations, individual bloggers, and friends, I’m beginning to see the potential uses. But before you start tweeting about how The Shins “get you”, think about what kind of audience you would like to attract. Ideally, who are your readers? If you need help deciding what kind of followers you want, work on who you want to follow.

Search through different interest groups and keep tabs on what they’re tweeting about. It might inspire you to retweet their comments and develop into the Tweeter you’re aspiring to be. Don’t forget to join some groups that are for personal interests as well. It’s important to not only engage with the technological opportunities but to also enjoy them. Tweeting or blog posting about a great book you just read, or a fun concert you attended gives your page personality. It is what sets you apart from the millions of other tweeting, blogging, and linking graduates so don’t be shy.

Unfortunately, non-repetitive tips strictly for new or upcoming graduates are hard to find. They usually cover what I’ve mentioned in the past two posts. However, I did find one interesting tip that I will try over the next few weeks.

Paul Carpino, an Internship Coordinator from the University of Nevada Las Vegas suggested that students should be flexible. Meaning, investigate jobs that pertain to, but are not exactly your ideal career. Contact establishments such as, “Theme Parks, Office Building Concierge or Fast Service Food. Finance / Accounting / Management goes to Federal Government or Non-Profits” for open positions in your related field of interest. You never know what you could find and you’ve got nothing to lose but priceless experience.

"Twitter" courtesy respres via Flickr Creative Commons

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Social Media 101: Social Networking Etiquette for College Students

By Monkark on February 5, 2010

Hey everyone! My name is Monica Karkhanis and I am currently a sophomore communication major with a focus in public relations at the University of Maryland, College Park. This is my first semester as an intern for Think Talk and I am really excited to blog about social media and how it can help your career. Find me on Twitter and be sure to continue following ThinkTalk!

In my last blog I talked about how establishing a strong online social network is important both for companies and for yourself. Having Facebook or Twitter not only keeps you in touch and up to date with your friends and family, it makes is possible for future employers to find out more about you as well. Whether or not you choose to use your social networking profiles for more than just, the obvious- social networking- potential employers can take advantage of Web sites we all know and use to find out lots of little details about you.

Employers can (and most will) Google you, Facebook you or find you on Twitter. Sounds scary, right? Fortunately (or unfortunately—depending on how you look at it as) you do not have to be a part of the CIA to find out everything you want to know about another individual. All you need is access to the Internet and you’re ready to stalk.

Last summer, Careerbuilder.com released the results from a survey of employers and how they use social media that should be enough to scare some sense into college students. According to the results, forty-five percent of employers use social networking sites to research job candidates:

Job seekers are cautioned to be mindful of the information they post online and how they communicate directly with employers. Thirty-five percent of employers reported they have found content on social networking sites that caused them not to hire the candidate. The top examples cited include:

• Candidate posted provocative or inappropriate photographs or information - 53 percent
• Candidate posted content about them drinking or using drugs - 44 percent
• Candidate bad-mouthed their previous employer, co-workers or clients - 35 percent
• Candidate showed poor communication skills - 29 percent
• Candidate made discriminatory comments - 26 percent

This presents a problem for many college students who are currently searching for a job or an internship while being careless with their profiles. Photos from the weekend and status updates that are being used to blow off steam can easily influence a potential employer’s view of you—before you even had a chance to be formally interviewed. This does not always seem fair, but the truth of the matter is, employers and hiring managers are going to be looking for an individual who appropriately represents their company or brand. What better way to do so than to see how you present your self through the World Wide Web?

You need to be aware of any and all content published to your pages—including photos, status updates, tweets, comments, groups you join and even pages you become a “fan of.” The second my mom friend requested me on Facebook was the second I realized I really needed to watch what goes up on my page. If you would not want your mother to see it, my opinion is to avoid publishing it to your website, because once you upload something it is online for more eyes to see than just those on your friend lists.

