Be true to you and get rid of the Chicken!

Ever wonder what would happen if you listened to the little voice inside your head. You know the one that tells you to take a chance and to trust yourself. Why is it so hard to listen to this voice and to speak up and voice your opinions and ideas?

Theory 1: School made me do it!

Take all the assignments, presentations and tests you had in school. They are all in place to fit you on a scale in terms of how well you followed the directions and regurgitated the main ideas and concepts back to the person marking the assessment. It appears we are taught at a very young age to start giving people exactly what THEY are looking for. Don't colour outside the lines, make sure you use this formula to derive the answer, and please avoid using ideas that have never been used before because what we use now works.

Theory 2: My ideas are not as important as yours.

Being new to the business game you don't have the experience that many seasoned veterans possess. Perhaps it is best if you listen, take direction and follow industry norms from the professionals. After all, they didn't get to where they are without knowing a thing or two.

Theory 3: I'M A BIG CHICKEN

This is it...the real reason for not listening to your own voice. You're chicken! You're afraid your ideas will be laughed at, put down, or even reprimanded. The worst part of it all is that you think this is the worst thing that could happen. Realistically though, the worst thing that can happen is that you don't voice your really great idea and you miss out on a great opportunity to shine. An opportunity to prove to yourself (NOT OTHERS...PROVE TO YOURSELF) that your ideas have merit.

My challenge for the remainder of this short week and the remainder of my career is to start believing and trusting in my little voice telling me to speak up and to take a chance. Today is the first day of many that I am going to step up to show myself just what I can do. I dare you to do the same!

Tradeshows, what's missing?

Banners, booths, brochures oh my!

Trade show floors packed with people vying for a few moments of your time trying to lure you in with candy, toys, pens, t-shirts or other bits of clever marketing swag but I can't help but think that something is missing. In my opinion, it feels slightly like speed dating where people come to your booth for a few moments to gather as much information about you, your company and your product before moving on to the next booth and placing the marketing materials and business card they acquired from you into their trick-or-treat bag with all the other materials from potential business relationship partners. There is so much noise that it is hard to really hear any messages because everyone is "shouting".



So what's missing from trade shows? A comforting silence.

I think the best idea for booth graphics, marketing materials, staffing choices and overall messaging for trade shows is to keep it simple. The less-is-more approach will not only stand out from the masses but may give your potential customer the comforting silence they are sorely missing. Your new potential customer will have the opportunity to relax and get to know you, your company and what you have to offer without being overwhelmed by the noise.

First step to recovery: I have a problem!

Well it has been over a YEAR since my last blog entry and I hear a large "tisk tisk tisk" coming from the blogging community. If you read my ancient entries you will see that I have an issue with maintaining my blog at regular intervals. In an attempt to remedy my blogging woes, I have decided to commit a little bit of me time every other day to blog, or as Jeff Pulver put it, "leave behind digital bread crumbs to get motivation from later" (#140conf). So let the crumb trial begin...

A "Real" Educational Experience

Call it Fall Fever, or September Sickness, but since schools are starting up I have found myself being engaged in debate and conversation surrounding education and its ability to provide a "real" educational experience to students. In all the conversations three topics continually arose: social media, health, and creativity.

On social media, discussions usually had to do with ones ability to create a strong personal brand online. Students should be shown how to harness social media tools to develop their own personal brand and also deterred from particular activities that could destroy it. Whyhire.me is a leader in giving student's the practical skills and knowledge to develop their brand while also providing a cool platform for them to integrate a variety of social media tools. More colleges and universities should be taking this approach, but at the same time students should be taking responsibility for their online appearance and persona.

With regards to health, a co-worker of mine brought up a valid point, we teach physical education to make sure people know how to be physically active and yet we do not teach cooking to make sure people know how to eat healthy and nutritious meals.I realize some may think this is a parent's responsibility, but what if the parents don't know how to cook nutritious meals? Being a graduate of BSc. Kinesiology and Health Sciences program, I know that healthy living is a combination of physical activity and proper nutrition. This is something everyone must learn and should be instituted at least at the high school level.

Finally, CREATIVITY! I just received my NAC tickets for a variety of orchestra performances and every year I am shocked to see a limited number of youth filling the seats. Do you youth not appreciate the arts? If not, why not? Schools emphasize traditional subjects: math, science, English, history, and yet they neglect art, music, and drama. Check out Sir Ken Robinson's TED talk. This little talk really got me thinking about how important it is for students to have a well rounded education and how we need to feed creativity the way we feed the multiplication table to youth. I am so thankful that I have had the opportunity to explore all facets of education (arts, music, sciences, etc.). I think it gives a bit of an edge when solving problems.

With all that said I think it is also important to note that education is not just in public schools, universities or colleges. It can also be found in extra curricular activities and clubs.The responsibility has to be on the student to explore but the duty should be on the community to provide the opportunities.

Macro VS Micro Blogging

Well here I am again....another long time between blog entries!!! A combination of great summer weather, visiting relatives in Nova Scotia, helping friends move and a multitude of other excuses I find myself grooming my bad habit of limited blog entries. SIGH!

