The Premise / Goal / Timing of This Weekly Feature
Premise. If you like the content in this blog, you may like the type of content I regularly read and study on the Web.
Goal. On a weekly basis, I'm going to publish links to three (3) articles I find interesting. I'll include a brief summary with some bullet points explaining why I think the content is worth consuming.
Timing. I'll publish this content every Wednesday / Thursday. Okay, I didn't exactly hold up my end of the deal last week and this week. 🙂
The "spray and pray" approach of sending resumes online is not an effective time investment
"Applicant tracking software makes it almost impossible for [a job candidate] to stand out, at least at the initial screening step."
Recruiters say gaining an internal referral is a game changer. When recruiters see an application comes with an employee referral "that person goes straight to the top."
The Premise / Goal / Timing of This Weekly Feature
Premise. If you like the content in this blog, you may like the type of content I regularly read and study on the Web.
Goal. On a weekly basis, I'm going to publish links to three (3) articles I find interesting. I'll include a brief summary with some bullet points explaining why I think the content is worth consuming.
Timing. I'll publish this content every Wednesday / Thursday.
2. The Three Laws of Future Employment by Daniel Jelski: This is a THOUGHT-PROVOKING article commenting on individual competitiveness in today's dynamic employment market. Jelski's three (3) laws and subsequent conclusions are important:
Law #1: People will get jobs doing things that computers can't do (i.e., jobs requiring human-human interaction)
Law #2: A global market place will result in lower pay and future opportunities for many careers (but also in cheaper and better products and a higher standard of living for American consumers)
Law #3: Professional people will more likely be freelancers and less likely to have a steady job
I've been impatiently waiting for this book for months. I finally downloaded the Kindle version and started reading it this evening.
I'm not sure why Hoffman doesn't receive the attention and adulation of his Silicon Valley counterparts such as the late Steve Jobs, Mark Zuckerberg, Larry Page, and Sergey Brin.
But, what I respect most is his guiding, personal and professional philosophy to help others succeed. So many people choose to focus the power of social technologies on creating noise and interruption that centers on "look at me."
Meahwhile, Hoffman focuses on "how can I help you." This guiding philosophy is well-articulated in the following articles:
The following videos are my three (3) favorites plus two bonuses. These interviews showcase the genius, vision, and humility of Reid Hoffman. I hope you enjoy them as much as I do:
(Bonus) Time Video: LinkedIn Co-Founder On "The Start-Up of You"
(Bonus) CBS This Morning Video: LinkedIn Co-Founder, Social Web Still Very Young
Charlie Rose: A Conversation With Reid Hoffman of LinkedIn (March 2009)
YouTube: Reid Hoffman Entrepreneurs Will Create The Future Endeavor Entrpreneur Summit at Stanford University (July 2011)
The Premise / Goal / Timing of This Weekly Feature
Premise. If you like the content in this blog, you may like the type of content I regularly read and study on the Web.
Goal. On a weekly basis, I'm going to publish links to three (3) articles I find interesting. I'll include a brief summary with some bullet points explaining why I think the content is worth consuming.
Timing. I'll publish this content every Wednesday / Thursday.
Hoffman bases his networking philosophy two (2) basic principles:
* See the world from the other person's perspective — putting yourself in another person's shoes is the first step to developing an honest connection
* Think about how you can collaborate with and help the other person versus thinking about what you can get out of the relationship — your first move should always be "how can I help."
2. The $1.6 Billion Woman, Staying on Message (The New York Times): I'm a huge fan of Facebook's COO, Sheryl Sandberg. In my opinion, she deserves just as much credit (or more) as Mark Zuckerberg in transforming Facebook into an advertising revenue juggernaut.
I find this article interesting because it emphasizes her multi-faceted role at Facebook:
* Sandberg is the public face of of Facebook. She's Facebook's corporate amabassador to Wall Street analysts, thought leaders at global forums such as Davos, global government leaders, and global brands (i.e., she's one of the few global corporate leaders who's been to Bentonville, Arkansas twice).
* She's the driving force in recruiting and mentoring top talent at Facebook (especially women).
* She's publicly stated her views about furthering the professional interests of women in Corporate America (particularly Silicon Valley and the technology industry).
The last point is especially intriguing because Sandberg's recently received criticism for expressing her views on the success of women in the workplace. And, the critics are women.
* His voting power with those shares (due to various agreements with other investors) grants him voting control of 60% of the company's shares.
* The article gives context to how Zuckerberg's control of company stock compares with Microsoft's Bill Gates and Google founders, Sergey Brin and Larry Page, when their respective companies went public:
Microsoft: Bill Gates controlled 49% of company shares
Google: Brin and Page controlled 16% each of the company shares (for a total of 32%)
Your Feedback Please!
I'd like to experiment with this type of post for the next two to three months. Let me know what you think (especially if this idea sucks):
How can I improve the value of these weekly posts?
Is my initial timing choice for publication okay with you (e.g., middle of the week versus the end of it)? If not, please tell me.
