I've decided to take a year off and apply to graduate school in the Fall of 2012. My lack of HCI/ UX Design experience. My lack of research experience in the field. All the information recruiters and professionals need to ignore me or just say no. I have contacted several professors in my area about potential research assistant/volunteer opportunities, only to get rejected and I do not know why. I was estimable in my emails. No harsh words. No rudeness. But I was persistent with my responses. Since when has persistence become the new n-word? Take persistence and your drive to succeed out of the equation and what would you have left? Absolutely nothing. All I hear right now is dead silence on the other end of the line.
Also, I think social media is not a good outlet for job hunting. Social networking is good for "finding" pages and pages of job listings, but it limits the way people go about looking for work. Yes, I can tweet or use InMail to track down a employer about a career opportunity or job inquiry, but will that person contact me back?
Ok, I am having a hard time finding a research position. What is the closest thing I can do to get my top schools to look at me as a future M.S. candidate? I'll take an user experience internship for 500 points Alex Trebek. So I paid $30.00 (as an experiment) for the LinkedIn Job Expert account. I read that with this account, unemployed job seekers are placed at the top of the online applicant pool and job search results. So far, fewer people have checked my LinkedIn profile than before the upgrade. My summary and marketing pinch are sweet and concise to the point. I participate in several LinkedIn groups. I even posted this blog's url link and published work. If I could get my money back, I would. What are you recruiters waiting for?! Are you anxiously waiting for the perfect candidate to appear at your online doorstep?
Next stop: online job postings. BIG mistake. No one likes my applications. No one reads my applications. No one wants to interview me. I am just an inexperienced pawn in a recruiter's game of chess. Yet recruiters do not know that I am ten steps (pun attended) ahead of them. Is hope all lost? Not quite. I promise to attend more networking events this summer. Last week, I attended my first job fair; the 2011 Essex County College Job Fair Expo in Newark, NJ. I met future employers and landed some job training and job leads. I plan to attend another job fair next week. Drawbacks? I do not know the names of the employers and companies that will participate beforehand. It must be a Newark thing. Benefits? I pushed my boundaries and got my name and brand out there.
So I am not getting a job anytime soon. How can I or anyone in my situation improve his/her skills? UX Designers are in high demand. So during this summer, I plan to self-teach myself Adobe Dreamweaver, Photoshop, Flash, and Illustrator so that by the fall, I am more marketable. I am going to continue reading about HCI and possible look into vlogging and open-source projects to keep me busy and awesome. If I can walk a three mile race for breast cancer without any prior experience, I can do anything ....as long as I am not stopping myself short.
And so my life after Smith College continues... what are your summer plans?
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I've done some extraordinary things last year. I've gotten a volunteer gig in April. I went to a Smith College networking event in October. I'm networking with people at my volunteer gig. I am learning what it takes to be a leader and trailblazer. But those were just small steps to my plan of world domination. I am still not financially stable. I am still looking for a job. I still don't have my own place. Yet these things will come in due time.
2011 is the breaking point of my post-college career . If I don't elevate myself to new heights, I am pretty much screwed. So my 2011 motto is standing out in the world. I believe in the power of good karma and doing good deeds. I believe that if I help more people through my talents, I can prove to myself and to others that I am someone worthy of their time, energy, and commitment. I did not do enough last year to get companies and recruiters to notice me and this year I will.
1. Network: Networking will become an even more pivotal part of my life in 2011. It is who you know that will take you to the top of your industry or field. I plan on finding a job, but I will not use networking to get me a job directly and I say this with brute honesty because people will see me as desperate. Networking will improve my self-esteem and leadership skills and give my contacts enough optimism and trust in me to possibly connect me to others, which can lead me to job prospects. Big difference. 2010 was all about online job hunting which resulted in possible online frauds, dead ins, and ineffective recruiting. My New Years Resolution is about building my connections and knowledge of schmoozing and marketing. This is how I am going to network in 2011:
Offline Networking:
- Network with people I know through my volunteer gig, college, networking events,etc.
- Use Meetup.com, Twitter, and the Smith College Club of New York as resources to attend networking events and connect with individuals there.
Online Networking:
- Revisit my favorite Twitter chats weekly and get my name and brand out there from the grassroots level.