In an article about proper social networking etiquette in Forbes, Nancy Rothbard, a management professor at Wharton, emphasizes the damage you can do to your professional reputation by giving too much information away online:

Rothbard says that in face-to-face communications, people are much more careful about the volume and nature of the information they disclose. On the Internet, however, "there is a lot of lack of awareness--or obliviousness--about who is receiving this information." Someone using Twitter, for example, may think that only 20 people will read their message; meanwhile, millions of unknown people may stumble upon the information.

I know I’ve sometimes slipped up when I update my Facebook status, tweet my frustrations or forget to untag myself from unflattering photos that my college friends upload. We tend to forget that we are in a new hiring era now where our parents, professors and employers all use social networking as part of the hiring process.

You may be the most qualified for a position, with a laundry list of experience and well-deserved recommendations from college professors and former bosses, but if your Facebook page is stock full of provocative or questionable photos, you can be sure that your chances of landing that sweet internship or incredible job will be less than you would hope for.

On the plus side, because social media sites like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn and others are becoming increasingly popular, using your networking sites in an appropriate and mindful way can help you land a job. This article from the HRGuru gives a run down on the top networking sites employers use to find good candidates for open positions.

So next time you see a fan page labeled “Wasted Wednesdays” or you are sent a group invite to join a funny but provocative club, I would think twice. Stay tuned to find what things job seekers should be doing to their profiles instead.

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Interviewing Before You Need to Interview

By Zack on February 4, 2010

Guest Blogger Jane Lovas' weekly series called “What I Wish Someone Had Told Me About Life and Career” runs each Thursday

Are you getting ready to graduate? Or are you thinking about getting a job for the summer? Do you want something more than retail at the mall or serving at the local restaurant? The last two blogs covered finding out what you want and then setting some goals. Let’s take those a step further and think about the job you want.

“Ah,” you say, “I’m still not sure what type of job I want, I don’t know enough about the industry or the specifics of the job to know if I’d like it or not.”

That’s where “interviewing before you need to interview” comes in; or more commonly known as an Informational Interview.

An Informational Interview is a focused informal discussion, typically lasting about 15 – 30 minutes, with someone in the industry or job that you are interested in. Unlike a formal interview, you don’t need the answers; you’re there to get answers and you’re not there asking for a job.

How do you go about setting up an informational interview? First you need to know what industries or job titles sound interesting. You can start with some of the job boards, such as Monster, CareerBuilder or Dice. Look at some of the job descriptions. Then research some of the industries you think you’re interested in.

Next, create a list of questions based on some topics that you would like to know more about. Suggestion don’t start with how much vacation do people in these jobs get and what salaries are like. Keep those questions for the end or not at all.

How do you find the people to interview? Always start with the folks you know, ask your parents, friends, professors who they might know. Contact professional organizations, look on the internet for companies and call them, asking for the person by job title if you don’t have a name. Don’t be afraid to ask. Generally people are willing to share their knowledge with someone else. There are too many instances of individuals calling (or writing) presidents of companies and getting that 15 minute interview to not take the chance.

Once you’ve made contact and you have the interview set up make sure you are prepared; have your questions ready, dress appropriately and most importantly show up early for your interview. You want to make a good impression and you’re more likely to get a few more minutes than if you show up late looking unprofessional.

If the thought of doing this is making you nervous, start with a couple of practice interviews. Call on a friend of your parents, or one of your professors. Start with someone that you are comfortable with, just not so close that you don’t get the practice you need.

One big no no is asking for a job, this person gave you their time because they were willing to share information with you. If you think you are interested in a job with them wait until after you have sent the thank you card. Interviewees have been known to get jobs, just don’t try and make it happen.

It’s over, you survived! Want leave a lasting impression that will keep this person on your networking list? Make sure you send a personal thank you card.

Feel free to email me with any questions, or even better let me know how much progress you’ve made.

Have a great week.

Jane Lovas is a career specialist who is the creator of the life changing 12 week tele-seminar “Creating the Life of Your Dreams”. She is also our guest blogger, whose column will run every Thursday. If you would like to contact Jane, you can reach her here, here or here.

