With a simple idea and excellent execution, the boys over at StandOut Jobs have created a great little recruiting site that fits nicely into this world of “Web 2.0.”

Started by a partnership of Montreal-ers including friend and fellow entrepreneur/blogger Benjamin Yoskovitz, they’re “changing the face of recruiting.”

How? In a word, video. In their words:

• The job market is broken.
• Online job sites don’t work.
• Hiring people should be an ongoing process.
• Hiring people is about having conversations not bureaucracy.

Well if that’s true, then the best way to learn more about their company is to watch one of their own recruiting videos:

They’re on the lookout for more postings, as well as videographers from all over Canada and the U.S. to shoot and edit the recruitment videos.

Check out their blog too, where they share the latest postings as well as news about the company and their own insights into the tech job market.

::Bonus BarCamp connection: The trio that started the company came up with the idea at Barcamp Montreal.

Several months back, I signed up to be one of 100 authors to write a new book titled “The Age of Conversation.”

The project was the brainchild of Drew McLellan and Gavin Heaton, who did it on a dare, and used just a few blog posts and several emails to compile the group and the submissions, before the real work started. The book itself launched two days ago. It is available as an e-book, in paperback and as a hard cover, starting at just $9.99 USD.

All proceeds from the book go to Variety, The Children’s Charity, so do yourself a favor and feel that good feeling that comes with helping the kids while discovering a great book penned by a grand total of 103 authors. My paper-back copy is still en route, and I can’t wait to read it all.

Authors were asked to submit 400 words or less on the topic of conversation. In such a large group of terrific bloggers and thinkers, I chose to hone in on web content, and how when it is done right, it can start a conversation.

Here’s an excerpt from my “chapter:”

A good web presence starts with your website; your base of operations. The words you use to represent yourself are incredibly important; even visual learners need to know that there is some substance behind the pretty pictures. The copy on your website should tell a story about you, even though it’s not actually about you. It’s about your visitors, and you should speak to them accordingly.

A rather short snippet, but when the whole chapter is just 400 words, that’s a relatively good sample size. I would be remiss if I didn’t give a nod to my fellow authors, so they hear they are:

Gavin Heaton
Drew McLellan
CK
Valeria Maltoni
Emily Reed
Katie Chatfield
Greg Verdino
Mack Collier
Lewis Green
Sacrum
Ann Handley
Mike Sansone
Paul McEnany
Roger von Oech
Anna Farmery
David Armano
Bob Glaza
Mark Goren
Matt Dickman
Scott Monty
Richard Huntington
Cam Beck
David Reich
Luc Debaisieux
Sean Howard
Tim Jackson
Patrick Schaber
Roberta Rosenberg
Uwe Hook
Tony D. Clark
Todd Andrlik
Toby Bloomberg
Steve Woodruff
Steve Bannister
Steve Roesler
Stanley Johnson
Spike Jones
Nathan Snell
Simon Payn
Ryan Rasmussen
Ron Shevlin
Roger Anderson
Robert Hruzek
Rishi Desai
Phil Gerbyshak
Peter Corbett
Pete Deutschman
Nick Rice
Nick Wright
Michael Morton
Mark Earls
Mark Blair
Mario Vellandi
Lori Magno
Kristin Gorski
Kris Hoet
G.Kofi Annan
Kimberly Dawn Wells
Karl Long
Julie Fleischer
Jordan Behan
John La Grou
Joe Raasch
Jim Kukral
Jessica Hagy
Janet Green
Jamey Shiels
Dr. Graham Hill
Gia Facchini
Geert Desager
Gaurav Mishra
Gary Schoeniger
Gareth Kay
Faris Yakob
Emily Clasper
Ed Cotton
Dustin Jacobsen
Tom Clifford
David Polinchock
David Koopmans
David Brazeal
David Berkowitz
Carolyn Manning
Craig Wilson
Cord Silverstein
Connie Reece
Colin McKay
Chris Newlan
Chris Corrigan
Cedric Giorgi
Brian Reich
Becky Carroll
Arun Rajagopal
Andy Nulman
Amy Jussel
AJ James
Kim Klaver
Sandy Renshaw
Susan Bird
Ryan Barrett
Troy Worman
S. Neil Vineberg

It was tremendous pleasure being a part of this, and I am proud to be among such a great collaboration that was made possible through the conversations we have online everyday. It has already been featured by Fast Company, Business Week and many, many others.

