Photosource: Alex Designs

And you might ask…what is WordPress? Well, [...]]]>

Okay…I’m late…I’m late getting a Wordcamp Miami 2010 recap onto the Blog.  It’s funny that it’s taken me so long because I had been sooo looking forward to the day.  I’m a self professed WordPress Geek…and love connecting with others who share similar passions.

Photosource: Alex Designs

And you might ask…what is WordPress? Well, it’s an opensource blog publishing platform…only truly…so much more. More and more sites are being built using WordPress.

One of the best presenters of the day Shayne Sanderson discussed using WordPress CMS to power e commerce sites. So it’s not just about your personal journal log…it’s about business.  And it might be big business…especially if you generate substantial revenue with your site.

Below you’ll find presentations I felt were of real value to me. I’ve also shared links to sites to help those interested in WordPress for the first time.

WordCamp is the name given to a series of community sponsored blogging events centered on discussions relating to the WordPress blogging platform. These events are organized, paid for, and attended by local blogging communities completely independent of official WordPress control and without affiliation with Automattic, the parent company behind WordPress.

The first WordCamp was held in San Francisco in 2006, and each subsequent year has brought growth in the number of events and cities in which it is organized.

Source: Wikipedia 2/2010

Oh…one last thought…if you’ve been thinking about attending a Wordcamp near you…but not quite sure what to expect. Don’t worry…it’s completely worth the time and cost. Ticket prices vary depending on the local venue and community organizing the event.  The Miami WordPress community put on a really great day. Our cost was under $50 and lunch was provided.  So get out there and find an event…connect with some great WordPress geeks…you’ll be glad you did.

Free WordPress Blog

What Is WordPress

5 Things Bloggers Need to Know

As promised…a really great interview…who better than David Manaster, CEO of ERE.net. (www.ere.net)

You might be asking…what is ERE.net…well…they’re a professional affinity community focusing on recruiting and HR news, information — including articles, discussions, blogs, jobs, conferences, research, email publications and much much  more.

I personally find this site to be tremendous [...]]]>

Video Log

As promised…a really great interview…who better than David Manaster, CEO of ERE.net. (www.ere.net)

You might be asking…what is ERE.net…well…they’re a professional affinity community focusing on recruiting and HR news, information — including articles, discussions, blogs, jobs, conferences, research, email publications and much much  more.

I personally find this site to be tremendous for up to the minute Social Recruitment thought leadership.

Thanks David!

Related Links:

42 Rules for 24-Hour Success on LinkedIn

South Florida Interactive Marketing Association (SFIMA)

I was consulting with a client the other day and she asked me what my thoughts were on building out and promoting “Talent Communities.”  This question made me sincerely pause.  And the first question I asked in reply was…”what’s a Talent Community?’  Clearly I have no problem with seeming slow [...]]]>

Talent Community or Data Base?

I was consulting with a client the other day and she asked me what my thoughts were on building out and promoting “Talent Communities.”  This question made me sincerely pause.  And the first question I asked in reply was…”what’s a Talent Community?’  Clearly I have no problem with seeming slow and dimwitted.  I had no idea what she was referring to.  Was she referring to:

• The company’s Applicant Tracking System (ATS) Database?
• The existing employee population and the strength of their current Employee Referral Program?
• Potential candidate engagement opportunities on Soc Nets like Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, MySpace, Ning, etc.?
• The employee alumnus…those who either retired or moved onto opportunities with other employers?
• The Diverse Employee-and dare I say we’re all diverse?

Turns out the client was referring to “Relationship Marketing Databases.”  She’d had a potential vendor-partner visit with her and explain the value of remaining engaged with those potential candidates, whether they be experienced, college, alumnus…all diverse of course.   The concept was really novel, since the database would be embedded into a Careers Web solution with the goal of collecting email addresses with specified areas of interest.  The potential candidate would be “prompted” to enter their information and become a member of this Talent Community.  With this data captured the appropriate “marketing” communication could be directed to the new member of the Talent Community.

"We'll Take Over The World"

BRAIN SPASM – if I become a member of this community (which is a closed database by the way) how do I actually consider this a community?  How do I interact and build relationships that are genuine and authentic…aren’t I actually just an email address and a name delivered to an automated e-mail distribution tool? This is the thought that has invaded my mind while listening patiently to my client’s enthusiastic narration.

I nodded my head when my client was done and then I stated….Ah…you’re referring to Relationship Marketing (RLM) and the building out of candidate databases, then remaining engaged through targeted communication whether analog (print) or digital means.  Sure I think  RLM is a very important part of your over-all strategy…but I personally would not call it a community.

I began to further uncover the big vision for this clients “Social Web Engagement Strategy” and a multi-faceted approach began to take shape…there was genuine excitement.

And then I shared a few thoughts around the idea that perhaps we could think of the recruitment of candidates as “Employee Tribe Management” as opposed to Employer Brand Management.

Yes…I’d be referring to Seth Godin’s book “Tribes…We Need You To Lead Us.”   Seth’s Blog post January 30, 2008, offers a very profound observation.. about the need for people to connect to a tribe.  Here let Seth explain…it’s much better coming from him.

Tribe management is a whole different way of looking at the world.

It starts with permission, the understanding that the real asset most organizations can build isn’t an amorphous brand but is in fact the privilege of delivering anticipated, personal and relevant messages to people who want to get them.

