Yahoo! 360° - Yahoo! Groups Team Blog - Gmail Non-Delivery Issues

Yahoo! 360° - Yahoo! Groups Team Blog - Gmail Non-Delivery Issues: "Gmail Non-Delivery Issues

We've had reports that some users with Gmail accounts have not been receiving Groups mail since approximately March 14, 2007. This was a difficult issue to diagnose, because we were able to replicate the issue with some, but not all, of our test Gmail accounts. Some of us were missing Groups messages in our Gmail accounts, some of us were receiving them as usual. We appreciate those of you who wrote in detail about the problems your members were having on the Groups Technical Issues board and in email to Customer Care. Having detailed information helps us get to the bottom of issues faster."

jaxtr Made The Pulver 100 for 2007

Good news for jaxtr fans!

jaxtr made The Pulver 100 for 2007!

"The Pulver 100 is the first and foremost listing of privately held growth companies that represent the future of IP communications. Originally introduced in 2002, the pulver 100 recognizes companies that have substantial real-world deployments and enjoy significant growth rates. The pulver 100 has become an indicator of the leading edge in IP communications, and the companies named to the 2007 Pulver 100 represent the future of the IP communications industry."


Check out The Pulver 100 at: http://pulver.com/pulver100/

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Thanks!
Vincent Wright
Chief Encouragement Officer
www.MLPFdomains.com
www.MyLinkedinPowerForum.com
http://www.mybloglog.com/buzz/community/MyLinkedinPowerForum/
"Encouraging You. Encouraging The World"

Leadership Crisis?

Here are just a few of the many articles lamenting the lack of skills in our society:

The Empty Escalator
by
Donna J. Bear

In business workshops around the world, millions of people are pursuing skills to help them become one of tomorrow’s corporate leaders. Trouble is, they’re far fewer than companies will need. And when these potential leaders arrive at the top, will they have the right set of skills? Developing leaders to feed the succession pipeline should be an ongoing HR initiative.

http://www.cmctraining.org/trendwatchers_view.asp?article_id=67

Graduates lacking the skills for work

Britain is awash with vacancies for graduates, yet employers are struggling to find university leavers with the right skills - or the right attitude - for the job.

The number of jobs available to British graduates will grow by more than a sixth this year, but employers are increasingly worried that picky university leavers lack not only the right skills and qualifications, but even the right outlook to get on in the world of work.

http://www.management-issues.com/2007/1/30/research/graduates-lacking-the-skills-for-work.asp

High School, College Graduates Lack Basic and Applied Skills, Employers Say Written By: Krista Kafer Published In: School Reform News Publication Date: December 1, 2006 Publisher: The Heartland Institute

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High school and college graduates lack basic and applied skills, say business leaders, according to two surveys released in October.

On October 2, the Conference Board, a global business membership and research organization, released the results of its survey of 431 employers on recently hired high school and college graduates.

While basic knowledge and skills such as reading comprehension and mathematics were deemed important, employers said applied skills--such as work ethic, communication, collaboration, and critical thinking--are even more essential to workplace success.

According to the survey, new job entrants lack both.

http://www.heartland.org/Article.cfm?artId=20280

Does this signal a crisis in Leadership? Why does this condition exist? Have we focused on the short-term for so long we have finally gotten ahead of ourselves and stabbed ourselves in the back? Companies used to have management grooming programs to make up for the oversight in our education programs. Not any more, they cost too much.

But I ask you, does it really? "If you think education is expensive..."
Please let me know your thoughts...

It's Over: ICANN Terminates RegisterFly's Domain Registrar Accreditation » Daily Domainer: "It's Over: ICANN Terminates RegisterFly's Domain Registrar Accreditation
posted in Domain Registrars |

RegisterflyThe party is over for Kevin Medina. The Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN) announced in a letter to Mr. Medina that RegisterFly will cease operating as an ICANN-Accredited Registrar on March 31, 2007.