Go. Buy your copy. Now.

Almost two years ago or so, on the advice of my boss at the time, I joined up at Linkedin.

Since then, I have seen a slow trickle of “connection” requests, but it seemed to have considerably less uptake when compared to social media powerhouses like MyBlogLog, Twitter and most recently Facebook, all of which caught on like wildfire.

At least, until recently. My list of connections is still quite modest (32 as of this writing), mostly because I haven’t actively attempted to increase the size of my network. But lately, I have seen what could be described as an influx of connection requests, with close to a dozen over the last two weeks.

Sure, that’s still nowhere near the amount of activity I see from the likes of Facebook, but it seems as though Linkedin is worth taking another look at.

What I like about it: Detailed work info about your connections (when they choose to share it), and a “degrees of separation” metric to identify people outside of your existing network. Also, the “recommendations” feature is great for conveying one’s credibility using the endorsements of others.

What needs improving: No pictures. Not only can you not put a face to a name, but you can’t identify your company with branding of any kind either. This may have made sense in the beginning, but it’s time to add that feature. I think the level of interaction with the site would grow considerably if you could see who it is you’re interacting with.

If you haven’t already, then add me on Linkedin. It’s certainly the most widely accepted “professional” online social network, and occasionally I’ve been known to pass myself off as a professional…

With Paul’s permission, I’m taking a conversation that we had via email (below), and re-publishing it here, edited for length.

Paul lives in the UK, where he says the new media phenomenon has yet to catch fire among the marketing community. There simply aren’t enough Pauls or Hughs to go around, it seems. Recently, Paul has found himself without employment, and has publicly blogged about his search, his struggle to find just the right fit, and the question of whether to publish one’s CV online.

Paul Fabretti

Paul’s Blending the Mix blog has always been a great read. Like me, Paul spent many months at the beginning reading, reflecting and commenting on the many new media marketing lessons published on the web each day, before beginning to publish his own original thoughts and ideas about marketing on the new web. All of this over a two year time span, give or take. In short, Paul gets it, and has had plenty of time to put much of “it” into practice. What’s more, he has a direct marketing background that helps him understand the dynamics of the old way of “pushing” information, and the new way of using information to “pull” visitors to you.

Since it hasn’t long since I was in a similar position as Paul, at the crossroads, I wanted to add some perspective for both him and his prospective employers about the value of what Paul already understands. And so begins a peek at our conversation:

Paul: In all honesty, most people I get interviewed by tell me I don’t have enough online experience. 2 years is nothing compared to most people I hear get interviewed so how do you show you have the knowledge without having anything to show for it?…How do you pitch what you do to clients by the way? How do you persuade the skeptics who think it is mumbo jumbo?

JB: To the sceptics who say two years is not enough, I say two years is an eternity in new media. How far have we come since we both starting blogging, etc? How much experience could one be expected to have in such a new and rapidly changing biz? Added: (Wanted: Facebook Apps Developer with 3-5 Years Experience! Joke stolen from kk+)

As for pitching clients, I sell them on what I know they want. Forget about the technology, the tools, the strategy, and first address this simple fact: The web allows them to put their already great (hopefully…) relationship building process online. And they can create and track word of mouth online, as long as they join the conversation with the best of intentions. Reaching more people, and creating lasting client relationships; that’s the return.

Web content is more important than ever, and if they have no strategy to manage it, they’ll get left behind. Years of experience managing “Web 1.0″ campaigns are less relevant, in my opinion.

Paul: You make a great point about a fast-changing environment providing little opportunity to gain experience. To be honest, I think it is one thing to use new tools (like blogging or twitter for example) but quite another and much more important, to understand how these tools should and should not be used for commercial purposes. I fear that the UK is not as aware of most of the tools I know and understand, and as such any experience i do have seems largely irrelevant! As you say, with new ideas cropping up all the time it is as crucial to keep track of it all. I also like your take on knowledge sharing on the net. There are always people out
there to share the knowledge and experience with.