What content are you reading?Please share your links with our community in the comments section!
I often share this content on Google+ or Twitter. But, the real-time speed of these information streams makes locating content an oftentimes fleeting exercise.
The Premise / Goal / Timing of This New Weekly Feature
Premise. If you like the content in this blog, you may like the type of content I regularly read and study on the Web.
Goal. On a weekly basis, I'm going to publish links to three (3) articles I find interesting. I'll include a brief summary with some bullet points explaining why I think the content is worth consuming.
Timing. I'll publish this content every Wednesday / Thursday.
Kirshbaum saw this publishing revolution coming (looks like around 2005).
Direct article quote from a successful author: "Publishers are selling drinks on The Titanic."
Article demonstrates how Jeff Bezos is cut from the same cloth as Steve Jobs as both a strategic visionary and an as a shark-like competitor.
2. (The New York Times) The Bookstore's Last Stand: The timing of this article's publication signals an ongoing public relations battle between Amazon and the New York City publishing dynasties. This piece positions Barnes & Noble as the last major ally the major publishing houses have against Amazon.
Publishers fear that Barnes & Noble store may become just cafes and digital connection points.
Barnes & Noble commands 27% of the eBook market. Amazon holds a commanding 60%.
A Telltale Sign: The company plans to eliminate the dedicated sections for music and DVDs within two (2) years.
3. (TechCrunch) Why Every Entrepreneur Should Self-Publish a Book: A great article by James Altucher. Altucher goes into great detail about the many lessons he's learned both as a self-publisher and as an author who's worked directly with the aforementioned publishing houses.
The entire thesis of his article is "to pick yourself." His how-to commentary covers a lot of ground:
Why self-publish than use a traditional publisher
Why entrepreneurs should self-publish
How does one go about self-publishing (the insights on createspace.com ROCK)
Your Feedback Please!
I'd like to experiment with this type of post for the next two to three months. Let me know what you think (especially if this idea sucks):
How can I improve the value of these weekly posts?
Is my initial timing choice for publication okay with you (e.g., middle of the week versus the end of it)? If not, please tell me.
What content are you reading?Please share your links with our community in the comments section!
I love studying books on social media and digital marketing. They provide sources of inspiration for this blog, and constantly stimulate my creativity on the people and events driving marketing reinvention.
If you're looking for some last-minute Christmas gifts for a family member, friend, or colleague who loves learning about social media or digital marketing, here's a list of books I recommend.
Social Media and Digital Marketing Books I've Studied, Written Reviews On, or Cited in this Blog
The Tipping Point by Malcolm Gladwell (Many don't consider this book a social media / digital marketing resource. I do because of the word-of-mouth insights Gladwell writes about particularly in the chapter on Connectors, Mavens, and Salesmen)

Social Media and Digital Marketing Books I'm Studying Now
I hope you find these resources helpful, and if you've read some or all of these books please let me know your thoughts by submitting a comment.
Any books you'd recommend or suggest I add to this list? I'd love to hear your suggestions. Please let me know what you learned and enjoyed about that particular book(s).
Many thanks for being part of this community and may you and your families have a Safe and Merry Christmas!
My wife and I recently discovered a wonderful and touching book: Oogy – The Dog Only a Family Could Love. It was a complete accident how my wife and I randomly found Oogy's book in a local Barnes & Noble.
The author, Larry Levin, describes how he and his family fell in love with Oogy and learned about his horrific life as a bait dog in an illegal dogfighting operation. If you're an animal and dog lover like I am, you will love this book and fall in love with Oogy just as Mr. Levin's family did. Oogy's remarkable story is one of redemption and how we can all find love, inspiration, and hope after enduring significant tragedy.
I want others to discover this great book and experience the joy it brought me. So I started thinking, how are Mr. Levin and Hatchette Book Group (the book's publishers)leveraging social media as part of the overall marketing strategy? After doing some Google searches, I learned they are using different social media channels (i.e., YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter) as part of a traditional book tour where Mr. Levin and Oogy make personal appearances at bookstores and various animal protection events in the Philadelphia area.
So here are my quick thoughts on the current use (and maybe some potential future use) of social media to build public awareness of the book, Oogy: The Dog Only a Family Could Love …
Tip #1: Create an Oogy the Book YouTube Channel
I love how Mr. Levin and the publishers are consistently using this YouTube video to promote the book. We get to meet and hear Mr. Levin talk about Oogy, and he shares pictures of Oogy with Mr. Levin's family. The video has currently racked up ~38,000 views!
Video is such a great online medium that I suggest Mr. Levin and the publishers create their own YouTube Channel (i.e., Oogy The Dog or Oogy The Book) and build a big video library showing:
* Mr. Levin speak during the promotional tour or animal protection awareness events * Impromptu interviews with attendees of these events (i.e., what do they love about Oogy?) * Oogy affectionately interacting with children and other dogs at these events
The Oogy Facebook Fan Page has lots of great pictures showing how much children love seeing and petting Oogy. But, wouldn't it be great to see this interaction captured on video?