ICANN also terminated RegisterFly's right to use the ICANN Accredited Registrar logo on its website. The logo however is still visible in the left lower corner of RegisterFly's homepage."

...
For more information, see: ICANN and The Register Fly meltdown

True Networking

Effective networking between humans is more than just collecting a contact.
Establishing a true network of individuals requires active communication.
Communication or True Networking only occurs when connected individuals invest personal time in getting to know the other individual's talents & capabilities (see Paul's post "Networking for Business - Part 1"). This investment will take several Face-to-Face or telephonic discussions and e-mail doesn't make it.

AlignIT Advisors name Vincent Wright Networker of the Year!

Networking is something we all do every day of our lives. Many do their networking ‘accidentally’. However, many also have realized the power of networking and have made it one of their tools. A tool they use for their own benefit and to help others. There is a philosophy of “Giver’s Gain”, identified & defined by Business Networking International (BNI) as “The "Giver's Gain Philosophy" is an unselfish attitude that is contagious and promotes creditable, profitable, and lasting business relationships.”

Vincent Wright personifies this philosophy. He has created and nurtured over 200 discussion groups focused on networking. Most are further focused on a region or special interest. The “Grandaddy” of them all is called MyLinkedInPowerForum. Here, he has over 5,000 members helping each other improve their lives through networking.

Vincent also has a forum for job seekers to find tips and where jobs are posted. Thousands of jobs have been posted, and presumably filled, through MyJobTiger.

Vincent has given himself the title of Chief Encouragement Officer, and he earns it every single day. He has devoted thousands of hours to helping others on these fora with no recompense.

AlignIT Advisors would like to recognize Vincent Wright’s selfless dedication by naming him “Networker of the Year” and sponsoring his work.

Saying Hello

When we meet someone for the first time, we generally say Hello, my
name is ---. Then engage in some discussion. If we 'click', we may
exchange business cards and, perhaps, set a date, time, place, method
to follow up. At some point, we may even invite that person to join us
in different venues. Perhaps invite them to join our Friday night
poker game.

Different people feel comfortable at different times and with
different people. The degree and speed with which we bring a new
person close to us is individual.

However, as we are inevitably in a rush these days, the online tools
seem to have removed all the caution and much of the etiquette from
some people. Either we don't have the time to say Hi, or think it
unnecessary and superfluous.

Every online forum I know of has a way to replicate the meet space
equivalent to the process mentioned at the start of this post. For
some reason though, the majority of people in the online venues jump
right over the introduction and go right to 'connecting'.

Why is there this dichotomy of the definition of 'connecting'? Why do
some think it is necessary to 'connect' before saying Hi? Would they,
upon meeting someone new, first give their address & telephone number
before saying Hello? I doubt it.

This also has nothing to do with the perennial Q v Q question. Notice
nothing has been said about the people involved NOT connecting. My
question is why the hurry? Why the neglect of etiquette or social norms?

Feel free to chime in. :P

Networking for Business - Part 1

Whether it’s human or computer based, networking is synergistic. The whole is truly greater than the sum of the parts. When either systems are interconnected with other systems, there is greater power than when they are not.

In computer networks, the power of “the network” lies in the applications reachable through the network. In human networks, the power is in the reach of the network. In both cases, that power is exponential.

However, there is a difference. In computer networks, the extent that a node adds power is in the permissions to run the applications contained within the added node. In human networks, the power is in the strength of the connection. If you and I are connected, the power of that connection lies within the strength of our connection. The better we know each other, and our respective expertise, the more powerful the connection. The more powerful the connection, the more power an introduction from one to the other is.

In business, the better I know of your talents & capabilities, the more powerful my recommendation to others can be.

The most powerful network to date is LinkedIn. LinkedIn allows you to leverage the power of the network you have like no other. LinkedIn is still unique in the world of “social networks” in that it is a Business Referral network.

