My dog has died.

  He has gone to doggy haven, in the great blue sky

  Someday I’ll join him there,

  but now he’s gone with his dark shinny coat,

  his loving manners and his chestnut color eyes

  I do believe in a heaven for all animals

  where my dog waits for my arrival waving his fan-like tail in friendship.

  I’ll not speak of sadness here, of having lost a companion who was my animal

  spirit.

  His friendship for me, like that of a natural gentle giant, the good karma boy. 

  It was love at first sight, when he fetched the first ball and ran into my arms. 

  My dog, Jaxx would gaze at me, paying me the attention I need,

 the attention required to make  me understand that, being a dog, he was my animal spirit,

  with those eyes so much purer than mine, he’d keep on gazing at me

  with a look that reserved for me alone all his sweet and love of life,

  always near me, never troubling me, and asking nothing.

  There are no good-byes for my dog who has died,

  So now he’s gone in the great blue sky

  good-bye my animal spirit, good-bye my

  Jaxx Magee 1997 – 2009

Posted via email from Kay Kelison’s Digital-Log

There are so many reason why people do not actively participate in the world of social networking arena; lack of time, too many to choices, and lack of understanding how to use them.

Most folks usually participate with enthusiasm on some of them and ignore the others. Moreover, when you walk through LinkedIn, MySpace, Facebook and Twitter, you really don’t have that much time and frankly patience for the rest of them.

So, I thought I would make a few suggestions on how to handle and keep track of most of the social networking sites that could keep you up-to-date

1. RSS Feeds makes it really simple. Most of social networking sites do provide RSS feeds and it is easy to keep track in your usual RSS reader, rather than log in and read the updates on the networking sites. You just need to subscribe the feeds of people you want to know the updates for say in Facebook, MySpace, LinkedIn or Twitter. In your RSS reader, you can read the status messages and you can choose on which updates you want to respond for. Yes, to respond to conversations, you do have to go to the social networking site and submit. But, in RSS reader you really can choose to what updates or conservations you need to respond and you can keep yourself updated.
2. Setting the email or SMS notifications makes it short. Social media sites do provide email notifications and options to which you can select to receive email for. Set the options for which you want to receive email. You will be periodically updated through the emails. And I guess you really check your emails regularly. Twitter has a very good option to have an SMS sent to your mobile phone. Select the important ones and have the SMS option enabled to receive your important peoples’ tweets on your mobile.
3. ONE SNAP UPDATES. Update your status on most of the networking sites at a time. There are a number of applications and services available that allows you to update the status of more than one social networking site at one go. Update only once in this application and it is updated at most of the networking sites at the same time. www.ping.fm  a very awesome tool to use. In the website, you can send status messages via mobile phone, IMs like MSN, AOL, Yahoo or GTalk and any of the networking sites itself. In turn this site post the status update message on various networking sites (about 30+ sites) in one snap. Pretty darn cool.

I would not suggest having your accounts everywhere and keeping updating them individually, no fun, it’s time consuming and you’ll lose sight of the whole purpose of social networking. I would suggest choosing which ones you feel your like-minded network is and participate enthusiastically and strategically. Social Networking is only going to work for you as much as what you put into it. Yes, this means you still have to work at, but at least this suggestion is just a smart, effective and efficient way to get involve! As I feel, whatever time you spent on these networking sites should be productive and useful to you and others as well.

Posted via email from Kay Kelison’s Digital-Log

We know FACEBOOK is a puzzle although with the information provided on stats, it’s time to open our minds and start to welcoming these powerful free, marketing tools to attract amazing talent. I thought I would start with Facebook, since it’s one of the best free tool out there that recruiting is starting to use. These are just a few suggestions on how to use it.

Some interesting facts that can be found directly from Facebook as of today

·         More than 175 million active users

·         Average user has 120 friends on the site

·         More than 25 million active user groups exist on the sit

·         More than half of Facebook users are outside of college

·         Facebook is the 2^nd  most-trafficked website in the world

·         The fastest growing demographic is those 30 years old and older

·         Maintain 85 percent market share of 4-year U.S. universities

With these statistics recruiting is realizing the undiscovered power of this marketing opportunity and they are just now trying to figure out how to use it.  Below is a list of resources/recommendations to start engaging in conversations with others who are in the same boat as we are. It would be a great way to understanding how to use this amazing tool.

