« November 2006 | Main | January 2007 »
The Year Ahead
I don't really know what the new year holds for me... I just know that whatever it is, it is going to be big. :)
Voki will come out, and we'll know whether it is a success or failure by the end of the year. What Voki does will largely determine what I do. Hopefully, a year from now, I'll have the pleasure of leading a team putting out a fun and growing product--one that changes our notions of how we express ourselves and relate to advertisers online. I'll also have three more semesters of teaching under my belt and I'd like to be able to say that I will have made a difference in the lives of those I stand in front of in the classroom.
I also think it is going to be a big year for me personally. I have a feeling that I'll be in a significant relationship by the end of the year. I can't say whether I rediscover or am rediscovered by someone in my past, recent or distant, or whether I'm with someone I don't even know at this moment, but something tells me that all the ways in which I've envisioned growing with and sharing time with another person will come to fruition by the end of the year.
I'll also probably have some kind of surgery within the year... either to yank some wisdom teeth or to repair a knee after softball season. Neither major, but both appear to be coming to a head. I'd bet on the knee over the teeth, b/c my teeth seem to be proving much more resilient.
At this point, I just want to do my best... to be able to look back and say that I gave it my all... that I was the best person I could have been in my job, for my family, my friends, to another person, and to myself.
Here's to the road ahead... thanks for reading...
December 31, 2006 in It's My Life | Comments (1) | Remember this post with del.icio.us| E-mail this post to a friend
Regis Guys (My High School) Break Subway Record
Did you know there was a Guinness record for riding the whole NYC subway system... stopping at all 468 stations? Well, 6 guys from Regis High School in New York City did, and they smashed that record by an hour and a half, doing it in just under 25 hours.
I told my friend about it and she said, "That's such a Regis guy thing to do." If you know any of us, you'd have to agree. :)
Nice work Bill Amarosa, Brooklyn's own Brian Brockmeyer, Stefan Karpinski, Andrew Wier, Jason Laska and Michael Boyle!
December 30, 2006 in Random Stuff | Comments (1) | Remember this post with del.icio.us| E-mail this post to a friend
links for 2006-12-30
December 30, 2006 | Comments (0) | Remember this post with del.icio.us| E-mail this post to a friend
Rocky Balboa: There's still some stuff in the basement
When I saw that they were coming out with another Rocky, I was... um... skeptical. Rocky V, to me, should have never been made the same way that Godfather III is dead to me. So, why come back for another one? Especially since Sly is 60!!
Then I saw the trailer... Hmm... wow... actually looked pretty interesting. It totally plays into the aging boxer story, which was somewhat believable since we saw George Foreman do it in real life.
Well, the movie was even better than I could have imagined. If you liked any of the Rocky movies, this is a must-see. If you love America and apple pie, this is a must see. If you go to sleep at night and wake up in the morning, this is a must see.
Even though this isn't a true "reset" like Casino Royale and Batman Begins, the movie accomplishes the same success for a franchise that had jumped the tracks a bit. It is a back to basics plot with a lot of character exploration and development. Oh, and did I mention Adrian was dead? In fact, Rocky's memories of Adrian are so touching that, for a split second, we almost... miss her character. Almost. Nice jobs all around by supporting characters playing Rocky's son, "Little Marie", and Rocky's Trainer.
You can't help but get goosebumps when the Rocky theme plays. The fight scene is probably the most realistic of all the Rocky fights, too, and when it's over, you couldn't have asked for the frachise to end on a better note.... a lot better than fighting that Tommy Morrison in the street.
Once again... the trailer:
December 29, 2006 in My 50 Favorite Movies | Comments (1) | Remember this post with del.icio.us| E-mail this post to a friend
links for 2006-12-29
-
Three more years until my Carbon invite...
-
the Monster.com of passive candidates
December 29, 2006 | Comments (0) | Remember this post with del.icio.us| E-mail this post to a friend
Getting into this online stuff: Getting started and keeping up with LinkedIn
LinkedIn. It's social networking for professionals. So, think MySpace and swap out thongs for resumes and there you have it. It has been an indespensible tool for me to find the right person in the right places to connect to, and reach them through a trusted contact that can recommend me.
Like offline networking, it's value is maximized when you keep up with it, b/c connections are a funny thing. You never know when someone is connected to someone that might come in handy.
This is a continuation of other "Getting Into... " posts... see:
Getting into this online stuff: Part I - Blogging as the Industry Cocktail Party
Getting into this online stuff: Part II - A better way to bookmark and favorite links on the web using del.icio.us
Here are our goals: You want to make sure that everyone, or as many people as possible, who are familiar with you and who already use LinkedIn productively, are connected to you. Why? Because when you really need a connection to a certain ad agency, its more likely you'll find it closer when you have 350 contacts than if you have 2.
Plus, you want to make yourself easily findable, so that when people are looking for what you can offer, they can reach you easily and you sound impressive.
So, here goes:
1) Organize and cleanup your contacts first. LinkedIn is most effective when you use it in conjunction with a real online address book and email system. For most, that means Outlook, which can be big and bulky but is also very powerful and has a well integrated email and address book solution. Many students still use their phone for numbers, their AOL, Gmail, or Yahoo! addressbook for emails and Facebook fills in the gaps. Well, grow up. Seriously. Think about how much of an information advantage someone has with a hosted addressbook with names, companies, emails, numbers, and notes all in one place, and who can access that from the web or on their phone.
