I decided a while ago, that I need a change. In country and industry. It has proven to be a great idea. Escaping the routine and environment of the last years is a blessing, there is so much waste you are pulling around in your life.
It's not that you aren't doing anything anyway. You need to move your stuff, figure out where to work in the future, and most importantly, what to do with your time. After five years in one place there is always something you need to do or would usually do - it's gone now.
I have met old friends, re-discovered a big city I really like and know, and enjoyed the change around me. Surprisingly also the job issue was resolved almost instantly when I was contacted for an interesting position.
Will I go where I thought I would? No. But I'm looking forward. For now, there's still some interesting side projects and time to rest. Five months well used, and a fresh mindset.
Monday, 30 August 2010
Friday, 19 February 2010
How do you manage your time on social networks?
This is a serious question, and as questions have it, answers would be great. So do me a favor, and let me know.
A recurring topic in books, blog posts, newspaper articles, TV shows is that social networks take time. There is obviously no stopping social media at this point, they still grow like wildfire. Just today Facebook took on Yahoo in terms of visitors in the U.S. and that's a tall order.
Now, as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, XING and Google Buzz enter our lives, many of us follow our natural instincts. We want many. Many friends, followers, contacts, or readers. It's just so convenient, the world in our living room. As time goes on and we cross the mark of hundreds on these platforms, we realize that we are swamped. As it's not polite, and as discussed above, for many not opportune to remove these connections we run into a problem. Overflow.
Change is fast these days, and the networks have reacted. With groups, lists, favourites, hide buttons and the like. Still, you always have this feeling you might miss something and before you know it you spend hours on the web, trying to crawl through unbelievable masses of information, status updates, and links.
Even worse, if you have a business, and try to leverage social media for your benefit. If you have read e.g. Gary Vaynerchuk's excellent book Crush It! Why NOW is the Time to Cash in on Your Passion, you know that presence, and I mean serious presence is required to build your brand. You post, you cross-post, and track every possible response. As I am in the area of Customer Relationship Management, I know one thing: don't promise to your customers, if you can't deliver.
So this is it. A dilemma which grows, with every new service you add to your portfolio. How much time do you need every day to update your Foursquare or Gowalla status?
As I said in the beginning, I find this very intriguing, and I'd be happy to hear what you think. Thanks.
A recurring topic in books, blog posts, newspaper articles, TV shows is that social networks take time. There is obviously no stopping social media at this point, they still grow like wildfire. Just today Facebook took on Yahoo in terms of visitors in the U.S. and that's a tall order.
Now, as Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, XING and Google Buzz enter our lives, many of us follow our natural instincts. We want many. Many friends, followers, contacts, or readers. It's just so convenient, the world in our living room. As time goes on and we cross the mark of hundreds on these platforms, we realize that we are swamped. As it's not polite, and as discussed above, for many not opportune to remove these connections we run into a problem. Overflow.
Change is fast these days, and the networks have reacted. With groups, lists, favourites, hide buttons and the like. Still, you always have this feeling you might miss something and before you know it you spend hours on the web, trying to crawl through unbelievable masses of information, status updates, and links.
Even worse, if you have a business, and try to leverage social media for your benefit. If you have read e.g. Gary Vaynerchuk's excellent book Crush It! Why NOW is the Time to Cash in on Your Passion, you know that presence, and I mean serious presence is required to build your brand. You post, you cross-post, and track every possible response. As I am in the area of Customer Relationship Management, I know one thing: don't promise to your customers, if you can't deliver.
So this is it. A dilemma which grows, with every new service you add to your portfolio. How much time do you need every day to update your Foursquare or Gowalla status?
As I said in the beginning, I find this very intriguing, and I'd be happy to hear what you think. Thanks.
Saturday, 30 January 2010
It's not how good you are, it's how good you want to be
This book will rock your world. Make it your companion and there's no time for arrogance or despair. Every page a treasure. Let's leave it with that, just buy it and be inspired.
Tuesday, 26 January 2010
Scared of social networks?