"Stock interview photograph" courtesy alancleaver 2000 via Flickr Creative Commons

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Why I Love Editing

By mikefox on February 3, 2010

Last year, I enrolled in The Art Institute of Washington to get a Video Skills Diploma, which I will have by the end of March of this year.  Post Production is what I'm primarily interested in.  One of my professors at the school compared editing to cooking because when someone cooks, they are combining ingredients to create a delicious entree. It may sound cheesy but I could definitely see how the shots, sequences, and audio tracks function as ingredients editors selectively combine, making the production delicious.  Believe it or not, the teacher was en editor for the food network.

Editing technology continues to become more innovative and user friendly.   The roots of film editing trace back to 1903 when Edwin Porter made "The Great Train Robbery". The few films that came before that had no storytelling, no edits, and one continuous shot. "The Great Train Robbery" was the first movie that viewers could see a variety of different shots in a sequence, closeups, and even a plot to go along with it.  Porter obviously wasn't using Final Cut or Avid to make this happen.  Before non-linear editing systems existed, editors had to actually cut and paste film together.  As this technology improved, experiments were being done by people including director Lev Kuleshov.  Kuleshov took a series of shots, including a shot of a man and one of a bowl of soup.  These shots were not done at the same place or the same time.  When the shots were spliced together, the viewers were blown away because they couldn't believe how real the man's hunger was when he was looking at the bowl of soup.

It never ceases to amaze me how older films are very well edited even though they didn't have Final Cut to work with.  The creativity of editors has always been there since day one.  As I learn more about editing, I'm not so much concerned with how cool the effects are as I am with how effective they are.  What the viewer ends up seeing is mostly up to the editor.  The director still has to put the final stamp on it.  I'm also a writer and one of the perks of writing is how autonomous it can be.  To some degree, editing is very similar.

I want people to enjoy what they are watching.  The fact that I enjoy making cross dissolves, adding cheesy or cool music, adding titles is very important.  You got to love what you do.  I look forward to embarking on a career in editing.  So far, ThinkTalk has been very good to me in that aspect.  I'm learning a lot from Tsekwi, the editor at ThinkTalk.  I'm learning a lot of things that I haven't had the time to learn while in school.  Internships are the way to go if you want to really learn what it's like to work in the professional world.  This is a great opportunity.

"Film Projector" courtesy of pedrosimoes7 via Flickr Creative Commons

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Oscar Nom Roundup: Congrats to ThinkTalk Guests

By Zack on February 2, 2010

Nominations for the Academy of Motion Pictures Arts and Sciences awards were announced this morning and ThinkTalk would like to offer congratulations to two recent guests. Jason Reitman was nominated for best director and best adapted screenplay for his film "Up In the Air" - which also received nods for best film, best actor (George Clooney) and two best supporing actresses (Anna Kendrick and Vira Farmiga). Also, congrats are in order for director Lone Scherfig, whose film "An Education" received a nomination for best film as well as best actress (Carey Mulligan) and best adapted screenplay (Nick Hornby) nominations.

The 82nd annual Oscars will be held in March 7th, and we'll know who the winners are then. Jason and Lone join a long list of ThinkTalk guests honored for their work, including past winners/guests Brad Bird, Stefan Ruzowitzky and Sean and Andrea Nix Fine. We would like to congratulate all of the nominees, with a special congrats to Jason and Lone for both there fine work and taking the time to share their work and career experiences with ThinkTalk and our viewers.

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Your Handshake and Your Job Search

By Zack on February 1, 2010

Eric Barker points to a new study linking a firm handshake with employment interview success:

The authors examined how an applicant's handshake influences hiring recommendations formed during the employment interview. A sample of 98 undergraduate students provided personality measures and participated in mock interviews during which the students received ratings of employment suitability. Five trained raters independently evaluated the quality of the handshake for each participant. Quality of handshake was related to interviewer hiring recommendations. Path analysis supported the handshake as mediating the effect of applicant extraversion on interviewer hiring recommendations, even after controlling for differences in candidate physical appearance and dress. Although women received lower ratings for the handshake, they did not on average receive lower assessments of employment suitability. Exploratory analysis suggested that the relationship between a firm handshake and interview ratings may be stronger for women than for men. (PsycINFO Database Record (c) 2008 APA, all rights reserved)

The full study - which I have not read, but will certainly try to look over - is in the Journal of Applied Psychology volume 93, issue 5 released in September of 2008. If you're still in school and interested in reading the journal article, you should be able to access it through your campus library.

