One of our Carleton University students, Desirae Odjick, is a 3rd year Commerce student that was keen on landing a summer job that would 
compliment her career direction. She took an active roll in the WhyHire.me program last fall (2009) and built out a tremendous looking profile as part of her New Tools and Approaches class at Sprott . Desirae also keeps her profile current through the use of Twitter and Social Bookmarks. By doing this, she clearly demonstrates she stays connected to issues tied to her future career goals and professional interests. This is one of the keys to taking an active roll in conveying your brand!
WhyHire.me puts an emphasis on coaching, online marketing and social media tools through the applications of the 4 D’s of Online Personal Branding in a classroom or online learning setting. Thanks to professor Leighann Neilson, the material was conveyed through active and applied discussions, assignments and tasks pulled from the WhyHire.me learning materials. Now that Desirae is an online pro, guess what? Her profile was discovered by an Ottawa based services firm who hired her over email while she was in Sidney Australia for a school term.
How cool is that?
ICafrica Fundraiser Kick Off
This month the Algonquin Public Relations class of 2011 launched their annual fundraiser. This class has chosen to support International Charity for Africa, ICafrica. This organization focuses on decreasing poverty in Africa by providing micro loans and support to entrepreneurs in Nigeria and Ghana.
I ran into this enthusiastic bunch of students during their flash mob event on March 10th. I believe that student experiences like this help all that are involved. The organization, ICafrica, receives the enthusiasm and support of young knowledgeable students, the students receive experience working with a non-profit which connects them to industry but also opens their eyes to new experiences and job prospects, and those of us that are pulled in including students, staff and the community, become a part of a worthwhile cause which is fun and worthwhile for all.
It’s events like this that solidify the college experience and provide the ‘applied’ that our students and future employers are looking for. It also reveals initiative on the part of the students and the program. These students are more apt to become the linchpins Seth Godin refers to in his most recent book Linchpins. It’s these actions, involvement and depth of experience that will set them apart. Good luck with the fundraiser!
This week, I had the opportunity to help internationally educated professionals land their first jobs in Canada. These well seasoned engineers, software developers and project leaders have extensive credentials and experiences gained at companies all over the world.
I asked them their biggest challenges they face finding jobs in Canada – many times over, it was accessing the right people and having local experience to reference in Canada. Happily, their first challenge is being addresses through outreach programs such as iWES from The Information and Communications Technology Council (ICTC). During our session, we focused on personal branding and select techniques people can use to raise their profile on the Internet. It was a pleasure working with them. They were very attentive and they had great questions.
The second point baffles me. IT issues, project management fundamentals and project risk management are pretty much global in nature. A major telecom integration project in Africa, or network administration job in Brazil or a large scale ERP deployment in Indonesia all have the same properties as those in Canada or the United States. From my perspective, information technology talent can be from around the corner, or from around the world. The web can let me check global references, I can Google their bosses, Skype their references, anywhere in the world. It really makes no matter where someone is from and where they acquired their experiences. A qualified, hard working candidate from Asia or anywhere in the world deserves equal consideration.
The business of IT is by definition global in nature…as is change management and project management. Looking to source the right candidate for a position? Consider a hard-working and experienced internationally trained profesionsal. They are out there!
Engaging users with video is clearly paying off for those that invest in producing, licensing and staging it on their web sites. According to Comscore, U.S. Internet users watched 32 billion videos in January 2010. My suspicion is, our multi-tasking world has conditioned many of us to click on videos, before we start reading scores of text. This has game changing implications for anyone that teaches, informs or sells.
In the education world, I am noting many teachers are building and sharing digital assets that can get incorporated into curriculum. Teachertube, Ning Sites for Educators and Sitesforteachers.com to name a few. Educators are plugging into the fact that today’s students are very comfortable with digital media and have come to expect it – check out how Kaplan has wrapped the web into its brand.
So, what are the implications for today’s authors, subject matter experts and publishers looking to bring their material into virtual and real classrooms? How does one leverage rich, digital media and create compelling content that keeps students engaged and contributing? One possible method? Social Video.
When one
looks at how engaging video is, consider it a lesson platform. Video no longer needs to be linear and TIVO centric (start, stop, pause, forward, reverse). It has the potential to become an evolving, expanding platform that could include click-able links to other resources and facts, live data collected from the web, polls, discussion treads, …pretty much any new subject matter an educator would like to incorporate into the medium. Students could also contribute content, their own video commentary and links right into the video lesson.
