Outlook 2011

Back in April 2011 I wrote a scathing review of Microsoft Office 2011 for Mac.  I was specifically distressed by the highly touted addition of Microsoft Outlook, because after careful testing, I could reach only one conclusion: it sucks.  My solution for the total suckage of Outlook for Mac 2011 was to run Microsoft Office for Windows 2010 on the Macs around my office using a program called Parallels that (in simple terms) allows you to run Windows and Windows compatible programs on your Mac.

This sub-optimal solution became even more sub-optimal as we added more people to Microsoft Exchange.  So, some intrepid souls decided to try something radical … they used Apple Mail, iCal and Address Book to interface with Microsoft Exchange.  Low and behold … praise be to Jobs … it worked.  There were happy Mac Fanboys all over the office singing the praises of Cupertino and loving the fact that Apple was in the business of doing business.

Hallelujah, Apple got its enterprise on.  Time for Snow Leopard sock puppets! We were all thinking about making the switch.  But … just as quickly as we had fallen in love with the Apple Mail/Microsoft Exchange solution, came the End of Fanboy Days … OSX Lion 10.7.x.

There are many wonderful things I can say about Apple’s OSX Lion operating system, but compatibility with Microsoft Exchange isn’t on the list.

All of our new MacBook Air computers came with OSX Lion 10.7.x preinstalled.  As I am fond of saying, my MacBook Air is simply the finest computer I have ever owned … except for one small issue … iCal under Lion is incompatible with Microsoft Exchange.  A few minutes Googling the error message confirmed our worst fears – Apple knows about the bug and has done nothing to fix it.

The issue is subtle, but it is a deal breaker.  Under certain conditions, you can’t send and receive meeting requests and get the title of the meeting to show up in iCal.  You get a blank meeting.  When it happens the first time, you assume that you have done something wrong.  After a few more times, you ask your system admin what’s up.  By the 10^th time you lose your meeting info, you type the issue into Google … that’s when the enormity of the situation hits you.  You’ve just opted into a workflow that is completely useless for the doing of business with 92% of the business world.  Want a list of compatibly issues; just search for your favorite flavor – it’s not pretty.

To say that we did everything to solve this would be to understate the issue.  No eclectic techno-geeky trick was left untried.  Bribes to friends at Apple, calls out to hackers, even a FB plea to Fanboys around the world … all to no avail. :(

The ultimate solution is so sad, I have named it the End of Fanboy Days.  We are now the proud owners of a bunch of 17″ HP ProBook 4730s running Microsoft Office Professional over Windows 7 Professional.  HP’s Value Added Reseller (VAR) channel rocks!  If you ever need a bunch of computers that are sturdy, built for business, free of bloatware and ready to use when you get them, call your favorite HP VAR.  Talk about flawless integration with Microsoft Exchange — everything works so perfectly, it’s sinful!

I still carry my MacBook Air.  For me, it is still the ultimate computer in the galaxy.  I don’t mind having the crippled Microsoft Office for Mac 2011 running on this computer because I don’t do any administrative functions with it.  But, if I didn’t have an executive admin and an administrative assistant who keep my calendar, I would have to choose between crippled Outlook functions or non-functional appointment compatibility in iCal.  Two unacceptable options.

If you don’t use your computer for business and don’t have to have a computer that is 100% Microsoft Exchange compatible, nothing here really concerns you.  However, if you are truly trying to use a Mac running OSX Lion 10.7.x as a business tool to interoperate in Microsoft Exchange environment … sadly, it is truly the End of Fanboy Days.

This is why I am very excited about this new book Abundance – The Future is Better Than You Think, written by my friend Dr. Peter H. Diamandis, X PRIZE Foundation Chairman/CEO, and Steven Kotler, Science Journalist.

Abundance is a powerful antidote to today’s dark pessimism. Peter and Steven present a convincing case that the world has been getting better at an accelerating rate over the last few decades. There are abundant stories and hard facts in the book to support the case that our future is better than we think.

Anyone who enjoys technology will love the extensive tour of the latest in exponential technologies, DIY innovation, Techno-philanthropy, and more. Have you considered that the free apps we take for granted today on our smart phones (GPS mapping, video conferencing, digital and video cameras, full sets of library and encyclopedia, etc.) would have cost more than $1 million dollars, affordable only to the richest, 20 years ago? And those poorest citizens of the world, who used to be called the bottom billion, are now the “Rising Billion” because of accessibility to technology? Masai warriors in Kenya now have cell phones that give them better access to mobile communication and information than USA presidents 15 years ago.

So there you have it. If you want some good news (great news actually), read Abundance. If you want to help change the world’s conversation from its current pessimism about scarcity to Abundance, share the book with your friends.

You can visit Peter and Steven’s website www.AbundanceTheBook.com, where you can pre-order Abundance by February 13 and get thank-you gifts (free access to Singularity University’s video library packed with graduate training on exponential technologies, AI, Robotics, Synthetic Biology, Neuroscience, Entrepreneurship, Innovation, etc., The Transcendent Man documentary, and more.) But, before you do, check out this excerpt from Chapter 1.