"Handshake" courtesy AndyRob via Flickr Creative Commons

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Dude, where's my job?

By Morgan on January 29, 2010

Hey there! This is Morgan Noonan, junior at the University of Maryland pursuing a Bachelor's degree in Studio Art. Yes, I get asked "So what are you going to do with that?" quite a bit. I plan on becoming a medical illustrator. Booyah!

Newsflash: unemployment rates are high. And it is affecting all of us: college and high school students, recent graduates just starting out, and even experienced professionals hoping for an early retirement. Middle class, upper-middle class, working class—call it whatever you want—but the average American is lucky to have a job.

In a recent article published in Sidelines, Middle Tennessee State University’s school newspaper, the unique effect produced by such dire circumstances is explored and explained. The national unemployment rate is 10%. Apparently in Middle Tennessee that would be considered good, though, being that their unemployment has reached a staggering 33%.

The community news editor Rozalind Ruth explains in the article that, despite the acute lack of employment in the state, there has not been an increase in student job hunting. Like most schools, Middle Tennessee State has a Career Service Center, which offers the exact kind of aid a student out of work would need. They provide help with “career exploration, job searches and campus-recruitment programs, as well as the Lightning Job Source, an online database of employment opportunities.”

This sounds an awful lot like “Careers4Terps”, which is the website I turned to when I could not find a job on my campus in College Park. And clearly it worked…here I am today interning in our nation’s capital for ThinkTalk—an opportunity I never would have known about otherwise. The University of Maryland’s Career Center “serves as a world class career and experiential learning center that teaches individuals to understand and use the career development process as they seek local, national, and global employment opportunities. Through collaborative and innovative programs and services, UCC empowers students to become contributing members of society.” Sounds great—assuming you actually use it.

This is where the real troubling news comes in…people are giving up looking for jobs. Current students and recent graduates that are ready, willing, and able to put their education to good use are calling it quits. The students at MTSU are not taking advantage of the resources available to them. Participation in job fairs is down instead of up.

I’ll admit, I don’t bother going to the job fairs at UMD, but that’s only because they never have any realistic potential employers for the likes of me. Art majors are a special breed, though. All you students with normal career aspirations need to start going out there and networking. As my ultimate hero and life’s inspiration Leonardo DaVinci once said, "People of accomplishment rarely sat back and let things happen to them. They went out and happened to things."

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Social Media 101: Online Networking for Dummies

By Monkark on January 29, 2010

Hey everyone! My name is Monica Karkhanis and I am currently a sophomore communication major with a focus in public relations at the University of Maryland, College Park. This is my first semester as an intern for Think Talk and I am really excited to blog about social media and how it can help your career. Find me on Twitter and be sure to continue following ThinkTalk!

If you are anything like me, it is very likely that you are checking your Facebook more than a few times in a 30 minute span and your Twitter, Linked In and email accounts are all connected to your cell phone, which also has a direct link to your hip.

I'm a new intern here at Think Talk and for my first blog I figured I would write about my obsession with social media and how this obsession has become widely accepted and used by students, professors and career professionals alike. Okay, maybe I have been taking it a little too far ever since I downloaded the new Facebook app to my phone, but these days it has become nearly impossible for a company or business to survive without implementing and encouraging the use of social media. Before college, accessing Facebook during class was an absolute taboo. In fact, my high school in Maryland blocked all social networking sites from every campus computer. Today, however, many of my college classes at the University of Maryland actually praise and even require the use of social media and networking sites.

I believe adding social networking know-how and tech-savvy skills to my resume keeps me ahead of the game. Several of my college professors in the communication and public relations field hold a series of lectures based solely on social media. My professors encourage learning about different methods and platforms of communication to effectively send a message across while still being able to keep up with today's fast-paced and growing world.

