international | Kris Smith has read these articles about "international" | www.filome.com Kris Smith http://www.filome.com/keyg/international This is the keyword feed for "international" from my read items in Google Reader. If you would like to search or subscribe to category/keyword rss feeds for items that I have shared with Google Reader visit http://www.filome.com/c4_reading.php en-us Copyright for these items belong to their original publishers. No Croncast, Kris, Betsy, Comedy, Parenting, Funny, Palegroove, Croncast, eBay, Goodwill This is the keyword feed for "international" from my read items in Google Reader. This is the keyword feed for "international" from my read items in Google Reader. http://www.filome.com/images/croncast_itunes.jpg international | Kris Smith has read these articles about "international" | www.filome.com http://www.filome.com/keyg/international This is the keyword feed for "international" from my read items in Google Reader. If you would like to search or subscribe to category/keyword rss feeds for items that I have shared with Google Reader visit http://www.filome.com/c4_reading.php Croncast - Kris and Betsy Smith info@palegroove.com http://www.filome.com Castlock v1.0 Space: Astronaut loses grip on tools, finds out it's even worse than dropping your keys in a lake http://www.crunchgear.com/2008/11/19/space-astronaut-loses-grip-on-tools-finds-out-its-even-worse-than-dropping-your-keys-in-a-lake/ Shared item

I can just imagine Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper's space helmet fogging up as she yelled Nooo!!!! while watching her bag of tools slowly but eternally float away from her. It wasn't all her fault, though, as a grease gun apparently burst inside the tool bag while she was making repairs on the International Space Station.

All of the greased-up tools must have been too much for her to corral and she lost her handle on the bag itself. The tools will be monitored for a while to make sure they don't cause any damage to the ISS but once they're far enough away that they won't pose a threat, they'll endlessly hurtle through space with a 14-inch putty knife, a bolt, a spring, and a washer, all accidentally lost on previous repair missions.



Tags: space tools bag lost damage ]]>

I can just imagine Heidemarie Stefanyshyn-Piper's space helmet fogging up as she yelled Nooo!!!! while watching her bag of tools slowly but eternally float away from her. It wasn't all her fault, though, as a grease gun apparently burst inside the tool bag while she was making repairs on the International Space Station.

All of the greased-up tools must have been too much for her to corral and she lost her handle on the bag itself. The tools will be monitored for a while to make sure they don't cause any damage to the ISS but once they're far enough away that they won't pose a threat, they'll endlessly hurtle through space with a 14-inch putty knife, a bolt, a spring, and a washer, all accidentally lost on previous repair missions.



Tags: space tools bag lost damage ]]> Wed, 19 Nov 2008 18:00:00 -0600 30:00 tag:croncast.com,16783 An Interview with John Ziegler on the Zogby "Push Poll" http://www.fivethirtyeight.com/2008/11/interview-with-john-ziegler-on-zogby.html Shared item John Ziegler, a documentary filmmaker and former radio talk show host who built the website HowObamaGotElected.com and is promoting a forthcoming documentary of the same name.

Ziegler was responsible for commissioning a Zogby International survey of Barack Obama supporters, which took the form of a multiple choice political knowledge test, stating a "fact" to the respondent and asking them which of the four major candidates (Obama, McCain, Biden, Palin) the statement applied to. Because I believe that many of the statements on the survey are questionable or false but are misleadingly presented as factual to the respondent, I characterized the survey as a "push poll" in an article posted early this morning.

Ziegler had contacted me by e-mail, asking if I'd like to interview him; the interview itself was conducted by telephone. Ziegler asked, among other conditions, that I post a full transcript of the interview, which I have. The transcript below is intended to be representative as possible from my shorthand transcript, with the exception of two or three rapid-fire ad-hominem exchanges being edited out. The transcript, however, is not safe for work.

Nate Silver [NS]: Were only Obama supporters interviewed for the [Zogby] survey, or was everyone interviewed?
John Ziegler [JZ]: The reason why I interviewed Obama supporters only is because I'm doing a documentary on the media coverage of the campaign and how the media coverage of the campaign impacted what Obama supporters knew or thought they knew about the campaign. I had planned from day one because I knew that no one would take seriously any random sampling of interviewees that I was going to commission a scientific poll of these questions. I also knew that it would be a lot cheaper for me to do a nationwide survey of Obama voters than the nation as a whole because basically I'd only have to do half the number of people to get a representative sample. When I went on FOX last night, I made a deal that if anyone on the left -- you're more than willing to take me up on this -- wants to ask the exact same deal of the McCain supporters and you get examples that are equal to or worse than the Obama supporters, then I'll pay for your expense. The point here was not to show that Obama supporters were idiots -- there are plenty of idiots on both sides of the aisle -- but what information they got from the media that they were able to consume.

NS: Do you stand by all the statements in the survey as being unambiguously true?
JZ: I stand one hundred percent by the notion that there is absolutely zero ambiguity as to what the right answer is to any of the questions. With the one exception of the Palin-Russia-Alaska question which we asked the way we did for a very specific purpose which was to try and gauge the Tina Fey Effect which I think we did in a very effective manner which was what was actually said by Tina Fey, everyone attributed to Sarah Plain. But for purposes of scoring Obama supporters' answers we counted Palin as a correct response.

NS: What was the right answer to that [Palin] question?
JZ: The technically accurate question [sic] is that none of the four people said that, but we counted it as correct if they said Sarah Palin.

NS: Why would you commission a survey question with no correct response?
JZ: The purpose of the question, you pinhead, was we wanted to determine the Tina Fey Effect.

NS: Where the interviews conducted by telephone or online?
JZ: How can you ask a question like that and pretend that you have any clue what you're writing about! That's unbelievable that someone could write what you did! That is unbelievable that you wouldn't know that it's a telephone or an online poll and that you went on my summaries of the questions before the questions were even released!

NS: We've heard reports from our readers that very similar questions had been asked in an online format. There was no online component at all?
JZ: That is correct, which you would have known if you had looked at the information. Before you called this a push poll -- you don't seem to know the definition of a push poll. How do you have this website?

NS: Is the complete interview available anywhere -- complete results for the interview?
JZ: Yeah if you had done your research it is all online, every question, all the cross-tabs. Man, you're never going to post this [transcript], are you?

NS: Were the respondents informed of the 'correct' response during the telephone interviews?
JZ: No.

NS: Did Zogby have a chance to preview the questions before agreeing to accept your business?
JZ: John Zogby himself or the company?

NS: Either/Or.
JZ: I am quite certain that if I asked a question they deemed inappropriate they would have not allowed the question to be asked.

NS: What questions were removed from the survey.
JZ: We didn't remove any, we edited some.

NS: What questions were edited?
JZ: Nothing was substantially edited but there was some wording on some that we went over with them. For instance, I think I had inadvertently said See Russia from my home instead of See Russia from my house. There was a distinction about Obama talking about energy prices versus electricity prices so we corrected that. That's all that I can recollect.

NS: What did Zogby charge you -- what did you pay for this survey?
JZ: I'm not going to tell you that, I'm not a fucking idiot.

NS: Did he charge you at his usual rates or did he ask you for extra?
JZ: You'll have to ask them. I'm not going to respond how much money I paid for this. It was substantial but I'm not going to say anything more than that.

