5 Ways to Discover New Blogs

In the information age, I find it helpful to get insights from the blog posts of leaders in multiple industries. Here are some ways to seek out new sources of great content:

• Run a Google Blog Search at http://blogsearch.google.com/. You can also click on the Advanced Blog Search link for a more detailed options.
• From Google Reader, you can search for desired feeds by clicking on “Browse for stuff”. Then click on the “Search” tab for many options to find new RSS feeds for blogs. You can search by keywords and email addresses to find valuable feeds, which may include blogs.
  
  
• Use Technorati, the largest social media advertising network, to search the blogosphere.
• If you are a fan of a specific blogger, check out their blogroll, which is usually on the side of their blog. It is a list of their personal blog recommendations.
• Most importantly, ask your valued clients and trusted colleagues what blogs they read regularly. Their perspectives are essential to your blog strategy.

Reference: Technorati code: w2u4t6rj8z

Protect Your Photos on Facebook

Last Friday, I was honored to speak at the Kettering Executive Network in Atlanta, GA. The audience was filled with senior-level executives from all industries. Debbie Brown kindly referred me, since their speaker and member selection is by invitation only.

During my presentation, I discussed the value of social media tools for research, business development and increased professional influence. I also shared security and privacy issues that may arise.

Most executives are not aware that Facebook may use your photos to show your friends in its ads. You may protect yourself by visiting this link. Within Facebook, you may click Settings -->Privacy (manage) -->  News Feed and Wall --> Facebook Ads tab. Then change the settings on the drop down menu in the screen at allow ads on platform pages to show my information to “No One”.

Scroll down and also change the option to “No One” to show my social actions in Facebook Ads. Facebook will not be able to leverage your connection to a particular page, group, etc. Don’t forget to click “Save Changes” when you are done.

There are many ways that professionals are vunerable online. It is important to stay abreast of any privacy or security updates to ensure that your information isn’t misused.

Preview LinkedIn Profile Organizer

LinkedIn steps up its client management capabilities by launching Profile Organizer.
Check out the 60 second video demo:

Profile Organizer costs $24.95 - 499.95 per month depending upon the number of messages, profiles and folders you may use.

Since I have over 17,000 first level connections on LinkedIn, I wonder if this is the best way to organize my contacts from LinkedIn. Would you prefer to keep this information organized in LinkedIn or export the data to another resource?

Five Things You Need to Know About Twitter Lists

While we are waiting for our Google Wave invites to hit our Gmail accounts, Twitter announced a new feature called Twitter Lists. Here are the 5 things you need to know about Twitter Lists:

1. You select Twitter users for custom lists like groups for your friends on Facebook.
2. These lists are only viewable by you or can be shared publicly. What categories will you be listed under? Spammer? #FollowFriday?
3. Developers will create third-party applications for these lists. I bet TweetDeck is already working on some cool options for Twitter Lists.
4. It is in limited beta release. Nick Kallen, Rael Dornfest, Vitor Lourenço and the rest of the stellar Twitter Lists team are putting on the final touches before it is officially launched.
5. For now, use TweepML to generate lists of Twitter users that you can follow with one click.

Your Personalized Twitter Newspaper

The Twitter Times is a real-time personalized newspaper generated from your Twitter account. It uses the most popular content from your tweets and those that you follow to generate your newspaper. It is highlights the most viral links, blog posts, articles and other content of your Twitter connections. You can also easily retweet from your personalized Twitter Times.

It is missing one of my preferred options for any online news source: an RSS feed for the page.

If you'd like to get your own Twitter Times, it is free and easy to do at http://www.twittertim.es. Simply put in your username and you will be tweeted when it is ready!

New Media Atlanta - Social Media Rockstars

The New Media Atlanta event was a trending topic on Twitter for a reason. One of my favorite highlights was having a conversation with Chris Brogan, President of New Marketing Labs and co-author of Trust Agents. Chris was down-to-earth, sincere and well-mannered. He doesn't just teach others how to build trust. Chris leads by example.

