JMsquared

You may have heard about this amazing Tweetup I’ve put together along with my friends at the Gabbin with the Girls show.  It’s called the UnSix Tweetup and is in Austin on March 11th starting at 7:30-11 PM.  The fantastic news is that we are sold out.  However a waitlist is available.  You can register via the eventbrite link here.  On Thursday I offered up an additional 40 tickets to some of our waitlist attendees so check your email inbox.

Sponsors for our tweetup including our Lead Sponsor, Monster.  They are seasoned tweetup organizers in the HR and recruiting industries and I’m delighted to have them along for the ride with us.  General Sponsor is SHRM, the leading HR association for HR professionals.  And our Honorable Mention sponsor is HR software company Aquire.

For our attendees at the tweetup is being held at the amazing Iron Cactus less than a 5 minute walk from the Austin Convention Center.  And thanks to our gracious sponsors we are offering a limited supply of food and drinks as well as some fabulous prizes including an iPad and iPod Nano to name a few.

I am still entertaining sponsorships so we are able to offer our guests more food and drink.  Call Jessica (@blogging4jobs) at 405.343.5751 or email me directly at jessica@xceptionalhr.com to inquire.

Attendees are likely to be recruiters, social media experts, human resource professionals, trainers, TV hosts, techies, and general social media celebrities.  Join us for our second annual event!  Follow all the hash tag action on Twitter with #unsix.

It’s shaping up to be a great event. See you in Austin next week!

**This event is not in anyway affiliated with SXSW.  We’re unofficial, yo!

There thousands maybe millions of online resources and books out there for human resource (HR), recruitment and training professionals.  As a human resource corporate professional for over 10 years, I’ve spent hundreds maybe thousands of hours reading books and surfing the Internet for information to help me as a progressed throughout my career.  And over the course of my blogging career, I’ve talked about the importance of the continued learning and development that must happen within our industry if we are going to thrive and grow.

Here are 7 of what I consider to be amazing resources for HR, Recruitment, and Training professionals.  Care to share one that I may have missed?  Leave a comment and I’ll consider adding it to the list.  Collaboration is what this industry is all about.

• Lou Adler’s book Hire with Your Head. Lou’s book Hire with Your Head provides a great starting point for human resources or recruiting teams.  He provides a foundational approach to making better hiring decisions that lead to more engaged, productive, and happy workforce.

• Ryan Leary and Recruiting Tools. Ryan’s blog and website, RecruitingTools.com provides one the most robust resources online for those in the recruiting industry.  Ryan provides how-to articles as well as simple and easy to understand video of the latest and greatest technology and social recruiting tools.

• Jon Velie and his site Immigration Magazine. Jon is a Oklahoma based immigration attorney.  His site, ImmigrationMagazine.com provides great resources and information for human resources and recruiting professionals who are faced with the daunting immigration and green card process.  Jon is unique in that the services that he offered are with at a fixed and affordable fee versus billing clients by the hour.  He is well known in the professional sporting world for his ability to work his magic on professional athletes.

• Dave Ulrich’s book Human Resource Champions. I was fortunate enough to hear Dave speak on several occasions.  He is a man full of knowledge, insight, and information into the HR and business process.  Human Resource Champions is one of those books that provides a clear picture of what it takes to succeed in the professional field of human resources.

• Sharlyn Lauby and her blog HR Bartender. I’m happy to report that I will be meeting the HR Bartender in real life (IRL) later this month.  She is a very talented writer and provides good information that is easy to understand for those in the human resources, recruitment and training industries.  She is extremely creative in her approach, and her blog is one that I very much enjoy reading.

• Miles Jennings and Recruiter.com. Miles has big plans for taking Recruiter.com to the next level.  I subscribe to their email updates and receive solid industry information instantly to my inbox.  Their new redesigned sites caters to both the job seeker as well as the recruiter.  Their community is 150,000 strong.

• HR Communicator and Sue Young. I’ve had the distinct honor of talking with Sue Young as well as being featured in HRCommunicator.com. The website and newsletter highlight human resources stories from around the web.  Part of the well-known Ragan Communications empire, this group provides a valuable resource to human resource professional.

Don’t forget to check out my main HR blog, Blogging4Jobs.  I’m happy to report that the website should be back up and running later today.  (That’s what GoDaddy tells me)  If you don’t have a clue what I’m talking about, feel free to read about my website drama over the last several days in The Day I Killed My Blog(s).

