Interactivity Allows You To Have Your Say and Get Help, Free Offers,
Conflict Help, The Social Media Con Game, and Credibility On The Web
We're back with a lot to tell you. Let's get to it.
Updates:
Want faster method to find great articles/resources on training,
learning, development, management, leadership, small business, web
design? Ah. We're building the tools at http://researchprofessional.org
.
We are building hybrid search engines to save time and frustration.
The idea is simple. The engines work like any search engine like
Google. You type in your keywords, and get results. The difference is
that you don't search the entire Internet, but only get results from
sites we have handpicked as relevant and junk/spam free. Here's an
example. Try entering the word "training" in any generic search
engine, and you will get results about dog training, toilet training,
running, work training, etc. Many of the results will be off topic for
you. In our training search engine, you will only get results about
training, as in that the process by which we can learn. No dogs, no
weight lifting training, no toilets.
Now the truth is that you can, by being really good with phrasing your
search, get similar results in the larger engines, but they don't
eliminate all the junk. We do (or we try). We're still early in the
process, but we now have functioning engines for:
training, learning, and development (including Organizational
Development)
leadership and management
small business
customer service
web design
All at http://researchdesign.org
There's more. You can help. Do you have a great site with loads of
articles and content that fits one of these categories? Or maybe you
don't have your own site but have your favorites? You can help us
include the best, and at the same time support the owner of the site
(s) by getting them more traffic and visitors.
Just go to http://researchdesign.org, and go to the relevant search
engine. At the bottom of each page you'll find a place to comment. Use
that to send us your submissions.
We're Lonely, Talk to Us. Talk To Each Other
Over the last years, you'll have noticed that websites have become
more interactive. While I do not believe that the majority of web
users actually want to interact all the time, I do see that having the
ability for visitors to talk to each other, ask questions, and comment
is useful and can be fun. So, we are interactifying our web sites.
Over the next six months you will see systems introduces to our web
pages so you can comment, ask questions, boo, hiss or communicate with
other visitors if you choose. The comment boxes will generally be
placed at the bottom of our pages, so if you aren't interested in
writing or reading, they won't interfere with the use of the pages.
Many of the pages on our Leadership Development Site at
http://work911.com/leadership-development/ now have these comment
boxes. So do our search engine portal at http://researchprofessional.
org , and our site on training, learning and development at
http://thetrainingworld.com
Eventually all our sites will be equipped with two new features: Our
hybrid niche search engines, and our comment system.
Featured Stuff:
For HR: The place where social media (linkedin, twitter, etc) meets
recruiting.
Social Media Basics for Recruiting Free Webinar
Let the experts at CareerBuilder show you how to use social media to
benefit your business recruitment process! This on-demand webinar
explains how social media tools are changing the face of business and
hiring practices. Presented are 10 easy ways Hiring Managers can
integrate these tools into their recruiting process. If you want to
learn the basics of social media and harness it's power for your
business, you can't afford to miss this webinar. Register now!
http://work911.tradepub.com/c/pubRD.mpl?sr=oc&_t=oc:&pc=w_care03
And: Free subscription to Website Magazine (no credit cards needed, no
cancellations, no bull)
Website Magazine has tapped premier talent in the Internet industry
for our content and each and every issue will contain practical advice
and insights for website owners. Until now, there has not been a
magazine that caters exclusively to the business of running a website.
Website Magazine has tapped premier talent in the Internet industry
for our content and each and every issue will contain practical advice
and insights for website owners. http://work911.tradepub.com/c/pubRD.mpl?sr=oc&_t=oc:&pc=webs
And Even More Free Professional "Stuff"
In partnership with tradepub we want you to know about the hundreds of
free webinars, white papers, magazines and other publications you can
receive. The range of topics is huge and every changing, but the crux
of the matter is that publishers who make their money from advertisers
in the publications earn more money based on circulation, so your
eyeballs are valuable. Hence they give stuff away. Browse for
yourself. Seriously. We regularly take advantage of these offers when
they are of interest.
It's all arranged by category, and because the lineup changes often,
you should bookmark and return regularly. Check it out right now.
Offers tend to be time limited. http://work911.tradepub.com/
A Quick Plug For Our Conflict Guides/Helpcards/Book
This time of year tends to be rushed and people get impatient.
