Should Everyone Learn Marketing Skills?
Marketing is everywhere–no seriously! Learning to use LinkedIn, I realized you can either a) learn to draw positive attention to yourself to make connections that help you land a job or grow your business or b) draw negative attention or (worst of all, it seems) no attention at all to yourself, and thus remain jobless and connectionless (unless you’re a recruiter). In other words, you can either market yourself wisely or market yourself poorly. Either way, you’re...
Read MoreWhy You Can’t Benefit From Escaping The Echo Chamber
Every so often I read a post that cries out into the ether: Is it just me, or is everyone saying the same thing over and over again at the same time? Nope. It’s not just you. It’s all of us. Carry on. We’ve all heard the simple “birds-of-a-feather” explanation, but isn’t that just an excuse? I mean, birds don’t choose. We choose to surround ourselves with the people we do. We choose to read what we read. We choose to share what we share. So why is it...
Read MoreThe Attack Of The Grinning Avatar
I’ve been on the receiving end of a flame-thrower or two, mostly in the discussion groups I frequent on LinkedIn. I don’t mean reasoned opinions or arguments. I mean rain-on-the-party negativity and rudeness. My only real issue with this (yes, the only one) is the way those people are often presented: smiling contentedly or confidently, laughing merrily, or gazing studiously into the distance. It’s a really interesting psychological experience to be railroaded by a smiling...
Read MoreAvoid Using Your Powers Of Influence For Evil
In the course of conversation, Small Biz Lady Melinda Emerson said to me yesterday, “I don’t want to use my powers for evil.” I can’t remember the last time anyone with as much online and offline weight has said this aloud–in my presence, anyway. To help others, definitely. To combat negative forces, certainly. But the above statement gave me pause. There was no vanity in it: it was a bald acknowledgement that influencers can’t behave the same way as...
Read MoreVictoria Ipri’s LinkedIn Strategy for Success
I only recently began participating in Victoria Ipri’s lively LinkedIn groups, The Confident Copywriter and Social Media For The Clueless. Besides these two, she owns a third group, Corporate Social Strategy; authored the sensible and instructive e-book Social Media for the Clueless; and recently published a second e-book, LinkedIn for the Clueless. Obviously, she’s a busy woman, but I remain impressed with her unfailingly personable interactions online as a professional and as a human. So...
Read MoreLinkedIn Answers & Polls In Research
LinkedIn Answers has hooked me since I created my account years ago. I’ve been using it to learn, provide help where I can, and to satisfy my curiosity. When LinkedIn Polls was added, I began to see the potential to use both for the more serious purposes of research and statistics gathering. I like to ask certain questions to see if I find any patterns in the answers I receive. For seven days, I respond to each respondent, ask for further input if I see an opportunity, and...
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