OUR GRANDEST CHALLENGE

The Lesson of Aluminum

Gaius Plinius Cecilius Secundus, known as Pliny the Elder, was born in Italy in the year 23. He was a naval and army commander in the early Roman Empire, later an author, naturalist, and natural philosopher, best known for his Naturalis Historia, a thirty-seven-volume encyclopedia describing, well, everything there was to describe. His opus includes a book on cosmology, another on farming, a third on magic. It took him four volumes to cover world geography, nine for flora and fauna, and another nine for medicine. In one of his later volumes, Earth, book XXXV, Pliny tells the story of a goldsmith who brought an unusual dinner plate to the court of Emperor Tiberius.

The plate was a stunner, made from a new metal, very light, shiny, almost as bright as silver. The goldsmith claimed he’d extracted it from plain clay, using a secret technique, the formula known only to himself and the gods. Tiberius, though, was a little concerned. The emperor was one of Rome’s great generals, a warmonger who conquered most of what is now Europe and amassed a fortune of gold and silver along the way. He was also a financial expert who knew the value of his treasure would seriously decline if people suddenly had access to a shiny new metal rarer than gold. “Therefore,” recounts Pliny, “instead of giving the goldsmith the regard expected, he ordered him to be beheaded.”

This shiny new metal was aluminum, and that beheading marked its loss to the world for nearly two millennia. It next reappeared during the early 1800s but was still rare enough to be considered the most valuable metal in the world. Napoléon III himself threw a banquet for the king of Siam where the honored guests were given aluminum utensils, while the others had to make do with gold.

Aluminum’s rarity comes down to chemistry. Technically, behind oxygen and silicon, it’s the third most abundant element in the Earth’s crust, making up 8.3 percent of the weight of the world. Today it’s cheap, ubiquitous, and used with a throwaway mind-set, but—as Napoléon’s banquet demonstrates—this wasn’t always the case. Because of aluminum’s high affinity for oxygen, it never appears in nature as a pure metal. Instead it’s found tightly bound as oxides and silicates in a claylike material called bauxite.

While bauxite is 52 percent aluminum, separating out the pure metal ore was a complex and difficult task. But between 1825 and 1845, Hans Christian Oersted and Frederick Wohler discovered that heating anhydrous aluminum chloride with potassium amalgam and then distilling away the mercury left a residue of pure aluminum. In 1854 Henri Sainte-Claire Deville created the first commercial process for extraction, driving down the price by 90 percent. Yet the metal was still costly and in short supply.

It was the creation of a new breakthrough technology known as electrolysis, discovered independently and almost simultaneously in 1886 by American chemist Charles Martin Hall and Frenchman Paul Héroult, that changed everything. The Hall-Héroult process, as it is now known, uses electricity to liberate aluminum from bauxite. Suddenly everyone on the planet had access to ridiculous amounts of cheap, light, pliable metal.

Save the beheading, there’s nothing too unusual in this story. History’s littered with tales of once rare resources made plentiful by innovation. The reason is pretty straightforward: scarcity is often contextual. Imagine a giant orange tree packed with fruit. If I pluck all the oranges from the lower branches, I am effectively out of accessible fruit. From my limited perspective, oranges are now scarce. But once someone invents a piece of technology called a ladder, I’ve suddenly got new reach. Problem solved. Technology is a resource-liberating mechanism. It can make the once scarce the now abundant.

I also acknowledge “Technology is good” is an optimistic point of view. I am, by nature, an optimist. I believe in lifelong learning and I aspire daily to the joy of striving to realize things that exist in our imaginations. It may be one of our higher callings; it is certainly one of mine.

So, I am usually one of the guys who says things like, “Guns don’t kill people, people kill people.” Which is my way of acknowledging that firearms are simply tools to help us throw rocks faster and more accurately and, if you need to throw a rock, it’s probably better to throw it faster and more accurately.

This argument can be extended to less emotional subjects like the Sony Betamax case or the more recent (though seemingly ancient) Grokster case. Both of which ended up with the court deciding that, and I’m paraphrasing: “Technology good … people bad.”

“If God intended us to fly, he’d have given us wings.” Yep. I totally agree. God (please use your politically correct deity, this article is not about science vs. religion) gave us brains that saw birds and imagined what it would be like to fly. The same deity gave us thumbs, manual dexterity and the ability to create tools that enabled us to have wings. We fly because we are genetically gifted to do so. (You can decide how those genetic gifts were bestowed, like I said, it is not the point of this writing.)

The point is, that technology is woven into the fabric of our lives and it, in every case, in every civilization (past and present) defines how we interact, how we live, how we work … it literally defines everything about us, including the epochs and ages of our past.

The reason for my huge pro-technology buildup is that I am about to write something that is so out of character, so remarkably against one of my strongest personal axioms, I have to talk myself into writing it …

Google is about to go too far.

On March 1, 2012, Google will consolidate the privacy policies for 60 of its products creating the singularly most significant database of the Information Age. The aggregation of these data will empower Google to correlate and contextualize our thoughts, aspirations, actions, physical locations and the timelines for the basic processes of the doing of life.