NS: In the Youtube video, how were the Obama supporters identified for the Youtube video?
JZ: I had nothing to do with it. I had a person who was working with me who happens to be a black female since you seem to think I'm a racist who was the one that chose all of the respondents based on conversations we'd had prior, people who were well-spoken, thought they were informed, willing to come on camera and [who] voted for Barack Obama.

NS: What was the location of the polling place where the interviews were conducted?
JZ: They were both in Los Angeles.

NS: Okay, that's what I kind of guessed. How many Obama supporters did you speak with in total?
JZ: All twelve we spoke with are in the video.

NS: Was there any significance to the fact that in the YouTube video, seven of the twelve Obama supporters were black?
JZ: [Laughs]. The reason why we had more black supporters that might surprise some of the people that we spoke to -- if we go by your apparent ability to determine race -- the first location happened to be in a black section of town and we were able to get our interviews faster there because of they way that was set up, because of the logistics. We had a second location but it got dark and we didn't have any lights. So, that's it, it was no grand racial conspiracy.

NS: How did you represent yourself to John Zogby?
JZ: As private company, Death-of-Free-Speech-dot-inc which is the name of a book that I wrote.

NS: Did Zogby give you sign-off on the press release that he released on his website?
JZ: I'm not sure what you mean by sign-off. The press release I had input into, yes.

NS: Did you have financing for the project or was it paid for out of pocket?
JZ: It is not self-financed.

NS: Who paid for it?
JZ: You think I'm going to tell you that? When you've already shown yourself to be the enemy?

NS: Was it paid for by the RNC?
JZ: [Laughs]. In your world, the question that I would ask you is what question [in the survey] is there any ambiguity as to what the answer is?

NS: Well, that Obama 'launched his career' at the home of two former members of the Weather Underground --
JZ: That happens to be one of the questions that Obama supporters did the best on! They did better on that question than on any other Obama-related answers! And here you're telling me that it's not true?

NS: What do you mean by "launched his career"?
JZ: The first campaign as told by the person whose position he took in the State Senate, as told by her admission, his first campaign event was in the home of Bill Ayers and his wife. [Laughs] Unless you live in the Obama kool-aid world! That is astonishing to me that you would not accept that! And by the way, when you're given four responses to that question, what else was the response going to be? Sarah Palin?

NS: Well, her husband was a member of a secessionist party.
JZ: You are such a hack! That's a very good analogy.

NS: Do you think that certain types of voters are less well informed?
JZ: I think anyone that looks rationally at these poll results would have to conclude that Obama voters are incredibly poorly informed about major issues that occurred during the campaign -- my guess is because McCain voters got their information from different types of media than Obama voters did.

NS: What types of media would you consider credible?
JZ: I think you need a variety of sources, but I do not accept the notion that if it's not in the New York Times it's not true and if it is in the New York Times it is. Just because Sean Hannity says something doesn't mean it's not true.

NS: What is Barack Obama's religion?
JZ: You'll have to ask him. But I do know that he never claimed to be a Christian until he met Reverend Wright. And I do believe -- and I've never held this against him -- that it would have been highly unlikely for him not to have been registered as a Muslim as a child in Indonsesia but who cares. He did change his website based on that reality - he was far more ambiguous about that issue on Fight The Smears. I'm an agnostic so I couldn't care less what his religion is. I just care that he lied about it.

NS: When do you think Obama was a Muslim?
JZ: I think he was likely -- registered as a Muslim between the ages of 6 and 10 while he was going to school in Indonesia. It would have been highly unusual for him not to be.

NS: But would you personally consider Obama a Muslim?
JZ: No, because he was a child. We're talking about two totally different things. There's what religion you're born into and there's what religion you become because of your own decisions

NS: Would you consider Obama a Christian?
JZ: You'd have to ask him. There was never any evidence that he was a Christian until he decided to join the church of a racist hate-monger for political purposes.

NS: Would you not believe Barack Obama if he told you he was a Christian?
JZ: Does he believe that Jesus Christ was the son of God who died and was raised from the dead later?

NS: Do you think he's a believer in Jesus Christ?
JZ: I have no way of knowing that. I don't think there's any evidence that he is, either.

NS: Do you have doubts about Barack Obama's birth certificate?
JZ: I couldn't care less about that. I accept he was born in Hawaii.

NS: Would you consider yourself well-informed
JZ: I'd consider myself extremely well-informed.

NS: Who are the two senators from South Dakota
JZ: Thune and, uh, Johnson.

NS: Very good. South Carolina?
JZ: Go fuck yourself. I'm done with this interview if you're going to ask me stupid questions like that. Obviously I know who Lindsay Graham is.

NS: Well, since you're running a website calling people misinformed, I'd like to see if -- there are certain things you've said that I would consider misinformed.
JZ: Misinformed? You're a piece of work! You are never going to have the guts to post a representative transcript on your website! I thought you actually ran a legitimate website!

NS: Thank you, have a good day.
JZ: Go fuck yourself.

Tags: ns jz obama question supporters ]]>John Ziegler, a documentary filmmaker and former radio talk show host who built the website HowObamaGotElected.com and is promoting a forthcoming documentary of the same name.

Ziegler was responsible for commissioning a Zogby International survey of Barack Obama supporters, which took the form of a multiple choice political knowledge test, stating a "fact" to the respondent and asking them which of the four major candidates (Obama, McCain, Biden, Palin) the statement applied to. Because I believe that many of the statements on the survey are questionable or false but are misleadingly presented as factual to the respondent, I characterized the survey as a "push poll" in an article posted early this morning.

Ziegler had contacted me by e-mail, asking if I'd like to interview him; the interview itself was conducted by telephone. Ziegler asked, among other conditions, that I post a full transcript of the interview, which I have. The transcript below is intended to be representative as possible from my shorthand transcript, with the exception of two or three rapid-fire ad-hominem exchanges being edited out. The transcript, however, is not safe for work.

Nate Silver [NS]: Were only Obama supporters interviewed for the [Zogby] survey, or was everyone interviewed?
John Ziegler [JZ]: The reason why I interviewed Obama supporters only is because I'm doing a documentary on the media coverage of the campaign and how the media coverage of the campaign impacted what Obama supporters knew or thought they knew about the campaign. I had planned from day one because I knew that no one would take seriously any random sampling of interviewees that I was going to commission a scientific poll of these questions. I also knew that it would be a lot cheaper for me to do a nationwide survey of Obama voters than the nation as a whole because basically I'd only have to do half the number of people to get a representative sample. When I went on FOX last night, I made a deal that if anyone on the left -- you're more than willing to take me up on this -- wants to ask the exact same deal of the McCain supporters and you get examples that are equal to or worse than the Obama supporters, then I'll pay for your expense. The point here was not to show that Obama supporters were idiots -- there are plenty of idiots on both sides of the aisle -- but what information they got from the media that they were able to consume.