1. Join the Facebook Group Facebook for Business for a rich source of information. There are more than 34,000 members.   
2. Join the Facebook group The Facebook Corporate Recruiters Network
3. Create your Group (I can help you there) for your client group, team etc. on Facebook.  Post your apply info, list your latest jobs, build the group into a marketing tool.
4. Create a “Fan Page  inside of Facebook and attract fans of your page.   You can also use Facebook advertising to get fans, but it cost per click, I would hold off on this since there is free resources. 
5. If your company has a Facebook Workplace Network (a closed network for individual companies) it can be used as a hybrid recruiting/retention tool. Think of it as a ‘company intranet’. If your company does not have one you can request Facebook to add your company to the list.  Only employees with a company sponsored email address can join and participate.  Encourage your employees to use it to communicate with each other. We do have several here they are:

·         Microsoft

·         Microsoft Alumni

·         Microsoft MVPs

·         Microsoft Student Partners

6. Target ‘boomerangs‘ or ex-employees by courting them with a Facebook group. By promoting the group among your current employees, the group will slowly grow and begin to populate itself. Use the groups above to start promoting.
7. Facebook has a great sourcing tool – use the two search features that are relevant to employers, Coworkers and Profile search.

Profile Search

                                                    Image courtesy of Facebook

Company Search

                                                       Image courtesy of Facebook

8. Tap the regional networks - Facebook is made up of 4 types of networks: Regional, Workplaces, Colleges and High Schools. As an employer you can take advantage of all but the High Schools. Target these areas by posting jobs and listing job fairs.

Regional Search

                                                               Image courtesy of Facebook

9. Start “Hot Topic” conversations using ”Discussion Boards” and “The Wall “. The discussion boards are a great way to attract members of the targeted community by showcasing the company’s culture, attractive features, challenging positions and company news.  The Wall is a venue to say hello to the community and begin your connecting . You can offer job advice about your target region. 
10. My Company’s Hiring is Facebook application where you can enter current jobs in your business/organization.  They will be displayed on your company page.

                                     Image courtesy of Facebook

As you start this adventure, please share your tips and strategies on using Facebook for our recruiting teams with any success stories as you know sharing knowledge, empowers us as individuals as well as making us a great team.

Posted via email from Kay Kelison’s Digital-Log

Please Register at: http://upcoming.yahoo.com/event/2127057/

Become a Member on Linkedin Group: TweetUPSeattle

And Follow us on Twitter: http://twitter.com/TWEETUPSEATTLE

Oh… yes, this is just for Seattle folks, however if you are in town please stop by!

TweetUPSEATTLE -A Happy Hour Networking Event

Friday April 17, 2009 from 5:00pm – 8:00pm

The Westin – Bellevue

600 Bellevue Way NE
Bellevue, Washington 98004 Get Directions

The Westin Hotel – - Bellevue
Cypress Lounge and Wine Bar

A Happy Hour Networking for Tweeters that are in Seattle and the surrounding areas. It will be for those who want to learn, share and expand their knowledge of Social Networks. Meet great folks and just have a fun time. Please bring your best Tweet stories, ideas, tips, and tricks.

Please be sure to follow us at
http://twitter.com/TWEETUPSEATTLE

PARKING
Self-parking is complimentary upon validation for the first three hours, (validation machine in the lobby) and $1 per hour after that. However, it’s also free after 6pm

Posted via email from Kay Kelison’s Digital-Log

Ping.fm

http://ping.fm

Ping.fm is a free social networking, micro-blogging and web service that enables users to post to multiple social networks simultaneously as well used on your mobile devices.

Making an update on Ping.fm pushes your update to a number of your select social websites at once. This allows individuals using multiple social networks to update their status ALL at once, without having to update it in all their social mediums individually. Ping.fm group’s services into three categories – status updates, blogs, and micro-blogs – and updates can be sent to each group separately.