I don’t think any single thought about the aggregation of data or the use of technology has ever made me as uncomfortable as this announcement. On its best day, with every ounce of technology the US Government could muster, it could not know a fraction as much about any of us as Google does now. But now is not what I’m worried about. I’m not even worried about this decade. At the current rate of technological change, taking into consideration the amount of information we are creating about ourselves, and adding in the computational power that will be available in about a decade, Google will equal Skynet circa 2022.

This is a guess, of course, it could be sooner – but it won’t be later. What do I mean by Skynet. First of all, get your Terminator lore together, but then just imagine a database that could automatically determine what you are most likely going to have for dinner after your bowling league Tuesday night, where you are going to have it, who it will be with, whether you are feeling good or have a cold, if you and your wife are fighting, how your day was at work, what you are thinking about buying, who is helping you with your decisions about it, what chronic illnesses you are dealing with, what meds you are on, etc, etc, etc. And this isn’t even the scary stuff.

What scares me is the advance of analytical tools and the existence of yet-uninvented ways to manipulate data for good and, inadvertently, for bad. I’m not worried about bad people doing bad things. That is the nature of our world and, generally, it is easy to identify bad people who do bad things. I’m worried about the good intentions that pave the road to hell. I can’t speculate about how our near-term-future, data-dependent culture will be negatively affected by the law of unintended consequences. That’s because so many of the vocations and avocations that will be impacted have also yet to be invented. I just know that there are at least as many ways for things to go wrong, as there are for things to go right.

The sky is not falling and this is not a sensationalistic FUD-mongering exercise (Fear, Uncertainty & Doubt). It is an admonition that the time has come for learned colleagues to start a Socratic discourse about what parts of the Genie need to stay in the bottle, and what parts can be let out. Imperfect metaphor? I don’t think so.

This is a very complex problem and we are going to need very simple ways to describe it. Skynet can’t win – at least not in the world I want to live in. Let’s get ahead of this while it’s still just the subject of the occasional rhetorical blog post – because, no matter what anyone tells you, the world of big data is never going away.

This week, it’s been very hard to be online without seeing the acronyms SOPA and PIPA. Both are pieces of legislation being proposed by Congress, created with the hope of finally bringing some sort of regulation for copyright infringement to the web. The proposed bills look to stop websites from spreading copyrighted material or selling counterfeit items. More than that, the laws would affect websites like YouTube, where users often post content that violates the rules in the terms of service. If one of these videos slipped through the cracks, technically the government could require ISPs (Internet Service Providers) and search engines to block the site – which is not really a workable, or even reasonable, solution.

The bill currently being debated in the House of Representatives is SOPA, the Stop Online Piracy Act. Spearheaded by Republican Representative Lamar Smith, the proposed legislation has come under fierce scrutiny from tech industry monoliths like Google and Facebook, as well as security experts who think it’s technically disastrous. PIPA, the Protect IP Act, is the Senate’s even weaker version of the bill, which has already lost support from at least 18 Senators.  I’d like to think that the online protests had something to do with the recent Senatorial distancing.

“You’re destroying the Internet!” versus “We need to stop these digital thieves and protect intellectual property by passing a sweeping law!” played out for a while mostly outside of the public eye until some of the biggest websites put the issue front and center. Wikipedia, Google, Mozilla, Wired and Reddit were among the sites that used their valuable digital real estate to protest, what they consider, egregiously ignorant legislation. These protests seem to have been effective. Google announced that it acquired over 8 million unique signatures on its SOPA/PIPA petition, just from a link on its homepage. Wikipedia directed over 7 million people to their local representatives so they could express their opposition to the legislation. But what exactly is being opposed?

One of the controversial provisions would give the government broad power to make service providers block websites at the DNS (Domain Name System) level. Many agree that this would not only be ineffective, it could pose potential security issues. If legislation is to be passed to regulate content on the Internet, much greater technical foresight will be required.

A less technical provision that is ruffling feathers would make the maximum penalty for streaming or downloading copyrighted content, five years in prison. Most reasonable people would agree that a mother caught illegally downloading a torrent of Josh Groban’s Christmas album probably should not face the possibility of five years in jail.

As flawed as the language and provisions of SOPA and PIPA are, there is one part of both bills that make absolute sense: stealing content is wrong.  Sadly, there is a fairly large group of people who believe everything on the Internet should be free. Hacktivists routinely cripple websites of businesses, organizations and even governments that oppose the idyllic “free web.”  While I completely understand how post-Napster digital natives have come to believe that stealing copyrighted material (and depriving rightsholders of the value of their intellectual property) is OK. I violently disagree with their thesis.

This puts me in a very strange position – I am aligned with people seeking the same short term result I am seeking – these bills, as written, must not become law.  However, after SOPA and PIPA are defeated, we are going to have to figure out how to reconcile the fact that “we the people” who respect copyrights, and “we the people” that don’t, are going to have to work together to solve this problem.  It won’t be easy.  In fact, it may never happen.

Which begs for the question, “How should intellectual property rights be protected?”  Unfortunately, the technological answer is far, far easier than the political one.  Before we can protect content creators, we need to agree that content needs to be protected.  Considering the passionate beliefs on both sides, I’m not optimistic.