NS: Do you stand by all the statements in the survey as being unambiguously true?
JZ: I stand one hundred percent by the notion that there is absolutely zero ambiguity as to what the right answer is to any of the questions. With the one exception of the Palin-Russia-Alaska question which we asked the way we did for a very specific purpose which was to try and gauge the Tina Fey Effect which I think we did in a very effective manner which was what was actually said by Tina Fey, everyone attributed to Sarah Plain. But for purposes of scoring Obama supporters' answers we counted Palin as a correct response.

NS: What was the right answer to that [Palin] question?
JZ: The technically accurate question [sic] is that none of the four people said that, but we counted it as correct if they said Sarah Palin.

NS: Why would you commission a survey question with no correct response?
JZ: The purpose of the question, you pinhead, was we wanted to determine the Tina Fey Effect.

NS: Where the interviews conducted by telephone or online?
JZ: How can you ask a question like that and pretend that you have any clue what you're writing about! That's unbelievable that someone could write what you did! That is unbelievable that you wouldn't know that it's a telephone or an online poll and that you went on my summaries of the questions before the questions were even released!

NS: We've heard reports from our readers that very similar questions had been asked in an online format. There was no online component at all?
JZ: That is correct, which you would have known if you had looked at the information. Before you called this a push poll -- you don't seem to know the definition of a push poll. How do you have this website?

NS: Is the complete interview available anywhere -- complete results for the interview?
JZ: Yeah if you had done your research it is all online, every question, all the cross-tabs. Man, you're never going to post this [transcript], are you?

NS: Were the respondents informed of the 'correct' response during the telephone interviews?
JZ: No.

NS: Did Zogby have a chance to preview the questions before agreeing to accept your business?
JZ: John Zogby himself or the company?

NS: Either/Or.
JZ: I am quite certain that if I asked a question they deemed inappropriate they would have not allowed the question to be asked.

NS: What questions were removed from the survey.
JZ: We didn't remove any, we edited some.

NS: What questions were edited?
JZ: Nothing was substantially edited but there was some wording on some that we went over with them. For instance, I think I had inadvertently said See Russia from my home instead of See Russia from my house. There was a distinction about Obama talking about energy prices versus electricity prices so we corrected that. That's all that I can recollect.

NS: What did Zogby charge you -- what did you pay for this survey?
JZ: I'm not going to tell you that, I'm not a fucking idiot.

NS: Did he charge you at his usual rates or did he ask you for extra?
JZ: You'll have to ask them. I'm not going to respond how much money I paid for this. It was substantial but I'm not going to say anything more than that.

NS: In the Youtube video, how were the Obama supporters identified for the Youtube video?
JZ: I had nothing to do with it. I had a person who was working with me who happens to be a black female since you seem to think I'm a racist who was the one that chose all of the respondents based on conversations we'd had prior, people who were well-spoken, thought they were informed, willing to come on camera and [who] voted for Barack Obama.

NS: What was the location of the polling place where the interviews were conducted?
JZ: They were both in Los Angeles.

NS: Okay, that's what I kind of guessed. How many Obama supporters did you speak with in total?
JZ: All twelve we spoke with are in the video.

NS: Was there any significance to the fact that in the YouTube video, seven of the twelve Obama supporters were black?
JZ: [Laughs]. The reason why we had more black supporters that might surprise some of the people that we spoke to -- if we go by your apparent ability to determine race -- the first location happened to be in a black section of town and we were able to get our interviews faster there because of they way that was set up, because of the logistics. We had a second location but it got dark and we didn't have any lights. So, that's it, it was no grand racial conspiracy.

NS: How did you represent yourself to John Zogby?
JZ: As private company, Death-of-Free-Speech-dot-inc which is the name of a book that I wrote.

NS: Did Zogby give you sign-off on the press release that he released on his website?
JZ: I'm not sure what you mean by sign-off. The press release I had input into, yes.

NS: Did you have financing for the project or was it paid for out of pocket?
JZ: It is not self-financed.

NS: Who paid for it?
JZ: You think I'm going to tell you that? When you've already shown yourself to be the enemy?

NS: Was it paid for by the RNC?
JZ: [Laughs]. In your world, the question that I would ask you is what question [in the survey] is there any ambiguity as to what the answer is?

NS: Well, that Obama 'launched his career' at the home of two former members of the Weather Underground --
JZ: That happens to be one of the questions that Obama supporters did the best on! They did better on that question than on any other Obama-related answers! And here you're telling me that it's not true?

NS: What do you mean by "launched his career"?
JZ: The first campaign as told by the person whose position he took in the State Senate, as told by her admission, his first campaign event was in the home of Bill Ayers and his wife. [Laughs] Unless you live in the Obama kool-aid world! That is astonishing to me that you would not accept that! And by the way, when you're given four responses to that question, what else was the response going to be? Sarah Palin?

NS: Well, her husband was a member of a secessionist party.
JZ: You are such a hack! That's a very good analogy.

NS: Do you think that certain types of voters are less well informed?
JZ: I think anyone that looks rationally at these poll results would have to conclude that Obama voters are incredibly poorly informed about major issues that occurred during the campaign -- my guess is because McCain voters got their information from different types of media than Obama voters did.

NS: What types of media would you consider credible?
JZ: I think you need a variety of sources, but I do not accept the notion that if it's not in the New York Times it's not true and if it is in the New York Times it is. Just because Sean Hannity says something doesn't mean it's not true.

NS: What is Barack Obama's religion?
JZ: You'll have to ask him. But I do know that he never claimed to be a Christian until he met Reverend Wright. And I do believe -- and I've never held this against him -- that it would have been highly unlikely for him not to have been registered as a Muslim as a child in Indonsesia but who cares. He did change his website based on that reality - he was far more ambiguous about that issue on Fight The Smears. I'm an agnostic so I couldn't care less what his religion is. I just care that he lied about it.

NS: When do you think Obama was a Muslim?
JZ: I think he was likely -- registered as a Muslim between the ages of 6 and 10 while he was going to school in Indonesia. It would have been highly unusual for him not to be.

NS: But would you personally consider Obama a Muslim?
JZ: No, because he was a child. We're talking about two totally different things. There's what religion you're born into and there's what religion you become because of your own decisions

NS: Would you consider Obama a Christian?
JZ: You'd have to ask him. There was never any evidence that he was a Christian until he decided to join the church of a racist hate-monger for political purposes.

NS: Would you not believe Barack Obama if he told you he was a Christian?
JZ: Does he believe that Jesus Christ was the son of God who died and was raised from the dead later?

NS: Do you think he's a believer in Jesus Christ?
JZ: I have no way of knowing that. I don't think there's any evidence that he is, either.

NS: Do you have doubts about Barack Obama's birth certificate?
JZ: I couldn't care less about that. I accept he was born in Hawaii.

NS: Would you consider yourself well-informed
JZ: I'd consider myself extremely well-informed.

NS: Who are the two senators from South Dakota
JZ: Thune and, uh, Johnson.

NS: Very good. South Carolina?
JZ: Go fuck yourself. I'm done with this interview if you're going to ask me stupid questions like that. Obviously I know who Lindsay Graham is.

NS: Well, since you're running a website calling people misinformed, I'd like to see if -- there are certain things you've said that I would consider misinformed.
JZ: Misinformed? You're a piece of work! You are never going to have the guts to post a representative transcript on your website! I thought you actually ran a legitimate website!