- #GenYChat
- #ForbesChat
- #u30pro
- #jobhuntchat
2. Travel: I thought long and hard about this. I currently don't have a lot of money, but I want to travel the world and see new places and cultures. By the summer of 2011, I hope to save enough money to take part in an AmeriCorp or PeaceCorp fellowship. I know basic Spanish, French, and Japanese and it would be fitting to actually relearn these languages and others in their natural environments than in classrooms. I do not know where I would like to go but I am thinking of heading down to Asia first, particularly China or Japan.
World travel has its benefits. It fuels creativity and new ideas. Currently my creativity is running dry. Not in the sense that I am losing my genius, but the energy and thought process are at a standstill at the moment. One of the major ways that I can fuel more creativity is to travel outside my comfort zone.
3. Acquire New Skills: Earlier I said that I know basic Spanish, French, and Japanese. I've taken language classes during most of my academic life. The problem? I have not been to France, Japan, or any of the Spanish speaking countries to improve my language skills. That is why I want to travel outside the U.S. I will continue to use LiveMocha and possibly Rosetta Stone for the time being to broaden and strengthen my skills. But hopefully by this year, I will actually visit these places. I am also at a disadvantage. I'm interested in pursuing a career in marketing and new media. Pursuing a MBA degree and start-up later down the road are also dreams of mine. If I ever want to work at a place like Google or Apple for example, I have to learn more technical skills. I am in the process of searching for affordable Adobe Dreamweaver and Photoshop courses this spring. With these new skills, I hope to stand out from the rest of the applicant pool. Do you see the connections here?Through the power of networking, travel, and education, I will create new ideas and spread those ideas to the world. As Seth Godin said, the only way you will get noticed by others, especially in this day in age, is to be heard. As I retrospect on the times I applied to jobs, I should have pushed myself harder to get that extra phone call or email from the employer. I cannot just send a resume and cover letter and hope that someone will contact me. I cannot do that anymore. I must charge and make things happen. A new job. A new place to live. A way to pay back my loans. You see those things are the ends, not the means of hard work. Patience is a virtue, but being a go-getter triumphs all.
What are your New Year's resolutions this year? How will you stay committed to your goals?
So what is a linchpin? A linchpin, according to marketing guru Seth Godin, is someone that you should aspire to be. Linchpins stand out by creating ‘art’ (meaningful work) through emotional work and are not afraid to challenge the status quo. With this economic recession, a lot of people including myself, are reevaluating our career choices. People are leaving their jobs to launch start-ups and other ventures. If this had happened 50 years ago, these people would have been outcasts. Why would they leave their secure jobs with good 401K plans, health insurance, and retirement pensions to start a company? Now answer this question. How many current “jobs” have these same financial benefits? Very few. Fast forward. So wait, Santa Claus performs meaningful work? Think about it.
Today, people create blogs and social profiles to leverage average consumers, future employers, and industry experts. Santa pretty much does need to use social media like we do because his brand has already developed through centuries of folklore, not YouTube. But if he were real and wanted to get with the times, a strong social media presence would be beneficial because he could connect with millions of his fellow admirers online. Do you know how many tweets and Facebook comments he would get from people? Trillions. Epic Twitter shut-down! But for Santa Claus, it would just be a day in the life of a linchpin, reinventing himself one character at a time.
What are your holiday plans for Christmas and New Years this year? How has Santa Claus change your life? And Happy Holidays everyone! :D
How did you like the commercial?
Hi everyone! I know you all missed me.
Ok, so everyone has been buzzing about Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerburg's 100 million donation to the City of Newark. If you have not noticed, I currently live in Newark. I was born and raise in Newark and I am very excited that there are billionaire entrepreneurs out there that are willing to donate their money to the less fortunate. Perhaps Zuckerburg can integrate his social media interface into getting these students to learn and think big. Newark public schools need it, especially in this recession.
However, I fear that Mayor Cory Booker and his administration are going to mishandle that money and use it for their own purposes. So Mark Zuckerberg, if you are out there, make damn sure you have a thorough business plan to implement that money into the Newark public school system the right way. Newark is known for its political corruption. Newark is possibly the only city in the state of New Jersey that does not have a mall. Malls create jobs. They may not create high paying jobs, but given that 43.6 million are living below the poverty line in this country alone, something is better than nothing, and I think even with the new Prudential Arena, more needs to be done. We have the land, we just have stubborn, greedy individuals in power that have used the politics of fear to blind the public of reality for the last forty years. I do not understand why Oprah Winfrey does not see the truth either.