In an article I just read from the University of New Hampshire (ThinkTalk school!), a student writer interviewed a professor teaching a new course covering all aspects of social media. Professor Chuck Martin of UNH is not only an accomplished author of eight different business books, but he is also the third most followed marketing professor on all of Twitter. In my eyes, that means he has made it big and he probably has a few words of wisdom to give to students in the field of marketing and communication.

“Social media is really, really big in business right now,” said Martin. “Even if the business doesn’t want to do anything in social media they have to because their clients and customers are connecting in these ways.”

Because social media is impacting all aspects of business and all kinds of business, said Martin, anybody in marketing needs to understand social media.

They don’t need to like it, but understand it,” said Martin.

So businesses have no choice but to keep up with social media to connect with clients, even if they cringe at the thought of managing a profile or Twitter account to tweet their daily activities. While it sounds silly, I agree with Martin in that using social media to promote and establish a brand for yourself or your business can go a long way. Take Google, for example; even though they are one of the largest companies right now in the world of business and do not need much more promotion, they know all too well not to neglect the importance of social media. With over thirty separate Twitter accounts based on region, cultures, types of technology and other areas, Google manages to continue to stay on top -- connecting the company to the world and beyond.

If even Google has to do it, then I figure I should, too. Stay tuned for my next post as I start exploring how social media can help me (and you) find a job.

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Goal Setting

By Jane Lovas on January 28, 2010

Guest Blogger Jane Lovas' weekly series called “What I Wish Someone Had Told Me About Life and Career” runs each Thursday.

Are you aware that one of the simplest things you can do to increase your chances of success are creating your goals, beginning to list the actions you need to take to accomplish them and then reviewing them daily?

If you’re not up to that, even taking the time to create a list of what you’d like to accomplish can be a big help.

One of the reasons setting goals is so powerful is that it makes you think about what you want your life to look like instead of just moving through life with no plan. Making that decision is similar to getting behind the wheel in your car; you are in control, you decide where the car is going.

Here are some simple steps to doing your own goal setting session. (Suggested Supplies: 2 inch square sticky notes, pens (lots of colors), wall space, sticky easel pads, large year at a glance calendar, and notebook)

1. Write down your vision statement. (If you haven’t created a vision statement, begin with the goals you want to accomplish now. You can visit my blog at blog.janelovas.com and read the article about creating a vision statement.)

2. Start listing your goals - you can use the following categories or modify them as you see fit.

Using the sticky notes write down one goal and the category per sticky note along (or use a color for each category), do this quickly, making sure you write each goal as a positive statement in the present or past. Such as: I have a new job making $50,000 per year. Or I can do 100 pushups. Sometimes it helps to just start jotting down the main idea for example in the travel section maybe you jot down the places you want to visit.

1. Business/Career
2. Relationships/Family
3. Education/Community
4. Travel/Recreation
5. Health/Fitness
6. Spiritual

Write down at least 6 goals in each category.

3. Compare the goals to your vision statement - do they support your vision statement? You want to make sure all your goals are in alignment with your vision statement and your other goals. (If you don’t have a vision statement at this time you’ll skip this step.)

4. Determine which goals you want to focus on this year and which ones are 3 and 5 year goals. 
Add by-when dates to your goals (this is the date by which you want your goal accomplished.)

5. Focusing on the goals for this year - create an Imagination Movie, this is a Technicolor movie in your imagination of what your life will look like with these goals accomplished. Use as many of your senses as you can, get it real, making sure you are center stage.

6. Write a Living Vision. This is a write up of what your life will be like when your goals are accomplished. Make sure to write it in the present tense. Write it as if it is already true. Have fun with it, be a descriptive as possible.

7. Write down the action items that you know to do for each goal that you want to accomplish this year.

One way to do this is to transfer each of your sticky note goals to a page in your notebook and then list what you need to do and how long you think it might take you to do it.

For some of the goals you might only know a couple of steps that you need to take, such as talk to someone or find and read a book, that’s ok. Start with what you know and as you make progress the next steps will show up.