NS: Thank you, have a good day.
JZ: Go fuck yourself.

Tags: ns jz obama question supporters ]]> Wed, 19 Nov 2008 00:53:00 -0600 30:00 tag:croncast.com,16754 In Surprise Speech, Obama Promises Global Leadership On Climate Change http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/tpmelectioncentral/~3/m0HypxJ47JQ/in_surprise_speech_obama_promi.php Shared item Barack Obama is set to deliver a surprise speech via video to the bi-partisan Governors Global Climate Summit in Los Angeles this morning.

Obama's team sends out the speech video, which renews Obama's commitment to battling global warming and casts it as an economic and national security issue:

In the speech, which will also be heard by figures from some two dozen foreign countries, Obama repeatedly casts climate change as an issue requiring international cooperation.

"The United States cannot meet this challenge alone," Obama says. Solving this problem will require all of us working together...I look forward to working with all nations to meet this challenge in the coming years."

Obama also sends a message to leaders preparing to gather at the upcoming G-20: "Let me also say a special word to the delegates from around the world who will gather at Poland next month: your work is vital to the planet."

Pretty refreshing to have an adult as incoming president...



Tags: obama speech climate global working ]]>Barack Obama is set to deliver a surprise speech via video to the bi-partisan Governors Global Climate Summit in Los Angeles this morning.

Obama's team sends out the speech video, which renews Obama's commitment to battling global warming and casts it as an economic and national security issue:

In the speech, which will also be heard by figures from some two dozen foreign countries, Obama repeatedly casts climate change as an issue requiring international cooperation.

"The United States cannot meet this challenge alone," Obama says. Solving this problem will require all of us working together...I look forward to working with all nations to meet this challenge in the coming years."

Obama also sends a message to leaders preparing to gather at the upcoming G-20: "Let me also say a special word to the delegates from around the world who will gather at Poland next month: your work is vital to the planet."

Pretty refreshing to have an adult as incoming president...



Tags: obama speech climate global working ]]> Tue, 18 Nov 2008 16:24:33 -0600 30:00 tag:croncast.com,16738 Welcome Back http://improveverywhere.com/2008/11/17/welcome-back/ Shared item Shared by @ErikJHeels
I love http://improveverywhere.com/.

For our latest mission, 20 Improv Everywhere agents personally welcomed home total strangers at JFK airport. Grabbing first and last names from car driver signs, we greeted strangers with personalized posters, flowers, balloons, and a 10-foot wide banner reading, Welcome Back.


(also available on YouTube)
edited by Matt Adams / song by Tyler Walker



_

Digital Video: Agents Adams, Shafer
Digital Photography: Agents Nicholson, Sokoler

The above video was made for the In An Absolut World website (the same site that featured the Zack Galifianakis videos.) We were asked to come up with our vision of An Absolut World (ideal world.) As all of our missions are about making the world a more awesome place, it was a pretty easy challenge.

The plan was simple, our team of 20 agents would head out to JFK airport together with balloons, flowers, poster boards, and markers. I would approach a driver waiting at baggage claim with a sign, confirm the first and last name of the person he was waiting for, and then let him know that we too were waiting for that person. We'd then quickly write the person's name on our poster boards and prepare to give them a warm welcome home.


Going over the plan at the Air Train station near JFK


Agent Good looks at arrivals

Agent Nicholson and I had scouted all of the terminals the day before to figure out which ones had the most drivers waiting. The huge international terminals seemed to be the best bet. We were a little nervous that we would get someone visiting from a foreign country that didn't speak English. I scanned the drivers looking for American sounding names. I also wanted to find a driver who looked friendly who we could immediately get on our side.


Kevin

I settled on Kevin. He was waiting for Lori. I told him we were as well, and right away he was excited to be a part of our welcoming party.

Kevin came right over to stand with us. This is going to be fun, he smiled. After hanging out with us for about ten minutes, he decided it would be a better plan for him to go up front and catch Lori's eye as soon as she entered and then lead her over to us. We agreed. This way she would find her driver and then be led directly to our party. Of course, he had no idea that the 20 of us knew Lori about as well as he did.


Agents write Lori's name on signs

It was exciting standing there wondering when Lori would arrive. We had no idea what she looked like, so any woman who walked by could have been her. We had to stay alert. Agent Nicholson came up with the great idea to Google Lori's full name on his iPhone, and he quickly found this photo:


Lori?

So we had a photo to go on, but we couldn't be sure it was actually the same Lori and not someone else with the same name. Tensions mounted as the wait for Lori stretched over the one hour mark. Kevin had told us that her flight from Rome had long since arrived. There must have been a long line at customs. We knew she wouldn't leave without her driver, so we just had to patiently wait.


Lori arrives and meets Kevin

Finally she arrived. As planned she saw Kevin right away and he led her over to us.


The Improv Everywhere team greeting Lori

The look on Lori's face was priceless. We had a few signs with both her first and last name on them so there was no doubt we were there to see her. Agent Reeves approached with a smile and gave her a bouquet of flowers. Everyone was cheering and screaming her name. I don't think I know these people, Lori kept telling Kevin. Kevin, not in on the mission, kept saying, They're here for you!

After a minute or two, I approached Lori to let her know that we didn't know her either, but that we just wanted to welcome her back from her trip.

Knowing that we didn't know her either seemed to put her at ease. Although she was still a little dumbfounded as to why we had chosen her, she couldn't stop laughing and thanking us.

Lori and Kevin posed for some photos with the group, holding signs. We interviewed them both on video for a bit, asking them about the experience. Lori told us, That was very strange. I wasn't expecting anyone, just my driver. I saw my first and last name. I kept thinking this is really me, but this can't be me. Kevin was just as shocked as Lori. At first he couldn't figure out why Lori was reacting strangely to a large group of what he thought were her close friends. That was a beautiful thing, he told us, and then said we could welcome him back at the airport anytime.

We told Lori and Kevin goodbye and they walked off towards his car. Lori took with her one of the signs, her flowers, and a single blue balloon. We had so much fun welcoming Lori back that we decided to try it a few more times. I found another driver with a new name and we started the process all over again. Our new person was Drew G. Everyone quickly started making new signs as I kept repeating his name. It's Drew G, I shouted. Out of nowhere a man replied, I'm Drew G! We turned around and there he was standing right next to us!


Drew G.


Agents laugh as they realize Drew is right next to them

He had been wandering around trying to find his driver and happened to be passing right by us as I was saying his name. We all busted out laughing and then hastily started yelling welcome back holding up our just finished signs.

Agent Lindquist handed him a box of New York chocolates and Agent Wimpy gave him flowers. Thank you. Do I need to kiss you, or anything? he asked. Agent Wimpy smiled and went in for a European style double kiss.


This is cool. I'm still trying to figure out what is going on here.


Agent Lathan had the best sign

Drew's welcoming was short and sweet, especially compared to the hour wait we had for Lori. No one else in the terminal seemed to notice that the same 20-person group welcomed home two completely different people in a matter of minutes. We talked to Drew for a bit and he posed for a few photos. He left with a sign, flowers, and chocolates, smiling ear to ear.

