Our lack of attention to this blog in recent weeks is a small testament to the improvement of the market place. We’ve been busy recruiting for several digital media companies and while the economy as a whole still has a long way to go, we’re starting to see job opportunities pop up and are starting to feel hopeful for the new year ahead.

In working with several cutting edge digital media companies, it’s hard not to pay attention to the interesting divide between the digitally connected Millennial generation and the Baby Boomers who manage, them while simulatenously learning a thing or two themselves. The  New York Times  recently had an interesting column by James R. Gaines, Editor in Chief of the online publication FLYP. Gaines is over 60 and a seasoned journalist and editor who headed major print publications including, People, Time and Life. FLYP is an online magazine of sorts that is exploring new forms of multimedia journalism. But the loads of experience and expertise Gaines has to offer to his staff of young writers, tech experts, and multimedia gurus, he finds, are often matched by the insight into emerging technologies and new media that his staff provide him with.   It’s an interesting balance for a long-time manager. And one that sometimes reminds him of how much he has to learn. It’s humbling and thrilling, he says. And he is mostly excited to help these younger players conquer this new frontier as he calls it. He likens his roll to that of a parent, helping and providing for but not being a friend.  Gaines seems ok with this unusual management roll he finds himself in and he reminds us at the end of the column that while he might be the novice when it comes to the technology, the core of his company, and of all digital journalism, is still to tell a story. And that’s where his expertise really comes into play.

“MEDIA will change as radically as technology allows, and right now the Internet is moving over the media landscape like a tsunami. But the job I learned to love when young was to tell stories, and the story has lost nothing in this transition. It is as elemental and as riveting as ever.

Everybody’s worried about the device. Could Microsoft’s Courier be the answer, or the iTablet? Good question, but not the most important one. It’s less the device than the devices — the crafts and the art of storytelling — that need updating most urgently for the digital world.”
Gaines’ story is reminiscent of a topic we touched on in the past: this divide between generations and how the future of media will be shaped by it. As we recruit for many digital companies on the brink of becoming leaders in the digital space, helping to form and create their teams and interviewing the candidates that will make these companies successful, it’s interesting to see the strengths and weaknesses parties from both ends of the spectrum bring to the table.

How do you think the tech boom has affected the leadership now expected from the baby boom?

And how will the younger set fair when business requires more of them than their computer savvy?

Read Gaines’ story on the New York Times.

Want to get a sneak peek at some of the new features Facebook is working on and test them out before their rolled out for general usage? You can! With Facebook Prototypes, the social network allows users to give a few tools a test drive while they’re still ironing out the kinks.  Here’s how.

Go To Applications in the Bottom Left hand corner of the Facebook browser.

Then click Browse More Applications.

In the left hand column of options, the last one reads Prototypes. Click here.

Now you’ll see a listing of new tools and features still in beta that you can try out.

Facebook warns that many of them still have bugs and kinks to work out, but if you want a glimpse at the future of the site, give them a whirl.

One I’m trying out is Enhanced Event Emails which gives you the ability to save Facebook events to your Outlook, iCal, or Gmail calendars right from the invitation email you receive. I tried it out and the Google Calendar option did not work, but I saved it to my iCal without a problem and now won’t have to keep track of my events in two different places. Nice!

Give them a whirl and let me know which ones you liked and which you didn’t.

Yesterday’s Wall Street Journal offered up a new program called Postbox that can transform your email inbox and make you the organized professional you always wanted to be. Or so it seems. We’re going to try it out and report back on it. But here are some of the proclaimed perks of Postbox.

The program, created by former Mozilla employees, shows some similar features to the trusty Firefox browser the company is famous for, such as high security standards to keep your communications protected. But the real goal of the program is to get you organized.

Postbox sorts and catalogs your emails and attachments, grouping files types together  by format as well as by category for easy access.  Take a look at this screen shot featured in the WSJ to see what your inbox might look like.

Now if only there was a gadget that did that to my closet…

We’re always looking for new gadgets and programs to organize and simplify technology for us. So check back with us and we’ll let you know how we liked it.

Read the WSJ article.

By Beverly Weinstein

A well thought-out communication with or without a gimmick should be effective. But just a gimmick? Not so much.

There’s the taxi cab driver with his resume in full view of his passengers, the sandwich-board-wearing Wall Street job hunter, the college grad with a billboard, and even the anxious wife with a “hire my husband” Web site. They all succeeded in getting media attention, but none have managed to snag a job, according to a recent check. Why? Their messages announced that they needed a job, but didn’t convey why someone should give them one.

There is one gimmick, or let’s call it a unique, well-targeted communication, that a newly minted college grad with a marketing major tried that’s working: a music video cover letter. His name is Alec Biedrzycki, and I talked to him about his strategy. At 22, his approach was better thought-out than older and more experienced candidates I’ve interviewed.

Alec figured out pretty quickly that in a competitive job market, resumes sent to blind P.O. boxes rarely get responses. He also understood that a personal referral or connection provides the best job chances, but he just have many. So he put what he learned in his marketing classes and his musical talent to work.

In mid-July, he wrote and recorded a musical cover letter one Sunday, then posted it to YouTube and Facebook. So far, he’s had over 14,000 YouTube hits and has been interviewed by CNN, Headline News and Fox Philadelphia. He was also featured in an Italian newspaper. The gimmick part got him press coverage. But what about a pay check?

