Realising the value – THE END of the beginning

On the 19th February my online business networking paid off.

Well, by the time the invoice got sorted it was much later than that, but the point is that an ex-colleague of an ex-colleague to asked meet me, then offered me a busy role that kind of didn’t allow time for learning to network.

Well, I have still carried on networking when feasible, but I have not had time for the luxury of researching and reporting on the topic. However I have learned so much by sharing this experience that I am determined to apply many of the publishing and marketing skills on something that is close enough to my day job to make it compatible and feasible

SO IT’S GOODBYE FROM LEARNET.wordpress.com

Look me up on

http://www.google.co.uk/search?q=%22Arthur+M.+Gallagher%22

CUround

Artemgy

Market to the eyes, not to the fingers

When I first set this blog up I clearly had a very different mindset. I guess I was used to finding neat abbreviations that meant something, yet did not take too long to type out. Since then I have clued in to the fact that only geeks or morons type out any kind of URL by hand, and the rest of humanity use the venerable click to reach their destination. And what I have noticed myself is that the eye is in almost complete control of the arm-move-finger-click reflex (except when strong passions pull rank, or small children and pets arrive at the desk).

I have just read my own signature (it is healthy to check your own reflection, from time to time) and was disappointed by my own lack of branding expertise. Take a look at the following two lines: although they point to the same content, which do you think is clearer, bolder and therefore more likely to draw interest from the pointing finger?

Blog: http://learnet.WordPress.com/
Feed: http://feeds.FeedBurner.com/LearningToNetwork

Maybe a learnet is some kind of bird, a distant cousin to the egret? No? In any case, few people are going leave their eyes there long enough to work out the convoluted abbreviation of learning to network. That’s called learning the hard way!

For some reason I’m suddenly seeing my own work with a very critical eye, and I have also noticed that my chosen WordPress theme does not work so well with multiple blog posts in a single day. The date has higher contrast, and therefore appears more prominent than the title of the post. I don’t know if I will be able to keep up this rate of posting, but I will have to find a way to make the all important copy in the title appear more clearly.

Shucks! If only everybody read the feeds 😉

Cut to the chase

I was drawn to the LifeHacker blog by their concept of “[recommending technologies] that actually save time. Don’t live to geek; geek to live”. Given my current drive to be more organised AND more productive (despite the contradictory forces involved, especially WHILST being innovative) I found the following article particularly relevant:
Lifehacker Book Preview, Chapter 8: Kickstart Your Productivity – Lifehacker

You can actually browse much of the content of their book by following the index they provide online, but I guess many people prefer to keep the serialised materials on blocks of paper in their pockets.

I thank Brydon Gilliss of http://shiftmode.com/ for opening my eyes to this great blog, as well as to the value of Bloglines. It is not JUST a handy online RSS client (ideal for hotdesktoppers like me) but also a neat way of being able to share your blogroll in a way that helps your blog readers understand where you are coming from.

powered by performancing firefox

Three reasons why I just got FireFox

As I write, another window on my computer is downloading a new browser from  www.getfirefox.com

I finally considered dumping the browser (kindly bundled onto my desktop to avoid me having to think) because I have increasingly been thinking “how can I … ?” do all sorts of new things since starting to have a richer interaction with the online world. Even though I am capable of writing reasonable code, I have never felt that Internet Explorer was inviting me to truly take control, whereas, straight away, the FireFox site was telling me myriad ways I could bend it to do just what I want.

The events leading to this choice have been:

Why would you want to create Lenses on Squidoo?

I will admit to you that until 10 minutes ago I had heard of neither Squidoo nor what a lens is (in this context). I was intrigued when Newspapergrl said she wanted to build 8 pages there, and my curiosity peaked when someone commented to ask what she wanted to use the lenses for.

I went to visit the site’s FAQto understand what they did and in just a few paragraphs it became clear. What appealed to me was that you can create your own content and mash it up with a mixture of other people’s from various sources. OK, so they sell the fact that you can earn revenue from clicks by creating your own lens on the online world, and even create several on different topic, but I must admit I liked the idea purely from a creative point of view.

Here’s an excellent example of what you can get from visiting a lens someone else has created. http://www.squidoo.com/blogstarter/ is Rajesh Setty’s “Blogging Starter Checklist”.

I’m not sure when I’ll find time to explore lens creation, but very useful to know they’re there, even as a reader 🙂

Look for your ideal job

Just over three weeks ago I was talking to a project manager I have worked for on several occasions. I was kind of hoping he was going to say “well, I have this new job for you!“, and if not I was expecting to say “so, have you got a new job for me?“. In the end we actually talked about what have been the good and bad extremes of companies we have worked for. From this we went on to describe some of the attributes that would make a perfect company to work for.

Although I was disappointed with the outcome at the time, I think that that was a kind of turning point. A realisation dawned upon me, and there were two sides to it:

Approaching my CV differently

After looking at some of those award-winning CVs yesterday, it struck me that the structure of the CV (especially what order it comes in) is actually a very individual thing. Our strongest and most valuable assets should be highlighted first. Easier said than done, but knowing we have this flexibility is powerfully liberating.

My usual place for flashes of inspiration is under the shower, and yesterday I was indeed gratefully illuminated in the cubicle. I realised that my capacity for learning made my actual experience secondary, and that my more valuable asset is the way I approach projects. Having seen more detailed summaries at the top of certain CVs, this made me wonder if I should not relegate the past jobs list to below a description of the value of my approach.

Enough extroversion, we need introspection!

Since starting this quest two weeks ago, many things are already well under way. I am gradually building up a network of quality contacts from past colleagues and close friends. I am learning to share my experiences in a way that will attract more knowledge for myself. But am I any closer to nailing down my dream job? Well, actually, no! Not unless I can define what the dream job is, and what qualities and experience I have that make me perfect for it!

My first reader!

I just got a comment from Markus, who I credited for his Web 2.0 mindcloud. Yippee, my first reader! But the really cool thing about it is that he explained to me that PINGBACK and TRACKBACK are two technologies that enable you to know who is quoting you. Now they will have to be subjects for my next peice of research.

Oh, and I get the feeling I really should be starting to add TAGS to categorise my posts. Geez, gimme a chance! I’ve only been at this les than a week 😉