JB: Paul, it sounds as though you’re in a perfect spot to help more companies discover this stuff, and your take on the fact that they are merely tools and not strategies will be infinitely helpful to the first smart employer who snatches you up.

It’s a shame that more companies in Paul’s neighborhood (Manchester) don’t already see the value in the kind of knowledge he possesses. Still, being the first with a great idea has its advantages.

Please join me in wishing Paul the best of luck in his search, and feel free to add your suggestions and comments to the discussion.

Lee Lefever has done it again. Along with his wife, on the Common Craft Show, Lee has produced another great tutorial to explain a concept that internet newbies have yet to wrap their heads around: wikis.

The concept of an editable page, as Lee explains, is easy to use but a little tricky to explain. He puts in plain English, here:

Click To Play

Well said! Lee’s original post here.

Today I received an email from The Tyee, an independent news blog here in Vancouver, BC.

It was a pitch of sorts, asking me to check out their new video, and spread the word. It must have worked, because here I am posting about it, just minutes later. Watch the video, then check below for my postmortem of the campaign and pitch:

Pretty entertaining video, especially to those of us in Canada who recognize the antagonists depicted in the short, among them Izzy Asper and Conrad Black. Both are famous for making big bucks while doling out little or no credit (or pay!) to the dedicated folks creating their content. I didn’t laugh while watching the video, but I smiled and nodded up and down several times.

Breaking down the campaign and pitch

The Pitch: Although it was a form letter, the email alerting me to this campaign was addressed to me, and acknowledged the fact that I have commented at the Tyee in the past. The letter also indicated that there was incentive for forwarding it along; a number of different prizes, all in conjunction with the “green” theme, including carbon-neutral goodies and a pair of flip-flops made from recycled tire rubber.

Lastly, since this is to get the word out about The Tyee, the fact that the page containing the video also has a full explanation of The Tyee, its people and its message, one only has to follow this one link to find out everything they need to know.

Ideas for Improvement: A shorter post slug on the campaign page, so it looks cleaner. Plus, I suggest a more personal letter of approach for “blogger outreach,” even though the letter from Editor David Beers was quite good. While I’m at it…The Tyee could afford to cut the word count of most of their posts in half, and increase the number of characters that appear in one’s reader via the feed.

The Verdict

Whoever is responsible for the campaign should be proud of themselves.

Reader, If you’re an American, and the unabashed Canadian sensibility of both the video, the campaign and The Tyee itself has escaped you, then just trust me when I say that this is exactly what our country’s media landscape needed. Tyee, you are indeed “A Feisty One Online.”

*For the uninitiated: “Tyee” (wikipedia entry) is a reference to a large salmon, usually a Chinook, and doubles as a cry when said fish finds itself at the end of a lucky angler’s line. “Tyee! One on!”

Every once in a while, I rewind to the very basics of how to catch yourself up on everything that’s happening on the web.

My readership has gone up since the last time I did a “What in God’s name is RSS” post, so it was high time I revisited the topic; if nothing else for the expanding network of Facebook contacts who will see this “imported note,” wonder how the hell it got there, and maybe even tune in to learn something new.

Well this time the job of explaining how RSS feeds work has been handled brilliantly by Lee LeFever, travel blogger, podcaster and web guru. Lee’s “live action animation” adds charm to his step by step tutorial. View his original post here.

So get to it, newbies. Watch it twice if you have to; but this is a complex and potentially life-changing concept, boiled down to the very simplest of terms, in what Lee calls:

RSS in Plain English

Click To Play

“There are two types of Internet users, those that use RSS and those that don’t. This video is for the people who could save time using RSS, but don’t know where to start.”

Well said. Hat tip to James.

I can’t remember the last time a web app got this much attention.

Twitter seems to be gaining in popularity at blistering speeds; creating massive gaps in opinion among bloggers about its usefulness, and whether or not it is worth all the hype.