Ping.fm was created with the intent of making it as easy as possible to post updates to multiple social networking sites simultaneously. The idea came about when creators were updating status messages with micro-blogging sites Twitter and Tumblr. The idea of posting the exact same information in two places seemed a bit tedious, so Ping.fm was born.

Ping Fm Supports Ping.fm following services:

Social Network Spaces

Mobile Platforms which enables users to use via your mobile devices

Access a mobile version of Ping.fm from your cell phone or other mobile device. Just point your mobile browser to "m.ping.fm" to start posting immediately.

For iPhone and iPod Touch users, we’ve developed an optimized version of the site for you guys as well. You can access it by visiting "i.ping.fm" from your iPhone or iPod touch.

Let’s Get Started:

Image courtesy of Ping.fm

Step  1. Sign up for your account

Image courtesy of Ping.fm

Step  2.  Dashboard is where you select your social networks

Image courtesy of Ping.fm

Step  3. Select from this list and follow instructions, be sure to pay  attention, there are more than one step to create your dashboard.

Image courtesy of Ping.fm

Step  4. Your Dashboard will look like this once you have selected your social networks, you can add more or edit from here.

 A

Image courtesy of Ping.fm

 B

Image courtesy of Ping.fm

Step  5.

Ping away, the drop box in picture “A” you can choose where to micro-blog, statuses updates, or blogs. Or you can just leave it to default in picture “B” You are all set and feel  more organized and yet… WELL CONNECTED J

I am here if you need help!

Cheers

Kay Kelison

Posted via email from Kay Kelison’s Digital-Log

Micro-blogging is a networking service that allows Mobile Users and other Internet connected devices to stay abreast of activities within a group by receiving frequent published updates, typically of 140 characters or less. Text messages are uploaded to a Micro-blogging service such as Twitter. All parties subscribed in the targeted group are instantly notified of the micro-blog, enabling groups to keep them informed on one another’s activities in real time. A Micro-blog can also be public which subscribers can join and drop micro-blogs at will.

Micro-Blogs can also be a good start for those who want to blog, but want to start out slow and figure out what it is they want to write. You would be surprise by limiting yourself to write only 1 paragraph you will start to want to write more.

Like any other Internet tool, micro-blogging can be utilized for a number of purposes. While many are social, more pragmatic uses including business applications, also apply.

Individuals can use micro-blogging as a social service to see what their friends are up to, create the tool as educational purposes, as a marketing tool, or just simply stay linked for everyday events. Individuals might also create micro-blogs for staying on top of project assignments within their teams. The quick nature of micro-blogs makes it a good management tool when the success of a project relies on many different people pulling together in a timely fashion.

Professionals can also use this tool for gathering and disseminating bullet-type information to the right groups, such as from a java conference or client meeting. Reporters can use micro-blogging to relay updates to producers and anchors in one fell swoop, and politicians can keep in touch with staff. Staff such as stage, sound engineers and performers could all benefit from being connected via a micro-blog that would keep everyone with the tour abreast of problems as they arise and resources at hand. By using a micro-blog one individual always knows what the other is doing.

Another use of micro-blogging involves increasing site traffic. A popular website blogger might announce updates or teasers to their blog through a micro-blog. An embedded link can take readers directly to the site.

I would recommend when considering this avenue; start off micro-blogging once a week; educate yourself on applications that might help you manage your blogging. Write about things you can sharing knowledge. Make a goal to only write min. 140 words to one paragraph. As you accomplished this task, then increase it to twice a week and then 3 times a week. You’ll find that you want to do more, yes my friends it will grow on you and you’ll love it!

Over 100 micro-blog services reportedly exist as of Spring 2008, with the trend headed upward. Before subscribing to the micro-blog world, be sure your cell phone plan will not put you in the poor house for extended text messaging.

Here are just a few to play with…

Cheers

Kay Kelison

See and download the full gallery on posterous

Posted via email from Kay Kelison’s Digital-Log