Cisco's Big Push into New MarketsBusinessWeek In recent weeks, Cisco has cut deals with customers looking to use its technology in more expansive ways than ever before— Major League Baseball teams that want fully wired stadiums, the city of Miami as it develops a smart power grid....... While many companies retrench, the tech giant has strong profits and $33 billion in cash in its coffers. ...... the dominant provider of the networking gear that runs the Internet. ..... Just as the tech world revolved around IBM (IBM)'s mainframe computers in the 1970s and Microsoft (MSFT)-powered personal computers in the 1980s and '90s, Chambers believes Cisco has an opportunity now to make its digital networks the platform on which new innovations are built. ...... Cisco's stock, now $18 a share, is at the same level it hit in 1998. ...... hastening efforts to move beyond the core business of selling switches and routers. ...... digital billboards to stereos and video surveillance systems ...... "We're moving into new [areas] with a speed nobody has ever attempted" ........ danger of losing focus ...... concern is that Cisco will alienate key partners that as a group deliver more than 80% of the company's sales ........ HP and Cisco already have begun to spar publicly. ...... "[Chambers] is known for trying to find a win-win," says one tech CEO. "This isn't a win-win. It's a declaration of war." ....... Cisco could lose half of the $4 billion in gear sold each year by IBM and HP ....... P&G plans to install more than 75 of Cisco's high-end TelePresence videoconferencing systems in 55 countries by the end of the year to lower travel costs and hold more global consumer focus groups. ....... "No other company touches the content, the carrier, and the consumer—and the best part is they all drive each other," says Padmasree Warrior, Cisco's chief technology officer.
When it comes to the internet, Cisco has been for hardware what Oracle has been for software. These two are network giants. As the giants of the tech industry seek to expand, it is but inevitable that they will run into each other. C for capitalism, c for competition. Cisco just so happens to be in great financial health. John Chambers and Larry Ellison are very different personality types. Ellison is the brash cowboy. Chambers has the reputation of the smooth, warm, fuzzy guy, but never underestimate a guy who has done a marvelous job of keeping a relentless focus on the fundamentals of his business, innovation being one of them. You can't be in love with innovation and not seek out new markets to grow your company. To the world it might look dramatic what Chambers is attempting, but to his mind he is merely putting one step in front of the other. The internet giant deserves to take yet another stride.
Google Analytics tells me I am a Paul Krugman friend and a Cupcake Android expert. So I might as well deliver. I am going to visit Krugman's blog as often as I can. And I am going to write a whole bunch of blog posts about Cupcake Android. I have a reputation to keep up with. Looks like.
If you are a big believer in social media, and have an active blog, that blog perhaps is your resume gone alive. If resumes could have stories! People stay in touch with you through your blog. Like Larry Page said about a piece of code he wrote early on, it is not like you can answer a million phone calls, but you can respond to a million queries. You blog once, and it gets read about by many.
And here are some revenue streams, while you are at it.
If you absolutely have to write, if you have that urge, that fix, blogging is for you. But blogging is so much more than that. Hillary 2008's campaign manager Mark Penn wrote an elaborate article in the Wall Street Journal calling blogging "America's newest profession."
America's Newest Profession: Bloggers for Hire Mark Penn, Hillary 2008's top guy ... more Americans are making their primary income from posting their opinions than Americans working as computer programmers ... blogging is an important social and cultural movement that people care passionately about, and the number of people doing it for at least some income is approaching 1% of American adults. ... a nation of over 20 million bloggers, with 1.7 million profiting from the work, and 452,000 of those using blogging as their primary source of income ... one percent of the nation, or three million people, can create new markets for a business, spark a social movement, or produce political change ... The Information Age has spawned many new professions, but blogging could well be the one with the most profound effect on our culture. ... Demographically, bloggers are extremely well educated ... It takes about 100,000 unique visitors a month to generate an income of $75,000 a year. ... Bloggers can get $75 to $200 for a good post, and some even serve as "spokesbloggers" -- paid by advertisers to blog about products. As a job with zero commuting, blogging could be one of the most environmentally friendly jobs around -- but it can also be quite profitable. ... Pros who work for companies are typically paid $45,000 to $90,000 a year for their blogging. One percent make over $200,000. ... Bloggers make money if their consumers click the ads on their sites. ... bloggers say they are overwhelmingly happy in their work, reporting high job satisfaction ... There are more questions than answers about America's Newest Profession. ... hard to think of another job category that has grown so quickly and become such a force in society without having any tests, degrees, or regulation of virtually any kind. ... a lot of interest now in Twittering and Facebooking -- but those venues don't offer the career opportunities of blogging. Not since eBay opened its doors have so many been able to sit at their computer screens and make some money, or even make a whole living. ...
