bbrighton

A Wish For Wings That Work (or at least working with wings)

A Wish For Wings That Work (or at least working with wings)

It’s been far too long, internet, since I’ve expressed a deep opinion on matters of employment. It’s been far too long since I’ve delved into the fractious nature of fit and suitability.

I know this will be read by potential employers; in fact, I hope they do. HR people, read up. Hiring managers? Stick through it. Fellow unemployed travelers? Only mimic my example if you truly understand what I say and why I’m saying it…

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Who cares if no one cares?

Lately, I’ve been pondering the preponderance of organizations dedicated to getting people to “buy local”, which I suppose includes my own, in a sense. While Social Gifting is not strictly a campaign it is designed to support those who have and participate in these campaigns. The goals of connecting gamblers to local businesses via the PlayerSpot platform is one of information and opportunity, not particularly activism.

Yet, as I go through Facebook page after Facebook page, website to site, I get a reasonable impression of what is similar between the efforts and what I’m seeing is interesting. Despite the different organizations (many of which are actually in competition with each other), despite the approaches, one topic resonates with me in all of them, one word sums the tide these organization fight against: impassivity.

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Thanksgiving Thoughts, 2010

I have so many things I could say, so many themes to explore on this US holiday of reflection. I sit here in front of the keyboard and topics come fast and furious; unemployment, safety nets, charitable giving, volunteerism, party politics, politics of fear, hiring practices, business confidence, economic confidence, consumer confidence, housing, hunger, and the list just keeps going.

I find that I could write almost any amount of prose on any of these and yet, I’m frozen. It’s not writer’s block, it’s writer’s firehose. By the time I finished even just a few of the topics, it would probably be next Thanksgiving, and as far as reading it? You’d probably have to be a public-affairs/economics/anthropology wonk just to enjoy it. So… let me do this instead.

I encourage you to respond, but even if not, think to yourself:

“Is there something that you should be more grateful for than you are currently?”

I don’t know how many times I’ve heard “friends and family” thrown out around Thanksgiving, with a demeanor that says “placeholder” rather than genuine gratitude. “The food in front of us,” is tossed out far too many times without considering that for some people, it truly is special to have any meal that day, much less one that might fulfill tradition. What are you willing to say that you mean?

Here’s mine. What’s yours?

I am grateful for everyone whose path I’ve crossed, for however long that was. I learn, I absorb, I appreciate, regardless of whether I agree or not. Thank you.

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Looking for feedback: iPhone SMS management

I’ve started this discussion with a few people individually, but would be interested in getting opinions from just about anyone who uses an iPhone, business or pleasure, and uses SMS/MMS, in relation to offline uses of the information: searching, archiving, reviewing, etc. from your Mac OS machine. Windows users are free to comment as well if you like but please stay away from the platform flamewars. Questions and discussion points after the jump.

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More Thoughts on Social Media

Clearly, I’m not a formal internet marketer. I don’t have “new media” in my Twitter bio. I have actual programming code in another text window of the editor I’m writing this in (text editor? ABSOLUTELY NOT a marketer). I don’t have a followbot looking for trends, I don’t spam everyone I can find on Facebook. If I follow someone from one or more of my (admittedly, multiple) Twitter accounts, a human has made the decision to do so based on something that seems relevant.

So why am I writing this rant? To get some ideas across and if anyone actually reads it, perhaps find out why what seem should be standards of normal human interaction no longer apply online, or maybe (just maybe) get some people (generally, not specifically) to reconsider what they’re doing in “social media” and how they’re trying to get their businesses off the ground.

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30 Days (in the hole). Thanks for nothing, AT&T.

That’s how long it has taken AT&T to decide that it’s groundbreaking unlimited plan for the iPad is a little too consumer-friendly for a company so focused on wringing every dollar out of each subscriber. In other words say, goodbye to the affordability of the iPad as a streaming entertainment device.

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Photo print special until 9-Jun-2010

Reno Dawn or Geiger 1 Panoramic Photos for  any wall!