Conflict tends to boil over. Check out our tools to help you reduce
and/or manage conflict at: http://busylearners.com/products/indexcommunication.htm
Quickie On Social Media
We'll be covering this in the future, but no doubt you've seen all
kinds of hype on the effectiveness of social media for business,
learning, etc. In almost all cases the conclusions are wrong, based on
inadequate data, and the claims are coming from people with strong
vested interests in seeing people jump on the fad/bandwagon. We've
written a lot on this already. Here are a few:
More Bogus Claims for Social Media and Business "ROI"/Success
http://bit.ly/6b2H4g
Study Supports Contention That Social Media Ineffective For Marketing
Small Business http://bit.ly/6S9Rxm
Small Business Use of Twitter Requires Almost Continuous Investment
http://bit.ly/7ECUim
Marketing – Oft Touted Dell + Twitter Success No Success At All
http://bit.ly/1KjfA
These are available for limited time only, so get them NOW.
The Myth of Multitasking: How 'Doing It All' Gets Nothing Done - Free
Book Summary:
In this summary you will learn:
* Why the idea that multitasking works is misleading *
How to deal with constant, active or passive interruptions at work *
How to use your time productively without "switchtasking"
Why you should read The Myth of Multitasking
Dave Crenshaw has managed to stretch a clear, simple concept into an
entire book, but it is a useful, helpful concept. Crenshaw debunks the
myth that multitasking can be effective and advocates focusing on one
task at a time instead. He teaches this lesson by telling the story of
a gifted business coach, Phil, and his stressed-out client, Helen. He
uses the format of a business novel to demonstrate that multitasking
is not an efficient way to get things done. Every time a person
changes from one task to another, which Crenshaw calls
"switchtasking," he or she loses time and focus. The remedy, the
author explains, is to cut down on interruptions, manage how you
allocate your time and concentrate on a single task at a time. This is
not exactly a groundbreaking theory in time management, but it is
certainly a helpful reminder. getAbstract suggests this book to
managers who must help employees handle their time and to people who
need guidance to quit multitasking so they can actually get things
done. About the Author Dave Crenshaw has coached business executives
for the past decade. A frequent keynote speaker, he founded the Fresh
Juice Strategy program. http://work911.tradepub.com/free/w_geta17/prgm.cgi
The Art of Engagement: Bridging the Gap Between People and
Possibilities - Free Book Summary: http://work911.tradepub.com/free/w_geta18/prgm.cgi
In this summary you will learn:
* Why your organization's new strategy will fail if your employees are
not engaged with it * What six obstacles impede employee engagement
* What are the six best ways to engage employees *
Why "strategic engagement" is a process, not a series of separate,
stand-alone actions
Why you should read The Art of Engagement
Organizational leaders spend considerable time and effort carefully
developing strategies to advance their corporate goals. However, they
often fail to communicate these strategies compellingly to their
employees – the people who must execute every step. Therefore, it is
no surprise that most such strategies fail. Management consultant Jim
Haudan recommends a strategy-sharing approach using visuals, metaphors
and stories to engage employees. He offers tactics for getting them on
board to execute your strategy and organizational directives. One
negative: Many of the illustrations (reductions from original table-
size artwork) are busy and even fuzzy. Some feature tiny text, which
illustrates – in the breech – Haudan's point about using clear visuals
to communicate and engage. Otherwise the book is superior, very
insightful and nicely written. Haudan uses case studies to demonstrate
the effectiveness of his employee engagement process. getAbstract
believes leaders can benefit from learning his tactics for
communicating strategies so employees understand them, support them
and actually implement them. http://work911.tradepub.com/free/w_geta18/prgm.cgi
Acing the Interview: How to Ask and Answer the Questions That Will Get
You the Job! - Free Book Summary:
In this summary you will learn:
* What prospective employers will ask you
* What you should answer and ask in return
* How to avoid common job interview mistakes
Why you should read Acing the Interview
You got fired. How do you handle that during a job interview? Or you
only spent a year at each of your last two jobs. How do you convince a
prospective employer that you will last? You work for a firm with a
great reputation, but you're not happy. What do you say when an
interviewer asks why you want to leave such a respected outfit? Job
placement and recruitment expert Tony Beshara provides the best
answers to these and other job interview questions. Plus, he explains
the questions you should ask before you accept a job offer. TV
psychologist Dr. Phil McGraw calls Beshara "the number one career
placement guy" in the U.S. If you're job hunting, he's the right
source for valuable job interview insights and information. Here, he
lists more than 450 typical job interview questions and suggested
answers. getAbstract recommends his savvy, comprehensive and helpful
book. Job seekers and interviewers alike will appreciate it.
http://work911.tradepub.com/free/w_geta16/prgm.cgi
Finally, More Free Stuff For GearHeads:
Receive Your Complimentary eBook NOW!