So if blogging is more than hobby to you, revenue talk is important. Write good content, jack up your traffic, and let the ad streams take care of the rest is a decent strategy. But in one of my near future posts I am going to argue the big money is not in blogging but in how blogging helps enhance your workspace which better be 2.0 rich in this day and age.
So if your blog is integral to your work, your career, your latest blog post is what your resume looks like today.
No deposit online casinos is a hub, it is a portal. It is an online guide book, if you will. The site takes you to big bonus casinos, free casino games, no deposit casinos, language casinos, all online. US customers from all states welcome.
No deposit online casinos, it can be argued, introduces you to gaming software, only the game is gambling.
Yesterday I had 700 plus followers. This morning when I woke up I had 800 plus followers. I was pleased. But only a few hours later now I have over 1400 followers on Twitter. What just happened? This is rather drastic.
I am not complaining, quite the contrary. But I don't know what brought this about.
I hope my blog traffic sees a similar jump in traffic.
I can't put my finger on as to what brought this about. But, for the record, I am not going to stress about it. I don't need to know. As long as this keeps happening, I want you to know, I am o-k-a-y.
If you got a great blog, most of your traffic is going to come through search engines. Tags are important. External links are important. Hyperlinks are important. For all three these days you got Zemanta. Use it.
Great, regular content hence is also good marketing. Content is queen.
Got to build a mailing list for your blog. The one that I started using for this blog is over 9,000 strong. I decided on it yesterday. And look what I got.
♫
"My name is ______ and I graduated Columbia J School in 2008 where I concentrated in broadcast. I work at ABC News in DC now (the network) and I am working on this idea of Job Hunting and the Internet--pretty much exactly what you posted in your blog below. I am wondering if maybe we could talk on the phone about this idea."
One email a day, with five links to five blog posts: do you think that will work?
(3) Comments Sections Of Other Blogs
Like minded blogs. Celebrity blogs. If you are passionate about what you are passionate about, it is not possible you don't regularly read at least a dozen blogs that share your passion. Engage your favorite bloggers in their comments sections. Link to your blog from their comments sections. That helps jack up your Google rank. And that is a good thing.
JP, Confused Of Calcutta, is a big shot. I have never met him, but I think of him as a friend. He is CIO of British Telecom. I once came across a list in some magazine where Google CEO Eric Schmidt was number six, and JP was number 12. I really like his blog, that is why I visit his blog and participate in his comments sections. But that participation also jacks up my own blog's Google rank. I am not complaining.
I grew up watching Amitabh Bachchan. This here is me in 1993. Amitabh just so happens to be the most recognized face on the planet. His blog lets me interact with him and read his mind the way a handshake will not. In his comments sections, I have hope I will meet him one day. And, by the way, Amitabh was in Calcutta before he moved to Mumbai.
I am a New Yorker. I take pride in the New York Times. It is a good idea for me to leave comments in some of their blog's comments sections and hyperlink my name to my own blog.
I really like it that when I link to an article on the Google Blog, my blog shows up at the bottom of that post at the Google Blog. I am flattered, what can I say?
Mark Cuban is a loud mouth. I think that is a good thing for my blogging.
Huffington Post does Facebook and Mashable does Disqus. They don't make me create a separate account with them or fill up basic info before I can leave a comment. And they both have huge traffic. So it is a very good idea to participate in their comments sections. Read a post, then say what you have to say, and leave a link to one of your blog posts that might go with the theme. Or just leave a link to your blog.
But primarily, you are looking to make friends in comments sections. Passionate bloggers with small traffic might have time for you. Get to know them.
