Social Networking: Changing the Faces of the Unemployed : )

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Looking for a job has never been easy and can be down-right depressing. Before the Internet and social networking, job hunting meant scanning the want ads and sending out resumes. Networking existed, but it meeting with an old buddy for coffee. That’s what it was like for many people laid off during the 2001 recession.

But unemployment in the age of Internet and social networking isn’t nearly as depressing or lonely. As the old adage goes, “Misery loves company.” Now, networking options abound for the out-of-work, both nationally and locally.

LinkedIn is great when you’re employed but it can be just as good when you are unemployed. Professionally speaking, it is a great resource for expanding your network beyond the two or three other people you know who do what you do. In addition to joining groups in your area of interest with like-minded people, these same people will let you know when there is a job out there for the taking.

LinkedIn offers another benefit when conducting a job search while logged into the site. When you search jobs, LinkedIn lets you know who in your network works at a specific company with a posting. If you expand your job search to SimplyHired while still logged in, the same service is provided for those jobs.

Twitter offers a more passive approach. With TweetMyJobs, you can receive automatic updates about available jobs in a certain field and even in a certain region. And you can receive it via Twitter or on your cell phone while having a latte and “networking” with your old buddy.

Being a fan of a company’s Facebook page or following it on Twitter also offers the added advantage of knowing when a new job opens up.

Local social networking has popped up around the country specifically for the unemployed. These groups such as the 405 Club in New York City not only provide job resources but also people to share your woes with.

Buyer Beware: That Virtual Merchandise Could be Stolen

LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter are all major community networking sites where you can meet people (virtually) anywhere in the world, discuss any topic, play games and sometimes end up with a job or a spouse. But just like with a real community and using real money off of a prepaid credit card, people need to take precautions against virtual theft.

Gaming used to be going to the game room at the local mall and trying to get the high score on Pacman. Now, Virtual gaming is a worldwide, billion-dollar industry where people can do virtually anything from farm to embark on quest, from pit their wits against opponents in Sudoku to fight battles. Some gaming communities are free to play, such as Farmville; whereas, others require you pay to play, such as World of Warcraft. And just like in real life, you can buy items and even virtual money with real, hard-earned cash.

And just like in real life, virtual thieves can steal your virtual bling and resell it in the virtual world for very real money. Computer users have long been weary of security when they buy something with their credit card or use Internet banking. “Phishing” scams, when hackers target gamers with fake Internet pages to capture their usernames and passwords, hasn’t been as big of a concern.

But just like all scams, where there is a will, there is a way.

In 2007, a Dutch teen was arrested for stealing virtual furniture worth about $6,000 from other gamers playing Habbo Hotel. This arrest was thought to be the first of its kind.

More recently, In November 2010, police in Japan arrested two men who stole about 1m yen from players of Lineage II. The thieves used a software program to capture information, access other gamers’ accounts, and acquire their virtual items in order to resell them. Police think these two men met in the online gaming community.

How Email Communications Have Changed the World

Although being able to use email has only been around for a short period of time, it has changed the way the entire world communicates. Even twenty years ago, the most normal way to speak with your friends or loved ones was either by telephone or letter. If you were unlucky enough to have those friends and relatives living in foreign countries, the time it took to get a response to a letter could be weeks, if not months. An international telephone call was so expensive that most average income families could not afford to make more then one or two calls per year. The use of email has changed all of that drastically. Now one can communicate with others within minutes, regardless of the distance.
Emailing not only allows us to keep in contact with our family members and friends, but it also is quite often used between businesses and large corporations as a way to handle business transactions. Although most in-person meetings between clients is still a must, email tends to cut through a lot of the small necessities, such as setting up a meeting time and place. It is also used to transfer important documents, banking transactions and other personal information that used to take weeks to get together, copy and mail by post.
International correspondence can now be completed in less then a few minutes, depending on how much you have to say. Pen pal groups have sprouted up between teens, children and even adults, allowing each member to be able to discuss different cultures and learn about other types of lifestyles. Friendships have flourished, old friends have been reconnected and lost family members have found each other, all due to the invention of the Internet and emailing. Emails are also no longer simply plain text with the choice of using black text. There are many sites that allow the user to spruce up their emails and make them quite decorative.

