Beyond Messaging

From 1890: The First Text Messages

via sundaymagazine.org

This is a great article about the side communication between telegraph operators back in 1890. They used their own version of text message speak to get short messages in between the official business.

Pretty neat, everything new is really old.

Service Catnician

Here's a funny LOLcat for your Thursday.  I will soon have an announcement about my new job.  Stay tuned. 

see more Lolcats and funny pictures

How to Use Twitter to Find A Job

I joined Twitter last month after hearing from my brother, Mike Axelrod, who is a programmer and semantic web expert, how he got a job because he Tweeted:

One of his followers saw the Tweet about Drupal and replied back that their organization was looking for a Drupal programmer.  He ended up getting the job.

Here's an article from Mashable: How to Find a Job on Twitter.

And, if you are looking for an expert on the Semantic Web, or Drupal for that matter, here is a link to Mike's Digital Laboratory.

Personal Aside: If you are wondering why I would blog about my brother..., I would just like to add that I come from a long line of tech geniuses.  Contrary to rumor, my father, Art Axelrod, did not invent the Internet.  He did however, set up the first Intranet at Xerox.  From time immemorial Axelrods have been Engineers, Draftsmen, Locksmiths, etc. 

I cut my teeth playing "Star Trek" on green bar paper with a portable terminal Dad would bring home from work, acoustic coupler and all.  My grandfather Nathan, would drive us around the New York city area and show us bridges and overpasses that he helped design and draw blueprints for. When I was younger I claimed I did not want to be an Engineer or work with computers.  You can see how well that worked for me.  :-)

How Should Businesses Approach Social Media?

It's clear that many businesses ARE approaching social media.  Dell Outlet "tweets" its coupon codes and specials on Twitter, Facebook Fan pages for companies are spreading, and many corporations have embraced blogging as a way to communicate with customers.

The Top Rank Blog has an interesting article about questions that many corporate marketing departments and management ask before they step into the realm of social media. It's called Answers to Social Media Questions You Should Know.

Depending on your business size, and what sector it resides in, it might make a lot of sense to have someone in your marketing department in charge of online media.  At the very least, you should be performing searches on who is Twittering about your company.  It's all an opportunity to engage your customers, and a lot of it can be used as free or low cost marketing.  Makes sense in these days of everyone wanting to get something for a bargain.