Pity the musical Strauss family. Much of their most beautiful and popular music is relegated to an orchestra’s “pops” concert, usually a summer concert performed outdoors and free of charge to a picnic and mobile-phone distracted public.

Once a year, the Strauss repertoire achieves respectability in the form of an annual New Year’s Concert by the celebrated orchestra of the Vienna State Opera. The concerts, a regular New Years Day evening feature on PBS, include ballet and equestrian segments, and is hosted by iconic cultural figures such as  Walter Cronkite or Julie Andrews. (more…)

Ed attends a session at Wordcamp Boston

Time for the six month check-up, a look at where I am now, and to possibly define my direction for the next six months. To find out how I got here, check out this post, and this post, both written after I attended Podcamp Boston.

Here’s what has happened since that warm weekend in August:

Rehash Website- I’ve escaped the iWeb/MobileMe/GoDaddy trifecta and moved on to WordPress; the change has been instrumental in my understanding of social media marketing and search engine optimization techniques. WordPress comprehension has also given me a new skill set to market as a service. I’ve taken on a client, showed her the benefits of WordPress, and helped her launch her own site. I’m encouraging other clients to move to WordPress, but even if they don’t, I now have excellent knowledge of ways to optimize their Google presence.

Define my role - Yes, you read that last paragraph correctly. I now have clients, people I help to walk the tight-rope that is social media. One of my glaring weaknesses coming out of Podcamp Boston was that I could not define what is was that I did. Now, I have purpose and vision, and I’m actively seeking clients to help achieve their goals. Currently, I’m doing this work pro bono, and will continue to do so until I define my focus a bit more.

Networking opportunities and professional development - I’ve come out of my shell a bit, attended a handful of  social media meetups, a second Podcamp event, and a Wordcamp event. I’ve seen some familiar faces, passed my cards around, practiced my elevator statement, and look for opportunities to talk about how I can help or collaborate with others. Working a crowd at a networking event still challenges me, but it gets easier the more I do it.

The lessons of the last six months have been ample. I’ve grown professionally, focused on my skills, defined a role, and helped others understand how they can use social media in their own professional and personal lives. Along the way, I’ve posted several blog entries documenting my progress and kept a nice record of my thoughts and actions while learning and growing.

So I will continue on this same path, with a goal of defining my focus, marketing my services, and looking for more networking opportunities. Stay tuned for a full report in six months.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/pepemichelle

The news remains harsh regarding unemployment statistics. The national rate stands at just over 10%, while 11 of 50 states (a full 22 per-cent) now deal with double digit unemployment rates. Michigan, with its auto industry-heavy workforce seemingly on life support, leads the nation with 14.6% of its populace seeking work.

Californians have long experienced unemployment woes, and their jobless statistics stand at 12.1%. So when a California-based employment journal recommends that job-seekers augment their online job search with social media tools, its best to listen to their advice.

In a web-posting entitled Give your job search more direction, the California Job Journal recommends Linked-In as a mandatory job search process.

Complete a profile on LinkedIn.com and you’ve taken an important step toward creating a powerful online network. It takes, on average, 65 contacts to create a network large enough to result in substantial and meaningful findings on LinkedIn, notes Victoria Snabon-Heath, career services director at The Art Institute of Tampa. She urges jobseekers to set themselves apart from the ordinary, dime-a-dozen applicants who inundate companies on a daily basis. “Go social. Begin utilizing virtual, social marketing techniques in addition to your online job search.”

The Linked-In buzz has been present on the Internet for well over a year now, and I’ve spent the better part of the last few weeks coaxing friends and family towards the career based social network. With features allowing recommendations, quick-and-easy group establishment and membership, and question-and-answer modules, it certainly is more robust than traditional job boards, and allows for more social interactions between members.

But with all its great features, I have yet to personally hear a Linked-In success story, although a few minutes of Google research reveals a few successes.

Has anyone yet been hired thanks to their Linked-In profiles? How about consulting gigs or other employment situations. Let’s hear it in the comments if you’ve had any type of positive interaction on Linked-In, other than finding and reconnecting to lost colleagues.