Here is my video montage of New Media Atlanta:

Congrats to the New Media Atlanta organizers and volunteers on a wonderful event!

Top 4 Hits and 1 Big Miss at Recruitfest '09

Trinity College in TorontoThere were many unexpected highlights and one glaring miss at Recruitfest, the recruiting un-conference event of the year at Trinity College in Toronto, Canada. 

Thank you to the selfless efforts of Geoff Webb, Maha Akiki, Maren Hogan, Jason Davis, Miles Jennings and the other partners of Recruiting Blogs for a wonderful time. I was humbled by the honor of leading a social media discussion.

Here are my top 4 hits:
1.  Weak explanations are not welcome at an UN-conference. When you are speaking in a circle with your peers, industry leaders, new friends and skeptics, it is impossible to turn spam into filet mignon.

2.  Girl power! I loved continuing the conversation into the wee morning hours with my hotel roommates: Chris Havrilla, Jessica Miller-Merrell and Kelly Mitton. I was also inspired by @PunkRockHR @SarahW79 @BizWerkerJulia @cvitello @karla_porter @amyrenz @pennycurtis @caliancareers @sourcesaid @sapphireca @scalawag72 @kirstistubbs @qc_lady @jillelswick @ray_anne @RecruitCare and more.

3.  Eric Winegartner enhances the experience of every conference attendee. From the second Eric arrives, he succeeds at making everyone feel welcome. He gives generously without any expectation in return. Conferences should wise up and give him full VIP treatment to attend their event.

4.  A tweetup at Slouch Central is second to none. Top chef + gourmet food + full service bar + amazing guests + musical theatre + DJ Jerry Albright  + valuable career advice + the best hosts = a party that never seems to end.

There was one blunder. My colleague, @StephanieALloyd, wasn’t able to make it. You can find out why she didn’t attend Recruitfest here. We all missed out on her healthy dose of candor served with a smile.

For those who attended or followed the tweets, you can view my Recruitfest video at http://RecruitingBlogs.com.
 

Recruitfest 2009

We are off to one turbulent start to Recruitfest '09. The Atlanta flood has wreaked havoc and turmoil over the city. As I wait in the Atlanta airport for my flight, my thoughts turn to those who have been affected by the flood.

If you would like to assist flood victims by volunteering or with a much needed donation, please contact the American Red Cross at 404-876-3706 or go online to http://atlantaredcross.org.

I'll be in Toronto soon enough. Some people are trying to rebuild their lives right now.

Are You Ready for 4.0?

The Economist magazine's Media Convergence Forum is being held next month in New York City to discuss the rapidly changing media landscape: decrease in the traditional forms of media, increase in online social networks and the adoption of digital/mobile technology by consumers.

This promotional video for the event certainly sets the stage for a lively debate among the confirmed speakers, which includes:
Barry Judge, Chief Marketing Officer, Best Buy
Bonita Coleman Stewart, Managing Director, U. S. Sales, Google
Terry Davenport, Senior Vice President, Global Marketing and Brand Strategy, Starbucks

Are you ready for the next innovations in media and technology?

Moments Captured at the ERE Fall Expo 2009

The ERE Fall Expo was a success thanks to the hard work by David Manaster, Todd Raphael, Scott Baxt, Kevin Plantan, Brendan Shields and the rest of the organized ERE team! My photostream of the event is available on Flickr. Here is a quick video of some fun moments that I had at the event:

Even though we are in a recession, I have attended more conferences and networking events this year than I have in my recruiting career. Next week, I'll be leading a discussion on social recruiting at Recruitfest in Canada. At the SHRM-Atlanta Annual Conference, I will be giving two social media presentations. In November, I wouldn't miss the Social Recruiting Summit in New York City.

It is crucial that you continue to grow and develop your business relationships. The power of social networking is enhanced and solidified with face-to-face communication. This will never change.

Nurture Your Online Community

Bert DuMars, VP E-Business and Interactive Marketing at Newell Rubbermaid and Rachel Happe, Co-Founder and Principal, of The Community Roundtable presented an interesting webinar today on growing and nurturing an online community. 

