The Original Cynicist

Hey, check out my video!

2011-04-05T21:31:00.001-04:00

Yes sirree, I made a video! I basically talk about the growing use of social media by people who are searching for jobs, and that people ranging from kids just out of school to folks who have been in the workforce for a long time (like me) can leverage the power of tools like Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, and other platforms.

Hope you enjoy the show! And yes, I need to clean out my basement.

Why social media is important for old folks like me

2011-03-30T18:45:00.003-04:00

My name is Michael Sciannamea and I just turned 50 years of age. I am an official card-carrying member of the AARP, and a part of the coveted 50-64 advertising demographic. I also am very active on social media which, up until only a year or two ago, most people my age would have looked at with a fearful eye. Facebook? Twitter? LinkedIn? What are these things and why should I care?

And, it didn’t help us “old folks” much when the creators of these social media platforms were barely in their twenties and creating sophisticated communications platforms that were way out of our league.

However, in just a short period of time, social media has grown to be a ubiquitous form of communication. People are talking to one another about themselves, their families and friends, and what is going on in society and our culture.

But in the last couple of years, social media has evolved into a mechanism for people to find jobs as well as pursue their career goals. What makes it so interesting is that age is no longer a barrier to finding a fulfilling job, whether you are just out of school or well into middle age. Platforms like Facebook and Twitter level the playing field, and as long as you are comfortable with the rules and guidelines, folks of any age can “advertise their knowledge and experience” to prospective employers.

Take Facebook, for example. On your Profile page, you can list your education and work experiences for everyone to see. In addition, you can point to highlights of your career on your Wall. In addition, people are listing their Facebook page URL on their electronic and paper resumes for prospective employers to get a more complete picture of you. However, one must be cognizant of what type of impression you want to make to others – if you’re searching for a senior-level position, you want to make sure that the pictures of you having a good time at the New Year’s Eve party are available only to your closest contacts. If you want to see what my Facebook page looks like to give you an idea of where to begin, check me out at Facebook.com/Michael.Sciannamea. (Yeah, I know, my last name is a lollapalozza, so if you want to learn how to spell my name, see my blog “The Original Cynicist.”)

Twitter is another useful tool. Although you are limited to 140 characters per Tweet, short posts such as “Please take a moment to view my career highlights” with a link to a Facebook profile page or a resume post on vehicles such as LinkedIn will go a long way to bringing more attention to you and your experiences. For some examples of how Twitter can alert people of what you’re up to, check out my Twitter feed at Twitter.com/mike0129.

The fact of the matter is that no matter how old you are or what your experiences have been, social media can be used to level the playing field and increase your chances of getting noticed by prospective employers. And that’s a good thing at any age.

I hope you’ve gotten some good information from this first podcast of mine. I hope you come back again for some more insight on using social media to advance your career, as well as a few laughs now and again.

If you’d like to get in touch, check me out on Facebook, Twitter, my blog (The Original Cynicist), or drop me an e-mail at mikemea@gmail.com. I’d love to hear from you.

See you real soon!

Podcasting and Me

2011-03-22T10:15:00.000-04:00

When I was doing some freelance writing for the Wireless Report a few years back, my blogging partner and I produced over 20 podcasts that discussed the emergence of wireless technology in our society. They were basically a free-flowing discussion Brian and I had about gadgets, citywide wireless initiatives, and everything else in between. Since he lived in Texas and I in New Jersey, we recorded them on Skype and then uploaded the file to the blog server.

They got a very good response; we averaged about 2,000 unique listenings for each one and even got some sponsors for them (sprint, T-Mobile, and EarthLink). Our goal was to target people who were not necessarily "tech geeks" but were very interested in wireless technology, particularly products like cellphones and laptops as well as being able to access the Internet wirelessly. We never wrote out a script -- we both had a basic outline of what we were going to talk about and made sure we gave each other enough time to get our various points out and then leave room for discussion. We kind of played it as two guys just sitting at a bar or in a living room talking about wireless technology. We wanted to appeal to a broad audience but still provide some in-depth information so they can either make a buying decision about a product or influence them to search for more details.

For the podcast that I'll be doing for this course, I'll probably take a different approach in that it's only going to be 2-3 minutes long, and I need to make my point and get my message out quickly. Therefore, it will definitely be scripted so that I stay on point and not go to far off on a tangent simply because I won't have enough time to do so.

In other words, the concept of "economy of words" definitely applies in this case.

Once More, With Feeling...

2011-03-08T15:24:00.000-05:00

Well, this blog has gone through a number of iterations and fits and starts over the years, but I'm ready to start "self-publishing" again on a semi-regular basis. Hopefully, I'll stay focused and keep it fresh -- time will tell.

So, on with the show! As my new favorite train wreck Charlie Sheen would say:

WINNING!

2011-02-21T21:39:00.000-05:00

Back from Atlantic City and $40 richer. On this President's Day weekend, I don't have enough of them taking up space in my wallet.