Social networks still spread like wildfire. People who treated computers as work machines until last week join networks without even knowing what they are for. I recently read in a big German newspaper that the number of Twitter followers is becoming a hiring criteria for some jobs. Professionally I use them to market, personally I try what's new and am probably less concerned than others, however this post is about privacy concerns many user have. A great article is "The Eternal Value of Privacy" (Nice video on the issue from Commoncraft)
When I got my first mobile about 12 or 13 years ago people were smiling at me. Many looked at me like I’d be working a radio on a naval cruiser. Of course they came on board eventually, most rich countries in the world have more SIM cards than inhabitants now. However, it took them a few years to hesitantly buy their first phone.
The reason why the jump from early adopters to the mass market has been so fast and universal for social networks is definitely connected to the lack of barriers. You don’t sign any contracts to enter the world of ubiquitous broadcasting. Still, nothing comes for free. Google needs to crawl your behaviour to target ads, social networks are no different here. Additionally, people start to realise that the internet forgets nothing. They wonder about the missing delete button for their profile on many social hubs. The internet outlet of their favourite newspaper mentions that any HR person checking their CV will check their online persona routinely. For some (unverifiable) insight in what Facebook tracks, here an interesting blog post on The Rumpus.
Therefore it’s hardly surprising that there is an increasing demand for anonymity. I observe to strong movements in this direction even with people who joined the hype rater late:
How can I disappear from one or all social networks? How do I completely wipe out anything I ever had there? Posts are all over the place. Wired helps you to “Un-MySpace Yourself”, The “Suicide Machine” gives a very sarcastic outlook on how to kill your online persona with style (I recommend the video). I’m not sure whether the latter still works (or again), still interesting. Update 29 Januar 2010: An interesting Video on a fake service called "Google Existence", that lives your social life for you.
How do I hide from my provider, my government, my employer? New browser versions include privacy options, proxies enter the mainstream, and guides on how to disguise yourself online are getting more and more popular. Not only for journalists who frequent sites like “Surveillance Self-Defense” and the Tor-Network is growing fast. Anonymity has long become a meme on the internet.
Somehow we all manage how much we want to give, always wondering how much we can (or should) protect. Every time we try a tool like foursquare or Gowalla we are wondering if it’s ok that one of our friends added our home as a spot and the whole community knows where we live and work.
Additional challenges arise when you start using these tools in your company. Suddenly a legal entity gets a face, behind which tens or even hundreds of employees are hiding and acting. But that’s for another time.
When I got my first mobile about 12 or 13 years ago people were smiling at me. Many looked at me like I’d be working a radio on a naval cruiser. Of course they came on board eventually, most rich countries in the world have more SIM cards than inhabitants now. However, it took them a few years to hesitantly buy their first phone.
The reason why the jump from early adopters to the mass market has been so fast and universal for social networks is definitely connected to the lack of barriers. You don’t sign any contracts to enter the world of ubiquitous broadcasting. Still, nothing comes for free. Google needs to crawl your behaviour to target ads, social networks are no different here. Additionally, people start to realise that the internet forgets nothing. They wonder about the missing delete button for their profile on many social hubs. The internet outlet of their favourite newspaper mentions that any HR person checking their CV will check their online persona routinely. For some (unverifiable) insight in what Facebook tracks, here an interesting blog post on The Rumpus.
Therefore it’s hardly surprising that there is an increasing demand for anonymity. I observe to strong movements in this direction even with people who joined the hype rater late:
How can I disappear from one or all social networks? How do I completely wipe out anything I ever had there? Posts are all over the place. Wired helps you to “Un-MySpace Yourself”, The “Suicide Machine” gives a very sarcastic outlook on how to kill your online persona with style (I recommend the video). I’m not sure whether the latter still works (or again), still interesting. Update 29 Januar 2010: An interesting Video on a fake service called "Google Existence", that lives your social life for you.
How do I hide from my provider, my government, my employer? New browser versions include privacy options, proxies enter the mainstream, and guides on how to disguise yourself online are getting more and more popular. Not only for journalists who frequent sites like “Surveillance Self-Defense” and the Tor-Network is growing fast. Anonymity has long become a meme on the internet.
Somehow we all manage how much we want to give, always wondering how much we can (or should) protect. Every time we try a tool like foursquare or Gowalla we are wondering if it’s ok that one of our friends added our home as a spot and the whole community knows where we live and work.
Additional challenges arise when you start using these tools in your company. Suddenly a legal entity gets a face, behind which tens or even hundreds of employees are hiding and acting. But that’s for another time.
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