Another way to figure out which comments sections to visit is by using Blogsearch. Make a blog post, then search the key term for your blog post. Relevant blog posts will show up. Read and comment and link back to your blog post. The weirdest part of the exercise though is that most blogs out there don't do Disqus, at least not yet. But the nice ones just ask for your name, email address, not to be published but required, they say, and website address. The not nice ones expect you to register with them. I almost always walk away when I see that red flag.
The reason you want to follow everyone who follows you is because the Direct Message option is a great one. It is like a politician saying hello to you on the campaign trail. That is not shallow. He/she is not pretending to be family.
Twitterfeed is as grand as TweetDeck. Thanks to Twitterfeed, as of yesterday, my Netizen blog, this blog, BusinessWeek, CNet, and Digg will all feed my Twitter feed without me doing anything about it. Manual feeding is history.
(5) Facebook Notes
My blog is integrated with my Facebook account. So a new blog post shows up as a note in my Facebook stream. And I like to tag friends to those notes, so I show up in their Facebook stream as well. That is a fancy way of saying hello.
(6) Feeds
Don't allow feeds access to your full content. Give out the first paragraph. Let people show up at your blog if they want to see the whole thing.
It is good to see Google compete with itself. Search is so fundamental to the web that constant innovation is the only way to go. Windows can reach saturation, Office can, but not search. We are barely scratching the surface.
By now the way Google does search is so capital intensive. But real time search is not capital intensive, and there Twitter is the one with the buzz.
I don't think either Twitter or Wolfram Alpha will beat Google, but good thing both will keep Google on its toes. Because when it comes to search, much is lacking, much too much is lacking.
Cut expenses mercilessly. This is for personal and family budgets.
Work
Even if it is a much lower paying job. Can't eat into savings too much, and not forever.
Reinvent
We live in a day and age when people will have several careers, not jobs but careers, over a lifetime. Reinvent yourself.
Focus On Personal Growth: Prepare For Takeoff
There is the bungee jump phase. That, by definition, can not last forever even if it lasts longer than anticipated. Then there in the plateau phase. Then there is the takeoff phase. The plateau phase is the time to prepare for the takeoff phase.
The Best Things In Life Are Free
Really. Life slowing down is not all bad news. In many ways it is good news. A slower life is time to discover people, relationships, hobbies. It is time to catch up on books you always wanted to read. It is time to hone on skills that you think you will need once it is time to takeoff.
This perhaps is good time to smell the roses.
That 90-10 Rule
If 10% of the people are unemployed, 90% are still working. But then there are pockets of 22% unemployment rates. And that is not even taking into account the chronic unemployment in the inner cities, and other underserved areas. That is not taking into account the permanent poverty in much of the world.
That Plateau Feeling?
What if America and the world hit a new plateau of lower paying jobs across the board? That would not be a happy plateau. Personally I don't think that is where we are headed. But then I am counting on the political leadership to deliver. (30 Points Down In The Polls) The financial markets will be regulated, and made sane. This economy will be restructured.
Time To Make Big Fortunes
The most trailblazing of companies have been founded in the most depressing of times. This time that is going to be extra true.
'Would you tell me, please, which way I ought to go from here?' 'That depends a good deal on where you want to get to,' said the Cat. 'I don't much care where --' said Alice. 'Then it doesn't matter which way you go,' said the Cat. '--so long as I get somewhere,' Alice added as an explanation.
Web 2.0 is very real to me. It is my primary reality. America is Europe. The Internet is my America.
The economy went ahead and did a bungee jump. Many people lost jobs. I was not, am not into jobs. I did not lose a job. But I did lose some investors. I will find new ones, not to worry.
My primary tech startup might have taken a momentary backseat, but my secondary tech startup - to do with online tutoring - is also thick in 2.0. 2.0 is reality. And it is exciting. And it could pick up fast. It also helps me network in Mumbai, India's NYC, a sister city. That networking is crucial for my primary startup.
Personally I think a downturn like this one is high time for ambitious entrepreneurship, but most people prefer to do the job thing. And that's fine. Dropouts who create trailblazing companies depend on big name colleges to populate those companies. Entrepreneurs need jobholders, many, many of them.