I like to say that there are only two kinds of people, and two kinds of devices: connected and not connected – apparently, that’s how the Consumer Electronics (CE) industry sees the world as well. But here’s the thing: hidden under the excitement of cloud-connected devices is the reality that the industry is changing, and changing fast.

If you know anything about the CE industry, you know that interoperability is not something big electronics firms are fond of. For years, Sony refused to use industry compatible SD cards in favor of its Sony Memory Stick. It even used an obscure type of Firewire connector, just to promote the sales and non-interoperability of its video and still cameras. Not to single out Sony, almost every CE company has its own proprietary ecosystem. And all of them hope you will choose their way of thinking if you want to interface with their gear.

This is not a consumer-friendly strategy, but some “old school” businesspeople believe it is the right way to do business. At one time, it may have been a good idea, but it’s over. Cloud storage, 3G, 4G, WiFi, h.264, .mp3 and other very common consumer standards have wrenched control away from big CE companies and handed it to consumers. Which begs for the question, can you market a successful closed system in 2012 and beyond? I’m pretty sure the answer is no.

If you walked around the show floor, one of the key takeaways would have been silos and unique proprietary systems are not making the cut. The consumers have won, and won big.

What was interesting at the show? Intel chips have enabled a new class of personal computers called Ultrabooks. They are all MacBook Air look-alikes, but they run Windows and they are inexpensive by comparison. This is going to be one of the big stories of the year. They are really going to sell and, I humbly submit, give tablets a real run for their money. Of course, the same technology will find its way into tablets and the arms race will continue. The winner … you! Consumers will benefit in every way. Faster, smaller, thinner and more connected personal computing experiences.

I also liked LG’s 55″ OLED TV. The picture is indescribably gorgeous and it’s about 4 millimeters thin. No price or specific delivery date, but look for it by the end of the year.

Samsung debuted a series of big, flat screen TVs that have motion sensing and voice recognition built in. Think of it as an Xbox Kinect without any extra boxes or cables. The demo was fun, but it’s not ready for prime time.

Samsung also showed off the Samsung Galaxy Note a 5.3″ Android phone/tablet crossover. Lots of people liked the size, some said it was too big, others said it was too small. Where’s Goldilocks when you really need her.

The most remarkable thing about International CES 2012 was the number of people doing business. There were fantastic parties, everyone had an optimistic, upbeat attitude about the future and the general consensus was that things are turning around.

Of course, it’s not business as usual, everyone is trying to figure out how to be more like Apple. From operating systems to hardware, almost every pitch included some reference to iDevices, iTunes or the iTunes store – and everyone is playing catch-up. This was not 2 million square feet of Apple Fanboys, this was a town full of electronics professionals wondering how they missed the mark and what they could do about it.

Lastly, if you’re wondering if Microsoft will be missed at next year’s show? The short answer is no. CES is not about any one manufacturer; it’s about an industry. Kudos to the CEA for putting on an amazing exhibition that included the best of the best in every category – this year was truly awesome!

This is the third article in an ad hoc trilogy inspired by feedback from a remarkably diverse group of individuals. My first article, “Are You Employable In 2012?” recounts an experience I had trying to hire an administrative assistant. It’s full of helpful hints about starting a career in the 21^st century. The second article was an impromptu follow-on instigated by a bunch of 50-somethings who espoused prideful ignorance of modern communication entitled, “Attack Of The Pridefully Ignorant.” The thesis of the article is that we (all of us) need to stop questioning the necessity for digitally literacy and accept that “digital,” in the broadest sense of the word, is not going away. I gave a few simple tips about how easy it can be enter the world of social media, and ended with a paragraph about the need to add new digital skills to your professional tool belt. Not a comprehensive list of ways to become more digitally literate, but a good way to start.

I don’t think I have ever written a piece that received more attention – both positive and negative.

I try to limit my weekly writings to about a thousand words, so – first and foremost – let me say, I cannot cover this topic completely here. I do a pretty good job explaining my position in my latest book, Overcoming The Digital Divide: How To Use Social Media And Digital Tools To Reinvent Yourself And Your Career. It’s available on Amazon.com (both Kindleand Paperback) and wherever fine books are sold.

So, without further fanfare, here is my response to the thousands of emails, tweets and comments regarding “Attack Of The Pridefully Ignorant.”

Digital communication is here to stay. Intel says that today, there are just over two billion people connected to the Internet. It is projecting three billion by the end of 2015 and hopes the world gets to four billion by the end of 2020. Intel has a selfish reason for this prediction; it makes the chips for the billions of devices that will support this connectivity.

ComScore says as of November, total U.S. iPhone users grew to 26 million and total Android users grew to 42.9 million. That number is trending upward at a fierce pace.

Although it’s hard to find one definitive source, the general consensus is that, worldwide, there are approximately five billion feature phones, 500 million smart phones and 60 million tablets and e-readers. And, of course, these numbers are trending up too.

One hundred percent of these devices are digital. And, while it’s true that some of the radio signals that are used with these devices are analog, there are computers doing all of the heavy lifting. So, for all intents and purposes, the world of communication is 100% digital. Which begs the question, “Why would anyone even suggest that digital literacy is an unimportant skill in the 21^st century?”