Photo Credit Engineers Cansell.

To say I am in a bit of a panic is an understatement.  I’m not a coder or developer.  I’m just a blogger, a human resource blogger.  So earlier today I was upgrading some software to two of my blogs, Blogging4Jobs and Tweet This (my book’s blog).  Apparently, there was some sort of technical error and GoDaddy advised me to downgrade or patch my WordPress Version.  And I did, I mean it’s GoDaddy.  They do this stuff for a living, right? So I scheduled my downgrade according to their recommendation.  I upgraded the rest of my websites per their recommendations as well.

So I did it not intentionally, I Killed My Blog(s).

I’m good like that. Not just one blog but two blog(s).  Surely this accomplishment must have me up for a freaking medal or something.  I need something to do besides worry about this mess, the mental anguish and potential grief.  Mourning the loss of my Blog(s).

Just before I was heading off to bed (I have a very, very busy day tomorrow) I thought I would just check and see.  I’m kind of addicted to statistics and analytics when it comes to my blog(s) .  Honestly, more like obsessed.  To my surprise was this fancy and foreign error on both sites alerting me to an obvious issue.  And no blog.

Fatal error: Cannot redeclare require_wp_db() (previously declared in /home/content/55/4976255/html/wp-includes/load.php:323) in /home/content/55/4976255/html/wp-includes/functions.php on line 3090

Immediately I called customer service and listened to elevator music for what seemed like forever.  Finally a live person!

After much consideration and debate among his team apparently, since I upgrade WordPress on WP-admin the upgrades are not registering with GoDaddy’s WordPress Hosting site.  The recommendation was not to upgrade on GoDaddy’s site for these two blogs and domains but using the WP-admin.

Weird.  Freaky.  Let’s hope it comes back up.  I’m uninstalling the reinstall so cross your fingers.  I don’t want to kill my blog(s).

Has anyone heard of what I described above?  Is this something that happens regularly or are they just blowing smoke?

Updates to follow. . . . Pray for me and my Blog(s).

**12:36 AM 3/2/11 Update ~ Just got off of the phone with GoDaddy.  I had to uninstall WordPress in full but first create a backup of my themes, blogs, and content. Honestly, I’m very nervous. Blogging4Jobs is like my baby.  I have to wait an hour or so for both sites before I re-install.  I don’t think I’ll be getting any sleep tonight.

**01:45 AM 3/2/11 Update ~ Got off the phone again with GoDaddy.  I added the saved and re-added the wp-content and backup files that I saved and Blogging4Jobs is a mess.  Tweet This! isn’t even showing up.  No custom designed template and blogs posts from the last four months gone. .  . GoDaddy says that they can back me up to Monday, February 28th.  I will be looking at ways to protect your data, creative, and templates.  Cross your fingers for me.  I’m exhausted.  I have been working on this since 8:30 PM.

**9:00 AM 3/2/11 Update ~ Added the maintenance splash page so my blog could redirect traffic to JessicaMiller-Merrell.com.  Hoping things return to normal as I have an announcement to make on Friday about my sponsors for the UnSix Tweetup in Austin next week March 11th.

**10:30 AM 3/3/11 Update ~ Tech from GoDaddy called me to discuss re-instatement of blogs back to Feb. 28th date.  Cross your fingers. I will receive email from them when complete.

**1:30 PM 3/3/11 Update ~ Talked to the GoDaddy again. Received email that they had re-instated my blogs but looking my most recent blog post for Tweet This was 3/2010 and Blogging4Jobs was 10/2010 so really no change. On call for nearly 40 min. again. They are going to try to reset blog to earlier date. In the interim, I sent the following out to the Twitterverse:  RT @blogging4jobs: Dear Godaddy, if u don’t get issue resolved, I will begin emailing ur employees. Incident 11126220. I am prepared to do exactly what it suggests. I have access to over 500 GoDaddy employee contact information if needed.  Feel free to pass on the message.

**1:30 PM Friday, 3/4/11 Update ~ Called GoDaddy to follow up and apparently my ticket was closed on 3/3/11 and not reopened even though I had responded twice via email and spoken to them via phone.  I’ve been so frustrated with their level of service.  I finally spoke to a supervisor who was only willing to work with me after I actually shed tears.  I’m not holding out too much hope yet but the guy actually followed up via email.

