Becoming an expert takes time but it’s well worth it. Practice is key. You don’t need to know everything before you start teaching…most people don’t. Avinash Kaushik, the author of Web Analytics – An Hour A Day and Web Analytics 2.0, didn’t feel like he was when he gave his first Web Analytics presentation in 2003.

Becoming known as an expert can lead to more business, speaking engagements or book deals…you are only limited by what you put into it.

Teaching online is gaining in popularity. It’s cheap and easy to get started for most people. Offline classes you have to rent a space.

There are lots of options to get your message out to the masses. There are a wide range of options in the e-learning space.

Udemy, a free platform for teaching online offers a variety of tools for delivering content online. Learn more about Udemy in the video below.

WizIQ is another teaching platform. It isn’t free but has a 30 day trial period for all 3 of it’s plans. Tools include virtual classroom, student recruitment tools, and payment collection mechanisms.

Moodle, an open source course management system that is widely used and free. Moodle was created in 1999 by Martin Dougiamas, a WebCT administrator at Curtin University, Australia. Moodle like the blogging platform WordPress has Themes available that allow you to customize the look of the site. Check out the video for an overview of Moodle.

Moodle can easily be used to:
Create, deliver and manage web-based content for courses.
Create interesting classroom environments without learning HTML
Communicate , real-time and/or asynchronous collaboration and communication tools
Allows for payments integration

Several books are available to help you get started, visit Moodle.org to learn more.

Udutuis a free web-based tool for creating online courses and resources are available to help you get started.

There are other platform options out there at various price points. Or alternative forms of content – webinars, podcasts and ebooks just to name a few.

“You have brains in your head. You have feet in your shoes. You can steer yourself in any direction you choose. You’re on your own. And you know what you know. You are the guy who’ll decide where to go.” ~ Dr. Seuss

I recently read an email newsletter from Daily Worth (a blog geared towards women that talks money) – Want a New Job? Ditch That Old Email.

In the article the author sited a source that stated:
“If an applicant applies for a job with us and is still using Hotmail or Yahoo for email, they’re immediately eliminated,” one successful CEO said.

While I do agree that employers and recruiter, will use whatever they can to cull thru the large amounts of resumes they receive in the economic downturn; this method is crap. An uncool domain how ridiculous is that. I know people who still have AOL email addresses. Why? Because they’ve used them for years and don’t want to switch over. It is a hassle.

With so many email services out there at some point they will all become uncool. I’m an advocate for getting your own domain even if you don’t put up a website. It’s cheap and easy to do. You can get your own name and in most cases still use the email services you already use. Gmail for example allows you to send and receive email from an external domain.

Seriously who wants to work for a company that eliminates potentially great candidates because of the domain they are using for their email. It says more about how superficial they are than anything else.

Typos, sloppy grammar and a host of other things I can see as legitimate reasons for eliminating candidates but an uncool domain?! Someone said it perfectly:-
This is ridiculous. Really, truly, ridiculous.

A Yahoo, Hotmail, or AOL email address could signal that you’re not exactly tech-savvy—or not comfortable with change. Gmail (or a personal domain) is considered leading edge.
Source: Daily Worth

Get real. People who are not tech-savy use Gmail. Changing your email address is a hassle if you’ve been using it for years. And not every service makes it easy to export your contacts. If you’re worried about companies that take part in this ridiculous practice get a personal domain. You’ll never have to worry about your domain being uncool…your name will never be trendy. Well, unless of course you get famous.

Recently I read a post on PCWorld.com called Leaving Your Job? Take Your Data With You and I posted it to my Facebook wall because I realized that it’s something a lot of people don’t think about. We spend hours a day on the computer at work sending emails and creating files. Very few people think about what they should do if they get fired or decide to leave because of a new opportunity. The only group of people I know that seem to keep their contacts are recruiters. We could all stand to learn something from them in that regard.