2) Once you've got that all settled, install the LinkedIn toolbar for Outlook or just export and upload your contacts via *csv file to LinkedIn. This will allow LinkedIn to trudge through your contacts and emails and find out who you know is already on the system. These people are no brainer invites. You know them and you don't need to explain to them the value of joining. If you want to invite newbies, that's your own uphill battle if you choose to climb it.
3) After you upload your contacts, LinkedIn will tell you how many people you know and talk to are already on the system and give you a link to invite them to connect. Create custom invites!! I hate hate hate the stock invite and you should never use it. You want something that reflects who you are and sticks in someone's mind... maybe something that will cause even more
conversation.
For example, here is what I use:
As [insert timely pop culture reference here... spring training, celebrity weddings, etc] happen, , I'm using LinkedIn to keep in touch with my professional networ just in case I don't make the Mets major league roster.. Because you're a PERSON, I'm going to take two seconds to write a mildly creative and entertaining invitation, even though you know what this whole thing is about and any text is probably unnecessary.
So link to me, and then I'll troll your network for opportunities, contacts, dates, etc... all the while getting your permission at every step. Pretty soon, your network will realize that I'm a far more interesting person than you are, and one by one, they'll probably unlink you. You'll wind up alone in a bar somewhere, and probably wind up in a fight. Several haymakers and a black eye later, you'll wonder where all your friends went and you'll only have yourself, Reid Hoffman, Sequoia and Greylock to blame. :)
Of course, I'm joking...
Obviously, you can't blame the VC's.
- Charlie
Is this good for everyone? No way! Why? Because, one, it is a little bit snarky. For me, that's ok, but for a salesperson or a student or just someone who might have to present a slightly more professional face than a t-shirt and jeans product manager, you might want to rethink that, unless you know the person you're inviting can take a joke. Second, there's a lot of inside joking here. Most people don't know who any of the people are that I mentioned... except people in online media and technology. Figure out what works for you. For me, I don't think I've ever had anyone turn me down b/c I only invite people I actually know who already use the system plus I create this funny invite.
Make sure you update this regularly. If you use Firefox, install the LinkedIn plugin. I use it all the time... searching for people's names instead of through the Google searchbox. Redo the e-mail process every few months.
4) Live your profile. Make sure your bio is up to date and well written. Describe not only what you have done, but what you would like to do. Make sure you use keywords that would likely be used in the kind of searches that you want to be found with. Personalize the page by adding a LinkedIn screename for public profiles and stick it at the bottom of your e-mail signature. Use the blog badge. Put it on business cards. You want others that you encounter knowing that you have it.
5) If people don't accept your invite, do not pester them. They'll come around... or maybe they just don't like you, which is their right.
6) Ask for introductions sparingly. Some people join LinkedIn and two minutes after using it, I already have 6 requests to get introduced to people in my network. WHOA, Nelly! Calm down. I try not to ask people for introductions to people for at least a good month after we get connected... and usually after having at least one other non-LinkedIn related conversation. Plus, don't keep asking the same people. If you have 5 connections, all of whom have one contact except for one with 553, don't keep pestering that one person... get more friends.
7) Recommendations... no one ever really uses them, but you can score about a million brownie points... ermm... I mean social capital dollars, with someone by writing them sincerely and where appropriate. Many people don't even know they exist, and then when you randomly write something nice about them, they're floored. Admittedly, I don't do this enough, but the few times I've had, it really made the other person feel great and strengthened our connection.
So, there's LinkedIn 101 in a nutshell. I have 380+ contacts and, in my industry, there usually isn't a department or person I can't find some way to get into. I don't know where else you'd get that kind of penetration through the corporate viel... used wisely, its an indespensible tool.
December 28, 2006 in Teaching, Venture Capital & Technology | Comments (1) | Remember this post with del.icio.us| E-mail this post to a friend
DarrenCamp 2006
Upper East Side meeting of local digital media and tech folks.
December 28, 2006 in Venture Capital & Technology | Comments (0) | Remember this post with del.icio.us| E-mail this post to a friend
links for 2006-12-28
December 28, 2006 | Comments (0) | Remember this post with del.icio.us| E-mail this post to a friend
Is 'Web 2.0' Another Bubble? - Two Web 2.0 Investors Debate (Or did Todd not realize that Spark invested in KickApps and Me.dium?)
Link to Is 'Web 2.0' Another Bubble? - WSJ.com
This is just bizzare, b/c Spark's Todd Dagres is working for a VC firm that invested in a video sharing company and a social "discovery" plugin for Firefox. Not quite sure how he's arguing the bubble side of Web 2.0.
December 27, 2006 in Venture Capital & Technology | Comments (1) | Remember this post with del.icio.us| E-mail this post to a friend
links for 2006-12-27
-
Jeez... I hope we never wind up here.
-
'Sup, decagon bicycle wheel.
-
Know anyone?
December 27, 2006 | Comments (0) | Remember this post with del.icio.us| E-mail this post to a friend
