Social Networking--Connection and Communication?

Social Networking offers new opportunities in this age of global technology.  One of the challenges is that people who are connecting with each other using social networking sites may or may not be communicating.  Both are essential, as are the development of relationship and trust.

At least at present, social networking sites offer potential resources to help others with challenges.  This is a global connection and people can be helping each other from various points on the planet.

LinkedIn has helped me connect with resources in India and China, with French-speakers in Chicago, and with close friends and colleagues I had lost touch with many years ago.

The good news is that I am connecting and communicating with my network and am renewing relationships so that we can all benefit from what we do together.

"Red Carpet Club" for DrM-Virtual3D-Learning Workshop

As one of the first steps in creating the DrM Virtual 3D Learning Workshop, I created a "Red Carpet Club" for the workshop on LinkedIn.  (Think of the Academy Awards when thinking of a "Red Carpet Club>") 

Members in this club will help design the learning workshop and will be participants in the workshop.  Because of their involvement in the club they will access "behind the scenes" experiences and events during the workshop and their feedback and insights can help improve the workshop and, possibly, the virtual 3D learning environment, created and maintained by Digitell's VirtualU.

One of the suggestions that came out of the Virtual Edge 2010 Summit was the use of "Red Carpet Clubs" to improve content and experience of virtual events. 

This club is a truly unique opportunity because it is open to LinkedIn professionals from many organizations who choose to be involved in creating and experiencing an online, virtual3D, learning workshop.  The workshop will be more than an event because its goals will be more expanded and it may take place over a broader span of time than a typical event.

It will probably combine both synchronous ("live") and "asynchronous" (done alone over a period of time) activities to take full advantage of the learning capabilities offered by the virtual platform.

If you're interested in participating, please sign-up for the group.  At this point in the planning, the learning workshop will be free.  Members of the group will have unique opportunities to develop and expand skills in online learning design and will get to experience their own design and give feedback.

Designing a VirtualU Learning Event

For much of the day I was a virtual participant using VirtualU's 3D software and attending the Virtual Edge 2010 Summit.  My purpose in attending was to pull together my ideas for designing a VirtualU learning event.  VirtualU is sponsored by VirtualBeginnings and Digitell.

Many of my learning design ideas I have already published in this blog.  (See post 1, post 2, and post 3.)  In preparing for a Virtual University Learning Event, I want to incorporate the lessons learned from designing and delivering ELACOMM98--a 2.5-day learning event for 200 communications executives that was held in Cannes, France, in May, 1998.  That event was designed over 12 weeks with a team of subject matter experts and a few learning designers.  Strategy was developed to included learning goals, an integrated, hands-on-learning design, and a series of learning events in teams and in large groups created around workplace simulations that allowed participant to build and practice relevant skills in a very supportive context including practice and learning coaches.  Watch the video for a brief summary.

What I am learning from my virtual attendance at the Virtual Edge 2010 Summit and at three other VirtualU 3D conferences, is the importance of using what I learned from ELACOMM98 and integrating that with understanding of the 3D virtual world and its offerings.  I am an active social networker on LinkedIn, Facebook, and Twitter.  One concept from today will be to work with my contacts and groups on LinkedIn to ask what people want and to be sure to design that into the event I will be designing.  Based on the feedback from the panelists at the Virtual Edge 2010 Summit, I will be creating a community (group) on LinkedIn about the learning event and will be hosting some "Velvet Rope" communities (people who are willing to engage in helping develop some of the events before hand and who will have a closer interaction with key people connected with the event).  I have hosted Yahoo Groups for years and expect to do some of the work of developing this new learning event using Skype, Yahoo Groups, and possibly Google Groups, as well as the group and event resources on LinkedIn.

There's another day (tomorrow) to the Virtual Edge 2010 Summit and I expect to be adding more ideas to my plans for the development of the VirtualU Learning Event.  If you want to participate, leave a comment or send me an e-mail.

Job-Hunting Strategies and Tips

A friend entering the job market asked me for some job-hunting strategies and tips.
Networking is sometimes the most effective way to hunt for jobs. 

Here's a link about conducting an effective job search from Career Builder.

Resume and Digital Portfolio

Having a good resume is important.  It's a building block.  Many recruiters want a Microsoft Word version--probably as a .doc rather than as a .docx.  I recommend getting help with the resume, through affordable help.  I worked with WordSharp.net to revise mine.  I started with a Microsoft Word template, then had the professionals at WordSharp fine-tune it to its present form.