**2:10 PM Saturday, 3/5/11 Update ~ Received email from Andrew this morning telling me that things should be fixed later today.  Looks like I will loose 1 month worth of blog posts.  I have backup files but only until 1/7/11.  No idea why my WordPress Backup Plug in quit sending me the weekly updates.

Photo Credit Idea Grove.

As a creative, young business professional I always like to be supportive of those that are doing that same.  We (young professionals) often get the short end of the stick lumped into the young, dumb, and inexperienced category.  This book takes this notion, turns it up-side-down just after ordering everyone a round of tequilla shots.

Yes, it’s that kind of book. . .

I’m being honest when I say that I haven’t read a non-business book in over a year.  So when I picked up How to Fail:  The Self-Hurt Guide by Aaron Goldfarb (amazon link here) I really wasn’t sure what to expect.  This book chronicles the life of Stu Fish, the novel narrator as he journeys through his young 30 something life in New York City.  Stu floats through life drunk, crude, and rude providing an interesting look at reality.  He feels the pressure to succeed from his parents and friends in love, life, and business.  Isn’t that the plan?  Graduate college, find a job, become successful, find love, and have babies?

After losing his girlfriend, his job, and his home, Stu decides that there’s one thing in life he does really well, failing.  So he sets out and provides the readers insights into how to fail.  The book chronicles his advice and insights into how to fail with a sarcastic and smart-ass point of view.

The book had me laughing and cringing from page to page.  The author, Goldfarb provides the reader insights into the male psyche and provides a realistic (funny and often TMI) picture of what life is like for a 30 something guy setting out to fail in NYC.  He covers topics of how to live on the ouch, how to be aimless and uninspired, and how to alienate yourself and wind up alone.

Stu’s ultimate dream to become a screen writer is constantly in conflict with his friends and family.  And while he struggles with who and what he wants to be, he learns that setting out to fail is a full time job, and it’s not even what he wants to do.

How to Fail is a book about being young and being different and being yourself, a theme I can certainly relate to. Not everyone walks the straight, narrow, and predictable path in life.  Personally, that’s what life is all about.  I’d recommend picking up a copy but be forewarned.  It is graphic but that’s what sells these days:  sex, drugs, and controversy.  How to Fail is a good read from an author with an original, refreshing, and interesting point of view. I highly recommend it.

Learn more about the book and the author at www.aarongoldfarb.com or @aarongoldfarb.

FTC Disclosure: I received a copy of “How to Fail” prior to writing this review and reading the book. Regardless, I only recommend products or services I use personally and believe will be good for my readers. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission’s 16 CFR, Part 255: “Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising.”

Photo Credit Idea Champions & Aaron Goldfarb.

In November 2010, I was asked to participate in a social media panel at the SHRM Leadership Conference.  I was thrilled especially since my book, Tweet This! was being featured as part of the conference evening networking event, the Twilight Tweetup.  I was thrilled to be a part of the event especially since I am the 2011 Director of PR & Social Media for the Oklahoma State HR Council.

I arrived in Washington, D.C. by car.  My husband has a project in Philadelphia so we drove with my hubby and Ryleigh in tow.  It was my first time to D.C. so I was really looking forward to talking at the conference, meeting awesome people, and seeing the sights with my family.

Apparently, D.C. did not agree with me.  I turned out to be allergic to some pollen in the air.  And the day I was supposed to be speaking, I started to loose my voice.  I sipped tea, filled my belly with honey, took some allergy medication, and rested my voice.  I was determined to speak at the 2010 SHRM Leadership Conference.

In the following video,  you can see and hear our esteemed group of SHRM leaders and members.  We discussed social media and HR specifically how local SHRM chapters and councils can use social media to increase membership and communication.  I’m the one on the far left in the green sweater with no voice, but I didn’t let it slow me down.  Listen in and see what I mean.

Photo Credit Whoo! Alright Yeah.

In 1997, I bought my first satellite television antenna.  Growing up as a child, my family never had cable or satellite television.  Growing up, I was a child of MTV the generation without the MTV.  And at the ripe age of 20, I bought my first satellite television and quickly became exposed and addicted to one of my favorite television shows on the History Channel– In Search of with Leonard Nimoy.