The book describes in great detail Oogy's affectionate and loving nature, and I think seeing these behaviors in video would have a huge impact for people who can't travel to a Philadelphia-area event to meet Oogy and Mr. Levin. Oogy and Mr. Levin's ability to travel to other parts of the U.S. are limited because Oogy associates being placed in a crate with having his ear torn off. This means any promotional appearances beyond reasonable driving distance of the Philadelphia area (i.e., the Midwest and West Coast) are highly unlikely.
I think giving people "virtual access" to Oogy via videos would expand "the reach" currently limited by where Mr. Levin and Oogy can drive to.
Tip #2: Publish an Oogy Blog to Improve His Google Search Rankings
Blogging still continues to be the Number 1 way to improve your online presence and increase your Google search engine results pages (i.e., SERPs). The creative content Mr. Levin could publish in a blog are limitless, and the search engine optimization rewards (i.e., SEO) would be huge. In addition, I did a quick search on the name "Larry Levin" and it appears there's already another "Larry Levin" who has already built a large and visible online presence through his own online activities. So, publishing the blog provides Oogy another channel for increasing his Google Search Rankings through other keywords (i.e., illegal dogfighting, animal rights, animal protection) beyond his author's name.
1. A blog adds naturally occuring, keyword-rich pages 2. A blog increases the potential for incoming links from high-quality websites
Blog Posts Increase Your Number of Indexed Pages in Google. Over the course of a year, let's say Mr. Levin publishes two (2) blog posts per month (so roughly 24 pages per year). That investment of time is already significant because the average small business website includes anywhere from 10-20 static web pages. By maintaining the blog and with each new blog post, Oogy gets a new indexed page in Google. The analogy that the Social Media Examiner article provides is that every new indexed page in Google is like buying a ticket in a lottery. The more tickets you hold, the better chance of winning the top spot in the Google Search Engine Rankings. That's the big difference between websites that remain static versus those that are more dynamic (e.g., keep adding new web pages for indexing by publishing blog posts).
Blog Posts Increase Your Chances for High Authority Incoming Links. Google rewards websites receiving large numbers of incoming links. More importantly, Google highly rewards websites receiving incoming links from high authority websites such as the New York Times, USA Today, or other high-ranking blogs. What if an Oogy blog post received an incoming link from a news story from one of these news outlets or from a high-ranking blogger who writes about animal protection and animal rights? Essentially, Oogy's Google Search Rankings would skyrocket.
Tip #3: A Blog Gives Oogy an On-Line Home Base With Digital Flexibility
Scott Monty recently wrote a great blog post titled: "We'll Always Have Blogging." Even though Scott's article focuses on the benefits of corporate blogging, his key points are highly applicable to things Mr. Levin and his publishers could do in promoting Oogy online.
A Blog Can Give Oogy an Integrated, Online Home Base. Oogy already has his own Facebook and Twitter pages. This is great how Mr. Levin and his publishers are leveraging popular social media channels. But, a blog could further increase Oogy's online visibility by providing an online home base integrating all of Oogy's social media channels (i.e., YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter). "Sharing widgets" on each blog post can make it easy for readers to promote Oogy's blog posts through a channel of their choice. Most of all, an integrated home base and an integrated content plan will allow Oogy's story and content to spread wherever his current fans or new fans happen to search for it.
Blogs Provide Long-Form Content and Context That Twitter and Facebook Can't. When it comes to telling a story (and providing that story's overall context), nothing online can match a blog. Oogy's story, the people who saved him, and the joy and love he brought these same people are very moving. And, you can't express those ideas / feelings in a tweet of 140 characters or less. As Scott's article points out, marketing is about storytelling (and a blog would convey Oogy's story outstandingly).
Oogy's Blog Could Host a Variety of Content.Blogs can support a wide variety of content (i.e., text, videos, photos , or a combination of all of the above). This variety of choices gives Mr. Levin and his publishers multiple ways to deliver content about Oogy:
* Videos: Oogy with children and other dogs; Interviews of book event attendees; Interviews of other key people in the book who were touched by Oogy
* Text: Excerpts from the book; Observations or thoughts from a recent book event; Dates of upcoming events where Oogy and Mr. Levin will be appearing; Guest posts by other authors greatly impacted by Oogy (i.e., members of the Ardmore Animal Hospital who saved Oogy or Mr. Levin's sons)
* Photos: Pictures from book signings; Pictures of Oogy with Mr. Levin's family that didn't make it in the book.
Conclusion
Like so many other fans of this book, I simply can't get enough Oogy! In my opinion, integrating social media strategy (especially a blog) as part of the current traditional book promotional tour could increase Oogy's current popularity to a new level. I want more people to learn about Oogy's gentle soul and the incredible story behind the team of people who saved him, and the significant impact he's had on these people's lives.