"A Computer Geek's Smart Productivity Guide" http://work911.tradepub.com/free/w_make02/
In this free twenty-paged PDF, you will find out the most common
productivity mistakes, as well as a number of applications to improve
your touch typing, your time organization, and your global workflow.
With all distractions that modern life brings, it's not easy to keep
your productivity up. Whether you're an enthusiastic procrastinator,
or just happen to have very little time at hand, there are a lot of
people who really can't afford to lose sight of business. However, by
playing your cards right, it would be well possible to get that little
productivity boost you're aching for. Know your do's and dont's, and
you'll be able to move more work in less time.
Although this eBook is primarily aimed at the computer geek, the
potential user base is far wider, as it comes packed with a lot of non-
digital tips and advice as well. With this free guide you will also
receive daily updates on new cool websites and programs in your email
for free courtesy of MakeUseOf. http://work911.tradepub.com/free/w_make02/
Twitter: Best Practices and Tips:
Even though half the universe is on Twitter these days, beginning out
of nothing isn't always that evident. If you really want your Twitter
to fly high, it doesn't end with just creating an account. Especially
with this many people on Twitter, it's important to know the tools
you're working with, and the dazzling reach of this innovating
technology. In over forty pages this guide tackles every Twitter
feature, tip and trick you can think of. Learn to work the interface,
to Tweet from your desktop, cool Twitter bots and which people to
follow. Download The Complete Guide to Twitter now. With this free
guide you will also receive daily updates on new cool websites and
programs in your email for free courtesy of MakeUseOf.
http://work911.tradepub.com/free/w_make01/prgm.cgi
Feature: CREDIBILITY THE Issue In Online Research
We're out of time, but here's a feature article by Robert Bacal on an
issue that faces all of us. WHO to believe on the Internet. This
question relates to what we buy, who we trust, even wider issues such
as democracy and education, and it's going to be critical for the next
generations. This article is just the start of our discussions. Don't
be fooled by the title. It IS about you, me, and our children!
It's also available at http://researchprofessional.org/articles/credibilityoverview.htm
Don't forget to read the comments and add yours.
Credibility - THE Issue In Online Research
by Robert Bacal
These days everyone uses the Internet for "research" either
informally, as in looking for a restaurant to try, or more formally,
as in collecting information for inclusion in an academic paper. For
ALL of us, there is a central, compelling, and urgent issue - who to
believe.
Background
As the Internet (and the Web) have become popularized, not just for
reading, but also for participating and expressing one's own opinions,
the issue of credibility has become more and more critical for
everyone. Why has it become even more of a concern now compared to,
let's say, ten years ago? Here are some points:
The barriers to entry for self-expression are virtually zero. A blog
can be set up by anyone with a computer, free of charge, making it
possible for everyone to express an opinion.
Since there are no barriers to entry into having a public platform,
and there are no "editors" per se, the majority of websites in
existence today have NO editorial oversight and no fact checking. Even
for people who sincerely want to be accurate, it's difficult to get
everything right all the time. There's no checks or balances, unlike
the traditional paper based publishing industries, where editors, fact
checkers, even lawyers, are involved PRIOR to publication.
Anyone can pass him or herself off as having any qualifications,
education, or experience. This results in outright lying, in a worst
case, to more commonly occurring exaggerations such as you might find
on resumes. They aren't quite outright lies but they portray the
individual positively, so credibility is enhanced.
The proliferation of blogs, which were originally intended as personal
modes of expression, much like "diaries" or "journals" have evolved
into much more, but authors have NOT become more diligent or
responsible in checking the information and facts they include. That
is, blogs are less about "here's my day" or having a good old rant,
than they are about presenting information. However, personal
responsibility has not evolved.
With the advent of social media, and "viral communication" bad
information, factually incorrect material, and plain nonsense are
picked up and repeated over and over until they quickly become
unacknowledged "urban myths". Only people don't realize it. After all,
when you see a piece of information re-posted, re-tweeted, etc 100's
of times, there's a natural tendency to believe the content has merit.
In fact, hundreds of people reposting from the same source, are often
wrong because the original source is wrong, on the Internet, and
inaccurate information can spread in minutes or hours.