Earlier this week I came to the realization that I’m in a blogging funk and have been for the last couple of weeks.  Not surprising since I have been blogging actively for over four years, but it is still disappointing none the less.  I like to write.  It’s true especially since I have four active blogs.  Writing and blogging bring me satisfaction, sanctuary, and a sense of therapy I only experience from regular meditation.

In my funk, the ideas are slow to develop.  Writing is a chore.  And to make matter’s worse, I’m dreaming about blogging.   It’s won’t go away.  I’m in search of. . . a cure for Blogger’s Block.

Like any good blogger and investigative reporter, I did my research.  I googled, I youtubed, and even have sought the sage advice of my fellow bloggers and friends.  Their suggestions were heart-felt, varied, and interesting.  And yet the cure alludes me.  I remain in search of . . . the cure for Blogger’s Block.

And so I reach out to you faithful reader for your advice.  Do you have any suggestions, recommendations, secrets tips, or sage wisdom on avoiding or breaking free?  Feel free to share them in the comment section.  I’m looking forward to hearing your ideas and insights.

While my therapist may not thank you, I do.  I’m in search of cure for Blogger’s Block.

Photo Credit My TV Blog.

The creative floodgates opened.

That is the exact description when I described my transition from corporate muckity muck to entrepreneur to someone I admire this week.  The weight of endless and useless meetings and conferences calls had been lifted.  I was free to make my own rules, plow my own road, and plan my own path.  I was terrified and liberated at the same time.  Terrified of what the future held but excited and enchanted by the possibilities.  Overwhelmed at the opportunity.

It must have been about a month after leaving my corporate job almost a year and two months ago.  I remember sitting at my kitchen table which was my working office at the time.  (and sometimes still is)  I had just gotten off the phone with a potential client when my unbound book arrived at my home.  I signed for it and stared at my creation.  I was proud, so very proud and scared beyond imagination at the same time.

It was later that day when the reality hit.  This book was real.  I’d written a book.  I could be, do, and say whatever I wanted.  No one to answer to.  And that the only thing that was holding me back was myself.  There at my office to stop me and limit my ambition, horizon, or future.  No one but me.

I was free. And the creative floodgates opened.

This idea of limitless is taught to us as children.  We are told we can do, say, and be anyone we choose.  And yet, the reality of the world begins to weigh on our shoulders soon after or just before college graduation.  We find that life or practicality get in the way of our dreams and aspirations.

It’s the reason why I do what I do.  Why I sometimes insert myself into conversations, situations, or presentations.  Because I promised myself that day I would not let fear or other’s ideals or opinions hold me back from my dreams, my goals, and my vision for what I want to do and be.

I am free.  I can dream.  I can fly.

Photo Credit Stewart Semple.

As social media continues to grow in popularity among the U. S. population, it is no surprise that the average American spends six hours a month on the popular social networking site, Facebook.com.  Also not surprising is the use of electronic technologies by our children (ages 8 to 18), who according to the Kaiser Family Foundation are reported to spend an average of 53 hours a week on electronic media.

As these sites become more commonplace, so does the risk our children face when navigating the Internet.  Concerned parents are fighting to establish a sense of monitoring and control without keeping their children digitally in the dark.

Parents like Steven Davis, a father to a 13 and 9 year old, work to teach and reinforce every day.  Davis says parents should, “Provide constant vigilance and a set rules.  Your best bet is to reinforce the Golden Rule and give them a roadmap to make good decisions. Let them try but pay attention.”

But what happens when the Golden Rule isn’t enough?  Parents can use social media monitoring tools to monitor their own children’s name mentions online.  Here are some free tools to get you started:

• BackType.com. This website helps you monitor key word and brand mentions made on blog comments throughout the Internet.

• Google Alerts. Email alerts from Google.com/alerts can be sent daily or even hourly to your email inbox. Google allows you to select the keywords and combinations.

• BoardTracker.com. This website monitors mentions of selected key words on forums and boards.

• Twilert.com. Twilert monitors the popular microblogging site Twitter and alerts you to mentions via email.

• YourOpenBook.org. Youropenbook.org is a site that demonstrates how open social networking sites like Facebook are.  Use Your Open Book to search by keywords.  This is an excellent tool to use as a demonstration for your children about how public their profiles are.  Try searching the keywords, “I hate my job,” and you’ll get the picture.

• SocialMention.com. Much like Google Alerts, Social Mention sends you a daily email alert based on keywords that you select except with social media sites in mind.