A digital portfolio (a YouTube/TeacherTube video) promoting yourself is the latest step in "resumes."  It will be helpful to have one--find someone with the software to help.  You can see mine at this link. 

Job Hunting Websites

There are several websites to subscribe to.  All are free to job seekers, then most have fees for extra services.  Some of those extras are worthwhile and you'll have to check.

http://www.monster.com


http://www.jobfox.com

http://www.careerbuilder.com


http://www.myjobhunter.com

http://www.theladders.com 

Search Engines

You need to set-up search engines to look for likely jobs for you to apply to.  Each of these websites has its own search engine for you to use.  You can have these engines feed you the jobs they find on a daily or weekly basis.

Cover Letters

In many cases, you will need to create a cover letter for each application.  Remember to respond to the requirements of the job description in the cover letter to show how you are a match for what they are looking for.

Tracking Applications

It's a good idea to set-up a Microsoft Excel spreadsheet (or a spreadsheet by another vendor) to track the detail of your applications.  I'm putting the headder data from my spreadsheet here.  I have a list of the different referral sources that I use and I make that a part of my spreadsheet.

Hints and Tips

Most of these websites offer hints and tips for your job search.  Be sure to read many and save the ones you like.

Some locations want lots of money to rewrite resumes or to publish them to lots of people.  Be selective.  More money invested doesn't necessarily lead to good results, especially in a down economy.

Be willing to volunteer for the experience, if you need it.

Social Networking Sites

While there are many social networking sites, LinkedIn seems to be especially focused for professionals.  Facebook and Twitter are also good sites, though some of the most practical business connections seem to come more consistently from LinkedIn.

Consulting Services and eBay

Finding consulting clients is challenging.  Directing potential clients to websites is "ify" at best.  Many of the independent consultants I network with say that their new clients almost always come "by word of mouth" from existing or previous clients.

In exploring more options to "spread the word"--beyond social networking sites such as LinkedIn, FaceBook, and Twitter, I have signed-up my Joelmonty.net website for some promotional services to get them recognized more by search engines.

I am listening to an audio book where the protagonist has marketed an "off-beat" consulting service on eBay.  I already use eBay and get my billing and payments through PayPal.  It makes sense to work with eBay to market my consulting services, especially my virtual consulting services.

From what I have seen on eBay's Consulting Services pages so far there is plenty of room for my services.  Now I have to work on the most effective ways to use eBay to market these services.

Communicating and Marketing Value

Communicating and marketing value are challenging, especially via the Internet and in today's economy.  Social Networking sites such as LinkedIn, FaceBook, and Twitter may help.  Search engines such as Google could help and, due to the sale of ad words and tags to make people rise to the top of searches, these engines may actually interfere with the ability of people to find the value they may be looking for.

Knowing how to adjust a website to offer a landing page that delivers value is a marketable skill.  Unfortunately, many people market this skill without having any particular skill to market.

One of my goals with DrM-Resources is to offer value.  I have a variety of interconnected websites and share information about what DrM-Resources offers.  Now I need to find ways to help people find it, even if this means creating another "landing-page" website that is more focused on the value people are interested in.

Animal Spirits, the Economy, Attitudes and Business Opportunities

A few days ago--in the last decade--I wrote a post looking at animal spirits and the influence of human psychology on the economy.  (I am now on chapter 11 of the book and it is worthwhile to read and/or listen to.)

Five of these animal spirits are confidence,  a sense of fairness, corruption, money illusion, and stories.  As we now enter the new year and the new decade, we can look for a change in how businesses look at the world.  Confidence was shaken in 2008 and in 2009. 

Many businesses can be poised to take on new business opportunities if they develop a willingness to trust and can find trusted advisers to assist them in exploring the opportunities for change.

Those of us who are in business to provide coaching and consulting services to other businesses are now challenged by the evolving animal spirits of the new economy.  What, for example, are the right fees to charge for professional services?  If we charge what we used to charge, many businesses who could use the services will not think they can afford them.  If we reduce our fees to help businesses experiencing a lower profit-margin, will they realize that these are not our standard fees and, instead, are value-added fees to assist them to grow their businesses and to take advantages of new opportunities?