As with many things, when you start from the beginning and work your way back to the endpoint, it takes more time & effort than if you start at the endpoint & work your way back to the beginning. So it is with LinkedIn vs. the other networks available. Before LinkedIn, you had to query your entire network, and they theirs, to find a connection path. With LinkedIn, you search for your target & the LinkedIn system informs you of your available options in terms of paths to your destination. Much more powerful than the trial by error approach of trying to find the path going forward. In addition, if there are multiple paths, you can choose the strongest path (in terms of your 1^st level connections) to the endpoint.

Networking Part Deux - a conversation about LinkedIn

For this piece, I have taken a conversation that actually took place and modified it slighty. I have removed the real names (to protect the guilty) because of those changes. However, the changes were mostly cosmetic with some embellishment of the thoughts to aid those not as familiar with LinkedIn as the participant. Please let me know if you need more clarification in the comments and I will gladly provide it.
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Fred: One thing I have noticed is that LinkedIn as a service tends to fall down a bit when you are outside of the normal job market or the VC model for doing deals.

People have multiple dimensions to their lives. LinkedIn does not facilitate the discovery of the broader spectrum of interests IMHO. This was the most true back before the extra fields for groups, interests and education were added. I was an early beta tester for LinkedIn and what I am calling a limitation seemed to be by design. I raised the issue way back when and the response was something close to 'that is not what we are about' or 'there are other services that do that.' My memory on the prior conversations is not perfect so I am focusing more on my perception of intent based on how LinkedIn is used. A related point is LinkedIn is transactional by nature and not really a way for people to develop relationships. Use email or something else is the recommendation. LinkedIn is about specific referrals and not a way to develop a network for future use.

For the most part I have found that using other networking solutions allows one to develop connections to people who have interests that could be labeled 'topics for a Special Interest Group (SIG)' if I can use a term I know from the computer sector. Things that are not on a resume but might be a strong interest for certain individuals.

Barney: This is what LinkedIn representatives continue to say. LinkedIn's value is not in 'networking' in the sense of broadening your network, it is for leveraging the network you already have. Deepening relationships and using those relationships for referals to do business (whatever business you are in). SIGs and Forums are for getting to know people.

Fred: I have seen a marked increase in the value of LinkedIn to me now that we have groups. I do want to note that I laugh each time I consider the fact that LinkedIn's groups are largely operating outside the LinkedIn service (groups being a Yahoo thing with LinkedIn having no effective integration other than a little icon when you are a member of a specific group [that has become an approved LinkedIn Group and the member has joined it there also]). Granted you can run a search specific to members of a particular group that you are a member of.

Barney: Yes, the addition of groups did add another value point, the ability to 'network' within your group without direct connection or using referrals. This is especially useful when you don't know the person or his work but only share the common group connection. This way you can 'network' with the individual, and contact them without introduction but you will not be put 'on the spot' for an introduction to them.

Fred: With the external groups and forums, you really can get to know someone pretty well and never have any direct communication with them. After developing an understanding of a person and what they bring to the conversation you can contact them directly without any use of InMail, without any approval of other people in a chain, etc. If you enjoy the direct communication you can then go back to LinkedIn and let LinkedIn act as a way to flag that you have had contact. LinkedIn becomes a housekeeping tool.

Barney: BINGO! Once you have forged a relationship, it is time to move it to LinkedIn to nurture and leverage!

Fred: Where LinkedIn is more unique is you can search through someone's network and gain an introduction. The more people are in groups the more you can just join a group and developer a relationship with any person you might be interested in rather than seek an introduction. Granted it takes time to do so. Hence joining a group to reach someone is not that effective if you need to reach a person right now.

Barney: BINGO again! Leveraging your network to do business! {:^D With LinkedIn, while other people are going through the front door and encountering all the roadblocks, filters and gatekeepers, you get to go through the side door as 'a friend of a friend' and might get a chance to present your value proposition, regardless of whether you would have gotten past the blocks.