Bert discussed the integration of Sharpie’s mass media tactics and social media activities. The Sharpie team wanted to embrace and build relationships with existing Sharpie communities and fanatics. Newell Rubbermaid designed a website that showcases a wide range of creative Sharpie creations at http://www.sharpieuncapped.com. Have you ever seen a Lamborghini completely covered in Sharpie artwork before?

Rachel shared a community maturity model and how the functional areas within the organization are also affected. It is important to be aware of the different challenges as your community matures.

Thanks to Aaron Strout, CMO at Powered for coordinating a great webinar.

I Want My Life Back

Do you feel like all of the social media networks are taking over your life? It can feel overwhelming. At the end of the day, do feel like you just spent a lot of time online and didn't accomplish anything?

The social media tools that I use save me time, instead of wasting it. You can create a work/life balance using social media.

Here are some basic time management tips for the major social media sites:

Twitter - Let's face it. The public Twitter stream is full of noise. Use TweetDeck to set up filters, groups and searches. Focus on the industry leaders and potential clients that can advance your professional growth. Plan time to tweet and stick to it.

Facebook - Check Facebook after normal business hours. I use Facebook mainly for personal use. It can be a distraction from my professional goals. It is easy to start a click fest and forget what your purpose was by checking Facebook in the first place. Become a fan of any important company or group pages, so you will be notified of updates or upcoming events.

LinkedIn - I have always had a free account and have over 17,000 first level connections. Many people wonder how I was able to do this. It's simple. I set specific goals to grow my network. Every day I would send out a specific amount of invites and spend 30 minutes on revenue producing activities in LinkedIn.

Be sure that when you are working online that you are not randomly checking for updates to your social media networks. When using any social media tool, you must focus on your reason for being there and determine your action plan to reach your goals.

Should Lawyers Blog?

John Schwartz of The New York Times recently wrote an article about the collisions between the thousands of blogs and the tight boundaries of legal traditions. Social media miscues by attorneys could result in fines, damaged reputations or being fired.

However, there are so many more benefits to start a blog. As a lawyer, you could blog about your pro-bono work, ideas in publications that you read or insights from conferences that you attend.

If you are in the legal arena, you should blog as if every judge, member of the American Bar Association, client, competitor, industry leader and employee of your firm were going to read it. Post wisely.

Create a Well-Attended Tweetup

Tweetups are all the rage. You get to finally meet the people behind the tweets and have a real conversation. Right now, I'm honored to help coordinate the tweetup for the 2nd Social Recruiting Summit.

Here are my insider tips on how to organize a successful tweetup:

• Give yourself at least two weeks to plan and an additional month to promote your tweetup. Tweetups usually fail because of poor planning and marketing.


• Work with a colleague that you can depend on who may also have an interest in the success of this tweetup. This may help generate better ideas and give you an accountability partner.


• Schedule your tweetup during a conference or before a larger event. It reduces the amount of promotion that you will have to do all on your own. You can personally invite the speakers, organizers and other sponsors to attend and promote your tweetup as well.


• The best time to have a tweetup is after normal working hours like at 6PM. Motivational beverages usually help spark conversations.


• Work with the venue in advance to offer free or discounted food and beverages to your guests. You can promote this as well to get more interest in your tweetup and it will benefit the venue.


• Give the attendees free WiFi. It may seem like a no-brainer, however, I have attended tweetups where it was impossible to tweet. You can always work with a wireless vendor or pick a free WiFi hotspot.


• Create an invitation using Twtvite. It displays the hashtag that you are using for the meetup, who has RSVP'ed, location of the tweet via Google Maps, allows you to share this invite to other social networks, all of the other important details and most importantly, it's free. You can also print name tags using people's familiar Twitter names and avatars.


• Leverage your other non-Twitter networks, like LinkedIn or Ning Groups. You can easily find other professional groups with members who may also wish to attend your tweetup, even if they are not active on Twitter.


• Pick up the phone and reach out to those who you truly want to be there. I appreciate it when someone calls or even emails me directly about an upcoming event.