This is a Facebook-specific promotion. “Like” Brad Brighton (photography) (see the bottom of this post) and get either of these images (or both!) for only $400 each and free shipping! That’s over 50% off the normal price 0f $800 each and shipping extra, but only for a limited time!

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Musings on Employment, #2

After having the earlier “down” post about the job search and the unrelated mental regurgitation (only partly digested, it seems, on reflection), I figure it’s worth taking a few minutes to highlight the fact that not every company, not every recruiter is so callous toward applicants, and that gives me hope.

CyberCoders

I’m going to call out the organization by name, but not the individual recruiter (yet), because as it turns out, I’ve submitted for jobs represented by different recruiters. It’s just worked out that way, and I’m going to give them all the opportunity to stand out like one particular has so far. No, she did not find me a job yet (and it’s always possible the communication I received was a polite way of saying “no thanks”), but the key here is that I did receive a response.

I only speak for myself officially, but I would be highly surprised to find that other professionals feel differently; any non-form-letter response immediately makes that company/recruiter/organization automatically register higher on the “pay attention to them” scale. In times of high unemployment, it may take time to place even highly-skilled professionals/executives, but keeping actual communication lines open helps boost seeker morale and if, as I expect is the case, placements are the basis for at least a portion of a recruiter’s compensation, I know I will be looking more toward at least one recruiter over others. To her, I offer a somewhat anonymous “Thank you” (and yes, I’ve already sent the direct message of thanks.)

Find the organization at http://www.cybercoders.com

A Local Unnamed (for the moment) Company

I don’t know if the gentleman I will anonymously refer to here was simply checking a box or actually following up on my direct application, but a basic “please send your resumé” followup from an online submission gives me hope for the overall search. A human actually saw the submission. A human asked for more information (probably because the “resumé editor” on their site ate my pasted content) but still, real human interaction. Do I take from the single email that I’m getting hired? No, I’m not that delirious. But like the CyberCoders example, and as a second counter-point to my previous missive, it gives me hope when there is real interaction. (Yes, I can tell that this was a human email and not a bot or autoresponder.) So to this company and person, I also say thank you!

If You’re Actually Reading This…

… and you expect to get some world-bending revelation, I suppose it’s always possible but the reality is that I’m just taking a few minutes here and there to express the thoughts of the moment. If I find out what works and what doesn’t, I’ll be happy to share, but I have no magic wand to wave. Experience and skills, regardless of how extensive, still need to fit with a company’s goals (or be overwhelming enough when discussed to create an appropriate position) in order to bring their value out into the open. Different geographies and different state and corporate labor pools and workforce expectations play a major role in this. Finding a great match at the right time and in the right place is, well, damned difficult.

Follow me on the journey if you like, and if you’re on your own journey, may the stars align for you and you at least encounter real humans early in your search. It helps.

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Apple:AOL::AOL:CompuServe

What the hell? Another click-bait headline for an article filled with Apple-bashing garbage, designed to bring the masses in with their teeming, steaming fingers commenting away? Not really. It’s actually a complimentary comparison (though for the very reasons it is, many of the likely readers of this article will be offended).

So I sit down to the computer and note that AOL (a former employer of mine) turned 25 years old recently. Kara Swisher of WSJ marked the occasion appropriately and in the article, she said something that is easy to forget:

…AOL–which really does deserve much praise for its pioneering and innovative efforts to introduce the Internet to mainstream consumer without the snobbery so typical of Silicon Valley techies toward regular people

Think about this one for a minute, because it’s true. There are millions of geeks who would be happier if the “normal people” were never let onto their internet, but there are hundreds of millions of people who are happier to be on now, thanks to AOL (or America Online, and it’s oddly named international variants). Yes, AOL wasn’t alone, there were a, ahem, host, of other providers too, but with AOL being the number one provider for many years, they deserve the credit (or derision, depending on your point-of-view).