One of the benefits of monitoring keyword mentions using these tools is that your select phrases or words are searched for throughout the internet.   You can monitor your child’s presence and mentions and common misspellings.

Using these free online tools does take time, patience, and an understanding, but for the cost of your time, you’ll have piece of mind.

Look for Part II of Your Kids, Your Concerns & Their Social Media. . .

Photo Credit Corbis Images.

Branding is an important strategy that we as business professionals should all engage and think about.  The fact is that we are all brands.  People associate thoughts, feelings, or past experiences with our name and our past good, bad, and indifferent.

The idea of branding and transparency is a slippery tight rope for individuals as well as large corporations.

Coca Cola works hard to keep their secret recipe a secret while they are also the single most recognizable brand and they have been for the last 10 years running.  While I’m not Coca Cola, there are some things that are just not meant for the interwebs.  I’ve worked hard to shape, craft, and develop my brand and identity.  For my entire adult life, I have been working towards shaping my brand and creating my business.

When it comes to building your brand especially being a business, there are some things you just should avoid altogether.  While this list is not comprehensive, I do suggest that if someone positioning themselves as an expert, or a leader in a market to think of themselves like a home for sale.  A home stager in many ways is no different than a branding expert.  A branding expert works to develop and craft your brand highlighting the good qualities and lessening the negative impact of the bad.

• Make it easy for people to see themselves doing business with you. Just like a home for sale, you want to make things comfortable, neutral, and highlighting your best qualities.  Those cookies in the oven are must like your handshake or great smile.  They make people feel comfortable with you and what you stand for.

• Keep Your Brand personal (Just not too much). Focus on a couple qualities that make you memorable.  Maybe it’s your love of golf or your collection of purses.  For my friend, Barbara DeBolt, it’s all about her shoes.  Make it memorable and creative.  Being different gets noticed.  Think in terms of how sharing this information will impact and benefit you and your brand.

• The power of visual impact. Your logo, business card, and all materials are powerful reminders to your clients, friends, and professional contacts.  A colorful, solid, and carefully created logo can help drive brand recognition and help you rise above the rest.  Make sure your marketing materials are top notch.  Differentiate yourself in small ways visually.  It’s the reason that uncluttered houses make buyers feel comfortable or a remodeled kitchen is the top reason sellers buy a home.

• Steer Clear of Sex, Religion, and Politics. Unless controversy is what you are driving or the topic is related to your industry, steer clear of topic surrounding sexy, religion, and politics.  Since Blogging4Jobs is an HR and job search blog, we have covered a Diversity and GLBT job fair and posted articles about domestic partner benefits.  These could be considered controversial topics but are common among the human resource industry which is my target audience.

• Lead with your best.  Clear the Clutter. Less is more.  Your brand should be easy to understand, relate to, and get it’s point across much like a billboard.  Most individuals don’t spend more than 15 seconds on a resume and we should assume that consumers don’t do any different when reading articles, blogs, or evaluating reading materials.  Lead with your best and clear the clutter.  That’s the reason why home buyers make a decision on whether a home is a contender in 30 seconds or less.  Your entry points to your brand should be welcoming, clutter free, and appealing.

• Protect Yourself. Survey the playing field and visit other competition in your market.  Evaluate and learn about their strategies, pricing, and business model and work from there.  When diving into a market or business, it’s best to understand what you’re up against.  Purchase domains, advertise strategically, and market with your brand and the brand of others in mind.

Tune into #MMChat (Marketer Monday Chat) on Twitter Mondays at 8 PM EST to join the conversation about marketing, branding, and business for more great information.

Photo Credit JustaBlink.

About a year ago, I thought that I should put some of my expensive domain purchases to good use while also helping direct people who might be searching for me on the internets.  A couple years ago I purchased my domain name, www.jessicamillermerrell.com and all the mis-spellings along with it.  I wanted to make sure that someone didn’t steal my thunder, my namesake, or my SEO.

And JMsquared (this blog) was born.

So I created this blog as a companion to Blogging4Jobs.com and also as a landing point for people who want to know more about me, the projects that I’m working on, and get a little more personal.  (You can learn about all these things and more above) I’m talking about me, my daughter, my husband, and the things I like to do outside of Human Resources.

So continue reading both and feel to subscribe to this site’s RSS as well.  Don’t worry if anything changes, you’ll be the first to know.

Photo Credit A Cool Friday.