Did Tiger Woods know that he was making a digital audio recording on a remote server? That bit of digital illiteracy cost him a lot. Did Eliot Spitzer know that a wire transfer was actually a digital file transfer and that, while private, it was not anonymous? Obviously not – that lack of digital knowledge cost him big as well. How about Anthony Weiner’s and Brett Favre’s experience with digital photos? Their collective lack of knowledge about simple digital file transfers yielded unfortunate consequences too.

Do you know how well your online presence matches your offline presence? When I Google you, will I find what you would expect me to find? How do you look on LinkedIn? Do you actually believe that there is a hiring manager in the connected world that will not check you out on Google, Facebook, Twitter and LinkedIn before considering you for a position? The reasons to become digitally literate are endless.

I am not advocating digital communication over in-person connections. In fact, I’m not advocating anything other than that the “pridefully ignorant anti-21^st century communications tools group” should consider that they don’t know what they don’t know.

These are early days. Social media is in its infancy and we have no way of knowing whether Facebook or Twitter or any one of the other 500 popular social networks will be around in a few years. What we do know is that while some people are using social media for egocasting, others are community organizing and still others are overthrowing governments. Same tools, different applications.

I’m going to resist all temptation to respond to any individual comment or email about my pridefully ignorant experience. The comments, including the most derogatory, simply prove my point. My thanks to all of you for surprising me this week, I was truly shocked that so many people spent their valuable time telling me how stupid and brainwashed I am about the need for digital literacy.

I will leave you with this one thought. There was a significant conversation going on about you in a place you know nothing about, care nothing about and don’t believe exists … like I said, you don’t know what you don’t know.

An attorney, who has a remarkably successful practice in South Florida, told me that he doesn’t see any reason to follow the industry trend of hiring electronic discovery experts. He boasted to me that remaining antiquated protected his practice from modern invasive electronic discovery techniques. He went on to tell me how he knew all about this “tech stuff,” but it just wasn’t important enough for him to invest in it. I pointed out that we were in the Information Age and that practically everyone who communicated did so using digital tools. About five seconds into my response, I just changed the subject; I am not prepared to argue with the pridefully ignorant.

I have about ten other examples of this kind of insanity, but I’m sure you get the point. So, if you are willing to think about overcoming the digital divide in 2012, let’s go over a few key points.

First, and foremost, inject yourself in the process. If you want to become more digitally literate as a means of enhancing your ability to transfer the value of your intellectual property into wealth, you must dive in. How? Start by listening.

Do you have a Facebook profile? If not, go sign up now. It is extraordinarily easy. If you are daunted by the task, screw your courage to the sticking place and click this link http://www.facebook.com. Follow the instructions. If you can read, you can get this done in less than 10 minutes. Don’t worry about your privacy settings right now. You’re not going to do anything on Facebook today that will compromise your privacy, or open you up to identity theft. I promise.

Once you have a Facebook profile, start sending friend requests to your actual friends. Resist all temptation to make it a popularity contest – just invite people you know well. And, only friend people you know well. Once you’ve got a bunch of Facebook friends, start listening. Forget about your wall and your profile page, just watch the news feed. It will only take a few days for you to start understanding what Facebook should (and should not) be used for in your community.

Want to get more into social media? Join some groups. There are Facebook groups on almost every subject you can think of. Join, and just listen. There’s no need to post anything until you are ready.

Next, do exactly the same thing with Twitter. Set up a profile page, start following people you know and people you want to know and work with and just listen. It is the fastest way to become digitally literate in the world of social media.

If you want to interact with people on Twitter, consider replying to their Tweets instead of just Tweeting stuff out. It changes the dynamic of Twitter and will make you an instant part of the community.

The world is bifurcated. There are only two types of people and two types of devices: connected and not connected. The mantra of the pridefully ignorant is: “Digital is for kids!” If you wish to be pridefully ignorant, keep saying it. You will soon fade into complete unemployability and communicative irrelevance.

To lead a connected life, you need to be connected. This means having a smartphone and learning to use it. If you really don’t want a smartphone, get a tablet (like an iPad) or a high-end color e-reader (like the Kindle Fire) and carry it with you everywhere. You will need a device to be connected to the Internet – you can’t connect without a device, get one!

Not a smartphone, nor a tablet person? Tough! You need to be. So get with the program. The only way to make this leap is to make it.

How will you know what gear to buy? It doesn’t matter what you get as long as you get something. iPhone, Android – I don’t care. You won’t care either, at least not now. There will come a time when you will care, at that point you will make another purchase and you won’t need anyone’s advice about what it will be.

Lastly, make a New Year’s resolution to learn how to use some keyboard shortcuts and some digital productivity tools. It could be as simple as forcing yourself to use all of the Microsoft Word keyboard shortcuts for formatting, or as adventurous as installing Text Expander (Mac) or Phrase Express (PC) to enhance your word processing efficacy. Like I said, the only way to become digitally literate is to inject yourself in the process – enhanced productivity is a big step towards that commitment.