Personal Websites

Owning a personal website can be a fun way to keep in touch with friends and family members, along with promoting a product or service if you own an online business. Personal websites are used by nearly everyone as way to update friends of recent events. They are also used to meet new people, convey personal ideas and opinions, share helpful information or even trade ideas and discuss hobbies and interests.
Owning and operating a personal website can be fairly simple with just a small amount of knowledge about computers and the Internet. For those that are more computer savvy, a personal website can be a place to let your imagination run wild as far as using clip art and various graphics that are available to decorate with.
Many Internet companies offer free websites to users. The benefit of a free site is of course, the cost. There usually is none, but the user will normally be required to allow pop-up ads to appear on the page periodically, and sometimes quite often, which can be annoying to those reading your website. If the idea of a few Ads doesn’t bother you, a free website is probably right for you.
Other companies offer a wider variety of options for those wishing to build their own website, but they charge for the privilege. The price can be quite inexpensive or it can be quite the opposite, depending on which you choose to purchase. There are affordable websites available for nearly every budget, but as stated, this will depend on how elaborate and appealing you wish to make your page.
Whether you decide on a free web page or a paid one, the idea is that you need to have a good imagination and an eye for what makes the page appealing to others. If you are simply inviting friends and family members to view the website, it can be done simply, without much fuss.

Email: How it has Changed Communication Methods

Email has become the most popular way for people to communicate with each other. Electronic mail, shortened to email, became widely used when the Internet was introduced into the homes of everyday consumers.When first invented, email could only be transferred back and forth between people that used the same computer. This has of course, all changed in recent years. Email is now used much more frequently then mail sent through the regular postal service.

Some email accounts are free of charge, while others charge a minimal fee, usually paid each month by the consumer. Some email providers use a very simple system that is user friendly, so much so that even young children have no problem figuring out how to send emails. Others are a bit more complicated and may require the user to skip through a few advertisements before being able to read an incoming email or send one out.

Deciding which email host to use is purely a personal and possibly financial decision. Simply because you pay for an email account won’t necessarily make it better then a free service. It will depend on your needs. If you will be using the account frequently and want to be able to do more with it, such as send photo’s through an email or send to numerous people at one time by using an address book, a paid subscription may work well for you, although many free sites also offer those options also.

Most email accounts offer a wide variety of functions that include personalizing your signature at the end of your email. An email signature can be a favorite photo,  verse, a poem or a funny analogy. When set to be added to email, it will automatically show up in the email, usually at the end of the text. Using an email signature is a fun and unique way to show off your personality.

Choosing a Social Networking Site

When choosing a social networking site, you will want to pick the one that suits your needs best. A bigger, more popular site can be great if you are wanting to meet with a large number of people, make new friends and discuss a wide variety of topics. A smaller one can be best if you plan to keep in contact with just a few people or you have an interest or hobby that you enjoy discussing. Regardless of the size of the social networking site, being sure that it is private and secure is one of the first things to look into. It’s not normally a good idea to reveal too much personal information on any site, especially the larger ones that get more traffic.

Most users find that using a social networking site enables to keep in touch with friends and family very quickly and easily. It is often used to share family information, photo’s and just general chitchat. Many sites also allow people from different countries to become pen pal friends, which can be educational for everyone involved, by learning about new cultures and lifestyles.No longer is communication measured in miles or distance, but simply in the time it takes to type a few words to a new friend that may live thousands of miles away.

Safety is a must when choosing a social networking site, especially for parents of teens or pre-teens. Although some sites are very safe, especially those that are set up and monitored by teachers and school staff, others may be dangerous if the child is not taught the general safety rules of visiting such a site. Parents should also monitor as closely as possible what is being posted by not only their own child, but others as well. Parents should always keep communication lines open when their child is involved in using a social networking site.

Tracking Social Media with Social Media

Social Media Marketing: Strategien für Twitter...
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Social media websites have made it possible for people to come together more easily than ever before, sharing their thoughts and experiences and their personal opinions on a wide variety of different topics. Smart businesses and companies have realized and come to understand this, and as a result they are harnessing the power behind social media as a new way to connect with and inform not only current customers, but their potential future customers as well. Social media marketing has become an intelligent way for any business online to open up the lines of communication between the business and its many prospects.

The benefit of social media marketing can only be realized if you take the right steps and reach out with the right mediums. One of the best ways for you to determine whether or not your social media marketing campaign is actually benefitting your business is through tracking social media marketing efforts. There are a wide variety of different ways that you can monitor the social media buzz, monitoring your brand and protecting the reputation that you have worked so very hard to earn. Online reputation management applications and tools make it possible to determine just how your brand is spreading online via social media marketing.

