Social Media Madness…………….

In the personal and business world today, the avenues to market and promote your brand or self are limitless.  Social media touches our lives daily, whether it is through news feeds, Facebook updates, interacting with our children, interacting with our children’s schools, interacting at work, you can’t avoid social media.  With that said, it is best to expose yourself to as many social media channels as you can to get a broad understanding of them, and be savvy enough to know the strengths and weaknesses of each social media and social media in general.

In completing my summer class in social media I engaged in the use of several social media channels that I would not have exposed myself to otherwise.  Using social media day in and day out during the class made me think about the world and how our society is evolving and how quickly things are changing.  Social media changes the way information is distributed and how quickly it is distributed.  Our world has become increasing accessible from the comfort of your home.  Our network of personal and business relationships is growing exponentially.  Social media is powerful, engaging, dynamic and quick.

Social media is also dangerous and should be respected.  Social media opens you up to exposing and compromising your identity.  Social media has resulted in lost careers, lost marriages, child predators, etc.  Social media appears to have no boundaries.  If you are uneducated in social media you can quickly endanger your brand or self.  Social media is also evolving, so continual education and awareness if necessary.   Parents should consider it as dangerous as driving, drugs and alcohol, but most think of it as harmless and don’t really understand the implications for their children.

The social media channels that I enjoyed the most during my class were Twitter, Pinterest and WordPress.  Twitter and Pinterest because it is really fast paced and happening “now”.  I found Twitter and Pinterest very relevant for my brand, with so much information available and being shared.  Twitter and Pinterest had new information daily/hourly.  In my brand I believe these two channel had and would have the most impact.  WordPress I found interesting because it gave my brand a personality and legitimacy.

Social media is changing our world; how we do business, how we interact, how we communicate, how we educate, are all evolving in the hands of social media.  Social media is a powerhouse when used appropriately.

As seen on YouTube…………..

YouTube is a video and broadcasting social media site.  YouTube makes uploading, sharing and discussing videos easy.  All you need to do to upload videos to YouTube is sign-up for a free Google account. This gives you a YouTube account which you can use to broadcast your own footage as well as comment on other people’s.  Without an account, you can still find information and instruction about a variety of skills and build knowledge by seeking out videos related to their interests, but you are restricted from commenting on these videos.

As with all social media, there are risks and inherint dangers.

• The site is entirely user-generated and relies on its community to flag videos that violate YouTube’s terms of service (mostly for sexual content, language, and hate speech).
• YouTube does offer parents the ability to filter out objectionable content and comments using Safety Mode, but does not catch all content.
• Content can go viral quickly without any control from the owner of the content

There have been very well document negative effects of YouTube on both individuals and companies.  I have included a couple as examples of how damaging a YouTube video can be to self or company.

http://www.smartcompany.com.au/boss-lady/the-dangers-of-youtube.html

http://theagenda.tvo.org/blog/agenda-blogs/dangers-youtube

There is the upside of YouTube as well:

• There is a wealth of videos on almost any topic of interest on YouTube
• There are educational benefits with how-to videos available on YouTube
• People with less means can have access to marketing their talents and creativity on YouTube.

YouTube success stories:

http://www.womansday.com/life/10-youtube-success-stories-108958

Kettlebell Kraziness – Burn the fat!

Kettlebells are a great workout, quick results and a good fat burn.

The many benefits to Kettlebell workouts:

• Full-body conditioning. “The body learns to work as one synergistic unit linked strongly together,” he says.
• Big results by spending less time in the gym. “Because kettlebell training involves multiple muscle groups and energy systems at once.”
• Increased resistance to injury
• The ability to work aerobically and anaerobically simultaneously.
• Improved mobility and range of motion
• Increased strength without increase of mass. Kettlebell exercisers are lean and toned, not bulky—a benefit that appeals to women and men alike.
• Enhanced performance in athletics and everyday functioning
• Major calorie burning (In a recent study conducted by the highly respected American Council on Exercise, participants burned approximately 20 calories per minute–that’s 1,200 calories per hour.)

Checkout the video and try this routine.

Related articles

• What Is: Kettlebell Training (ptmepersonalisedtraining.wordpress.com)
• How effective are kettlebell workouts? (theglobeandmail.com)

Another 4 minute Tabata workout.

Tabata is the fastest way to fitness, both aerobic and anaerobic.   Try this 4 minute Tabata routine.

Related articles

• Workout Video: Total Body Tabata Interval Workout (HIIT) (fitfabcities.com)
• Printable Workout: 20 Minute Total Body Tabata Workout (fitfabcities.com)

Side Plank Crunches – Oh Yah!

Planks are one of the best ab workouts.  A strong core gives you stability and strength.  Check out this video for an option to kick up your planks!

LinkedIn is In …………………

This week we are using LinkedIn in class to discuss the social networking capabilities it holds in the professional world.  LinkedIn is a  social network for businesses and individual professionals. LinkedIn connects professionals and companies all over the world.  Users can build a profile and include their education and work history, portfolio and other relevant details. LinkedIn encourages users to add other professionals as a way of extending their professional contacts.  Users can find others through their direct contacts and possibly find people with the skills they need or employers with job openings. Users can send private messages, join groups and establish relationships with companies and individuals.  LinkedIn suggests other relationships and offers a simple search tool that allows the user to find other users, companies and groups.