 

The three things the author pointed out as key are:
Your contacts
Important e-mails
Recent work files

Your contacts
If you aren’t already you should be connecting to your contacts outside of work. If you’re using Microsoft Outlook export your contacts regularly to a comma separated values or cvs file.

To export your contacts from Outlook

1. Open Outlook and choose File -> Import and Export.
2. In the dialog box that appears, choose “Export to a File”.
3. Select “Comma Separated Values” in the next dialog box. You may need the Microsoft Office CD, if the import-export feature is not installed on your computer.

If you’re on a Mac using Microsoft Entourage

1. Open Microsoft Entourage.
2. Select File/Export.
3. The menu box that appears asks you what you’d like to export. Select Contacts to a list (tab-delimited text).

Important e-mails
For important emails, there are several options for example put them into one pdf and either save them to a flash drive or upload them to a cloud account like SugarSync, Box.net or whatever cloud storage you currently use. Another option is to blind carbon copy (abbreviated Bcc:) yourself to a personal email account on emails you think might be important as they happen.

Personally I use Evernote for keeping track of important emails. I also keep a work log in there so I know what happened on a particular assignment and I can attach relevant files to the notes I create.

Recent work files
A folder on your desktop to save important work files is a must. I’d go a step further and organize the folder by project or something relevant so when you review it later you won’t have to go hunting for a file. I save work both in the cloud and on flash drives. My system may not work for everyone.
Since I’m a visual person I have one Mimobot I use exclusively for work – Swirl.

 

Use whatever method works for the way you work and think. But backup your digital life. Not just at work but at home.
If you aren’t doing regular data backups you are in for a world of hurt if something happens. Some idiot spilling liquid on your laptop when you’re out. Or heaven help if your computer is in your luggage and the airline mysteriously can’t find it. I’m all for redundancy …backup online and on multiple drives. Hardware goes bad and cloud sites go down.

Too much of our life is dependent on technology to not make an effort to protect it.

Technology… is a queer thing. It brings you great gifts with one hand, and it stabs you in the back with the other. ~ Carrie P. Snow

Many entrepreneurs use a Board of Advisors  when starting a new project or venture.  It can be helpful to have a group of people who can share insight or feedback for the idea and provide a sounding board for the entrepreneur.

But it’s hard to know who to approach when you are first starting.  And you may not have the “people capital” established yet to know how to ask a group of talented entrepreneurs, bankers, accountants, lawyers and other small business experts to support you with your business.  (Plus it takes time to coordinate schedules and plan the agenda!)

So I’ll recommend using an accountability partner as you start your business. Continue Reading »

January is National Organization Month. Since the year is still relatively new there is no better time to try some new skills on for size and also get rid of crap you don’t need.

 

Organize your hard-drive:
I know a lot of people who complain about never being able to find anything on their computer. After looking about others hard drive I’d say the biggest problem is that most people don’t have a home for the files they create. They just save to some default location that the software they are using has and never pay attention to where the file is actually going.

 

Setting up folder structure is one place to start.

Your folder structure is essentially a list of your directories. It’s where you store and archive all your electronic documents. It’s best to keep the structure you create simple and logical. Organize and name your folders in a way that makes sense to you. If you work with others who have to access your files and folders then make sure the structure can be easily understood by them especially if your goal is to have a paperless office. Create names by purpose or function.

For example at work, here is a simple structure to follow:

• Projects (root folder)
• Project Name (sub-folders)
• Archive (for older versions of documents)
• Marketing
• Contracts
• Administrative

• Projects (root folder)
• Project Name (sub-folders)
• Archive (for older versions of documents)
• Marketing
• Contracts
• Administrative

 

Another example works for a home office:

• CompanyNameFiles (root directory)
• BankStatements
• Checking Account
• CreditCardStatements
• CardName1
• CardName2
• Taxes
• 2009TaxReturns
• 2010TaxReturns

The Desktop
Limit the number of short cuts on a Windows desktop to the programs you use most frequently. Over 20 icons tends to create a lot of visual clutter and most people can’t easily find the software they want to run. If you are a visual person you might find using a mind-map to organize your desktop shortcuts helpful. In my post Creating Order from Chaos I discuss how I implemented this and there are links to download a mind-map to use as your background image. You can create your own mind-map if you so desire.
On a Mac keeping your desktop clear is easier. I limit the number of items I put on my desktop to about 5. The applications I use the most are in my dock and I have mine set to auto-hide. I like having as much screen real estate showing as possible. At home I use a laptop where as at work I have two monitors. It makes focusing on what I’m doing easier if the dock is hidden.