After Drew left we decided to hop over to another terminal to welcome a couple of more people home. Surely people would eventually catch on to us if we stayed in the same place. At the new terminal, I found a very nice driver with a sign for a named John. He happily agreed to stand right in front of us.

Agent Lindquist bought an I Love NY bear in the gift shop to give to John.


The IE team waiting for John

After about ten minutes of waiting John arrived.

At first he was completely confused. He insisted that it was another John the crowd was waiting for. It's not me, he kept telling his driver. It's you! It's you! the driver kept insisting, not understanding the confusion. I guess having a common name like John made it seem more likely that we were waiting for another person with his full name.


It's not me.


It's you.

Agent Reeves gave him flowers and Agent Lindquist gave him the bear.


Who are you people!?!?


John smiles as he tried to figure it all out


Once again, Agent Lathan had the best sign: You Rock Our World John K.

I approached John and explained that we didn't know him either, and he started laughing. Well, that was really nice, he told us.

John posed for a few photos with his fist held triumphantly in the air.

John told us goodbye and headed home to get some rest after his long flight. We were about to head home ourselves when a man approached me and asked if we could welcome home his daughter and her new husband from their honeymoon. He had seen us welcoming back John and had figured out what was going on. Sure, I told him, Just tell us their names.

We agreed that he and his wife would hide behind our group and wait a few minutes before revealing themselves. A few minutes later Jeannine and Dennis arrived.


Who are these people?

Agent Reeves and Wimpy gave them both a bouquet of flowers as they stood shocked.

Moments later the parents came out from hiding.

It took a little bit of explaining for them to understand what had happened. At first they thought their parents had hired a crew to come greet them. Actually, I guess that's pretty much what happened.

It was our last welcoming back of the day, so we gave Jeannine and Dennis our big bunch of balloons to take home with them.

It was a long day for all of us. Normally no one would want to spend 4 hours at baggage claim, but we had a blast together and managed to meet five new friends. Everyone on both sides of the welcome back banner had a great time.

Mission Accomplished

OTHER RESOURCES:

-More photos:
Agent Nicholson's Flickr Set
Agent Sokoler's Flickr Set

If this is your first time here:
-our other 80+ missions can be seen here: Missions
-sign up for our RSS feed and Newsletter
-New Yorkers join our NY Agents list
-everyone else can get involved in their town at The Urban Prankster Network
-We have a DVD for sale!



Tags: lori agent name john driver ]]>Shared by @ErikJHeels
I love http://improveverywhere.com/.

For our latest mission, 20 Improv Everywhere agents personally welcomed home total strangers at JFK airport. Grabbing first and last names from car driver signs, we greeted strangers with personalized posters, flowers, balloons, and a 10-foot wide banner reading, Welcome Back.


(also available on YouTube)
edited by Matt Adams / song by Tyler Walker



_

Digital Video: Agents Adams, Shafer
Digital Photography: Agents Nicholson, Sokoler

The above video was made for the In An Absolut World website (the same site that featured the Zack Galifianakis videos.) We were asked to come up with our vision of An Absolut World (ideal world.) As all of our missions are about making the world a more awesome place, it was a pretty easy challenge.

The plan was simple, our team of 20 agents would head out to JFK airport together with balloons, flowers, poster boards, and markers. I would approach a driver waiting at baggage claim with a sign, confirm the first and last name of the person he was waiting for, and then let him know that we too were waiting for that person. We'd then quickly write the person's name on our poster boards and prepare to give them a warm welcome home.


Going over the plan at the Air Train station near JFK


Agent Good looks at arrivals

Agent Nicholson and I had scouted all of the terminals the day before to figure out which ones had the most drivers waiting. The huge international terminals seemed to be the best bet. We were a little nervous that we would get someone visiting from a foreign country that didn't speak English. I scanned the drivers looking for American sounding names. I also wanted to find a driver who looked friendly who we could immediately get on our side.


Kevin

I settled on Kevin. He was waiting for Lori. I told him we were as well, and right away he was excited to be a part of our welcoming party.

Kevin came right over to stand with us. This is going to be fun, he smiled. After hanging out with us for about ten minutes, he decided it would be a better plan for him to go up front and catch Lori's eye as soon as she entered and then lead her over to us. We agreed. This way she would find her driver and then be led directly to our party. Of course, he had no idea that the 20 of us knew Lori about as well as he did.


Agents write Lori's name on signs

It was exciting standing there wondering when Lori would arrive. We had no idea what she looked like, so any woman who walked by could have been her. We had to stay alert. Agent Nicholson came up with the great idea to Google Lori's full name on his iPhone, and he quickly found this photo:


Lori?

So we had a photo to go on, but we couldn't be sure it was actually the same Lori and not someone else with the same name. Tensions mounted as the wait for Lori stretched over the one hour mark. Kevin had told us that her flight from Rome had long since arrived. There must have been a long line at customs. We knew she wouldn't leave without her driver, so we just had to patiently wait.


Lori arrives and meets Kevin

Finally she arrived. As planned she saw Kevin right away and he led her over to us.


The Improv Everywhere team greeting Lori

The look on Lori's face was priceless. We had a few signs with both her first and last name on them so there was no doubt we were there to see her. Agent Reeves approached with a smile and gave her a bouquet of flowers. Everyone was cheering and screaming her name. I don't think I know these people, Lori kept telling Kevin. Kevin, not in on the mission, kept saying, They're here for you!

After a minute or two, I approached Lori to let her know that we didn't know her either, but that we just wanted to welcome her back from her trip.

Knowing that we didn't know her either seemed to put her at ease. Although she was still a little dumbfounded as to why we had chosen her, she couldn't stop laughing and thanking us.

Lori and Kevin posed for some photos with the group, holding signs. We interviewed them both on video for a bit, asking them about the experience. Lori told us, That was very strange. I wasn't expecting anyone, just my driver. I saw my first and last name. I kept thinking this is really me, but this can't be me. Kevin was just as shocked as Lori. At first he couldn't figure out why Lori was reacting strangely to a large group of what he thought were her close friends. That was a beautiful thing, he told us, and then said we could welcome him back at the airport anytime.

We told Lori and Kevin goodbye and they walked off towards his car. Lori took with her one of the signs, her flowers, and a single blue balloon. We had so much fun welcoming Lori back that we decided to try it a few more times. I found another driver with a new name and we started the process all over again. Our new person was Drew G. Everyone quickly started making new signs as I kept repeating his name. It's Drew G, I shouted. Out of nowhere a man replied, I'm Drew G! We turned around and there he was standing right next to us!


Drew G.


Agents laugh as they realize Drew is right next to them

He had been wandering around trying to find his driver and happened to be passing right by us as I was saying his name. We all busted out laughing and then hastily started yelling welcome back holding up our just finished signs.

Agent Lindquist handed him a box of New York chocolates and Agent Wimpy gave him flowers. Thank you. Do I need to kiss you, or anything? he asked. Agent Wimpy smiled and went in for a European style double kiss.


This is cool. I'm still trying to figure out what is going on here.


Agent Lathan had the best sign

Drew's welcoming was short and sweet, especially compared to the hour wait we had for Lori. No one else in the terminal seemed to notice that the same 20-person group welcomed home two completely different people in a matter of minutes. We talked to Drew for a bit and he posed for a few photos. He left with a sign, flowers, and chocolates, smiling ear to ear.