LinkedIn is a powerful tool in a job search.  Companies and individuals are looking at LinkedIn to match vacancies with talent.  It is important to have LinkedIn as complete as possible and more importantly accurate and up to date with your skill set.  The traditional resume may be becoming a tool of the past as LinkedIn gains popularity.  It is versatile for companies because they can search the LinkedIn database for skill sets they are desiring, possibly even before a job posting comes out.  Having a LinkedIn profile is a definite way to stay competitive in the job market.

Check out the PC Magazines review and tips for LinkedIn: http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2120736,00.asp

As with any other social media there are always risks to the user.  This week while studying LinkedIn their site was hacked and passwords were compromised.  This is a good reminder that unless we are storing our own data, on our own server, we are always taking a risk with social media.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/kashmirhill/2012/06/06/change-your-linkedin-password-immediately-dont-worry-about-linkedins-calendar-sync/?goback=%2Egde_1271127_member_122018055

CONNECTING PEOPLE AND COMPANIES IN THE JOB MARKET.

Related Password Breach articles

• Millions of LinkedIn passwords leaked online (abc.net.au)
• LinkedIn investigating reports of stolen passwords (business.financialpost.com)

Corporate 4-Miler……………

Did I really commit to this, again?

The run looms over my head, the Innsbrook Corporate 4-Miler June 7th at 7pm.  Signing up always seems like a GREAT idea, that is until the day before or the day of the race.  In the 23rd hour your head gets the best of you.  Did I train enough?  Will the weather be conducive for a good run?  Will I be able to complete the run? These all may seem silly, especially if you are conditioned, but this is my third race and each time the demons rear their head pre-race.

I am going to take a deep breath and be confident that I have done the work that it takes to be successful, I will finish the run and I will celebrate with my colleagues at the end.  Afterall this is supposed to be FUN!.

If you are training for a run here is a training schedule and diet plan that I have used.

http://jaggedswords.wordpress.com/2011/03/10/keys-to-flawless-running-technique/

http://www.jeffgalloway.com/training/5k.html

http://www.coolrunning.com/engine/2/2_4/145.shtml

http://www.trails.com/how_2054_eat-before-running-k.html

Spin yourself thin?

SPIN ‘TILL YOUR THIN?

Spinning is one of my favorite new tools in my arsenal of workouts.  Spinning is cycling in place with varied tension and resistance added and taken off during the duration of the ride.  Typically a spin class ranges from 1/2 our to 1 hour.  Spinning is an intense leg workout for the hamstrings, quadriceps and the gluteus maximus  that can add up to a serious calorie burn averaging 600-700 for an hour of spinning.  A typical class involves a single instructor at the front of the class who leads the participants through routines that are designed to simulate terrain and situations similar to riding a bike outdoors. Some of the movements and positions include hill climbs, sprints and interval training.  Spinning is a very social workout and is done in a group format, though the ride itself is catered to the individual.

For more information on spinning checkout these links:

http://bicycling.about.com/od/trainingandfitness/gr/spinning.htm

http://www.ivillage.com/scoop-spinning/4-a-142431

Related articles

• I tried a new fitness class!! (operationflatbelly.wordpress.com)
• Spinning: Getting somewhere fast (mec.ca)

Pinterest is of interest ………..

In addition to review Diigo this week, I reviewed Pinterest as a possibly additional tool for branding.  I have never used Pinterest before but have heard a lot of buzz about it.  I found Pinterest to be a much easier social bookmarking tool to use than Diigo.  Pinterest appealed to my visual senses and creativity as well, leaving Diigo lower on my list of social bookmarking tools.

After making my decision to present Pinterest as a branding tool in social media I did face a challenge.  Unlike many other free social media tools, Pinterest is invite only.  I initially requested an invite directly through Pinterest.  Two days later and still no invite,  I started talking among my friends and got someone to send me a Pinterest invite.  The personal invite sped the process up and within minutes of the electronic invite I was up and running.

I hope you enjoy my slide show on Pinterest, it was fun to experience this technology and create a presentation on it.

Please enjoy my Pinterest presentation

Not digging Diigo………..

If you are like me, you never heard of Diigo before.   Diigo is a social bookmarking website which allows users to bookmark and tag web-pages. Additionally, it allows users to highlight any part of a webpage and attach sticky notes to specific highlights or to a whole page. These annotations can be kept private, shared with a group within Diigo or a special link forwarded to someone else. The name “Diigo” is an acronym from “Digest of Internet Information, Groups and Other stuff.

Now that I know what Diigo is and I have had time to play around a bit with it I have some appreciation for this social media tool, but it is not a tool that I will move forward with after this week in class.  Here is a great link to get you started on Diigo: http://dwcblog.files.wordpress.com/2010/01/diigo-workshop.pdf

The positives:

• It is an easy way to find people that have similar interests to you and immediately have a library of articles pertaining to a particular topic.
• Tags make it extremely easy to sort and organize links
• Highlights made important information easier to identify.

The negatives:

• In my experience many links that I was interested in reading rendered me to an obsolete page.
• Tagging was inconsistent.
• Many users had been inactive for such a long time that their material was outdated or irrelevant today
• Highlights were distracting because it wasn’t the information I deemed important.
• Libraries and group libraries contained duplicate links.

I am glad that I had the opportunity to be exposed to Diigo but I am satisfied with searching the internet for articles in my interest areas, reading them for what I deem important content, and creating my own bookmarks on my browser.

Not digging Diigo.