Take a look at these paragraphs. Are they mostly facts, mostly
opinion, or mostly interpretation? Should you believe what's been
written? Think about how you could verify the content? And, if you
were writing an advanced paper on web credibility, would you use this,
and provide a citation?
The propensity for people to repeat misinformation on the net is
highly influences by a set of logical errors people tend to make when
reading and interpreting any material. These error seem to be more
prevalent online, where people don't "read" in the same way people
read printed matter. We know from eye scan studies, that most people
scan webpages, and unfortunately, they often misunderstand what they
have scanned, almost completely. Most people have probably seen cases
where people, having read an article with evidence that supports a
particular position, end up reposting their summaries as if the
article's evidence refutes the position.
Further to the issue of logical errors, basic mistakes when reading
and then reposting involve confusing opinion and fact (as presented in
web reading material), and confusing interpretation and fact. The
latter is so prevalent, even on the part of very educated
professionals, that it may be the norm. Readers get "stupider" on the
Internet!
Finally, blogs and the other forms of social media almost always
consist of SHORT text. Posts on blogs (note that they are called
posts, not articles to reflect that they have more in common with
brief email communication) tend to run about 250- 300 words. It's
exceedingly rare for posts and even web articles nowadays to run
beyond five hundred words.
In itself that is not a major problem, except that given limited
writing skills on the part of many bloggers, lack of editing, and
readers' tendencies to skim even short posts rather than read, the
chances of MISUNDERSTANDING the writer's intent is huge. Then, the
readers, having misread or not really read the post, virally tell
others about its meaning it is worse than the old game of broken
telephone. The message gets garbled and twisted, and repeated. Also,
many subjects simply cannot be written out coherently in limited
space. At least, not so misunderstandings are minimized.
Finally, there is the issue of reputation. It's easy to make the
mistake of assuming someone who is often talked about (retweeted, for
example), or has many visitors to his or her blog, actually knows what
he or she is talking about. In fact, those with the most "influence"
due to their "popularity" are not necessarily achieving this through
being erudite, knowledgable, or smart. The "influence" and popularity
you see, particularly with respect to social media participation,
comes from committing a lot of time to social media. It has very
little to do with insight, or ability or accuracy.
It's pretty simple. If you work the crowd, participate all over the
place, you WILL gain a following simply on the basis of doing that.
The flip side is that many people who would otherwise be able to
refute much of the nonsense a) have better things to do than spend
hours every day on Linkedin or Twitter, and b) don't have the fans
that the marketers and others who spend huge parts of their day
linking and tweeting, and whatever all they do. Hence, a lot of the
nonsense goes unchallenged, because frankly, people equate popular
with accurate.
So?
What does all this amount to? Well, it means that researching on the
Internet requires a much more sophisticated set of skills and
understanding then in the old days, when research happened in
libraries, and kids did their homework with the home encyclopedia.
In our future articles we'll look at some of the skills and knowledge,
and hopefully, help you develop better abilities to assess credibility
in addition to using search and research tools productively.
--
OK. We STILL haven't caught up, so we'll try to get another issue out
before the end of 2009. If not, safe holidays.
Our Sites:
Just a quick summary of our sites that have information on the
following topics:
World's Best Search Engines: http://researchprofessional.org
Training and Development Resource Center:http://thetrainingworld.com
Free Learning Stuff: http://free2thee.com
Small Business Resource Center: http://smallbusiness411.org
Small Business Blog (new material): http://smallbusiness411.org/wp/
Leadership Resource Center: http://work911.com/leadership-development/index.html
Communication Resource Center: http://www.work911.com/communication/index.htm
Conflict (both workplace and family) http://conflict911.com
Business, Strategic and Personal Planning: http://www.work911.com/planningmaster/index.html
Performance Management & Appraisal: http://performance-appraisals.org
Customer Service: http://customerservicezone.com
Our Main Site: http://www.work911.com
Multi-Purpose Articles Database: http://www.articles911.com
To new subscribers: The work911 newsletter is published no more than
once a week and contains articles on all things work related, and
contains other work related resources, and updates about our sites,
and their contents. Past history indicates we publish about every ten
days. Subscribe at http://work911.com/newsletter.htm
Don't forget that you can access free, useable previews of over twenty
of our books and helpcards at:
and that we continue to offer special freebie offers and discounts to
our newsletter subscribers! (and our toolbar owners!)
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