Attitudes in both business and schools are often resistant to outside coaching and consulting.  Our fee structures are not the same as those many decision-makers are used to.  Some schools develop relationships with local universities or community colleges and work with their faculty and graduate students.  Businesses may have a few trusted advisers they know from their circles of business contacts.

While social networking groups such as LinkedIn may offer opportunities for new connections, referrals and personal networking seems to be the most trusted source for new insights. 

We are still evolving into this second decade of the new millennium.  The concept of animal spirits is important in terms of being aware of the influences of human psychology on business and the economy and in helping professionals working in this economy to have insight into business direction and new business opportunities.

What would I want to share in a Virtual World Conference?

Yesterday I was invited to think about what I would like to share (and with whom) in a Virtual World Conference.  In thinking about one of the three-day conferences I designed for Accenture (Andersen Consulting) I was thinking about what elements of that could work well in a Virtual World.  I was also thinking about how a Virtual World would have added to my experience of online learning from the University of Phoenix.

I also began thinking about who would be the audience for such a conference or "mini-event."  I immediately thought of my LinkedIn connections--both my personal network and some of the discussion groups I belong to on LinkedIn.  I joined the American Library Association this year and they, too, are interested in the concept of Virtual Worlds for distance learning.

Some of what I want to do for such an event will be to include some of the elements which highlight the advantages of the Virtual Worlds platform--some small-group work, access to individualized video clips, networking between participants, shared PowerPoint and question and chat features including Voice Over IP.

As always, I will follow a design for learning and need to start with a better understanding of my audience and my goals.  Then I will follow a process of learning design that will be adjusted for the vehicle of Virtual Worlds.

This is going to be a somewhat reflective piece in that I want participants to think about their experience as participants in a virtual worlds conference so that reflection needs to be built into the activities and presentations they will be experiencing as part of the design.  One of my areas for goal outcomes will be that participants will recognize the value Virtual World Conferences can have for their own learning and for their organizations. 

Now to think about more details.

Finding Quality Professional Connections around the world--LinkedIn Social Networking

I need to find quality professional connections around the world.  Looking to social networking for a solution, LinkedIn.com seems to be a very good solution.  There are millions of people connected via the site.  Many of the discussion groups put me in touch with professionals in the areas I am looking for.  Alumni networks put me in touch with professionals who share a corporate history with me from the global workplace.

LinkedIn offered me the opportunity to start my own discussion groups.  I created three to gather together people interested in three different projects I am currently working on.  I've just dissolved one of these groups due to apparent lack of interest (at the moment) and have sent an announcment to members of the Audio eBooks for Learning to see if people want that group to continue.  My newest group is DrM-Language-Network so that people who choose to work with me on my latest project, making affordable online language learning programs available to learners throughout the world, can join with me to share ideas and to celebrate sucesses.

I've joined several pre-existing LinkedIn discussion groups so that I can invite people to work with me or to refer me to others who may want to be involved in my current project(s).  Some of these people have also joined my "primary" LinkedIn network.

Many of the people who are already in my primary LinkedIn network are the type of professionals I enjoy working with.  LinkedIn is one place to find quality professional connections.  Presently this seems to be the most direct and effective means, though I am open to learning about more.

Why Set-Up an Online Support Network?

Why would anyone set-up a support network?  One reason is to create a sense of community, of sharing ideas and resources and innovations.  A benefit of a community is that members build a shared sense of identity.  I have been involved in building online support networks for more than 12 years, starting with eGroups--which became Yahoo Groups and currently focusing on LinkedIn Discussion Groups.

One of the longest running and most successful groups which I started--and which runs itself--is the Action Learning eGroup on Yahoo Groups, run by IFAL-USA.

My most recent group is the DrM-Language Network discussion group on LinkedIn.  This group was created to provide the opportunity to build a sense of community around the affordable, online language learning programs supported by http://www.drm-language.com/.  While membership is open to people learning languages with other online programs, the main focus is to have the community network available for people working with two different online language programs available globally.  Many of the people will be learning English, and one of the two programs offers eight other languages as well.

Many business professionals around the world will be working with me to enroll learners in these programs and this network is open to language learners and to entrepreneurs setting-up their own businesses concerning e-learning and these online language programs.