The targeted communication has netted him six solid job prospects and 10 freelance opportunities. He’s also been able to develop a more effective written cover letter. Here are excerpts from cover letters he sent before and after creating the music video:

Before Music Video

As a recent graduate of Bentley University with a degree in marketing, I’ve had much experience working with several different Corporate Businesses that specialize in Social Media utilization. Throughout these positions, I’ve:

• Worked …to develop marketing strategies for a new social media platform that enables consumers to promote, distribute and support brands and charities via social networks.

• Worked …. to create new Facebook application for job search and career advice

Also, being an avid Social Media user, I also have a Twitter account (@albiedrzycki) and blog (http://alecdotes.blogspot.com/), both of which I contribute to frequently.

After

“So that’s the basic work I’ve done throughout my academic and work career. But what about the innovative aspect of marketing? I said that I’m creative and naturally, I like to think outside the box. As an example of this claim, check out the “Musical Cover Letter” that I created to aid me in my job search. (I was interviewed on CNN and Headline News because of it.) You can view it below.

Also, be sure to check out my Web site, too (www.albiedrzycki.com), as it showcases my skills in a more concrete way. So please take a look at what I’ve done and consider what I can do for you. I hope to hear back from you soon!” Here’s some good advice from a 22-year-old that a much-older job recruiter seconds. Know your audience! “I did a music video to relate to what I’m applying for — if I was an accountant, it wouldn’t fly,” he said. “I marketed myself to a marketing job. You have to stay true to what you want to do. Be relevant, and get yourself out there.”

Read the article on Media Daily News.

Check out this entertaining and sadly, somewhat astute video from The Onion informing parents on how social media can revolutionize their efforts to keep tabs on their college aged children. Hilarious. Take a peek.

Facebook, Twitter Revolutionizing How Parents Stalk Their College-Aged Kids

According to a Stanford University study, if you’re among the many multi-tasking individuals regularly juggling numerous sources of information simultaneously, you may be doing more harm than good.

“People who are regularly bombarded with several streams of electronic information do not pay attention, control their memory or switch from one job to another as well as those who prefer to complete one task at a time, a group of Stanford researchers has found,” wrote Adam Gorlick of the Stanford Report.

The study tested multi-taskers’ abilities to filter out relevant information while being shown a variety of information. Low multi-taskers did better at all tests administered, whereas high multi-taskers were easy distracted.

“The researchers are still studying whether chronic media multitaskers are born with an inability to concentrate or are damaging their cognitive control by willingly taking in so much at once. But they’re convinced the minds of multitaskers are not working as well as they could.”

Bottom line: by doing less, you might accomplish more.

Might want to take that skill off of your resume…

Read the full article here.

I’ve been getting way too many e-mails with two attachments. One is a resume and the other is a cover letter. Aren’t cover letters supposed to be, well, letters? Personalized communications not “to whom it may concern?” I sometimes refuse to open them on principle. But if someone sent me a musical cover letter, you bet I’d take notice. And according to this inventive applicant’s YouTube stats so did over 13,000 others. I’m not suggesting you take guitar lessons anytime soon, but think of a way to stand out. An attachment on an e-mail isn’t it!

The previous blog post emphasized the importance of revamping your look both physically and emotionally after a lay off or other job loss. Looking good and feeling good are essential in portraying a positive, professional demeanor. But how about keeping that digital presence looking smart too! The majority of our interactions with people are via email or other relatively impersonal technology. It’s important to remember that your email, your tweets, and all other digital communication is a representation of yourself.

So use that spell check, put a little extra effort into personalizing your emails, and make them friendly! Another way to keep your “digital you” looking fresh and savvy, mix up your email signatures. Mashable had a great post today with 5 ways to “spice up” your signature on Gmail. Some of them work for other webmail clients, too. Check out my two favorites below and read about them all on Mashable:

Wisestamp

Location Signature

Many have asked this question before. And even now in the wake of the Twitter tsunami and the insurgence of many other forms of social technology, it’s still uncharted territory for some and down right terrifying territory for others. Fear not. Marta Kagan, self-proclaimed social media evangelist and extremely creative presenter, created the first of two slide shows found below a little over a year ago to inform us on what the f*** this new medium is and how we can and should be using it. It’s a funny but seriously informative and helpful presentation. If you haven’t seen it yet, flip through and you’re guaranteed to learn a thing or two.

Of course, the first presentation was created a year ago and, as we all know, a lot has happened in a year. Take a peek at the second version which she recently created with updated statistics and tips. Comparing the stats alone is slightly scary considering only a measly 12 months went by. But don’t let them scare you, instead let the presentation inspire you to, as Kagan says, “hop on the f***ing train!”

The latest in interesting career related news and media tidbits :

Hired: Microsoft agrees to hire at least 400 Yahoo employees as part of the $150M plan to share revenue on Internet search advertising. (CNNMoney.com)

Fired: Planned job cuts announced by U.S. companies numbered more than 97,000 last month, up 31 percent from June. (Reuters)

Business Etiquette: Is it appropriate to imbibe at corporate functions? Everyone else has a drink in hand… (NY Times)

Gen Y…The Bad News: “For College Grads Lucky Enough to Get Work This Year, Low Wages are Likely to Haunt Them for a Decade or More” (WSJ)

And the Good News: Internships abound. Take a look at these 8 lucky new comers who landed the summer’s coolest gigs. (Fortune)

Biz Gadgets: UberTwitter beat out Twitterberry as the most popular Twitter client for your crackberry. Find out why it’s better. (Mashable)

Tech News: Google is set to acquire video compression company, On2Technologies, for a cool $106.5 MM (Google Blog)