So, what do we have? A pioneering company making products that served its own worldview (cynically, the “walled garden”), successfully, it might be added, bringing in people from a wide variety of backgrounds, allowing them to use technology in ways few had seen, expected, or even predicted in wild Carson-esqe fits of premonition. You had the Earth being blanketed by floppies and CDs. You had consumer companies testing the waters for new methods of product development, product delivery, marketing, sales, support, and all sorts of other angles, trying to figure out how to use the new medium to benefit customers and benefit corporate bottom lines.

Ignoring the AOL corporate missteps (which let’s face it, are really important, but covered quite well elsewhere and are not germane to the upcoming point), does this sound like anyCorp else you might know?

Let’s focus on a few similarities that might spark ideas.

  1. The company blazes a trail, in most cases regardless of what potential (or real) partners might want
  2. The company has a grand vision for (most of) the markets it enters and hews to that vision religiously
  3. The company is led by a visionary (whether you agree with the vision or not)
  4. The company dominates in certain markets
  5. The company “officially” disdains the seedier portions of its market, ceding it to others
  6. The company generates enormous amounts of press for its decisions, roadmap, products, and statements (again, whether you agree with the contents of those elements or not)
  7. The company is a lightning rod for passionate discussions on the net about the net
  8. Geeks are explosively fragmented about the company, its goals, and its products
  9. The company is the embodiment of all that is evil. Just ask its detractors.
  10. The company is responsible for invoking Godwin’s Law more often than Microsoft, Red Hat, IBM, AT&T, and Comcast put together. (Ok, maybe not. Maybe it just seems that way.)

Guess who it is yet?

Of course, it’s Apple, and the words to this point have just been to lay out the argument presented in the title; Apple is the AOL of today, and if you’re inclined to critical thinking and a modicum of reading comprehension, you probably already know why I say this. If I’ve lost you along the way, hold on, because here is the longer version.

The Geeks Shall Not Inherit the Earth

I’ve written elsewhere about the Apple/Adobe feud and the rapidly increasing adoption of HTML5 (and other) technologies proves Apple right, self-fulfilling or not. I’ve written elsewhere about Apple’s use of microSIM in the iPad and how this was likely to be the harbinger of future products. Based on the “iPhone 4″ leaks, it definitely seems to be appropriate. What do these, and so many other Apple decisions have to do with each other? They are both business decisions and consumer decisions. They are not strictly technical decisions. Sure, there’s a technical aspect to it, but any hue and cry raised by technologists goes mostly unnoticed, and rightfully so. If geeks ran the earth, we wouldn’t have alternatives to Windows (or maybe not even had Windows, as pure command-line was good enough, right?) From the number of slots in a computer tower to the use of floppy disks to USB to many other “technologies”, Apple is not afraid to move the customer base forward to the goals, as defined by Apple, not as defined by you, me, or some other legacy geek who might not understand the broader market implications. Apple is brave, just like AOL was brave, tackling problems that are not even necessarily identified as issues at that point in time. The confidence of being right is many times enough to actually be right.

The Press Doesn’t Get It

While most of the bad press for AOL has died down in the last few years as the company attempts to recover from a variety of issues, it’s not difficult to find examples of how AOL had to bow to its critics and change, had to become just like everyone else, how the company is doomed, doomed I tell you because it forged its own way. This is where many critics are likely to stand up and say, “See? We told you!” considering AOL’s current difficulties, and are just as likely to add the argument to Apple: “If the App Store doesn’t open up, if the approval process doesn’t change, if Apple and Google don’t drag each other into the broom closet for hot make-up action during the next Cupertino fire drill, if Apple doesn’t open up third-party advertising networks, if Apple doesn’t do this and if Apple doesn’t do that…”. Well, the critics might be right, but Apple is succeeding just fine right now without doing all those things. Just like AOL succeeded in its time. Apple controls its own destiny, just like AOL. Will Apple misstep? No one can answer that one, not even its most vehement critics. Only time will determine that one. Is the approach inherently bad? It does offend geek sensibilities, because control like this must be for evil purposes, right? Every man, woman, and child on the planet has a right to pay large numbers of dollars (or pesos, or lira, or marks, or rubles, or rupees, etc) for the right to an unfettered, virus-compromised, porn-overrun, “speed up your cellphone by clicking here” malware-infested, hard-to-understand, infinitely-capable-but-infinitely-complex computer, rather than the device they thought they were buying. Gee, I’d hate to infringe on that right.