Onto other news, I finally got an interview with Apple Retail. Saturday morning! 10:00am. Upper West Side store! Very excited. I have come a long way to not be nervous. I know what I have to do. Wish me good luck and everyone have a lovely weekend!
Oooo I forgot, this is the picture of the week. I am a fallen soul, an awesome soul, full of passion and dreams.
What do you think about this Facebook announcement? What do you know about Newark politics? What will you do this weekend?
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The "You are Going Places" Award! Ray J, you should not have! Thanks hun! This award could not have come at a better time. I am a bit of a rut. Last week, I told you about my YouTube Culture and Trends Editor position dilemma. When I heard the job was filled through a Google recruiter, I feel like I am going nothing in my life. You can take a look at my blog to get a glimpse of my bumpy road.
Despite my shortcomings, I always see the positive side at the end of the yellow brick road. Whether you are in circumstances worse and more incomprehensible than my own, if Dorothy got home with her red, glittery shoes, then you can click your heels three times hard enough to achieve your goals.
I appreciate that there are people out there like Ray-J and my social media family that are rooting for me to succeed. I am going places and with my witty charm and determination, there is no point in stopping me.
The main rule of this award was to answer the question: Where I will see myself in ten years?....Such as a vague question to begin a conversation with. What would a random person say?
Random person: Omg, I want to live in a big house out in the country with children and live happily after.
I am one of those people out there that don't have a year or 5 year plan all laid out because life is unpredictable. I do keep a weekly plan, my New Years Resolution, monthly goals, and blogging resolution, but I do not live by them each and every second of my life. Things happen that are out of my control. It is best to work your life around your goals. Have goals, not objectives; goals that are realistic and idealistic with a bit of flexibility thrown in.
So for instance, if you want to be an astronaut, you can be and there is no stopping you, but you have to understand that there are events that will be beyond our control. What if down the road a loved one passes away or a freak accident profoundly impacts the rest of your life and your goals? Did you have that listed on your 5-year plan? Think about it.
A teenager's alarm clock goes off in the wee hours of the morning. She stretches and yawns as she gets up from her slumber. You would think she would go straight to the bathroom to take a shower or brush her teeth. Nope. She picks up her iPhone 3GS phone from the nightstand and checks her latest Facebook updates. Forty-five minutes has passed. She is almost ready to go to school, but before she jets out the house, she takes one last picture. This has become her morning ritual. She strikes a scandalous pose. She bears her flat bottom or cleavage, but she is a hipster and must creatively channel her Twilight, teenage appeal in front of her iPhone and onto her Facebook profile. Did I mention that she is looking for a summer job?
Facebook has come under fire lately for its new Facebook privacy changes, changes that I cannot fathom at this moment because 1.) I use Facebook daily and could be possibly deceived by Facebook's antics. 2.) I see both sides of this net neutrality/privacy controversy. I use Facebook to post blog posts, pictures, and comments, but I make sure that my actions are appropriate for everyone and don't undermine or jeopardize me from obtaining a future job or network opportunity.
Critics do not want their digital footprints to be publicized and used by Facebook or other affiliated Facebook companies. Others continue to create new accounts every day and are continuing to share their information with friends, family, and their other Facebook networks. My question is to not to ask you whether or not Facebook is a capitalist enterprise, set to monetize on your personal information. We all should know that answer.
My question to you out there using Facebook is why in the world would many of you post raunchy photos and comments about your boss when you know that Facebook and everyone with a Facebook account could read them? You as the consumer is responsible for what you say on the Internet. You do not have to use social media. You do not have to log in every second to see your friend's status change from married to single. You can delete your Facebook right now at this very moment. You can try to live a life without social media and the personalization of data. But do not blame Facebook for your inconsiderate behavior and the amount of information you reveal. That was a conscious choice.You are responsible for your online presence and reputation.
Remember the teenager I mentioned earlier? She did not get any job interviews greatly because recruiters and hiring managers googled her horrible Facebook profile and declined to interview her. Do you want to end up as her? I have two great resources for you to check out:
- If you want to take the first steps to learning how to construct a good Facebook profile on your own terms, read this article here.
- Also, Jim Hopkinson from the Hopkinson Report draws some great insight on how Facebook, with all the criticism it has been getting in the last several months, might become the next social fad.
What do you think about Facebook and its privacy platform? Will you delete your Facebook profile? Are there any alternative social media sites (not talking about Twitter or Linkedin) that offer readers with more privacy options than Facebook?