How you decide to track your social media marketing efforts is going to depend on what social media outlets you are using to communicate with current and potential customers. If you are using Twitter, then you will want to use web applications that track who is tweeting about you or re-tweeting your content. If you are using other sites, then it is important for you to use tracking tools that actually correspond with those social media sites so that you can get the best picture of how well your social media marketing campaigns are working for your business.

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Computer Newtworking…from the beginning

IS-IS Designated System on a LAN
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In the Beginning of the early 1960′s there was no such thing as Computer Networks, but in the late 1960′s it emerged. As Computer networks emerged people started to notice that computer networks inherited many properties from its predessors called the telephone Network. Which this was no suprise because the telephone and the computer are both universal ways of communication. At this time computer networking brought something new to the world of communication namely the inexhaustable store of information. The Information store is continuing to grow at a steadily fast rate, this became more in the 1980′s. But in the 60′s there were only 2 types of computer networking. the first to come alog was the Local Area network (LAN) which was used for Local areas, such as for home use, small businesses and schools. then came along the Wide Area network (WAN). Wide area networks which were computer newtworks that covered a broad area, which were also used when the need for connecting computers located at longer distances from one another. Which that satrated with the solution for simplier tasks such as providing access to a computer terminal located hundreds even thousnads of miles away. That was where the modem came in to play which was used to connectterminal to the computer through the telephone. Most peopple in the time used the Local area network.After they developed each network they decided to develope a third which was called a metropolitian area network. the Metropolitain area network was pretty much only used in larger cities. Once into the 80′s and 90′s wide area connection were operated on the basis of fast digital channels, which significantly widen the the variety of services earlier developed in the local area network. So by late 1990′s the World wide web was created to be the mainn information service of the internet.

How networking helps in Career management.

A segment of a social network
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Networking isn’t just about computer these days. Networking can be relationship building among people with similiar interests and goals. It can involve getting to know people and developing a list of connections. Networking can help you succeed in you professioal career also usually isn’t one sided or a one time event. Networking is the key strategy in the career management process, as your network grows it becomes interchangable and then you become a resource for other. Once you are a resource to others it makes it easier and a little more comfortable to ask others questions. There are a few reason why you should network, one is to obtain information about specific thing that you could have access to from websites and general visits. You could also find out what skill, abilities that are needed for the job or field of interest that you are targeting. some other reason to network is to find out about management styles and culture to see if you will fit in with you field of interest. You can also get referrals from other people and possibly find organizations that are hiring. It really easy to create a network, the first thing you should do is strengthen your contact base which is basically reconnecting with old friends and colleagues. you should probably find professionals in the career of choice or related fields. Attendin seminars, conferences, luncheons and talks. you would really be surprised how many options there are a college campuses. Please keep in mind that networking is about being genuine, authentic, building relationships and once you have all of those then you can be a resource for others while there helping you. You should try to visit as many group as possible that interest you, this way you can take not of the tone of the meeting and attitude of the group especially if its a group of professionals.

Networking….Its older than you think!

Networking, this is really not something new it’s been going on for many decades (if not centuries). It is simply making connections with people. One central connection with many branches.
An example of networking is a building contractor; he has a “network” of sub-contractors that he deals with when he takes on a project such as masons, carpenters, electricians, etc. If a contractor relied on one person or company in one particular field of expertise he would be in a world of hurt if these people had another project to work on when he needed them. So, he builds a network of professionals so as to be able to accomplish his project in a timely manner. How many people have gone to the hospital? Yes, another network. You have doctors that have different specialties, nurses, technicians of different fields. Even our military is a network. Some protect by air, some by sea and some by land. All taking orders by the Secretary of Defense who gets orders from the President.
On a more personal level, most of us have more than one friend. Yes, another network. We rely on our friends for companionship, advice, and many other things. Each of us has our own network be it personal, professional or in some cases both. In some cases our networks intertwine with others by either having the same friends. Sometimes they intertwine because you’ve asked a friend for instance “do you know of a good mechanic?” Networks are everywhere and are going to keep growing. Enjoy your network for it may weave into a safety net for you. Any venue of life can have a network, you just have to keep your eyes and ear open to every opportunity. Thoughout the Centuries that networking has been around, it contiues to help people, places and in the end everyone could benefit from Networking.