I was looking forward to this Thing - on face-to-face networks and professional organisations - as
CILIP London had organised an event to coincide with it. So last Thursday evening I popped along to their offices, listened to a few speakers and got involved in discussions with other cpd23 participants over a glass of wine (or two!).
All of the speakers were involved with professional groups (mainly CILIP ones) in one way or another. There were also a few other people attending who volunteered with CILIP groups. It was clear that they thought it was a worthwhile thing to do. Although the main concern raised by other cpd23 participants was that it would take up a lot of spare time, some of those who volunteered said that it need not be the case.
It did get me thinking that I should go further than just being a CILIP member and following online discussion. I think I will try to offer my help to one of the groups I joined on CILIP in the coming months. I will have to now that I have written it!
I have also been thinking about Chartership for a few weeks now. However, as I am not in a permanent position at my workplace, I think it would be better if I wait. I may be wrong but what I have read of the Chartership process suggests that it is best to have some continuity.
Overall Thursday's event confirmed to me that, although online networks have opened a whole new world to me, I still prefer the old-fashioned meeting people face to face.
Sunday, 24 July 2011
Tuesday, 19 July 2011
Thing 5
On a scale of 1 to 5 (1 being completely ignorant of online networking and 5 being a very active online networker), I would say I was a 3 and a half. Aside from Facebook, which I only use socially, I do not network online very actively.
I have a Linked In profile which has an up-to-date education and career history. I also have over 40 contacts. A recruiter in Sharlyn Lauby's article on optimising your Linked In profile suggested a person with this number of contacts uses the site every week. Hmm, I am not sure I do! Most of my contacts are people I know or have personally spoken to at least once. This would be a good time to expand my contacts beyond my immediate network.
I think in the UK though, we seem slightly wary of people we don't know who want to 'befriend' us. Being a member of the same group on Linked In does make it easier to contact people you don't know. I have found the groups on Linked In the most worthwhile feature of the site although I am yet to join in any of the discussions.
I do like the quote from LinkedIn founder, Reid Hoffman, that Facebook is the backyard BBQ whilst LinkedIn is the office. To me, there clearly is a distinction. Yet social and professional networks do often crossover. I believe Facebook has the capability to expand in LinkedIn's direction. I have a Limited profile on Facebook which is less public to some selected friends on the site, but they really could develop this I think.
The LIS New Professional's Network looks great so I look forward to meeting people that way as well!
I have a Linked In profile which has an up-to-date education and career history. I also have over 40 contacts. A recruiter in Sharlyn Lauby's article on optimising your Linked In profile suggested a person with this number of contacts uses the site every week. Hmm, I am not sure I do! Most of my contacts are people I know or have personally spoken to at least once. This would be a good time to expand my contacts beyond my immediate network.
I think in the UK though, we seem slightly wary of people we don't know who want to 'befriend' us. Being a member of the same group on Linked In does make it easier to contact people you don't know. I have found the groups on Linked In the most worthwhile feature of the site although I am yet to join in any of the discussions.
I do like the quote from LinkedIn founder, Reid Hoffman, that Facebook is the backyard BBQ whilst LinkedIn is the office. To me, there clearly is a distinction. Yet social and professional networks do often crossover. I believe Facebook has the capability to expand in LinkedIn's direction. I have a Limited profile on Facebook which is less public to some selected friends on the site, but they really could develop this I think.
The LIS New Professional's Network looks great so I look forward to meeting people that way as well!
Wednesday, 13 July 2011
Thing 4
So thing 4 is all about Twitter, RSS feeds and Pushnote.
I was already on Twitter but confess that I read everyone else's tweets rather than truly interact with it. Time to change this? I initially joined Twitter for professional use, but it's impossible to keep it at that! I think it is a brilliant tool for keeping up with what's going on - whether it be in this industry, the Government, or my local area! I have been trying to convince friends to join for at least a year...I think the only thing with Twitter is having a) the time to keep up with all the going ons and b) the right mobile device and internet connection to maximise its use.
I also use RSS feeds - I have found this most helpful with job sites and news headlines. I haven't used Google Reader yet (it seemed to be down when I went to explore). I do prefer to keep the feeds I subscribe to at a minimum but I shall explore some of those suggested in the CPD23 post and pick one or two favourites.
Pushnote...is anyone on it but Stephen Fry? One that I will come back to!
I was already on Twitter but confess that I read everyone else's tweets rather than truly interact with it. Time to change this? I initially joined Twitter for professional use, but it's impossible to keep it at that! I think it is a brilliant tool for keeping up with what's going on - whether it be in this industry, the Government, or my local area! I have been trying to convince friends to join for at least a year...I think the only thing with Twitter is having a) the time to keep up with all the going ons and b) the right mobile device and internet connection to maximise its use.
I also use RSS feeds - I have found this most helpful with job sites and news headlines. I haven't used Google Reader yet (it seemed to be down when I went to explore). I do prefer to keep the feeds I subscribe to at a minimum but I shall explore some of those suggested in the CPD23 post and pick one or two favourites.
Pushnote...is anyone on it but Stephen Fry? One that I will come back to!
Saturday, 2 July 2011
Thing 3
There's some great advice from cpd23's blog post on personal branding. Having worked in Marketing before, I did consider how I presented myself via this blog. But I thought more about choosing a name and design that would attract people to it (no followers yet though...come on, you know you want to!). I hadn't really thought about making my blog identity consistent with my other professional network identities though.
I am on Linked In and Twitter and currently use my full name on both. Maybe I'll get over it but right now I don't feel comfortable using it for my blog. As way of compromise, I have added a photo that I also use on my Twitter account. Hmm, maybe it's time to do it on Linked In too...I do agree a photo of yourself is a good thing to have on a professional profile.
As for visual brand, the way that Twitter seems to be used makes me think that not many people go to a profile page. But I could probably make some tweaks on the design of both to make them consistent with each other.
As I have quite an unusual name and - as far as I know - am the only person in the world with my first name and surname combined, I do get quite paranoid about what can be found on me online. Therefore, I have done the google your name activity many a time and changed my privacy settings on some sites before. I would hate a potential employer to find out about my sordid past life (just joking!).
If you searched for me on google now; you would find my social media pages, discover which social groups and societies I have participated in, charities I have donated to, the school I went to, and even a group presentation from my Masters course. It is a bit scary but I don't think you can fully hide yourself from searches on the web.
What do other people think? Has anyone got any first impressions of my blog? Also, feel free to find me on Linked In or Twitter (my surname is Rebello - there goes my anonymity!).
I am on Linked In and Twitter and currently use my full name on both. Maybe I'll get over it but right now I don't feel comfortable using it for my blog. As way of compromise, I have added a photo that I also use on my Twitter account. Hmm, maybe it's time to do it on Linked In too...I do agree a photo of yourself is a good thing to have on a professional profile.
As for visual brand, the way that Twitter seems to be used makes me think that not many people go to a profile page. But I could probably make some tweaks on the design of both to make them consistent with each other.
As I have quite an unusual name and - as far as I know - am the only person in the world with my first name and surname combined, I do get quite paranoid about what can be found on me online. Therefore, I have done the google your name activity many a time and changed my privacy settings on some sites before. I would hate a potential employer to find out about my sordid past life (just joking!).
If you searched for me on google now; you would find my social media pages, discover which social groups and societies I have participated in, charities I have donated to, the school I went to, and even a group presentation from my Masters course. It is a bit scary but I don't think you can fully hide yourself from searches on the web.
What do other people think? Has anyone got any first impressions of my blog? Also, feel free to find me on Linked In or Twitter (my surname is Rebello - there goes my anonymity!).
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