Some of the questions and answers and other support areas will also offer members a chance to practice their English in their interaction in the discussion group.

Leveraging Trust and Making New Connections

Between 1993 and 1998 I worked at Andersen Consulting (now Accenture).  In that time I met many wonderful people associated with "the firm."  One of the things that impressed me was the hiring practice used by the firm.  They always found top-quality people, most of whom were very trustworthy and had a terrific work ethic.  (Of course everyone is human and we have to learn to trust everyone we work with and this firm got us off to a good start.)

In fact, many of the consultants at Andersen Consulting/Accenture ended up marrying each other.  The "joke" was that HR (human resources) had already qualified the people and now they just had to fall in love.  The other "truth" was that, as an Andersen Consulting/Accenture employee, both partners realized how much work and how many working hours were involved on the job.  They had some shared experience to relate to.

Part of the time when I was working at Andersen Consulting Education (ACE) in St. Charles, IL (where Andersen Consulting and Arthur Andersen and Andersen Worldwide had their corporate training center--now called the Q-Center), I had a chance to work with many multinational consultants in the USA, in Europe, in Australia, and in Asia.  I valued those contacts, though I have lost track of them in the years since I left the firm and went on to other consulting.

Now I need some trustworthy contacts in Europe and Asia.  It occured to me that a very good place to start was with the LinkedIn alumni groups associated with Andersen Consulting/Accenture.  What worked for the people getting married may work for me in terms of finding people I can work with on new ideas for Europe, the USA, and Asia.

I've posted a discussion starter in one of the alumni groups, so now I get to see who may be interested in at least discussing what I am looking for.

Courtesy and Respect--Slipping in the Times of Technology?

"Social graces" are often ways to demonstrate respect for one another.  One aspect of social graces in business is to respect the person you are contacting.  Today I had the experience of receiving a voice message from someone asked to contact me because of a posting on the Internet.  The person leaving the voice message did leave an almost unintelligible telephone number and a first name--and nothing more.  I don't know what business he represents or any details of why someone asked him to call me.  In speaking, he was out of breath when he left the phone number and I've relistened to the voice mail four times and am only missing one number.  I should find that tomorrow morning.

To respect me, the person calling needs to tell me what business name they work with and the purpose of their call. 

Networks and Priorities and Exceptions to Rules

Each of us has a system we use, consciously or unconsciously, to determine our priorities and choices--for our time, attention, value, commitment, money, and more.

I had a call this morning from a friend who knew someone who had had a family tragedy and needed some help.  During the course of that conversation, I became aware of some of the processes I use to determine those priorities and to make exceptions.  It is a normal priority for me to extend what support I can to friends who ask.  When a friend asks on behalf of another friend, I extend my priorities and exceptions to the friend-of-my-friend.

I've offered my support and don't know whether or not I'll be called upon to follow-through.  The experience has already lead to a "snap-shot-awareness" of how I work my processes for priorities and exceptions.  That's a good thing to know.

Any one of us could have a family emergency or tragedy without warning.  It's nice to have friends to connect to and to have those friends connect to people they know.  LinkedIn talks about networks and degrees of networks.   In my network, I have 55 friends;  2 degrees away (friends of friends) I can connect with their 7,600+ people; 3 degrees away (friends of friends of friends) I can connect with 747,800 people.  (Some of my family members are on FaceBook.

Want to join my network on LinkedIn?

Performance and Change Management Consulting for "Big 8-6-5-4" Firms

When I left the U.S. Army after a 10-year career, I was not aware of the "Big 8" Accounting and Consulting firms until I joined one as a Management Consultant in Los Angeles.  Coopers and Lybrand (now part of PriceWaterhouseCoopers) was one of the big firms and I was a management consultant in their Litigation Management practice.

I have been a professional performance and change management consultant for 40+ years.  I began learning how to do what I do so well as a volunteer instructor for the American Red Cross then built skills while on duty as an officer in the U.S. Army.  I continued this practice as a management consultant for my own and for other consulting firms until I went back to earn a doctorate degree to work with even more people and organizations.  After earning my doctorate, I worked again for a "Big 6" Consulting Firm--Andersen World Wide and Andersen Consulting (now Accenture).  Times had changed and I was able to utilize what I had learned in my doctorate degree while working with Andersen Consulting. 

I left Andersen Consulting in 1998 to join another consulting firm as a senior business consultant in change management.