Whomever came up with the question, "Is social media is a fad?" 1.) has been living under a rock his/her entire life 2.) does not know about how to live humanly. Social media is here to stay, but at what costs?
What are your views about social media and its future in the human fabric?
Everyone has been blogging about the iPhone 4GS prototype investigation for over a week now. R.E.A.C.T's possession of Gizmodo's editor Jason Chen's Internet property adds another dimension to the case. I do not need to summarize the whole situation for you. The above links has all the background information you need to form your own opinions. I am here to provide you, the blogger, with some meaningful advice that you can take away from this dispute. I am the neutral party and Devil's Advocate in this post. I do not favor Gizmodo's or Apple's actions over the other.
1. Be prepared and responsible for your own actions. When bloggers generate ideas and research blog topics for their blog posts, bloggers must give acknowledgement to the blogger, organization, or entity they took those ideas from if the content is not originally theirs. All bloggers must take responsibility for any possible backlashes or consequences when information is posted on their blogs.
Jason Chen took a risk when he posted his observations of the lost iPhone 4GS prototype on Gizmodo.com. Whether or not he knew that his findings would get him into legal trouble, Mr. Chen should have known that Apple Inc. will not act quietly to retrieve back its merchandise because it does not play when it comes to safeguarding its secrets and products. All bloggers must be accountable for every aspect of their personal brands, including the validity and potential value of your content. The First Amendment has its limitations you know.
For a multi-billion dollar company that strongly emphasizes on individuality and innovation, it seems one-minded when it comes to you, the consumer. Does Apple allow public relations representatives or engineers to tweet or use other social media outlets to engage current and future Apple customers about their projects or the company's status on these projects like Intel and Google? No. Apple frankly does not even have an official Facebook page.
If Apple desires bloggers and new media publications to discuss its products, it should embrace social media to communicate with its costumers and strengthen its cultural leverage and reputation. When Apple found out that Gizmodo possessed the missing iPhone, Apple's spokesperson could have made a public statement similar to this: "Yes, this is the prototype. We at Apple are at the initial stages of the new iPhone. We will deal with Gawker Media privately, but we encourage our supporters to add their output and suggestions about improving this device. We would be more than willing to reach out to them via [email, mail, social media, phone,etc.] Thank you for your time." Done.
Steve Jobs, if you are out there, have your supporters be a part of the beta-testing process and your social media campaign (if you decide to form one). When it comes to social media and social marketing, it should be a two-way street for the organization (or business) and its followers. I do not know what will happen next in this ordeal, but I will say is that bloggers should be more careful when things gets political.
What are your views about this ordeal? What should bloggers and the new media community do next? What should happen to Jason Chen or Gizmodo legally?
This guide is two specific things. First, it is my New Year's Blogging Resolution. When I was writing my Declaration of Independence piece last December, I was also planning on writing a blogging resolution as well, but I thought writing one was quite trivial. Was I wrong?! Secondly, after writing my response to John Kownacksi's "Before You Start Being Relevant" article, I wanted to write a follow-up guide of the things I have learned about making it as a blogger and social media participant these days. It is not all peaches and cream like many bloggers seems to live through everyday. I want you to learn from my mistakes. So this is my New Year's blogging resolution and your guide to becoming a better blogger. So, what have I have experienced through this ordeal?
1. Be humble with what you already have. Be grateful with how much traffic you receive and the number of followers and comments you get daily. I am now grateful that 27 people think that my blog is worth their time to read and comment. I may not have the influence and a big fan base like many other popular bloggers have right now, but my brand will only become bigger and successful if I put the time and effort in the long run.
3. Have a strong, healthy ego. Do not try to become a shameless self-promoter all the time. There are times to do it, but not everyday. Link your blog posts to a couple of social media outlets at a time. If you promote on Twitter, late afternoons and evenings are the best times to get more retweets and publicity. Do not spam Twitter or forums like I have because people will not take you and your brand seriously. I've learned the hard way and I will never do that ever again. Shameless self-promotion makes you appear desperate and ignorant of the proper way of social marketing and personal branding. Patience is a virtue.