Although I was brutally attacked by a horde of pridefully ignorant technophobes in Boca Raton, I escaped. I hope you will too.

Are You Employable?

Do you have community management skills?  Can you set up and man listening posts?  Are you an expert at setting up and processing Google Alerts?  Can you cleanup, size and manipulate digital pictures and graphics?  Are you a PowerPoint Ninja?  Do you have more than half of the PC Keyboard macros for Excel under your fingers?  Can you write a SQL query?  Can you craft custom reports in salesforce? Do you have expertise in a particular kind of CRM software?  Can you interpret and respond to questions regarding Google Analytics? Are you facile with FTP software?  Are you a master of digital communication in your industry?

These are just a few of the questions you might field in a job interview this year.  I just listed a job opening for an administrative assistant and, to be honest, I am appalled at the lack of understanding of how to apply for a job, let alone what might be required to obtain one.

Here are a few tips to applying for a job in the information age.

Cover Letters Matter – Your cover letter should be in pure text and in the body of an email.  No fancy fonts, no images, just text. The topic sentence should be awesome and separate you from the pack. The supporting paragraph should make me want to hire you without looking at your resume.  It must, must, must mention the things your prospective employer is seeking and describe why you are the perfect candidate.  Proof read this document several times.  “I lernt frm xperience that i’m a realy grate receptionist,” is an actual sentence from an actual cover letter I received this week.  I have no idea what this person’s résumé looked like, I just copied the sentence for this article and deleted the email.

Résumés Matter – Take the time to craft the résumé for the job you are applying for.  If you haven’t worked in the industry before, say it in the cover letter and say why you think your experience will apply.  If you have worked in the industry, take a moment and figure out what your résumé should look like for this opportunity. Résumés should be .pdf files – do not send word documents or .txt files or PowerPoint documents or anything other than a one-page (two page max) .pdf file.

Honesty Matters – don’t put “Expert in Microsoft Office” on your résumé if you are just “proficient.”  During our telephone interview, I will ask you a question that an expert can answer, when you can’t – you’re out.  I have no time for people who cannot do honest self-assessments of their capabilities.

Skills Matter – This is the Information Age, you need Information Age skills.  Yes, you will learn a great deal on the job, but you need to come to the opportunity with very high-level digital skills.  Why?  Because there are literally a dozen digitally skilled candidates that will apply for this position.  They are more cost-effective for me to hire because they can do more for the same money I will have to pay you.

Work Ethic Matters – I want people around me who are self-starters and who know that the sentence, “Can I help you?” is the least helpful sentence you can utter.  What’s the right way to impress me?  “Shelly, I’ve identified this issue.  I have three solutions, please tell me which one you would like me implement.” I will do anything for people who approach work in this manner – they are awesome!

Understand What Work Is – If you are looking for a skilled job, understand what work is – a mechanism to translate the value of your intellectual property into wealth.  This is a non-trivial distinction between a “job for a paycheck” and a career.  If you want a job, you are not someone I want to hire for a full-time position.  If you have a career, and you are looking to grow by acquiring knowledge, forging it with failure, and tempering it with wisdom, I want you on my team!

Understand The Value of What You Know – There’s an old cliché, “Youth is wasted on the young.”  When you’re looking for a job in 2012, don’t waste the value of your youth.  Yes, you may be young and inexperienced, but you have a valuable asset in your age.  If you are born after 1989, you are a digital native.  This means that you think differently, act differently, and, in fact, are different than the middle-aged hiring manager you’re speaking with.  Your inexperience and youth is also a liability.  Get smart and use this combination of strength and weakness to your advantage.  Our culture aspires to be young – it’s news you can use.

What If You Don’t Have The Necessary Skills – This is the key to everyone’s future.  You must acquire them.  No one can afford to hide behind the affectation that “Digital is for the kids.”  It’s nonsense, and it is a virtual guarantee that you are unemployable in the 21^st century.  You no longer have the luxury of saying it.  In fact, you cannot even think it.  Social media is being used to “Occupy” places and overthrow governments.  If you’re not a social media expert, you are at a strict disadvantage.  Facebook and LinkedIn (and 500 other social networks) are replacing email.  Google is mapping the interiors of retail stores.  Amazon is giving people $5 off of any purchase made by taking a picture of an item in a brick and mortar store and then making the purchase via your mobile device.  There is no more analog – the world is digital.  And, more to the point, there are now only two kinds of people and two kinds of devices: connected and not connected.

Job One – I’m still looking for an administrative assistant with awesome digital skills to work for my executive admin.  Will we find the right person?  Of course we will.  For all of the horrible résumés and cover letters submitted, there were several gems.  But the sheer volume of worthless communication from unemployable candidates has been remarkable.  If job creation is our number one national priority, maybe we should start by helping people learn how to properly prepare for employment in the Information Age and then, teach some basic job-hunting skills.

However, a friend just asked me if there was anything (other than donations to the Pediatrics Department at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center) that I would personally recommend holiday season – and there is.