It adds to that the fact that what people really want is the ability to connect to each other, not to companies. So the permission is used to build a tribe, to build people who want to hear from the company because it helps them connect, it helps them find each other, it gives them a story to tell and something to talk about.

This is the good stuff…and I want more of my HR clients to think outside of the RLM database box.  It’ll be a tough challenge to gain buy-in from corporate compliance around this concept for some…but whether they get it or not it won’t matter.  The Tribes have already spoken.  Look at how many corporate recruitment focused Facebook Fan pages Twitter accounts, (Tweeps)  have cropped up in the last 6 months.  Some of the best examples  are of course Sodexo Careers, Past Present and Future Facebook Fan Page, Discover Careers Facebook Fan Page, @acareerathca HCA Twitter feed, and the list continues to grow.

Now the next challenge encountered is how do we begin to craft an over-all Social Web Engagement Strategy.  I’ve said this many times…first… “LISTEN.”  Before jumping into the social web stream…we’ve got to take a step back evaluate an over-all online presence (audit the noise) and determine if any IRL (In Real Life) reputation fragments have made their way to web conversations.

Once auditing the noise is complete…we can really build out robust, interesting, engaging villages, or colonies for tribe members to congregate.

I caution my clients and perhaps those who stumble upon my musings – don’t be seduced by those who offer “turn-key” Employee Tribe Management solutions.  The social web is NOT a turn-key experience.  Real people…real candidates want an authentic vision into your organization…to get to know more than just your location, last years 10K, the cool video testimonials.  The potential members of your tribe want a chance to visit your talent tribe community…walk around, ask what’s the weather like over there from people who live with that weather.

I know the thought of this is really frightening from a compliance perspective…and HR is definitely kin to corporate legal.  But no matter what…these tribes will be established whether you like it, support it, endorse it or ignore it.

Domino's Disgusting Employee Video

For myself and others who consult with clients daily on the Social Web Evolution this latest Social Media mishap was not a surprise and quite frankly expected. I’m referring, of course, to the Domino’s YouTube Video.

If you haven’t heard about it yet, I’ll be [...]]]>

Wow…Federal Charges for a YouTube Video! ?

Domino's Disgusting Employee Video

For myself and others who consult with clients daily on the Social Web Evolution this latest Social Media mishap was not a surprise and quite frankly expected. I’m referring, of course, to the Domino’s YouTube Video.

If you haven’t heard about it yet, I’ll be surprised, but just in case…I’ve shared the response from Domino’s President U.S.A., Patrick Doyle at the end of this post.

I’m not scooping a story here folks…and I’m not all that interested in waxing philosophical about Web 2.0 and Social Media’s “prosumer” revolution. I’ve taken this moment to ask some questions.

Will this be the one incident in internet history to finally push more traditional corporate enterprises off the dime? Will these organizations now accept that Social Web Policies are not only necessary, they’re coming too little too late to stem the damage to Brand?

What will a felony charge against these two hapless short-sighted employees mean for the Domino’s Employer Brand?

If companies are using YouTube and other Social Web mediums to promote their Product Offering/Brand couldn’t we argue that this sets precedent around acceptance of possible employee “prosumer” behavior?

With the proliferation of new conversation streams introduced every day it’s impossible to control every employee at every company at every minute of the day. It’s fool hearty for companies to presume employees will naturally govern themselves… not make foolish choices…”surely employees know better.”

Air Force Web Posting Response Assesesment

I’d like to say that most employees get it. Most employees are careful with their reputations IRL (In Real Life), and do everything they can to be good stewards of corporate identities…exemplary ambassadors. That commitment carries over to the “on-line” existence…again for most people. But not everyone gets it.

Most professionals are asked as part of Standard Operating Procedures to sign on the dotted line.  They sign these documents demonstrating clear commitments to corporate employers’ expectations.

The expectations clearly spell out what would be considered unacceptable behavior and grounds for  immediate dismissal.   These  are put in front of them so they can  never come back and say…”but I didn’t know!”

In 2008 we saw companies like the ones outlined below implement formal “blogging” policies. These organizations which include our Armed Forces, accepted that Social Media provided uncontrollable outlets supporting Freedom of Speech and self expression. They also recognized that they would need to clearly outline and communicate acceptable, tolerable employee behavior.

SOCIAL WEB POLICIES 2008

• Blog Council – Disclosure Policy
• IBM Social Computing Guidelines
• CISCO Internet Postings Policy
• HP Code of Conduct
• Intel Social Media Guidelines
• US Navy – Web 2.0 Utilizing New Web Tools
• Civil Services Code of Online Participation
• US Air Force Social Media Policy

Domino’s has done a great job in handling the fall-out from the YouTube Video prank. They jumped right into the conversation commenting on blogs as the comments and conversation swelled. But I wonder if there’s a Social Web Policy for Domino’s in place. If there is…then these two were clearly openly in defiance of it.

But if there wasn’t one…would a clear policy have prevented this? Will Domino’s and other companies now accept the importance of one and follow the lead of the companies above?

I challenge those corporations still holding out till their compliance departments give the okay.  I challenge companies to “Just Get It Done.”  Embrace the realities of our Social Web Evolution and put policies  in place “yesterday!”

I don’t think any organization needs any more proof of the importance of this issue than the video below.