Is this new and revolutionary? Not particularly. Consider overlay advertising on YouTube. One can very quickly overlay simple text and click-able links to other online resources. This first generation overlay technology will evolve and need to integrate with other e-learning components.
I have noted one company offering an overlay technology for e-commerce. Overlay.TV provides a platform and tool set for e-commerce sites to use video as a selling tool – users can click on click-able areas of the video and get more information such as current pricing, availability, testimonials. The net impact? Users are engaged longer, hence they have a higher likelihood of buying – one of their clients noted a 30% increase in sales from visitors (conversion).
Authors and publishers take note. Today’s students prefer to be online, video consumption is insatiable and video is proving to keep the user engaged on web pages. In my opinion, long term success as a publisher of material will be tied to sorting out how to leverage video as a platform.
What are your thoughts about social video and video as a platform for learning? How do you see video evolving in the classroom? How should publishers leverage it?
TEDx Youth Ottawa - February 2010 (Ashbury College)
Two weeks ago I attended TEDx Ottawa Youth along with my 14 year old daughter and two of her friends. The event was run by youth for youth and I was one of the few over the age of 25 in the crowd. All of the presenters were under 25, many of which are in college and university. The conference was ”A summit for young opinion leaders, artists, scientists, and entrepreneurs to foster learning and inspiration, while provoking conversations that matter and creating a forum for “Ideas Worth Spreading”.
This was one of the first ever TEDx Youth conferences in the world. The original TED conferences are now hosted by the organizers in locations around the world and TEDx is an extension whereby local visionaries can host conferences following the TED guidelines in their own communities. I’m proud to say that Ottawa has hosted both a Youth conference and a TEDx in December of 2009.
The organizers of the TEDx Youth,Yusuf Malik, Adam Moscoe and David Millen (ok he’s a little over 25), did an amazing job. The speakers where strong, poignant, professional and entertaining. They touched on a huge variety of topics and a selection of entertainers dotted the agenda to keep the event engaging for the audience. Presentations ran from 8:30 to 1:00pm.
What impressed me most was the INITIATIVE that was exuding from this experience. These students all volunteered their time to conceive of, organize and participate in this event. This type of initiative not only is impressive as a whole but also serves as an amazing experience for the individuals that were involved. These youth are different. They are putting together big ideas, inspiring others and making things happen that they care about. By attending the event the over 200 students are also revealing their interest in learning and being involved in something beyond ordinary. The audience was respectful, attentive and very ‘switched on’.
I’m sharing this here on our blog because I believe an event like this is an amazing experience For these these students. They are in fact developing their personal brands. Their participation in this event on all levels makes them stand out and shows to others that they have interests and initiative that others don’t. I applaud their initiative and know that many of them were affected by the experience. Thanks to Yusuf, Adam, and David and the dozens of volunteer participates that helped pull this event together! Looking forward to the next!
Graduating Algonquin PR Students Using WhyHire.me
The first three classes of the WhyHire.me program focus on developing a positioning pitch which will set the tone and theme for a student’s WhyHire.me profile. A few pitches from the Algonquin Public Relations class follow.
Ashlie Cormack: A willingness to embrace change and commitment to her values are what set Ashlie apart. She strives to be passionate not only for her work, but for the people she works with. Her skill comes from leadership roles in academic and athletic environments. Her ideal job isn’t restricted to the “9-5” but is integrated into every aspect of her life.
Mae McCrae: Mae McCrae is a compelling speaker with a passion for positively influencing lives. A former youth leader, she now manages a young marrieds group, drama, and music department for her church. Mae has a flare for giving a project a unique and recognizable stamp. Her way with words and great listening skills will be valuable to any organization.
Jessa Millar: Jessa is very passionate about the success of causes she works on. She has a lifelong history of involvement in her community. Delivering a constant out-pour of creative ideas, she makes connections and mobilizes action. Jessa’s problem-solving skills, personable nature and contagious enthusiasm make her a valued part of initiatives she engages in.