Let's put this into the perspective of the job seeker (but you can substitute any business dealing)... If you send your resume to HR, you could easily get blocked because you are either missing a key buzzword (or have spelled it out rather than used the acronym) but, going through the side door, you reach the hiring manager directly as a'a friend of a friend' and 'get an interview out of courtesy'. Thus you get the chance to overcome the gatekeepers percieved shortcoming.

What is Networking?

Have you been hearing a lot about something called “networking” and wondering just what the heck it is exactly?

If you’ve asked around, you probably get the sense that nobody really knows what it is because if you ask 10 people, you get 11 different answers. That may be because “networking” will be different for everyone, at least in the details of how, where, when, and why you network. In addition, many people have an incomplete idea of what we call “networking”.

In your handout, there are 3 definitions from 3 different people, an Author of a networking book and 2 company presidents. All 3 are correct, but incomplete – which is why they appear different. If you drew a Zen Diagram of these 3 definitions, there would be more overlap than difference. Here is why I say that:

First, every person on the planet that has interactions with others forms relationships. This is a natural occurrence and is a product of that interaction. Most people will attempt to assist anyone they know (whether asked or not) with advice, guidance, referrals, and endorsements (presuming they feel good about the aspect of the person they are endorsing).

The most successful sales people are very adept at forming relationships – but they are equally good at something else… nurturing those relationships. They sometimes form something that has been attributed to more discriminating groups… “The Olde Boys Network” (sometimes I think they are referring to their maturity but I digress..). “The Olde Boys Network” – many of them in fact – are usually centered around men who have graduated from the same university or are current or former members of some group.

“The Olde Boys Network” really does “network”, especially in terms of job search and hiring but some have questioned if this was done while disregarding qualifications and suitability to the task and with an elitist selectivity of who they allow in their network and casting shadow over the process.

So… What is “Networking”?

True “networking” is the natural act of forming and nurturing relationships, making introductions, referring people to others, and endorsing some; then using that network of who you know, and who they know, to help others. The extent you are successful at networking (over the long haul anyway) depends on your ability to practice those skills. Therefore, we need to hone our natural skills to improve our outcomes.

Networking is a communications based tool and a process that has no beginning and has no end. It is not a goal nor does the act of networking have a goal itself. We all learn to walk but not with the goal of walking – we learn to walk to transport our bodies from one place to another. Walking is the process or tool we use to move our body from the chair to the car where we use another tool to transport ourselves longer distances.

So, what’s the difference between the natural form of networking that we all perform daily and the practice of networking? Deliberate nurturing of relationships. Nurturing of relationships involves deepening our knowledge of others and consciously trying to help them achieve their goals through referrals, advice, and endorsements.

Networking without “trusted relationships”, providing endorsements, and referrals is nothing more than “collecting business cards” and may be enough for some activities but does not stand the test of time and the outcome is often no better than a ‘cold call’.

True networking is an unselfish, lifelong activity, a practice, a tool, a process. The concept of “Giver’s Gain Philosophy" is an unselfish attitude that is contagious and promotes creditable, profitable, and lasting business relationships. The group functions as a sales team for each other by serving as each other's eyes and ears.¹

So, how does that all relate to a job search?

OK, well… you know who you know but do they [know who you know]? Not likely and, in the past, everyone had to ask everyone they knew if they knew someone who… until they found someone who did. (Fell like you’re in Whosville?) Now, as with so many things computers and the Internet have given us, we have tools to help with that.

You never know who will know, or meet your next hiring manager. You need to let others know what you do, how well you do it (quantified and objective if possible), and that you are looking for another position. However, you need to try and help others achieve their goals in the process.

Why? How do you feel when someone helps you? Most people feel indebted (to some extent). If you help others, what do you think will happen? Suddenly, it’s not you searching for your next job by yourself, you have an army of people helping you in an attempt to repay you!

One reason you must make networking a lifelong part of who you are is that you build that army of people who want to help you and who “can’t say enough” (hopefully good) about you long before you need them. Those people best at this are never unemployed.

¹ "Giver's Gain Philosophy" as defined by BNI (Business Networking International www.bni.com)