Email
Don’t leave reminders on all day. The interruptions make you less productive. If you must read email all the time set times to do so. Respond immediately to messages that require short answers. If something is going to take longer schedule time to address it. Email is a time suck.
I create folders for dealing with email at work – Project folders, General Administrative and a Miscellaneous folder for corporate email that isn’t very important. Some companies use GMail so you can create relevant labels. This makes it easier to keep track, sort and archive the emails you get from co-workers.

Finally don’t forget to backup your computer somewhere. An external hard drive, a Cloud application like Carbonite, Box.net or Dropbox but backup your files on a schedule – daily, weekly or monthly. At a minimum weekly. Automatic backup is best.

No matter what career you choose to be in there is always something new to learn. To stay competitive you need to stay on top of trends or new advances in your industry. Or you may simply need to learn new software to make your work life easier.

There are many ways to acquire new skills -

• Read a book
• Take a course at a local university
• Attend a webinar
• Subscribe to a podcast

However many universities are offering free online access to their courses:

1. Massachusetts Institute of Technology (mit.edu)
2. Open University (open.ac.uk)
3. Carnegie Mellon University (cmu.edu)
4. Tufts University (tufts.edu)
5. Stanford (stanford.edu)
6. University of California, Berkeley (berkeley.edu)
7. Utah State University (usu.edu)
8. Kutztown University of Pennsylvania (kutztownsbdc.org)
9. University of Southern Queensland (usq.edu.au)
10. University of California, Irvine (uci.edu)

Other places to pick up a few new skills though not all for free are:

• Lynda.com where you can learn digital photography, web design and development, motion graphics or other software skills
• O’Reilly School of Technology for more hard core technology skills and certifications.

Since I didn’t list all the universities that have content online a good place to look for free lectures, videos, films, and other resources — from all over the world is iTunes U.

What is iTunes U?

iTunes U brings the power of the iTunes Store to education, making it simple to distribute information to your students and faculty — or to lifelong learners all over the world. With an iTunes U site, your institution has a single home for all the digital content created or curated by educators, which can then be easily downloaded and viewed on any Mac, PC, iPod, or iPhone.

via apple.com

Top 10 Categories on iTunes U

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Right now I’m listening to the Cognitive Psychology lectures from Open University via iTunes U. So what do you plan on learning this year?

To achieve more focus in all areas of our lives we need to have some goal to work towards. Getting there isn’t the point but having a vision to work towards is. Goals keeps us motivated to work towards a vision of our future. To get started with setting goals it is a good idea to spend some time brainstorming about not just career or relationship goals but goals for all areas of your life.

Here are the areas of your life to consider when planning goals: -

• Career: What level do you want to reach in your career?
• Financial: How much do you want to earn by what stage?
• Education: Is there any knowledge you want to acquire in particular? What information and skills will you need to achieve other goals?
• Family: Do you want to be a parent? If so, how are you going to be a good parent?
• Artistic: Do you want to achieve any artistic goals? If so, what?
• Attitude: Is any part of your mindset holding you back? Is there any part of the way that you behave that upsets you? If so, set a goal to improve your behavior or find a solution to the problem.
• Physical: Are there any athletic goals you want to achieve, or do you want good health deep into old age? What steps are you going to take to achieve this?
• Pleasure: How do you want to enjoy yourself?
• Contribution: Do you want to make the world a better place? If so, how?

Below is the mindmap I used to plan my goals for 2010.