Once these students have created their pitches, they then work to develop their profiles using text, photos, blog posts, Twitter feeds to support and prove their pitch. They will look at their school, volunteer, work placement projects, extra curricular, and part-time work to present rich experiences that are valuable to prospective employers. I’m impressed with this bunch, they have a lot to offer their industry.
Right now their profiles are private but when they are ready, we’ll let you know.
DoGood has been getting some great traction in the blogsphere and press this past couple of weeks. Dogood provides web 
surfers a way to see selective advertising that is tied to green causes. Half of its profits are funneled back to green, philanthropic, health and wellness related causes.
When Faisal Sethi kicked off the project, I had every belief his story would challenge conventional norms within the online advertising world. What advertisers are going to put up with plummeting click through rates? I suggested he could become a new poster boy for Rupert Murdoch, given his views about free content and today’s online advertising models.
I noted Dogood recently posted a special note to publishers which clearly states DoGood does not strip away or block ads from their sites.
So there you have it – no piracy here. He is simply giving people choice when it comes to advertisers they want to browse while they surf. Does this mean causes are now the central linchpin in advertising buys? Does one pitch placement to the likes of DoGood instead of a media broker? Time will tell – it all depends on the depth and reach of such a movement.
To that end, I thought it best we start designing the t-shirt that started a movement called cause driven online advertising. Here is one I shopped up over the weekend. It is ripe for CafePress 
Algonquin College’s Career Week is coming up February 8-12th at the Woodroffe Campus.
Click on the image or this text to find out more and to register for the event.
I will be speaking on Monday Feb 8th at 1PM and Thursday Feb 11th at 2:30PM on the topic of creating an online presence using personal branding methods and some of the most popular social media tools. My 45 minute talk will cover: why you should have a online presence and 5 steps to get you started.
Rene Faucher is a former boss of Andy’s. Almost 3 weeks ago, Rene had a fall on the ice while playing hockey and hit the boards. This fall resulted in Rene being paralyzed from the chest down. Although as friends and supporters, we know this man has the will and energy to change is prognosis. He’s very positive and already starting to feel new sensations that weren’t there a week ago. You can read his updates on the Facebook Fan Page ‘Friends of Rene Faucher‘.
Rene is a 40-year-old father of three young children is expected to be in the hospital for at least a year through his recovery and rehabilitation. He did not have any long-term disability insurance. He had recently wound down his business where he worked with Andy and was starting to develop plans for his next venture.
Rene’s story touches Andy and I on many levels because we share many common values: he’s an amazing dad and loving husband, entreprenuer and idea man, and an optimistic and caring soul. He’s a good man who has been faced with a terrible situation that any of us could be placed in. In Rene’s word to Andy at the hospital, “You don’t know what tomorrow will bring.”
It is for all these reasons that we have been working with the Ottawa 67s to put on a Family Fun Game in Rene’s honour. We hope that you will join us, our family and friends, and many of Rene’s family, friends and supporters on February 7th at 2PM at Landsdown.
I would like to send a special thanks to Patrick Whalen and Sheryl Hunt for being instantly ready to help and incredibly supportive. The Ottawa 67s is an organization that also shares our values of community, kindship and enjoyment of life. Hats off to you all!
This week the Algonquin PR students and I focused on understanding product branding, personal branding and developing their ‘Positioning Pitch’. In a WhyHire.me profile, students have 350 characters to develop their clear concise message which sets the tone of their personal brand. It should highlight their keywords which could include personality traits, skills, strengths, or values which they discovered in Dig Deep. Additional ingredients for their pitch include a ‘splash’ of proof to provide validity and a target which could be a position, industry, value system, or location they have in mind.
At first it seems easy to write a paragraph but soon into the process I start hearing: ‘this is hard’, ‘I don’t feel comfortable writing about myself this way’ and ‘I really don’t know what makes me unique’. These are initial thoughts that many people have when they start this process. However, it’s so important to put in the time to craft a message that is clear, unique and strong for not only your profile but your overall personal brand which will be used in meetings, interviews, emails, career fairs, resumes and more. Employers want to know what grads have to offer, what makes them different and how they can solve the organization’s business problems.
I look forward to reading their pitches as they start to pop up in our social network and I hope a few of these students will get a chance to use their pitches at the upcoming Algonquin College Career Week (Feb 8-12). Career Week features a job fair and a series of information session and networking opportunities for past and present students to connect with industry.
