Sean Percival

Social Media Lemmings

Thursday, July 3rd, 2008

Oh just jump over the cliff already, before I could even write up my “FriendFeed, The Best Thing Online Since Porn” blog post, along comes yet another service. Once again we all lurch forward, sign up, rinse, friend request and repeat. Duncan has a nice wrap up with quotes from various folks today. Once again, someone registered Robert Scoble’s handle before he could. Finally, I was of course once again, too late to get that coveted first name only handle. :: shakes fist ::

There are however a few cool things about this Twitter of the week. Identi.ca for one is open source, that’s news good enough to make even Dave Winer happy. Like him, I’m also first hearing about the OpenMicroblogging concept today. Their website is so 94′ it makes me think of simpler times online.

Really these are all great things, perhaps the next step?

PS: Yippee?

Using Social Media to Get a Social Media Job

Thursday, June 26th, 2008

For my recent job switch it took me 1 week to speak with 3 companies, sign a deal with one and double my salary in the process. Oh, and I did it all with social media…

You might be saying, “But Sean, I thought social media was simply a device for telling your friends what you ate for lunch“.

Well of course that is true, however you can also use these services to land that next great gig. For those curious, or perhaps looking for a social media job, here is how its done.

  • LinkedIn: Take your paper resume and throw it away. In the tech space LinkedIn is the new resume. Build out a nice large network by tracking down any former/current colleagues. Get them to leave you a recommendation whenever possible. SEO the shit out of your profile, include every major keyword from your industry. This is ultimately how Docstoc.com came across me, via a recruiter who found me through a LinkedIn search. Big thanks to Dan and Jason at Neohire who setup the whole deal for me. Add me to your LinkedIn network to get started.
  • Twitter: Oddly enough I had an interview with another company because of Twitter. Stranger still, it was with a start up I was razzing in a recent tweet. They used tracking services to follow their company’s name and it started a dialogue between us. While this case is probably unique, a good Twitter presence is vital to getting any social media job today. At Mahalo we managed to get a nice amount of traffic from the service. Due it part to Jason’s large following and the vertical based Twitter accounts I setup. You have an MBA? Good for you, but who cares if no one is following/listening to you today. You can follow me on Twitter here.
  • Meatspace Marketing: I was able get a few potential jobs lined up through through this medium. The meatspace is that strange place away from the web. Its where real people exist and occasionally interact in a none virtual fashion. Become part of your local tech community and get to know the players. Contribute so they can all see how great you are. Read Chris Brogan’s post on how to be sexier in person.

Happy hunting!

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