4. Be Yourself. When you write your blog posts, be yourself. When you reply to your follower's comments, be yourself. When you go on social media outlets to promote your brand, be yourself. Do not try to be anyone else other than yourself. As I was watching the first season of Glee all this week, I realized that the characters on the hit TV show discovered that they could finally be themselves and appreciate their own musical talents as a part of their high-school's glee club. High-school is ground-zero for social pressures and conformity already as teenagers are pressured to become images they are not. The glee's club win at the sectional competition only proves that with talent, determination, and through adversity, you can be victorious. If you can be yourself, your passions, your influence, your integrity, and your blogging leverage will follow through.
What have you learned as a blogger?
No more TRL. No more music. No more iconic MTV logo. Do not get me started on these dumb reality shows! Do you want to know why I will only watch MTV for the awards shows now? When I heard that the cast members of Real World: Jersey Shore were given $10,000 per episode contracts to produce a second season! Oh my fucking god. MTV, what have you done? You substituted a generation of wonderful music shows such as TRL, Diary, Fanatic, and MTV Jams for a bunch of tasteless, attention whores? MTV is like Tiger Woods. It was married to popular music and well-respected by celebrities who acknowledged it as the catalyst that launched their music careers. But it ended up sleeping with Snookie instead. (Thank god I do not watch Jersey Shore!). MTV has clearly lost its morals and is only here to cash in on the latest reality show craze it helped generate in the early 1990s instead of being relevant again.
YouTube could end up on the same path to self-destruction. Unlike MTV, I will continue to use YouTube to watch videos because it is still relevant to me. After reading Wired Magazine's "5 Secrets to YouTube Success" article, I realized that YouTube has come a long way since its founding in 2005. YouTube has transformed average people and local bands into semi-famous individuals overnight and I hope that the exchange of communication and ideas continues to thrive between YouTube vloggers and their followers.But after playing around with the new YouTube layout, I learned that YouTube needs to rethink its website design strategy. I initially thought the new video page was a April Fool's joke. However, when I realized it wasn't, I spammed Twitter, tweeting that YouTube needs to figure out who is on its user-experience team before it makes another decision because the homepage is horrendous. It may have taken YouTube ten months to listen to user feedback to create this new layout, but it needs to reconsider this disaster. First of all, I do not like this thumbs up, thumbs down policy that YouTube implemented to replace the five-star system. What if I like a video, but think it is not worthy enough of a thumbs up? So, the rating of the video is somewhere down the middle. With the new system, there is no middle ground. With the old system, I could have easily graded the video with three stars.
Secondly, I hate the excess of white space on the left side of every page. I think the font size and columns (ie. related videos) were rearranged to give the users a more "user-friendly environment". Despite the influx of spam and racist comments, I personally like the old layout a lot better. This is coming from someone who is a YouTube consumer, not a vlogger. I knew where to go, which buttons to press. Now each page looks bare and out of place. The only new feature that I like is the you can now easily share your favorite YouTube videos with your Facebook friends. Other than that, nothing.
I am glad that the people that I have talked to in person and on Twitter about this issue agree with me 100%. We as fans should contact YouTube and demand the old video page back somehow because I do not want YouTube to be the next MTV. If more fans complain about it, then YouTube will get the message. If they don't, YouTube might continue to develop new design changes without our opinions and eventually go downhill, allowing another online video-sharing website will take its place.
What are your thoughts on the new YouTube video page? What should YouTube do next? Is MTV a has been?
A couple of days ago, I was strolling through my Tweet Deck until I came across a ijustine tweet with a link to a recent Justin Kownacki's article entitled, "Are You Waiting Until You're Popular Before You Start Being Relevant?". The title alone struck a chord to me. His words defiantly brought life to a continuing situation in my life: what is my path to success and how I can implement it in social media and in other mediums? Am I socially irrelevant? It only took me only two minutes to decide to write a response to this insightful article. I am here to confess to you that:
1. I am a shameless self-promoter sometimes. Who else is going to do my dirty work? Me.
2. I tweet celebrities and other famous people (in their own right), seeking some form of self-recognition and acknowledgment from the people that I admire, when nine out of ten, they don't response back.
3. Twitter and other micro-blogging platform feel like continuous beauty pageants. Everyone including myself, is seeking their fifteen minutes of fame in the most constructive or ludicrous ways possible. I personally was not the most popular girl in high-school, so I may already be at a disadvantage.
4. Setting yourself and your personal or professional brand(s) is harder now since more and more people are now signing up to Twitter and other social networking sites and creating new blogs at an astronomical rate. Your Twitter account or blog is like a resume/cover letter with hundreds of thousands of hiring managers grossing over it to see you are worthy following.