Today there are only four or five major consulting firms like the ones I used to belong to.  Times are changing and one of the real challenges is that client needs are changing, too.

Large consulting firms have large staffs and command high fees.  Large corporations can afford those fees.  Small to mid-sized organizations cannot.  Who takes care of their needs?

There are a few consulting firms that target small to mid-sized businesses.  Beyond that there are lots of individual consultants offering a variety of services.  Unfortunately, the need for service greatly exceeds the availability of consultants.

One person can make a big difference by working at top-levels in a small organization.  That is a tremendous "value added benefit" to small to mid-sized companies seeking out the right consultants at the right time.

Social Networking--Contact Lists--Memory Loss--Communication and Pictures

Social Networking--Now the focus of multiple apps (iPhone/iPod Touch applications) and websites, used to be the exchange of business cards and numbers at a variety of informal "networking" meetings.

I have been involved in professional and volunteer organizations for more than 30 years.  Between 1998 and 2002, I was very active in such networking organizations as the Chicagoland Chamber of Commerce and several professional organizations.  I look at old resumes and remember the Academy of Human Resource Development (AHRD), the International Foundation of Action Learning (USA Chapter) (IFAL-USA), the American Red Cross (ARC), the American Society for Training and Development (ASTD), the Organizational Development Network-Chicago (ODNC) and local chapters of the national associations.

In 2002 I became active in teaching K-12 (after 9-11-2001) and joined several professional education associations.  Depending on what I am doing, I am active in several and some drop out due to a change of focus in my activities.  (I'll give you a list of newer organizations later in this post.)  I also earned a post-doctoral Master of Arts in Teaching degree in 2008 and networked with colleagues and professors at several universities and colleges.

"In the old days" (2002) I would exchange business cards, e-mails, write down names and addresses and enter everything into my Yahoo Contact List--yes, I had fancy contact software and everything seemed to collect in the easy to use Yahoo Contact List.  Unfortunately I didn't have photos of the people I was entering in the list and I didn't make notes on where I knew everyone from.  I just tried to keep the contact information of name, telephone number, and e-mail.

Now we come to the "new days" (or today) with the Social Networking Sites.  I stayed clear of many for a variety of reasons.  I had been invited to LinkedIn a long time ago and had registered without doing anything more.  This summer I was invited to LinkedIn again and decided to create a profile.  One of the first things LinkedIn asked me to do was to import my contact lists to see who I knew already.  I had my trusty Yahoo Contact List (which I had also used to create my G-Mail contact list).  I imported the contact list, then checked-off to invite anyone on my Yahoo Contact List who was already a member of LinkedIn to join my network.  The first day I reconnected with several friends I had not seen in years and was very happy about the LinkedIn connection.  There are some good discussion groups there and I added a couple of my own.  The focus of LinkedIn seems to be professional and I enjoy having those connections and reconnecting with people I haven't touched base with in years.

As with many contact lists, some of my e-mails were outdated and some people had changed their names.  Some of my invitations "bounced" and others didn't remember that we had been connected. 

When I'm faced with someone trying to connect with me, I can honestly say, "I don't remember our connection.  Please remind me or tell me why you think we should connect now."

If people would do that with me on these social networking sites, I would really appreciate it.  It would allow me to connect "in the present" and to find even more value in the connection.
Some of the other organizations I have belonged to recently (some of which I still belong to) are the Association for Supervision and Curriculum Development (ASCD), the National Middle School Association (NMSA), the National Council for Teachers of Mathematics (NCTM), the National Council for the Social Studies (NCSS), the American Library Association (ALA) and several divisions and sections of the ALA--including the Association of College and Research Libraries (ACRL) who have a group on LinkedIn.

The economy has an impact on the disposable income available for membership in professional associations.  Some of the contacts and friends made endure much longer than memberships.
I've posted a picture on this blog, so you can see who is writing.  You can also find pictures on my profiles at all of my Social Networking sites and on my own sites such as http://www.joelmonty.net, http://drm-resources.wikispaces.com, http://joelmonty.wikispaces.com.  I want people to know who they are connecting with.

I believe in social networking--and have for years.  "All of us are greater than some of us"--That's on the poster picture of a school of fish forming the image of a shark in the water.  It's probably copyrighted or I'd post a picture here.