8. On the calendar write down when you intend to accomplish your goals. (One of those huge write on calendars is great for this or the fold out year at a glance, or even make one with the easel pads (write 1 – 31 across the top, and Jan – Dec down the side)

As you start laying your goals out on the calendar you might need to begin modifying the dates – you’ll probably want things spread out throughout the year.

9. Next add the action items to your calendar.

10. You're done for now! You now have a calendar with the steps that you need to start taking all laid out.

11. Hang your calendar where you can see it on a daily basis.

12. Every day read your Living Vision and re-play your Imagination Movie.

13. At least twice a month review your goals and calendar and make any updates. Some things might be moving faster and others slower adjust the dates and keep moving forward.

14. Celebrate as you reach each goal.

I know I said this was simple and this looks like it could be a lot of work. I can assure you the work really is in deciding what you want your life to look like. Have some fun with it call a couple of friends and work on your goals at the same time. Then watch what happens this year!

Feel free to email me with any questions, or even better let me know how much progress you’ve made.

Have a great week.

Jane Lovas is a career specialist who is the creator of the life changing 12 week tele-seminar “Creating the Life of Your Dreams”. She is also our guest blogger, whose column will run every Thursday. If you would like to contact Jane, you can reach her here, here or here

"Self portrait: Goal!" courtesy pigsontheinguk via Flickr Creative Commons

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Personal Branding: It's all in the Packaging

By mollymath on January 27, 2010

Hey ThinkTalkers, my name is Molly and I am a senior English Major at CUA. As part of my internship for ThinkTalk, I will be blogging my epic search for a job in the D.C. area, giving you all my take on what has worked, what has failed miserably, and hopefully giving a splinter of insight to those of you who haven’t quite reached job hunting maturation yet in your young adult life.

In my first semester interning for ThinkTalk, I discovered the Personal Branding Blog, which was intimidating at first due to all the business jargon and entrepreneurial ambition, but the tips on how to improve your resume and interviewing skills kept me reading.

Now that I’ve entered my final semester, reading the Personal Branding Blog felt daunting, because now I actually need those tips, especially with inflated unemployment rates. Who would pick me when there are thousands of experienced professionals ready to pounce on the next job opening? This is where developing my own personal brand comes in, or so says Dan Schawbel. Easy enough right? First hurtle, there is no concrete definition of what personal branding is! According to the American Marketing Association, personal branding shares the same definition as branding, which “can be defined as a person, name, term, sign, symbol or design, or a combination of these, intended to identify the goods or services of one seller, or group of sellers, and to differentiate them from those of competitors” (American Marketing Association 2007).

Simply put, I’ve got to figure out a way to cohesively package my name, my skill set or services in a way that appeals to employers and separates me from my job-hunting competitors. New media technology in the form of social networking sites like LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook are great places to start.

Admittedly, I’ve been against the blogging and Twitter movement because I had a hard time believing anyone needed to know exactly how I thought or felt at any given moment. LinkedIn just seemed too grown-up for me. Why can’t I just fly under the radar? No more, advises Dan Schawbel, not in this job market! In his blog post, 10 Reasons Why You Have to Manage Your Personal Brand, Dan paints an apocryphal picture of what your future could be like should you choose not to participate in these social mediums.

His argument for social networking site participation states that like it or not, you already have a personal brand and you need to mold it your own way before you are poorly perceived. In other words, clean up those Facebook pictures and wall posts. Increase your web visibility. If you have Facebook or Twitter you might as well go all the way and create a more professional presence on a LinkedIn account. Once you’ve updated yourself, don’t stop there. These avenues of communication are changing everyday so its best to continue your interactions with contacts on these sites so you don’t miss out on the next big thing. For example, Coming soon! “MyMilkyWay” where communities share pics and youtube videos with Lunar Colony settlers!

We as young professional have new opportunities to make contacts with people we never would have made had ten years ago. I say, take advantage of these social mediums so you’re never left out of the conversation about twitter or blog posts. Proudly suggest to contacts, “look me up on LinkedIn”. Stand up, virtually speaking, and be recognized. “Participate or be extinct” as Dan says, and join me as I create a Twitter and LinkedIn account. I’ll keep you posted.

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