• Take photos at the tweetup and follow up afterwards with a link to a photo album via Flickr or on Facebook. This will help maintain the friendships online and in-person.

So get started and don't forget to invite me, @jennydevaughn.

Will @ewmonster Attend Recruitfest?

While at the ERE Fall Expo, I had the opportunity to spend more time with Eric Winegardner, also known as @ewmonster. Eric is an active networker to say the least.

I heard a rumor that Eric was also attending Recruitfest so I went to the source. Scott Wilde also helps me with this inquiry.

Off camera, we discussed the importance of attending conferences. You gain awareness into our industry that you simply cannot learn at your desk. The in-person networking has unlimited ROI.

There's still time, so Eric and I hope to see you at Recruitfest.

Bad Tweets Vs. No Tweets

While watching the MTV Video Music Awards (VMA's), Taylor Swift started to give her acceptance speech for Female Video of the Year. Kanye West boldly interrupted the show. He thought Beyonce had one of the best videos of the year and should have won.

Kanye could have waited until the event was over and had a traditional interview with the press. He chose to grab the moment and literally the microphone.

According to TwiGUARD, this caused a huge spike in Twitter traffic and became a trending topic. MTV is live-blogging the event and also tracking all of the fast-paced tweets. This unexpected drama was given top billing. I'm sure Kanye's publicist and management are not taking the night off.

Kanye West's name was actually booed when it was brought up later by P. Diddy when he presented the Best Male Video of the Year.

For an artist like Kanye West, who seems to enjoy controversy, is it better to get bad publicity or no Internet traffic at all?

Update on Sunday, September 13, 2009 at 11:15PM by Jenny DeVaughn

UPDATE:  Beyonce showed the power of doing the right thing and gave someone else the spotlight.

During Beyonce's acceptance speech for the MTV Video of the Year Award for "Single Ladies (Put a Ring on It)", she asked Taylor Swift to come out to give her acceptance speech instead.

Glad this post has a better ending and a high volume of tweets about being first class.

Who's Got Your Back?

It was a pleasure to attend the ERE Fall Expo. During the events, it was clear that people were committed to building stronger relationships. I was impressed with the non-stop networking, referrals and the best practices that were shared.

It reminded me of Keith Ferrazzi's latest book, Who’s Got Your Back.  Keith discusses the value of having three trusted relationships who will hold you accountable, offer mutually beneficial relationships and unbiased feedback in order to reach your true potential.

In this fast-paced digital world of connecting through several social media networks, is it better to have three true lifelines or an extensive reach of millions?

Road Trip to the ERE Fall Expo

Let the countdown begin. Before daylight, I will be riding with a crew from Atlanta, GA to Hollywood, FL to attend the ERE Fall Expo, including the ERE Foundation Poker Classic and Tweetup.

All of the ERE festivities are in one unbelievable location at the
Westin Diplomat Hotel & Spa on 3555 South Ocean Drive in Hollywood, FL.

Now we just have to get there.
Your advice, comments and encouragement during this 10 hour adventure are welcome!

Your Recommended Daily Allowance of Social Media

Review your social media activities.  Are you committed to producing quality content?

Your social media strategy needs to use the correct tools and focus to gain long-term, nourishing and healthy relationships. For example, stop treating Twitter like a conversation you have while you are in a drive-thru talking to a speaker and ordering fast food.

It may be time to upgrade your social media and digital methodology. The choice is yours.

Kudos to the talented  Valeri Gungor who created this graphic and for the original blog post by the Chancellor of Social Media University - Global,  Lee Aase.

You Can't Handle the Truth

When you watch a presentation, there are many conversations happening while the speaker is on stage. Joshua Kahn first defined this concept for me at Google as the back channel.

At the start of IgniteATL last night, Colin Ake suggested two specific back channels. He gave us a choice: use the Force or join the dark side.

We could post publicly through Twitter or Facebook using EventHive:

or write snarky comments anonymously through BackNoise.

It was more than just a hashtag and allowed the audience to engage in a preferred conversation. If you were a presenter, would you read the comments?