One thing about the critics (well, and the proponents like me, alike): We come from a class of people who, by definition, are less likely to get the point the first time. We are trained to deconstruct products, services, companies, and even people into categories that we understand, into pockets of information that match our experience and predilection. You know what? We tend to be technologists, not true consumer behavior analysts. Some of us might get lucky and attempt to raise ourselves above the technogeek muck, but it takes work, attention, and a desire to truly understand the dynamics at work to accomplish this. In this world of instant news, instant analysis, I suspect that few take the time to “stop and think” about these sorts of things when there’s another deadline around the corner and success can be had in many definitions without doing the extra work.

If It’s Easy, It Has to be Bad

Remember one of the dominant AOL slogans? “So easy to use, no wonder it’s number one!” There’s a reason that the iPhone, iPod, and now iPad are selling so well, and it’s not the installed Mac OS base. And as the Flash proponents might like to say, since Flash is “95% of the video on the web” (um, ok…), these devices are selling this well on everything else. No wonder Adobe is fighting so hard, no wonder Flash developers are fighting so hard, when the market (by sales of iDevices) is showing that in large chunks, their work is unnecessary.

Really, this is a bias introduced by either a lack of understanding or a fear of the results. Feudal lords kept the serfs uneducated for fear of the revolt from a literate populace. Personal computers were held back from many corporate desktops in favor of mainframe solutions simply because the men in white coats could not necessarily control what happened on the desktop. The IT world oscillates between client-server and thin-clients on about a ten-year cycle and while the vocabulary changes, the reasoning (sometimes valid, sometimes not) effectively stays the same. Functionality vs. security. Training vs. productivity. Access vs. expenditure. So, in the context of the repeating technology arguments, AOL was the target of so much hate from people who “knew what they were doing and didn’t need training wheels” (regardless of whether these experts were using the AOL service or not). Apple has been and is the target of similar hateful invective; the original Mac OS/Macintosh/System was a toy (and occasionally that chestnut is still raised despite the Unix underpinnings of Mac OS X), the iPhone should be open and anything should be able to be installed on it, Apple makes various policy and security changes just to protect its business model (Really? Making a device “less functional” as the critics would claim causes Apple to sell more hardware?), and on and on. I’m certain there will be geek historians that write the tale years from now and will note the similarity of how the technorati rose up against consumer-popular companies like waves only to crash back into the sea, the “walled gardens” unfazed by noise.

Having the Balls to be Right. Or Wrong. But Not Mediocre.

Each of these things is more a symptom (or an attribute) of how Apple is today’s AOL, but it’s still dancing around the core, and that is that each company’s vision (and visionary) has a plan. A goal. The ability to execute. The market presence to bootstrap. The resources to succeed. In short, these companies believe in what they are creating and are willing to “bet the farm” on creating something great as the result. Or failing spectacularly, if that’s what happens, but either way, staying true to the vision means that there will be success or failure. There won’t be years of muddling around in obscurity trying to please everyone and every task while succeeding only well enough to prevent a change in direction. Steve Case was able to execute his vision, with spectacular results (at the time). Steve Jobs has been executing his vision, with spectacular results.

AOL brought connectivity (technical, telephone, human) to a world where BBSes and timeshares were the purview of übergeeks, where not just knowledge but understanding of baud, POTS, and command lines were previously necessary.

Apple is bringing a stellar vision of connected and useful devices to a world that is only used to personal computers, complete with the expectations of incompatibility, inconsistency, and insecurity reign.

So yes, Apple is today’s AOL.

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Musings on Employment, #1

So I find myself looking for work in what is claimed to be the recovery time of the worst recession since the Great Depression (although Nevada is still at record unemployment – 13.7% at last report), and some thoughts come to me.