First, on my personal list of Gifts For Geeks is the Celestron SkyScout Personal Planetarium. You simply point the SkyScout at a celestial object, and it will identify it with one click.  It can locate over 50,000 stars, planets and constellations.  The unit provides both text and audio descriptions complete with history, mythology and some other entertaining info.  There are also constellation lessons and built in field guide.  At a street price around $200, this is a super fun way to spend an evening with your kids, friends and any other stargazers you might know.

Next on my list is the Parrot AR.Drone Quadricopter.  It’s a super-fun RC helicopter on steroids!  Best of all, you control it with your iPhone, iPad, iPod Touch or Android device.  Did I mention that it’s Awesome!!!

Ever thought about piloting a military drone?  This may be as close as you get. The Quadricopter has all kinds of sensors on-board: a wide-angle camera, high-speed camera and MEMS (micro electro mechanical systems), accelerometer, gyro sensors, and ultrasound sensor.  And, in case you’re wondering if you can fly it – the AR.Drone autopilot allows easy takeoff and landing. After takeoff, autopilot stabilizes the AR.Drone at an 80-centimeter altitude. When you remove your finger from your device, the autopilot function automatically puts the AR.Drone into stationary flight. Lost connection with the AR.Drone? Autopilot takes over again and stabilizes the device before attempting a soft and safe landing.

There are all kinds of additional features, including interesting Augmented Reality Games you can get at the Apple App Store.  The AR.Drone is about $300 ready to fly.

For less expensive Geek Luxury, I love the Waterfield laptop bags and cases.  They have a fabulous custom laptop sleeve page on their site.  You just pick your laptop model and add the features you want – a flap, strap, leather trim, a piggyback pouch, etc.  There’s nothing like a custom configured laptop sleeve to make even the most jaded Geek happy this holiday season.

If you’re looking for a collection of super Geeky things to purchase, my favorite website is http://hackerthings.com/.  There you will find a literal cornucopia a gifts and games for the discerning hacker or self-described Geek.

And last, but certainly not least, is my top pick for Geek indulgence – the all-singing, all-dancing Apple MacBook Air.  Specifically, the 13-inch, 1.7GHz dual-core Intel Core i7 processor, 4GB memory, 256GB flash storage, Intel HD Graphics 3000.  It’s $1,699 from Apple.  You need Apple Care a USB to Ethernet adapter and a case, so get ready to spend around $2,200 – but it’s worth it.

I’m not sure I can fully describe the visceral pleasure of using a full-power MacBook Air.  It is a perfect combination of speed, power, screen size and weight.  In a world where so much of what we do can be accomplished with cloud-based applications, every self-respecting Geek will be able to configure this computer to their personal satisfaction.

If you’re wondering if it is a true laptop or desktop replacement – check out MacBook Air vs. MacBook Pro on my blog.

Please accept my best wishes for a happy and healthy holiday season.  And, if you can find it in your heart, consider giving a small portion of this year’s gift budget to those who are in need.

DonorsChoose.org

This is the season of giving, and I just finished shooting the Shelly Palmer Digital Living Hi-Tech Holiday Gift Guide for Fox Television.  It’s going to air on December 16^th at 10:30pm ET on Fox 5 here in NY.  Check your local listings.  I cover all kinds of interesting hi-tech gifts from computers to smartphone to connected television sets – but I believe that some of the best gifts we can give this holiday season are to people in need.  There are thousands of worthy causes and I’m sure you have your favorites.  This year, I have three organizations that I’d like you to consider:

DonorsChoose.org is a unique website with a remarkable mission – they envision a nation where children in every community have the tools and experiences needed for an excellent education.  It started back in 2000 when Charles Best, a social studies teacher, sensed that many people would like to help distressed public schools, but were frustrated by a lack of influence over their donations. He created DonorsChoose.org so that individuals could connect directly with classrooms in need.

I love this website.  You can search it for projects that are meaningful to you and then rejoice in the knowledge that you have helped enhance a child’s education.

When my father passed away in 2008, we started the Lon T. Palmer Music Education Fund in his honor.  Early in his career, my dad was a public school music teacher in the inner city.  He believed that music was a powerful engine for tolerance and a fundamental language with unifying qualities. So, to help focus his students, he created a drumline.  It’s amazing how a pair of drums sticks, a practice pad and a little direction can change lives.  I wanted to see if we could expand our giving outside of the New York City public school system – sure enough, a quick search on donorschoose.org delivered a whole bunch of music teachers who shared my late father’s vision.  Try it for yourself, the site is awesome and the results are outstanding.

Another favorite is charitywater.org – I’ve had the pleasure of hearing its founder, Scott Harrison, speak on several occasions. His story is unique and inspirational; you should take a moment to learn about him.  Interestingly, the charity he founded uses technology to deliver in ways that are extremely emotionally satisfying.

Why water? Almost a billion people live without clean drinking water. Unsafe water and lack of basic sanitation cause more deaths each year than all forms of violence, including war. Children are especially vulnerable to this — their small bodies can’t handle the intense dehydration from diarrheal diseases.

In developing countries, women and children usually collect the water for their families. They walk miles each day to the nearest source, which is unprotected and likely to make them sick. Time spent walking keeps them from attending school, working or taking care of their families.

But clean water changes everything.