After Drew left we decided to hop over to another terminal to welcome a couple of more people home. Surely people would eventually catch on to us if we stayed in the same place. At the new terminal, I found a very nice driver with a sign for a named John. He happily agreed to stand right in front of us.

Agent Lindquist bought an I Love NY bear in the gift shop to give to John.


The IE team waiting for John

After about ten minutes of waiting John arrived.

At first he was completely confused. He insisted that it was another John the crowd was waiting for. It's not me, he kept telling his driver. It's you! It's you! the driver kept insisting, not understanding the confusion. I guess having a common name like John made it seem more likely that we were waiting for another person with his full name.


It's not me.


It's you.

Agent Reeves gave him flowers and Agent Lindquist gave him the bear.


Who are you people!?!?


John smiles as he tried to figure it all out


Once again, Agent Lathan had the best sign: You Rock Our World John K.

I approached John and explained that we didn't know him either, and he started laughing. Well, that was really nice, he told us.

John posed for a few photos with his fist held triumphantly in the air.

John told us goodbye and headed home to get some rest after his long flight. We were about to head home ourselves when a man approached me and asked if we could welcome home his daughter and her new husband from their honeymoon. He had seen us welcoming back John and had figured out what was going on. Sure, I told him, Just tell us their names.

We agreed that he and his wife would hide behind our group and wait a few minutes before revealing themselves. A few minutes later Jeannine and Dennis arrived.


Who are these people?

Agent Reeves and Wimpy gave them both a bouquet of flowers as they stood shocked.

Moments later the parents came out from hiding.

It took a little bit of explaining for them to understand what had happened. At first they thought their parents had hired a crew to come greet them. Actually, I guess that's pretty much what happened.

It was our last welcoming back of the day, so we gave Jeannine and Dennis our big bunch of balloons to take home with them.

It was a long day for all of us. Normally no one would want to spend 4 hours at baggage claim, but we had a blast together and managed to meet five new friends. Everyone on both sides of the welcome back banner had a great time.

Mission Accomplished

OTHER RESOURCES:

-More photos:
Agent Nicholson's Flickr Set
Agent Sokoler's Flickr Set

If this is your first time here:
-our other 80+ missions can be seen here: Missions
-sign up for our RSS feed and Newsletter
-New Yorkers join our NY Agents list
-everyone else can get involved in their town at The Urban Prankster Network
-We have a DVD for sale!



Tags: lori agent name john driver ]]> Tue, 18 Nov 2008 04:47:12 -0600 30:00 tag:croncast.com,16729 FreeTrademarksForStartups.com: Free Trademarks For Startups http://feedproxy.google.com/~r/erikjheels/~3/dRr8LFE5VP0/ Shared item

The best time for entrepreneurs to start a new business is during a recession.

Since Barack Obama's election, I have been inspired and motivated to figure out something that I can do to help our struggling economy. Most of my clients are startups. Most new jobs in this country are generated by startups. Getting off on the right foot is key. At Clock Tower Law Group, we believe that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. And it is much less expensive to choose good trademarks (for your company and products) initially than it is to change them after the fact.

So here's my offer. If you're a startup, I'll file your first trademark for free.

Is there fine print? Of course. Here are the details. In order to qualify for this offer:

  1. You must be a startup. This term is loosely defined, so this should be an easy requirement to meet.
  2. You must be a company. That means that you must be organized in some state in a way that I can verify via the web, for example via the Massachusetts Secretary of State's corporations database or Delaware Secretary of State's corporations database. Or whatever state your company is organized in. Trademark law is federal law, so you and the firm don't have to be located in the same state. As such, our clients are located all over the country (and the world).
  3. You must have at least one registered domain name, and your domain name must be registered in the name of your company. We recommend that companies register their company name, product names, and trademarks as domain names in all of the generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) (including .com, .net, .org, .biz, .info, and .us). You should also register domain typos, including singular and plural variations. Registering multiple domains is cheap insurance to protect against possible infringing use. Also, we recommend registering domains in the name of your company using the exact same contact information for each domain.
  4. You must contact me electronically. Preferably via Twitter (@ErikJHeels) direct message. You can also email me; my email address is easy to find.
  5. You must hire my firm, Clock Tower Law Group, by using our proposal letter. Future payments must be made by credit card.

To be specific, the value of this offer is $1500 per company. The $1500 covers everything from hiring to filing, including the trademark search, USPTO filing fee for one class, application drafting, and application filing. It does not cover any costs after the filing (such as responding to office actions and the like). Most of our trademarks issue without major problems because we work hard to get them right initially. Clock Tower Law Group's fees are fully disclosed on our website. As is our list of cool clients.

Why I am doing this? Based on a survey that my firm conducted, each company has, on average, four unregistered trademarks. So I'm counting on your future business, as well as your referrals. I'm being straight with you. I'll trust you to be fair with us.

I reserve the right to cancel this offer at any time (unless, of course, the Federal Reserve offers me a bailout package I can't refuse). If this offer is wildly successful, then I might not be able to keep up with the demand. But I supposed that would be a good problem to have. If I have to cancel or modify this offer, I will do so via comment to this blog post. You can find this post at:

FreeTrademarksForStartups.com

I launched my law firm the week of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It was very quiet in my office in the fall of 2001 and the spring of 2002. Two years later, I was featured in a cover story in the ABA Journal on lawyers as risk-takers. The advice I give to startups is this: get plants. Because some days you are going to need a reason to go to the office. Most startups fail. But those that succeed are the ones that persevere through the tough times. As my mentor once said, success is not so much a matter of being at the right place at the right time as it is a matter of being. Just keep plugging. Go to the office. Water the plants. Grow your business.

And spread the word. Yes we can.

Related posts:



Tags: trademarks company name domain names ]]>

The best time for entrepreneurs to start a new business is during a recession.

Since Barack Obama's election, I have been inspired and motivated to figure out something that I can do to help our struggling economy. Most of my clients are startups. Most new jobs in this country are generated by startups. Getting off on the right foot is key. At Clock Tower Law Group, we believe that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. And it is much less expensive to choose good trademarks (for your company and products) initially than it is to change them after the fact.

So here's my offer. If you're a startup, I'll file your first trademark for free.

Is there fine print? Of course. Here are the details. In order to qualify for this offer:

  1. You must be a startup. This term is loosely defined, so this should be an easy requirement to meet.
  2. You must be a company. That means that you must be organized in some state in a way that I can verify via the web, for example via the Massachusetts Secretary of State's corporations database or Delaware Secretary of State's corporations database. Or whatever state your company is organized in. Trademark law is federal law, so you and the firm don't have to be located in the same state. As such, our clients are located all over the country (and the world).
  3. You must have at least one registered domain name, and your domain name must be registered in the name of your company. We recommend that companies register their company name, product names, and trademarks as domain names in all of the generic Top Level Domains (gTLDs) (including .com, .net, .org, .biz, .info, and .us). You should also register domain typos, including singular and plural variations. Registering multiple domains is cheap insurance to protect against possible infringing use. Also, we recommend registering domains in the name of your company using the exact same contact information for each domain.
  4. You must contact me electronically. Preferably via Twitter (@ErikJHeels) direct message. You can also email me; my email address is easy to find.
  5. You must hire my firm, Clock Tower Law Group, by using our proposal letter. Future payments must be made by credit card.