5. Twitter has now socially integrated into my own personal life. So for people who think I have no life outside my laptop computer, you can just stuck it.
6. Despite my pleas for self-recognition, I fear overexposure. Case in point, Justin Bieber. I still do not know why is he is a constant trending topic on Twitter.
7. Fear should be a sin. Like what Kownaski said in his article, what is stopping you from being the real "you"? I do not have a definite answer, but the plot thickens.
Despite these confessions, I am more grounded than I had thought. I do not compare the Twitter backgrounds or the tweets or writing styles of successful bloggers and social media experts to my own brand because everyone is different. There is no point in trying to be someone else or be another ijustine or aplusk. What I do envy, however, is the self-recognition and support that these people get on a daily basis. I just want to be known for my visionary talents. When you seem like you have a good foot in the door, another obstacle crashes on top of you. Despite my fears and problems, I see the brighter side of the rainbow. (To Be Continued).
What are your fears and anxieties using social media tools to enhance your business or brand?
In a more idealistic world, leadership is not all about the efforts and determination of one person to move mountains. It is also about teamwork and negotiation. As I was watching the health care reform debate on Twitter and on TV, I do not think there is no such thing as compromise in Washington.
Congress passed the new health care reform bill and I am glad that in this day of age, some solution was made to give millions of uninsured Americans more insurance options. But with little compromise between both the Democratic and Republican parties and even within the two parties at some extent at the end, the transparency of the bill was left ambiguous to the American people.
I discussed this issue further with members of the #journchat session on Twitter last night and I am still bothered. For 14 months, all I heard on TV was the bickering back and forth about what will and what will not be covered under this new #hcr bill. What I did not get was a transparent understanding of the rules and consequences of passing this bill. Why did not YouTube or another social media network collaborate with a news cable network to inform the American public more about the advantages and disadvantages of this bill? Everyone is using social media tool these days to communicate with one another, so it seems fitting.
You know why? Politics. Politics disillusioned us. My AP English teacher always said to my senior class, "Politics is another word for conflict". The conflict of opposing ideologies and stubbornness disillusioned us from what truly matters in this country and that is our health and well-being. Health care should be a right, not a privilege. Compromise between the two political parties should be a right, not a privilege.
I do not understand why the many women and men that we have voted into office to represent us do not understand this. You can not always have what you want. I wish there was a way to just simply erase their prejudices away, but I cannot.
What are your thoughts on this bill? What do you think about bipartisanship and compromise on Capitol Hill?
Dear Google,
I love you. I really, really, love you. My love for you grows stronger with each passing day. But lately, your mistakes have been getting in the way of our relationship. Google Buzz. Google Wave. Both are a bit.....late in the game.
I've played around with Google Wave a couple times in the last three months and I had a hard time connecting with people to make any Goggle Waves of my own. Maybe it is my fault. Maybe I need to do more in the relationship. I'll give it another shot. But after the product's launch last November, the frenzy has died down. I do not even hear anyone using Google Wave anymore. It is not even in the news or under my Twitter news feed.
Google Buzz.... I think it was a mess. I saw the layout and functions of Google Buzz and thought it looked alright, but I am a Twitter junkie now. It resembles all the other major social networking platforms. What happened to your innovation, Google? Plus, I did not like the fact that Google Buzz was coded into Gmail without my permission. I thought you would be honest with me! *Tear* If Google Buzz was designed three years ago when Twitter came out, it would had a better chance with social media consumers. But I still love you. You and your flaws. *Hug*
Love,
Christina Brown
Google's Girlfriend
If you remember from my What is Twitter is Good For? article last month, I declared that I was using Twitter solely to understand company politics, job postings, and read statements from my favorite Hollywood celebrities. Since then, I have expanded my membership by actively using Twitter to market my blog and reach out to people outside my inner circle. I am now following more technology and media gurus because I am interested in a career in new media. I am tweeting and retweeting about everything, from whatever I was thinking in a certain moment in time to a link to an article about Conan O'Brien's unexpected departure from the NBC network. I think I am becoming a Twitter addict and I think it is a good thing. Usually, addictions are bad transgressions that we cannot control, yet metaphorically I will use Twitter's marketing tactics to control my personal brand and its reputation on the Internet.
