Is Social Networking a Worthless Distraction?

According to internationally bestselling author Seth Godin, if done incorrectly—yes. I was web surfing on YouTube and came across some of his videos. When I first heard him insinuate social networking is a waste of time I thought he was crazy, however, Godin brought up a valid point. Just because you have 200 “friends” on Facebook or a zillion connections on LinkedIn doesn’t mean anything unless you are going out of your way for these people.

Godin brilliantly used the analogy of counting website hits to keeping track of the number of “friends” you have; this does not translate into anything.

What translates?

“Are [there people] who I would go out of my way for and who would go out of their way for me? That’s what you need to keep track of and the way you get there is by going out of your way for them and by earning the privilege of one day having that connection be worthwhile.” (Godin)

After watching this video, I started to think; how on earth can I earn the privilege of having a worthwhile connection? What can I do for a professional?

Here are a few of Godin’s tips:

1. Help people
2. Refer/Connect People
3. Give people access to resources and information they need

If you are interested in learning more about Seth Godin you can visit his website at http://www.sethgodin.com

*sorry for the poor formatting

Job Seekers Beware

Everyone is on some type of social networking website whether it is MySpace, Facebook, Twitter, etc. We often flock to these sites because it provides us a platform to disseminate our ideas, fears, and good news we may want to share. With the boost in mobile technology, people are literally communicating with hundreds of people throughout the day. Sounds great doesn’t it? Well not exactly! We’ve all heard horror stories of employers snooping on job candidates’ online profiles, in an attempt to see how they conduct themselves outside of work.

A recent survey conducted by CareerBuilder, found that 45 percent of employers use social networking sites to research potential employees and an additonal 11 percent plan to in the future. Some of the top offensives that took job candidates out of the running were:

1. Discriminatory comments
2. Poor communication skills
3. Photos of drinking or doing drugs
4. Bad mouthing previous employer
5. Questionable friends

Considering it’s an employer’s market they will find any way to minimize the list of applicants; as unfair as it may sound, your friend’s spring break photo showing up on your profile could jeopardize you from getting employed. Here are some tips for turning your online persona into a positive one that will not only clean up your image, but help you get a job. 8 Tips to Building and Maintaining a Professional Online Image

Is there a magical number for internships?

Remember when you were a kid and all you had to do was climb into your Mom or Dad's lap and ask them a question? They always had an answer. Boy do I miss those days! If my parents could answer the question that's been plaguing me for months I would feel a heck of a lot better. I talked to numerous recent college graduates and PR professionals and asked them the same question: Is there a magical number for internships? I received an array of answers.

There is no magical number. Quality is worth more than quantity.

I'm sure we all know at least one over achiever who had five to six internships, which makes you think...do I really need that many? Every professional I spoke with informed me that employers are looking for students who can prove that their skills benefited the company. Just mentioning you can write well and send off press releases is good, but what was the result of your work? Did you have any measurable goals at your internship and were you able to meet them? Employers will be impressed if a recent grad. can walk into an interview and prove (with numbers) that they were of value to the company they interned with.

If you do not have the time for an internship volunteer!

Whoever said there is ONE way to gain experience in Public Relations? Not only is volunteering an excellent choice for students who do not have the time for an internship, but it's an excellent networking opportunity. You can only imagine the high volume of people you will meet by simply asking if you can volunteer at a college career fair, networking mixer, or a huge event like the Philadelphia International Flower Show.

I know there are more answers to this question. If you would like to add your expertise to this list sound off!