On the upside however, I have been actively involved in micro blogging. These are fast ways to share and gather information and take little to no time. The big names of micro blogging twitter and Facebook give me the ability to blog while mobile. So I can quickly post updates or share great links while I am basking in the sun, eating seafood in Nova Scotia and trying to maneuver a large book case into an elevator! Ok perhaps the last one was a bit of an exaggeration but you get the point. To put an entry into my blog I would actually have to set aside 10-30 minutes to sit at my computer and write a full blog entry while I can get across most of what I want to say in just a matter of seconds. Best of all I can get all the updates and industry information I need while still addressing current issues to specific users.

While thinking about my lack of attention to Macro blogging, I started to think about teens and their lack of micro blogging via twitter. The last few weeks I have come across many articles and blog entries stating that teens are not using twitter (Mashable being a large leader in the social media chatter). At first I found this rather alarming since many of today’s 13-18 year olds are found walking around with their head down frantically texting one another trying to stay connected ironically all while they neglect the friend that is physically in their presence. I thought twitter would be HUGE in the youth category but I come to find out they would rather just rock out Facebook or SMS.

The more I thought about it however, the more it started to make sense. Teens are not looking to expand their current network. They are not looking for the latest industry news. They are not concerned about what their competitors are doing. And they could care less about the newest Nortel debacle. They are concerned about maintaining the current relationships and networks that they have. Could you honestly say that if your entire network was on one social media application and you were not looking to expand your network and were not threatened by competitors would you really be looking anywhere else?

So after much thought and debate I have come to the conclusion WAKE UP TEENS! I think that what may happen is a gap forms between the early adopters and the late adopters of twitter when it comes time for youth to hit the work force. In my opinion, youth looking to be successful post graduation should be using many social media tools now to start building their network, listening to industry news and trends, looking into what their competitors (other students) have to offer, and really building their own personal brand. The Summer Bon Fire pics on Facebook won’t get them a job, but I am sure a twitter profile boasting links and information on their chosen industry just might!
If I can find time to sit and blog, teens should certainly be able to find the time to tweet!

MY FIRST MARKETING JOB AS A GRADUATE!

Ok so I know that I have committed the the biggest sin in blogging (my last entry was months ago!!!) however in my own defense, the past few months have been busy and productive. I have completed and passed in final assignments, polished off exams, began my first post graduate job and now I am only days away from my graduation ceremony at Algonquin College.

So what's it like being a newbie? WONDERFUL! I am currently employed by a high tech firm specializing in telephony software, software engineering and professional services in Kanata called InGenius. When hired on by this firm their claim was that they were "FUN". At first I chuckled thinking that "Fun and High Tech" never belonged in the same sentence but then I quickly realized that this company really was fun and not your typical stuffy high tech company. Its a place where the CTO shows up to work in a Hawaiian shirt, the CEO organizes Star Trek company movie nights, and the software engineers and account executives not only get along but actually enjoy each others company! Right away, I knew I would fit in...these people do not operate with an in-the-box mentality.

My official role at InGenius is Marketing and Support. I have only been there for a month and a half however I have learned a lot about product development, branding, event organization, product testing, and project management. As a new graduate I am gaining a vast amount of knowledge in a large number of marketing areas. My first passion is Marketing Communications and Advertising (particularly on the agency side), but working at InGenius has really developed my understanding and appreciation for marketing from the client's perspective. InGenius is really helping me develop my marketing skills while providing me with a wealth of knowledge in various business areas.

My advice to any new graduate would be to find a job that will help you develop your skills as a marketer and as a future business professional. You may not be able to work in the exact industry or in the exact job you want right away, but gaining more business and marketing knowledge will only help support your progress to where you eventually want to be. I think it is also important to remember that as a new graduate we have a very narrow view of what career possibilities are available. Entering into a job that will support your learning and progress is the best step to realizing your own potential and opportunities as a marketer.

Finally, Congratulations to all the Algonquin College graduates!

NETWORKING; ART OR SCIENCE?

www.freshmeet2009.com

During the past few months I have been involved in organizing and planning a networking event titled FRESH MEET, Young Talent You Can Sink Your Teeth Into! and I have gained a tremendous amount of insight into event planning, group dynamics and leadership. As the event draws nearer I am starting to get excited about the networking portion of the event. I am very excited to meet industry professionals that can provide some insight into career opportunities, describe what marketing is like within their business sector, and also give some advice on entrepreneurship.

I am starting to build my own little business network and I am finding out that it is a lot easier than I thought it would be. The biggest challenge is actually having the courage to follow-up and ask for help. What I am quickly discovering however is that many people want to help and are actually enthusiastic about providing you with more information or referring you to someone else who can give you more information. By hearing about a person's experiences and obtaining advice from industry professionals we, as students, can gain a tremendous amount of knowledge that can not be gained in any classroom. On April 2, 2009 I am ready to learn more and meet new people.