  1. Despite the clear need for businesses to attract and retain experience and talent, few seem willing to actually do so, to the long-term detriment of their businesses, regardless of any short-term quarterly gains. Maybe it really is the case that in Northern Nevada, all the companies that succeed here already have all the talented execs they need, that there are no opportunities to bring in new ideas, new blood to tackle the challenges of this market and this economy. No doubt there are going to be fewer positions open higher in the structure than at the entry-level (and there seem to be precious few of those too). If this really is the case though, then I question the basis for reporting an econimic “recovery” in hte country beyond the funny-money financial trading of the megabanks.

  2. The dis-intermediation of the internet has made the job hunt incredibly difficult by allowing those who are overwhelmed with applicant queries to simply say, “This automated response may be the only contact you receive. If we don’t call you, we don’t want you.” At least there was an automated response, I suppose. (By the way, that was a paraphrasing, but not too strongly, of an actual response I’ve received.) It’s nothing new for applicants to complain about a lack of relevant response (I’ve been on both sides of the equation, both the complainer and someone who made a geniune effort to respond, if only briefly). Hiring managers (and recruiters, and HR departments), I know you’re overwhelmed (particularly now with on-going employment issues), but if ignoring the labor pool truly is going to be the norm, it’s just another step away from the personal connection so many people and companies profess to consider important. The whole employer/employee loyalty issue is one of some debate and is quickly migrating away from what could be considered “cultural norms” in the US; the new norm going to be a complete disassociation of interpersonal connection from the act of “business”? If so, companies are going to need to account for this in operating expenses, time-to-market, and unit costs, because turnover, even in bad times, will force the cost of doing business up. Not every company or person is like this, of course, but the trend is disturbing, based on what I’ve seen personally and heard from other job seekers.

  3. Why is it that employers will (in many cases, rightfully) ignore applications that show no indication of appropriateness or even having looked to see what the target company does, but various companies/recruiters will do exactly the same thing when grabbing publicly available resumés on job search sites in order to send out solicitations? “Hey! You’re looking for work! Come sell stuff for me!” I’m not going to name names, but really, is it too much to ask for something more than a form letter and a “you could earn big money if you join my team!” pitch? If you want me to do something that is clearly outside the scope of the work I have listed on the resumé that apparently was so attractive to you for you to email me, at least give me a clue that you really do want me on your team and not just whoever is in the 1% respondents of the hundreds of email messages you probably sent out?

I’m sure some positive thoughts will come along too, because I’ve already had a couple of positive interactions (though nothing that’s resulted in work, of course). I’ll need to ponder how to present those, and other thoughts in another installment.

Until then, it’s back to the salted mimes.

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Moving on…

The time at Bright Systems has been great experience. As things change, though, so must priorities and positions. What comes next? Unknown, but every job brings new learning, new skills, and new perspectives.

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The Politics of Social Promotion

So, something I don’t get… (well, there are many things I don’t get, but here is one in particular): companies who are on Twitter and want people to follow them, but seemingly aren’t willing to put in the work to filter replies and keep following their followers.

I can see both sides of it, but it just seems flat rude to me that if I follow Company X (no names here because it’s happened multiple times recently), yes, I follow them, they follow me just long enough to DM me and tell me to go to their website or Facebook page, or email them or whatever, then unfollow me.

I know there are “rules” out there that encourage companies to engage with their followers, but this action seems callous to me. Follow me or don’t, that’s fine. But following me just long enough to spam me and then run away?

Do I not get the accepted rules of this game? Am I simply keeping too high a set of expectations of interaction? Are these companies clueless?

I don’t really know. One thing I DO know though is that on my sites (look under “About” if you don’t know what they are), if I follow you, I’ll follow you for a while. Now, I may unfollow for many reasons but it’s not going to be immediately after I send you a “thanks for following” message.

The “I’ll tell you thank you, but I don’t really care about anything else you might have to say (even a reply via DM)” smacks of arrogance and cluelessness.

But maybe that’s just me.

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