To be specific, the value of this offer is $1500 per company. The $1500 covers everything from hiring to filing, including the trademark search, USPTO filing fee for one class, application drafting, and application filing. It does not cover any costs after the filing (such as responding to office actions and the like). Most of our trademarks issue without major problems because we work hard to get them right initially. Clock Tower Law Group's fees are fully disclosed on our website. As is our list of cool clients.

Why I am doing this? Based on a survey that my firm conducted, each company has, on average, four unregistered trademarks. So I'm counting on your future business, as well as your referrals. I'm being straight with you. I'll trust you to be fair with us.

I reserve the right to cancel this offer at any time (unless, of course, the Federal Reserve offers me a bailout package I can't refuse). If this offer is wildly successful, then I might not be able to keep up with the demand. But I supposed that would be a good problem to have. If I have to cancel or modify this offer, I will do so via comment to this blog post. You can find this post at:

FreeTrademarksForStartups.com

I launched my law firm the week of the 9/11 terrorist attacks. It was very quiet in my office in the fall of 2001 and the spring of 2002. Two years later, I was featured in a cover story in the ABA Journal on lawyers as risk-takers. The advice I give to startups is this: get plants. Because some days you are going to need a reason to go to the office. Most startups fail. But those that succeed are the ones that persevere through the tough times. As my mentor once said, success is not so much a matter of being at the right place at the right time as it is a matter of being. Just keep plugging. Go to the office. Water the plants. Grow your business.

And spread the word. Yes we can.

Related posts:



Tags: trademarks company name domain names ]]> Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:18:36 -0600 30:00 tag:croncast.com,16685 Downsized? Fired? Here are the new rules of finding a job http://www.webinknow.com/2008/11/downsized-fired-here-are-the-new-rules-of-finding-a-job.html Shared item

Company lost its funding. Outsourced. Caught in a merger. Downsized. Fired.

It seems like every day I learn of another person who is on the job market. Usually that's because when they need a job, all of a sudden people jump into "networking mode" and I hear from them after years of silence. Hey, I'm OK with that, it's always good to hear from old friends. And I've been fired three times so I certainly know what it's like to be on the job market.

But is this the best strategy to find a job?

Hell no!

If you're like the vast majority of job seekers, you'd do what "everyone knows" is the way to find a job: You prepare a resume, obsessing over every entry to make sure it paints your background in the best possible light. You'd also begin a networking campaign, emailing and phoning your contacts and using networking tools like LinkedIn, hoping that someone in your extended network knows of a suitable job opportunity.

I got news for you. The old rules for finding a job suck in today's market. Well, OK, I admit that is a little harsh. Sure, many people find jobs the old way. Just like credit card companies may sell you a card via direct mail and you may hire some gutter cleaning services from a guy who interrupts you at dinner with a telemarketing call. But it's increasingly rare.

- The old rules of looking for a job rely on spamming your network. (Spam is email that is sent, unsolicited, to a large number of people in substantially the same format. That's exactly what many job seekers do.)

- The old rules of finding a job required advertising a product (you) with direct mail (your resume that you send to potential employers).

- The old rules of job searches required you to interrupt people (friends and colleagues) to tell them that you were on the market and to coerce them to help you.

You want to find a new job? You have to stop thinking like an advertiser of a product and start thinking like a publisher of information.

Create information that people want. Create an online presence that people are eager to consume. Establish a virtual front door that people will happily link to. And one that employers will find.

As I've said at every speech I give: "On the web, you are what you publish." It's no different when the product is you and you're looking for a job.

It's not just me saying this. Consider Heather Hamilton, who leads Microsoft's efforts to build a pipeline of qualified talent and self describes herself as "Microsoft Employee Evangelist, Quasi-Marketer and Truth-Teller." Get this. Her team at Microsoft searches the Web for potential employees. So if you're not publishing, you won't be found by Microsoft. Of course, you can always try spamming them

So what should you publish?

There are many ways to get out there into the social media world. Start a blog that highlights your expertise. Create a Twitter feed. Shoot some videos. Establish a podcast channel where you interview people in your industry. Write an ebook that dives deep into a subject you know. Comment on the blogs and in the forums and chat rooms that are important to the business of prospective employers.

The new rules of finding a job require you to share your knowledge and expertise with a world that is looking for what you have to offer.

By the way, I am on several boards. When looking at candidates for a job, which do you think gets more attention from board members: A resume? Or a well-written blog, or ebook?

If you follow this strategy to find a new job, an added benefit is that you will stay in the mix. You won't get stale. Instead of sending out resumes all day and trudging to "informational interviews" where you TELL people what you can do, you'll be publishing things that SHOW them that you'd be a smart addition to the team. You'll stay fresh and connected to your marketplace.

Here are a few examples of people who have done this:


Instead of following the traditional path to finding a job, in September 2007 Steve Chazin started a blog and wrote an e-book, Marketing Apple: 5 Secrets of the World's Best Marketing Machine, which he offered for free. Then Chazin waited for the world to find him.

He didn't have to wait long; the first day saw 2,900 downloads of Marketing Apple, with 2,100 on the second day and an average of 300 per day in the three months that followed. In a very short time, tens of thousands of people downloaded Marketing Apple, and hundreds of people wrote about it on their blogs. Chazin propelled himself into the world as a recognized expert on the kind of marketing used by Apple, Inc. And he instantly set himself far apart from the rest of the pack of job seekers looking for consulting work or a VP of marketing job.

"I've got a traditional resume, but it doesn't tell people how I think," Chazin says. "They get a sense of who I am from the e-book and the blog in a way that a resume can't possibly deliver. There is also a sense of importance that the e-book has that a resume doesn't. The e-book is free, but it has a very real perceived value."


When he was caught in the global financial mess in mid-2008 and found himself without a full-time job, Tim Rogers, a well-known expert on the economy and interest rate direction started a blog called Trends + Risk. Rogers' economic and rate outlooks have put him in the USA Today Top 10 Economic Forecasters list for four of the last five years. Rogers realizes that just sending out resumes isn't the only way to find a job so he's using his blog to continue to provide valuable forecasts to the global financial markets. Potential employers who may want to hire him as a consultant, a speaker, or even bring him on full-time see his valuable work. And they know he will be up to speed and ready to contribute from day one.

Of course, the best time to create your own presence in social media circles is not just when you find yourself out of work. Do it now. You may find yourself entertaining job offers even when you aren't looking.


Consider Scott Monty, whose frequent updates on Twitter helped land him a new job at Ford. Monty uses Twitter every day and his smart updates are seen by many. No need to convince an employer that you can write when they can see your writing on the Web.


Or how about Mike Lefebvre, a Boston area real estate professional who created some great YouTube videos to sell houses. One of his videos, Steak Out in Franklin, MA won several awards and has been seen nearly 20,000 times, resulting in the sale of the home (at full price). Mike's online publishing efforts got the attention of executives at Hallmark Sotheby's International Realty who hired him away from his former employer as a result of his online efforts.