For now I wanted to share this wonderful article about job hunting and 2.0. It is comprehensive and helpful. I personally know too many people who are between jobs. It is not a happy sight. I hope this helps a little.
Computer World: Job Hunting? Use Social Networks To Make Crucial Connections social networking Web sites such as LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter ...... a highly organized, scientific approach to his job search ...... a spreadsheet ..... made concentrated use of social networking sites to present himself online and to research targeted companies. ......... LinkedIn was one of the most useful tools ....... the de-facto must-use tool in today's career environment. ...... If you're not on Twitter, get there. Start Tweeting ...... sending out about 60 to 70 resume/cover letter blasts to job sites, companies, etc ....... sent out 103 blasts -- but this time he used LinkedIn ....... trying to find people who worked at the company who had a role in the product area he was interested in ......... follow-up messages. "And the response rate from those follow-ups was much higher than the original sendouts," he said, at 40% compared to the first response rate of only 5%. ........ maintaining his online profile, doing status updates on sites such as Facebook and Twitter ....... four weeks and one day after the targeted resume/cover letter blast.
Get to know the hiring manager LinkedIn was vital to her success. ..... garnered 35 recommendations from former co-workers and posted them on LinkedIn .... used LinkedIn contacts ..... you must be willing to take action outside your comfort zone ....... Don't spend too much time in front of the screen. Phone calls and face-to-face meetings are vital ...... get connected to someone working at the company you're targeting ....... Don't be afraid to reach out to anyone on the Web in your targeted area .... stay engaged in your field, keep up on the latest news, products and services -- and check out start-ups, which can be a great place to find a job
Why in-house contacts matter His data confirms that an in-company referral is priceless..... how crucial it is to use social networking sites for one specific purpose and one purpose only. ..... 50 to 70 times more likelihood of being interviewed ....... she used LinkedIn to actually find four people she knew well who in turn knew current associates in her targeted company ...... I also used LinkedIn to research the three individuals I interviewed with
Fewer resumes, but more focused "In 2001, I probably put out, over five months, 10 resumes a day" ........ only 20 to 30 resumes in total ........ very much more laser-focused" approach that includes asking a social contact to put him in touch ...... used Twitter mainly as a "listening post," keeping himself up to date on current events in his areas of interest.
The power of going local face-to-face networking with short and quick "elevator pitches." ....... it's often a case of contacting someone who knows someone who knows someone who knows a person at a company looking to fill a position. ...... "a lot of touch points" ...... a large number of recommendations on his LinkedIn profile
Don't spend all your time online Contacting people, staying on the phone [is important] ........ spend no more than 10% to 20% of their time with online tools ...... Find a way to get their phone number. Find a way to get a meeting with them. ....... information interview ......... And too many simply post their resume to job sites and hope that that will get them a job. And that is one of the least effective methods that's out there. ........ nothing more than a printed-out profile from LinkedIn .... all relationship based ...... Tyler Cooper received his first job offer from a blog.
Don't be afraid to reach out Use the Web to keep track of trends and new start-ups and reach out to companies, Web sites, bloggers and other resources. By "reaching out" he means taking the initiative to contact people you may come across on the Web. "Never be afraid to reach out. If someone leaves their e-mail address, send them a message, ask questions, send suggestions. You never know what will come of it" ......... TwitterJobSearchTwellow.com"Life is 10% what happens to you and 90% how you respond to it."
Losing Job May Be Hazardous to HealthNew York Times What to Do When You Lose Your Job - Room for Debate Blog For Job Losses, No Sign That Worst Is Over Bright Spot in Downturn: New Hiring Is Robust while 4.8 million workers were laid off or chose to leave their jobs in February, employers across the country hired 4.3 million workers that month ...... In February — before the economy started to show the first faint signs of a possible recovery — there were three million job openings nationwide. And despite large new job losses likely to be announced Friday, there are still millions of job openings. ...... “You’re facing more competition for every job you apply for, but the reality is there is a lot of hiring going on” .... “You’re never going to find anything unless you apply.”
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