Google on Main

Well Greenville, SC has determined that Google's experimental high-speed fiber connectivity experiment should be here.  In less than a few weeks, organizers have been able to orchestrate a massive initiative to get Greenvillians to show their support for Google and the project by organizing themselves in a massive production of glow-sticks and congregation in downtown Greenville, SC.  You MUST sign up on the official Web site (We Are Feeling Lucky) and view the rather purposely quirky video explaining how to participate.  Basically, sign up on the Web site, wear all dark clothing and show up behind the Peace Center around 7:30pm 3/20/2010 to sign in with the volunteer staff.  Afterward, downtown businesses are offering discounts on items and the support for Google can go on into the night.  Please show your faith in Greenville, SC and the fact that we are a technologically minded area with people that support the future and care about what happens to our community.  It will be wonderful to have a experimental high-speed fiber optic network in our town.  Sign up, show up and support the wonderful city of Greenville, SC!

If you are using Twitter and want to promote/talk about the event please use hash tags that will show support for Google on Main initiative.  They are #GoogleOnMain and #LuckyGVL . Look forward to seeing you all there.  I will be the guy dressed in dark clothing with a whole lot of Google supporters around him.

   

Social Media Engagement

Social media is all the buzz right now.  Businesses are beginning to notice that social media outlets, such as Facebook and Twitter, are gaining a whole lot of attention from everywhere.  But why are these services gaining popularity?  It is because people are able to freely distribute their thoughts, ideas and personalities.

Just like people in the real world, some people are interesting and worth keeping up with and others are not so appealing.  However, again as in the real world, different people like different things and there is almost always someone you can find something in common with and interesting to talk about.  This is the same for being worth following, fanning, or friending in the social media arena.  From a business point of view, providing neat and informative ideas can be a way to be "interesting" to people and have them actually want to keep up with you and/or your business.  The best person for this task in a small business is the person who has the passion for the business and is involved with the business on a daily basis.  This person, usually the business owner, obviously loves what they do because that is why they started the business.  A natural thirst for knowing more about the business is usually coupled with that passion and can be the basis for the social media engagement.  Passing along knowledge is a great engagement technique.  Sharing with others what you learn about your industry or business is one of the best ways to be "interesting" to people and give them a reason to follow, fan, or friend you and/or your business.

Social media is an effective means to showcase your personality and skills to attract people that can benefit from your knowledge.  Apply this to your business initiative with social media to get the best results.  Use the inner desire to learn more about your industry or business to create great content that will benefit and engage people.  This will make utilizing social media fun and something that will be easy to accomplish.  Get out there and use social media to to its fullest potential.

Offers to be Had

Now I have been out networking along with going back to school full time and I have seen some true benefits.  The networking has brought me into contact with people and opportunities that has helped me decide the next path in my life.  Meeting the "right" people has helped to catapult ideas that I had into the forefront and give me the motivation and confidence to pursue a new career and goal.  Networking has been a great experience for me.
 

School has offered many opportunities also.  I have been introduced to new concepts and I have had other concepts reinforced.  This has helped greatly to improve the knowledge base that I have to conduct myself professionally.  With all the great exposure to new ideas that furthering my education has brought me, it has also brought to my attention that most businesses offer substantial student discounts.  Most only require a valid student ID card as proof of studentship in order to receive a discount.  Now if software is something that would greatly improve life, then a virtual gold mine has been uncovered.  For example, when I started my new education, I needed Windows Office 2007 for several projects and the majority of homework assignments.  Through a school associated Website I was able to obtain a student version of Office 2007 Professional for $80.  This software is the same as the retail version except for the price (retail is well over $300)!  I highly recommend contacting the school's IT department to find out what software is available at a student discount price.  Alternatively, this information can sometimes be found on the school's Website.  Another example is the student version of Adobe's Creative Suite 4.  Through Adobe's Website, CS4 can be purchased for $399.  The full retail version of CS4 is $1799 per Adobe's Website.  The only requirement for the Adobe software is a scanned copy of a current student ID that can be uploaded to their Website and then approved by someone at Adobe.  Just these cost savings alone have helped me in my educational process.  Being familiar with both the Office software and the Adobe software will beneficial in the future.

Look for opportunities that may be beneficial and are totally sanctioned by the companies that are producing them.  This will save money and help give exposure to the things and items that will be used every day in a professional career.  Plus, do networking in the community and online to grow that knowledge base.  Working with good people and having the best products will lead to a successful career.