Safe drinking water alone can reduce water-related deaths by 21%. Water projects built near home can restore hours to someone’s day. Instead of walking for water, adults can use this time to work and children can use it to get an education. Families with enough clean water to drink, bathe, clean and grow their own food can become self-sufficient households, less affected by external conflict, famine or inadequate government services.

Please visit chartiywater.org and consider making a donation.

Last, but certainly as important to me as anything else I’m involved with, is the Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Department of Pediatrics.

As many of you know, my granddaughter, Emma, was diagnosed with Cancer in March of this year.  We are extremely fortunate to have received the care and support from an amazing team of Doctors, Nurses and Specialists at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center to help us get through an extraordinarily difficult time.  I am happy to report that Emma is 6 months Cancer FREE and counting!

This is a great time to support all of the children and families that are fighting Cancer, many of whom will be receiving treatment throughout the holidays. The Department of Pediatrics at MSKCC has created a “WISH LIST” that I wanted to pass along. I hope all of you have a happy and healthy holiday season.

The following is written by MSKCC:

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Department of Pediatrics Wish List

Thank you for your interest in donating to Pediatrics at Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center. Your gifts will go a long way towards brightening the hospital stays for our pediatric patients.

At Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center we treat more children and young adults with cancer daily than any other institution in the world. Our Pediatric Disease Management Team includes more than 30 full-time physicians and surgeons, each of whom has expertise in one or more areas of pediatric oncology.

Our goal is to minimize the impact of cancer and its treatment on a child and each member of his or her family, and to have that child return to his or her community to grow into a happy, vibrant adult.

For more information please visit: http://www.mskcc.org/pediatrics

Below is our wish list for 2011, as well as general information on making donations to our department.

MAKING A DONATION

To mail a donation to Pediatrics, please send to:

Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center Department of Pediatrics
c/o Rachel Corke Room C900
1275 York Avenue
New York, NY 10065

To drop off a donation at MSKCC:

Call Rachel Corke to schedule your donation drop off: 212-639-2285
Donations are accepted Monday – Friday, 9AM – 5PM
Donations are not accepted on Saturdays, Sundays or Holidays

PLEASE REMEMBER

Because of our infection control policy we only accept new toys, and no stuffed animals.
The patient population includes many infants and toddlers. Please avoid toys that have small or sharp pieces or items that fall apart easily.
Include in all donations your name, phone number, and address where we can send an acknowledgment letter.

MONETARY DONATIONS (PREFERRED DONATION)

The Joy Fund provides support to our Child Life and recreational programs which serve over 150 children and young adults each day on an inpatient and outpatient basis. Multiple programs are provided for all age ranges, including patient education, arts and crafts, music, group games, holiday and birthday parties, cooking group and other activities. Your donation to The Joy Fund can help promote social and emotional growth for all our patients while they undergo intensive treatment. Please make checks payable to Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center, Pediatrics. In the memo, please note “The Joy Fund.”

GIFT CERTIFICATES

• In up to $25 denominations e.g. Gap, Best Buy, Barnes and Noble, Old Navy, Banana Republic, Sephora, iTunes, Target, McDonalds, Starbucks, Subway, CVS, Duane Reade, Toys-R-Us,Bath & Body Works, American Express, Children’s Place, K-Mart, etc.

ELECTRONICS

• DVD movies (new releases, classics, ratings G-R) – will accept multiple copies!
• Games for the following game systems (rated “E” or “T”):, Playstation 3, Xbox 360, Wii, xBox Kinect, Playstation Move
• Nintendo xBox Kinect, Playstation Move, Wii, Playstation3, xBox360 game systems
• Headphones (no earbuds)
• Portable DVD players

TOYS/BOOKS

• Small LEGOS sets
• Craft Kits (“Creativity for Kids”, “ALEX” , “Doug & Melissa”- all ages)
• Crib toys (mirrors, mobiles, puzzle floor mats)
• Thomas the Tank Engine trains and plastic tracks
• Pop up toys
• Play doh and play doh tools/kits
• Super Hero Toys – Spider Man, Bat Man etc.
• Puzzles (25 – 100 pieces) and Board Puzzles
• Hot Wheels cars
• Board books, sound books, foreign language books (Spanish, Chinese, Greek, Yiddish, Hebrew etc.)
• Toys for the visually impaired (big letters, musical instruments, and toys that make sounds, have interesting textures, or that light up)
• Princess and Disney toys, activities and games
• Board & card games (Candy Land, Chutes and Ladders, Monopoly, Scrabble, Checkers, Chess, Backgammon, Uno, playing cards, Life, Battleship, etc.)
• Board and card games with cartoon themes: e.g. Sponge bob, super heroes

ART SUPPLIES

• Elmer’s Glue (small containers)
• Washable Markers, Crayons, Colored Pencils (up to 24 packs)
• Coloring, Sticker and Activity Books (Princess and Super hero most popular)
• Watercolor paints
• Construction Paper
• Journals
• Scrapbooking paper and supplies
• Stickers and sticker activity books

CLOTHING

• Brand new, preferably packaged, pajamas, t-shirts, leggings, sweatpants, cotton shorts, socks and underwear
• Ranging in size from toddler to 16 years old