As Baratunde Thurston voiced in a recent Varity Fair article about what the late MLK would have thought of microblogging platforms such as Twitter if he was still alive, "Twitter is everything today: news source, stock ticker, pop-culture meme tracker, font of inane narcasstic chatter, time suck, marketing tool, and promised savoir of journalism/capitalism/democracy/[insert dying institution here]."
I could not say or phrase it in any other fashion. Twitter is now my source of news, fun, online politics, and guilty pleasure rolled up into one multifaceted online pool. And as the inquisitive person that I am, I am only dusting off the surface of my Twitter experience. There are still other Twitter techniques out there that I am still unaware of and I hope with online research, I will learn to use Twitter more to market my blog to new readers by finding new ways to effectively implicate my 140 character feed to attract new readers and industry professionals to my work. But life is all about learning and communicating, so I will get there in time. I hope to engage in more online "real-time" sessions in the future because my Golden Globe Party was quite fun. It would have a lot cooler if I had dressed up and met Gerard Butler in person. *Sighs*
Every online website and cable news network from Time Magazine to CNBC has shared their own lists of the best and worst celebrity scandals or ideas of the last decade. And now I am going to give you my rundown of the lessons that I have learned since the year 2000. I still cannot believe it has been ten years already since the start of the twenty-first century. I am getting old.
1. Don't Fuck With The Terrorists: I apologize for using the f word, but I had to. With 9/11, this recent attempted Christmas bombing of a commercial airplane heading to Detroit, and the Fort Hood massacre still lingers in the hearts and minds of the American public, I do not want to be in the way of their plans for mass destruction and terrorism. And I am not only talking about Islamic fundamentalists.
I am talking about the seemingly liberal media, government agencies, and other American institutions that continues to undermine the potential and progression of the American people. Not all media people are terrorists. I love NYMag.com, Huffington Post, and other online blogs and websites. But I know when to draw a line between the facts and sensationalism. So do not screw with the terrorists. Learn to overcome their campaigns of fear the best way you can. The politics of fear is the most destructive weapon of all. I've learned to not take every breaking news with a grain of salt. Take control your life or they will.
2. Douchebags Rule the World: If you have not read my wicked Halloween tale yet, I strongly recommend you read it. Douchebags rule the world basically. Jon Gosselin thinks he is a living, breathing male god who is now rumored to have lied about a home invasion only to get publicity. He is a douchebag because he has not grown up to support his eight children. A douchebag would not allow his children to be on television in the first place.
A doucebag could be the nice neighbor, your ex, your psychopathic brother or even you. Stars like Kanye West, Richard Heenes, the White House Crashers, Dave Letterman, Charlie Sheen, and Tiger Woods are just the high-profile ones. The list goes on and on. You can take a douche bag out of Hollywood but you cannot take Hollywood out of the douche bag. The last of the most intelligent people on Earth should reclaim the planet from these people or by December 21, 2012, the world might come to an end. So when you write your New Years Resolutions people, please promise me to either convert the douche bags in your life to reasonable human beings or ignore them altogether.
3. Technology Has Redeemed Itself from the Dark Ages: With the highly-anticipated Google Nexus and the Apple Tablet coming out next year, I am glad that I do not have to use floppy disks and CDs anymore. I am glad that 2010 will bring us closer to the science fiction days of our childhood pasts. I am glad that we are a step closer to artificial intelligence and Star Wars technology. Did anyone notice that in one of my Tech Diva 2010 Prediction post, I predicted that Apple will come up with a new invention before I even knew that Apple was going to premiere the "Apple Tablet" sometime next month to the public. Haha, I'm good. So, Facebook and YouTube are in. Goodbye 20th century garbage. 21st century technology is our future.
4. Celebrity Deaths Are Overrated: This decade will forever be known as the decade of the Greats. Michael Jackson, Brittany Murphy, Heath Ledger and Anna Nicole Smith all die due to reported drug overdoses and/or long histories of drug addiction. I still remember the day when I heard about MJ's untimely death. I just did not believe it because it's Michael Jackson we are talking about. The Michael Jackson. But there should be a line between at least a few days news coverage to about a year's worth of untrue stories, fabricated truths, and millions of dollars of unnecessary publicity. Talk about the missing children of this world. I do not want to watch six months worth of the reasons why or maybe why Anne Nicole Smith died. There are other important things that matter to me. End of story.
So before you browse a newspaper or a popular search engine for information, activate your common sense and take yourself on a wild goose chase.