Yes, it's tough to find a new gig. I've been there. Three times. But it's a heck of a lot easier if you put yourself out there and generate the sort of information that employers will find valuable in an employee.



Tags: job day resume blog looking ]]>

Company lost its funding. Outsourced. Caught in a merger. Downsized. Fired.

It seems like every day I learn of another person who is on the job market. Usually that's because when they need a job, all of a sudden people jump into "networking mode" and I hear from them after years of silence. Hey, I'm OK with that, it's always good to hear from old friends. And I've been fired three times so I certainly know what it's like to be on the job market.

But is this the best strategy to find a job?

Hell no!

If you're like the vast majority of job seekers, you'd do what "everyone knows" is the way to find a job: You prepare a resume, obsessing over every entry to make sure it paints your background in the best possible light. You'd also begin a networking campaign, emailing and phoning your contacts and using networking tools like LinkedIn, hoping that someone in your extended network knows of a suitable job opportunity.

I got news for you. The old rules for finding a job suck in today's market. Well, OK, I admit that is a little harsh. Sure, many people find jobs the old way. Just like credit card companies may sell you a card via direct mail and you may hire some gutter cleaning services from a guy who interrupts you at dinner with a telemarketing call. But it's increasingly rare.

- The old rules of looking for a job rely on spamming your network. (Spam is email that is sent, unsolicited, to a large number of people in substantially the same format. That's exactly what many job seekers do.)

- The old rules of finding a job required advertising a product (you) with direct mail (your resume that you send to potential employers).

- The old rules of job searches required you to interrupt people (friends and colleagues) to tell them that you were on the market and to coerce them to help you.

You want to find a new job? You have to stop thinking like an advertiser of a product and start thinking like a publisher of information.

Create information that people want. Create an online presence that people are eager to consume. Establish a virtual front door that people will happily link to. And one that employers will find.

As I've said at every speech I give: "On the web, you are what you publish." It's no different when the product is you and you're looking for a job.

It's not just me saying this. Consider Heather Hamilton, who leads Microsoft's efforts to build a pipeline of qualified talent and self describes herself as "Microsoft Employee Evangelist, Quasi-Marketer and Truth-Teller." Get this. Her team at Microsoft searches the Web for potential employees. So if you're not publishing, you won't be found by Microsoft. Of course, you can always try spamming them

So what should you publish?

There are many ways to get out there into the social media world. Start a blog that highlights your expertise. Create a Twitter feed. Shoot some videos. Establish a podcast channel where you interview people in your industry. Write an ebook that dives deep into a subject you know. Comment on the blogs and in the forums and chat rooms that are important to the business of prospective employers.

The new rules of finding a job require you to share your knowledge and expertise with a world that is looking for what you have to offer.

By the way, I am on several boards. When looking at candidates for a job, which do you think gets more attention from board members: A resume? Or a well-written blog, or ebook?

If you follow this strategy to find a new job, an added benefit is that you will stay in the mix. You won't get stale. Instead of sending out resumes all day and trudging to "informational interviews" where you TELL people what you can do, you'll be publishing things that SHOW them that you'd be a smart addition to the team. You'll stay fresh and connected to your marketplace.

Here are a few examples of people who have done this:


Instead of following the traditional path to finding a job, in September 2007 Steve Chazin started a blog and wrote an e-book, Marketing Apple: 5 Secrets of the World's Best Marketing Machine, which he offered for free. Then Chazin waited for the world to find him.

He didn't have to wait long; the first day saw 2,900 downloads of Marketing Apple, with 2,100 on the second day and an average of 300 per day in the three months that followed. In a very short time, tens of thousands of people downloaded Marketing Apple, and hundreds of people wrote about it on their blogs. Chazin propelled himself into the world as a recognized expert on the kind of marketing used by Apple, Inc. And he instantly set himself far apart from the rest of the pack of job seekers looking for consulting work or a VP of marketing job.

"I've got a traditional resume, but it doesn't tell people how I think," Chazin says. "They get a sense of who I am from the e-book and the blog in a way that a resume can't possibly deliver. There is also a sense of importance that the e-book has that a resume doesn't. The e-book is free, but it has a very real perceived value."


When he was caught in the global financial mess in mid-2008 and found himself without a full-time job, Tim Rogers, a well-known expert on the economy and interest rate direction started a blog called Trends + Risk. Rogers' economic and rate outlooks have put him in the USA Today Top 10 Economic Forecasters list for four of the last five years. Rogers realizes that just sending out resumes isn't the only way to find a job so he's using his blog to continue to provide valuable forecasts to the global financial markets. Potential employers who may want to hire him as a consultant, a speaker, or even bring him on full-time see his valuable work. And they know he will be up to speed and ready to contribute from day one.

Of course, the best time to create your own presence in social media circles is not just when you find yourself out of work. Do it now. You may find yourself entertaining job offers even when you aren't looking.


Consider Scott Monty, whose frequent updates on Twitter helped land him a new job at Ford. Monty uses Twitter every day and his smart updates are seen by many. No need to convince an employer that you can write when they can see your writing on the Web.


Or how about Mike Lefebvre, a Boston area real estate professional who created some great YouTube videos to sell houses. One of his videos, Steak Out in Franklin, MA won several awards and has been seen nearly 20,000 times, resulting in the sale of the home (at full price). Mike's online publishing efforts got the attention of executives at Hallmark Sotheby's International Realty who hired him away from his former employer as a result of his online efforts.

Yes, it's tough to find a new gig. I've been there. Three times. But it's a heck of a lot easier if you put yourself out there and generate the sort of information that employers will find valuable in an employee.



Tags: job day resume blog looking ]]> Mon, 17 Nov 2008 14:44:09 -0600 30:00 tag:croncast.com,16684 Report: Alaska has huge amount of ice-trapped gas - Houston Chronicle http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=T&ct=us/8-1-0&fd=R&url=http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/business/6109045.html&cid=1269600608&ei=G28bSfrYK4aqNu-gsOAD&usg=AFQjCNE9FcGDPfLSa4UfThztSiYZHN-tPQ Shared item Shared by @ErikJHeels
There's a Palin joke somewhere in this headline.
Report: Alaska has huge amount of ice-trapped gas
Houston Chronicle - 1 hour ago
Alaska has enough natural gas trapped in ice formations beneath permanently frozen subsoil and offshore to heat more than 100 million homes for a decade, a US report estimated.
Study: Lots of recoverable frozen gas in Alaska The Associated Press
That's enough to heat millions of homes for years, officials say CNN International
McClatchy Washington Bureau - Financial Times - Reuters - Bloomberg
all 85 news articles

Tags: ice gas report alaska trapped ]]>Shared by @ErikJHeels
There's a Palin joke somewhere in this headline.
Report: Alaska has huge amount of ice-trapped gas
Houston Chronicle - 1 hour ago
Alaska has enough natural gas trapped in ice formations beneath permanently frozen subsoil and offshore to heat more than 100 million homes for a decade, a US report estimated.
Study: Lots of recoverable frozen gas in Alaska The Associated Press