There are several sites and/or applications available to help set and track the progress of achieving your goals.

• Lifetick
• Goal for It
• Goal-Buddy
• 8goals
• Lifetango
• Goalsetting1
• Joesgoals
• MyLifeChanges

The following broad guidelines will help you to set effective goals:

• State each goal as a positive statement
• Be precise
• Set priorities
• Write goals down
• Keep operational goals small
• Set performance goals, not outcome goals
• Set realistic goals

Here’s a link to last year’s mindmap that can be updated with MindManager:-
Goals for 2010 map – shared on www.biggerplate.com

The current unemployment rate is approximately 9.5% for the entire United States. Rates for individual states may be higher or lower than the national average. In 1990, the unemployment rate was around 5% to say a lot has changed is an understatement. Since then there have been wars, various natural disasters and other economic turmoil. There are a lot of people either unemployed or underemployed. People who have stopped actively looking for work aren’t included in the unemployment numbers.

There are lots of ways to look for work. Most jobs are found using one’s personal network. But speaking from personal experience I would say that isn’t always the case. The more avenues you have to fulfill your goal of getting a job that you like the better.

If you’re in search of a job, Indeed’s Job Search app is the way to go. Free, the app searches multiple job boards and web sites, concentrating your search efforts from a single location. Save your searches for later access, drill down your search by location, and pick which ones are worth applying for.

Careerbuilder.com has a free application that enables you to search for a new job from wherever you are, and has the full functionality of the Careerbuilder.com website.

iJobs which costs only 99 cents from the Apple App Store allows you to get access to a variety of jobs from many different locations.

UpMo is a job hunting, networking, career managing site – a one-stop solution to accelerate your career. Or at least that’s the tag line.

Upmo costs about $5 a month and comes with a 30 day money day guarantee. So you can try before you commit. Upmo provides a structured approach to a job search and provides an action plan to get you the kind of career you desire.

As more companies create an online presence the issue of what employees of those companies can do online either at work or on their own time is cause for debate. If you run your own company and have others working for you, it is definitely something you should give some thought to. Since I work as a freelancer I am often asked to sign non-disclosure agreements but lately more and more companies are asking me to sign social media policy documents as well. So don’t be surprised at your next new job that someone puts a piece of paper in front of you that’s your new employers’ social media policy.

It’s important to know about these policies as people have gotten fired after committing what their companies deemed violations. CNN’s senior editor of Middle Eastern affairs Octavia Nasr was fired over a tweet. CNN has a very comprehensive corporate social media policy regarding what employees can say on Twitter, Facebook and other social destinations. A former employee of CNN has a pretty comprehensive copy of the document on his site on a post called On Notice. It’s worth a read to see how far reaching it is. Fast Company also has an article published in July called Corporate Social Media Policies: The Good, the Mediocre, and the Ugly. It includes excerpts of the CNN policy as well as several other companies.

It goes without saying that if you wouldn’t say something in person don’t say it online. There is that temptation to ignore boundaries and say whatever is on your mind and forget that what you say can have consequences.

If you have a website or any other online presence, if you work for someone else make sure that it’s clear that your opinions are yours alone and don’t reflect that of your employer. If your company has a policy make sure you keep a copy if you are asked to sign such a document.

On my personal website I address the notion that I alone am responsible for what I say since not every company I’ve worked for or will work for has a social media policy. Below is what I chose to say -

This site is Shelley’s alone, so that means that it doesn’t represent the thoughts, views, opinions or practices of past or future employers/clients, friends, family, pets, children, or that irritating neighbor who likes to play music at 7am when you’re trying to sleep late on the weekends

Some social media policies address the idea that all social media sites are blocked on company computers. Personally, I don’t think it is a very effective strategy. There are too many people with smartphones for employee access to social media to be 100 percent cut off. Unless they plan to make the office a deadzone! And let’s not forget the people who bring their own computers to work or have an iPad.

Just as social media is evolving…so are the policies governing their use in the workplace.