I have been using Twitter on and off for the past year I believe. Many online users tweet about their daily lives in real time communication for the sake of digital contact with the digital world. I sometimes do, but since most of my friends are on Facebook, I do not have the luxury of tweeting each day to friends and family. I use Facebook instead to reach out to my larger audience. On Twitter, I follow industry news, career specialists, and "Hollywood" celebrities to get the latest scoop on finding jobs, career advice, and understanding the seemingly complex celebrity life in cyber space.
How nonsensical and pointless can someone get?! It only goes to show that many celebrities are willing to do almost anything for money and fame these days. That is why I come to hate the Kardashians quite profoundly since Khloe Kardashian got married this past summer after nine days of engagement. They are just greedy, attention-whore douchebags.
I know that celebrities are marketing brands and the security blankets for many advertising and entertainment companies. Hence why despite Tiger Wood's infidelity scandal on the news, the man virtually owns golf and sports marketing as a whole. I know that social media sites have been used by average Americans and small businesses alike to market their own products and sell their brands to the outside world. We are stilling living in a capitalist, opportunist age even amidst a global recession.
But when you thought celebrities desired to get closer to their fans online because they are so busy running their careers, you have to pay them a certain compensation in order for them to stay in the Hollywood spotlight. Sometimes, I wait for particular celebrities to tweet me back after I tweeted them on their pages and now I know the truth. Therefore, what use does Twitter have for celebrities besides money?
2010 is right around the corner after a decade of catastrophic world events and poignant memories. The Internet has defiantly shaped the way in which we perceived these world events, but everything has a beginning. Do you wonder sometimes how the Internet started in the first place? I know it did not begin overnight. SixRevisions.com recently up with a cool, interactive timeline that summaries the history of the Internet in less than one page! Did you know that e-mail was invented about 40 years ago? If history itself does not just end in 2009.
So, what do I think 2010 has in store for us? Here are my early predictions:
- Many news content websites will charge users a fee for reading their content.
- There will be a new "it" website. So, move over Twitter and Facebook. I do not know what the website or service is, but it will take the Internet world by storm.
- The Internet will have a profound effect on the 2010 elections.
- New microeconomic technologies will help people from third world countries get out of poverty.
- Unemployed people will use the Web in ways thought unimaginable.
- Apple or some other company will design the next "Ipod". Remember when the Ipod was introduced in 2001? It will be more convenient and better than the best mobile technologies today combined. And you know I will buy it.
- Within the next 10 years, a new Internet company will be born or rise the ranks. Google, Microsoft, Yahoo. Be aware of these smaller companies.
What do screaming Twilight fans, a 40 year old perverted wannabe vampire, and holiday shoppers all have in common? They are out of control! What happened to the humanity?! If you fit in any of these categories, I am going to help you act like a smart shopper starting this holiday season. You must act smart and spend deliberately as you visit dozens and dozens of malls across the country. Because we are still in an economic recession, I already know that you are not going to purchase expensive holiday gifts unless you are within the top one percent tier of the American population. With the unemployment rate over 10%, who is going to spend a ton of $$ this year? You want your GAP clothes and laptops at extremely low and discounted prices.
So before you glance over newspaper ad clippings, Tech Diva advises you to hit the digital world this year to get the most updated cool bargains and giveaways and economy experts' tips. Here are my three recommendated websites that you should check out:
- Black Friday 2009: This is probably the Google of all Black Friday themed websites. Not only does it contain forums where you can post your suggestions and insider information about your favorite stores and name brands to others, but it has free consumer buying guides, top stores' Black Friday hours, and the most updated online deals around. For instance, did you know that you can buy a Fuji FinePix J28 camera for yourself or a loved one on Amazon.com for only $80! Plus, the site is linked to other online stores' websites such as Amazon and Walmart so you can purchase the item online.
- If you are a Twitter geek, follow CheapTweet on your Twitter account. CheapTweet searches the Twitter database for the best sales and deals. That way you are aware of those deals at every minute of the day on your computer or mobile phone. Rule of thumb. Follow your friends and your favorite celebrities and brand names on Twitter, Facebook, and other social networking sites. Maybe your best friend might "twitter" you about an awesome 50% deal off of jeans and accessories at JCPenneys. You never know.
- NY Mag.com's Black Friday Shopping Guide: For your NY hipsters out there, NYMag.com has collected a list of the best NY places to shop this Black Friday. Many vintage and upscale stores have great bargains including DSW that is selling Gucci handbags 50% off and other clearance items 70% off.