The Cliff Notes on Twitter: It’s a nifty little web application that allows you to broadcast “what you are doing,” using your phone, your instant messager, or by typing into the window on your “home” page on the Twitter site itself. You can then choose to display a small widget (in your sidebar, for instance) that looks like this:

(apologies to those reading this with a feed, you can’t see it)

To me, there’s no secret why it’s so popular; once you have someone on your friends list, you can receive updates (as often as they feel like sharing them) on exactly what they’re up to. To draw a parallel, I’ve recently been wasting entirely too much time on Facebook, and just the other day I realized why this is (and what makes it vastly better than MySpace). It gives you an editable news feed, that keeps you up to date on what all your friends are doing with the site. If a friend comments on another friend’s photo, or God forbid changes their relationship status from “In a relationship” to “It’s complicated,” (for instance, of course) eyebrows get raised.

People want to know this stuff it seems, and perhaps even more surprising is that people are quite comfortable with sharing it, too.

I have yet to make up my mind one way or another about Twitter, but I would be remiss if I didn’t add the two cents that I’ve been able to collect so far on this latest social web widget phenom.

For one thing, the Twitter site itself is painfully slow. And I mean really slow. Like, if Myspace was forced to crawl uphill with Facebook on its back, it would fetch the proverbial pail of water long before Twitter could load my “friends” widget. And at the moment, I have just three Twitter friends.

Yes, that is your invitation to add me.

Mack has yet to make up his mind about it as well:

I’m going to keep an eye on Twitter, but stay on the shore for now. There’s a ton of buzz about Twitter right now, but is that due to what it provides, or that ‘everyone’s talking about it’? Time will tell, and right now time is something that I’m already running short on.

Mack and I tend to agree more often than not - and I think in this case we might be equally skeptical. But where he prefers to “stay on the shore,” I’m diving in head first. As I see it, it’s the only way for me to fairly evaluate whether or not it truly is worth all of the hype.

For more of a background on Twitter and to help get started (assuming your interest is piqued), I came upon this article, via Kris Krug’s feed, entitled “A Newbie’s Guide to Twitter,” which I have yet to read in its entirety, but seems to be a great way to get one’s feet wet with the app.

So, perhaps you’ll be reading an update in a few weeks time once I’ve formed a decisive opinion on Twitter. Judging by the sheer number of people (read: cool kids) using it, I might fall in love in spite of its incredible slow interface.

Have your own opinion to share? Let ‘er fly in the comments.

And oh yeah! Add me.

Finally, a widget that displays your online presence in ALL of your various social networks!

Okay, that might be a bit of a stretch, but most of the major online social networks that one might belong to are there. A few of the major blogging platforms are noticeably absent, but thankfully my dear sweet Wordpress is represented. Hat tip to Joel Burslem for pointing it out.

Anyway, without further adieu, here’s my new widget (soon to be featured in the sidebar, perhaps?) from “Show Yourself.”

Jordan Behan
		Digg/jordanbehan
		Flickr/jordybehan
		Myspace/jordanbehan
		Facebook/Jordan Behan
		Virb/jordanbehan
		Linkedin/Jordan Behan
		Twitter/jordanbehan
		YouTube/jordanbehan
		Del.icio.us/jordanbehan
		Skype/jordanbehan
		GMail/jordanbehan@gmail.com
		Upcoming/65906
		Technorati/Jordan Behan
		MyBlogLog/jordanbehan
		Blog/Jordan Behan
Get Your Own Widget

Perhaps the coolest feature of this is the customizable colours (I checked my CSS to make it match a bit) and the fact that it is a match with the MyBlogLog widget that many of us have already nestled neatly into our sidebars.

Update: The custom colors aren’t displaying properly, so perhaps you should ignore that last line.

Later…Upon closer inspection, it is displaying my “Trebuchet” font, and so it is actually my stylesheet overriding the customization.

Are we going widget crazy? Perhaps. But it is still fun, and that’s good enough for me.
In a side note, this exercise finally persuaded me to sign up to Twitter. Now the whole world will know when I’m working tirelessly in my pj’s with naught but coffee for sustenance.

That is, if I choose to share.

I can’t seem to get both widgets to display, so Twitter will have to wait for now

I mean, what better way to illustrate how the tools of the social web can be used effectively in marketing than to employ some of those tools to “crowdsource” a comprehensive presentation?

Here’s how it works:

• In the comment form below, leave your input as to how companies can use tools on the web to join their community of customers and start conversations.
• I will take those submissions, and from them I will build both a PowerPoint presentation and speaker’s notes. I will then publish those under a license, effectively making the presentation free for all to use, provided they attribute the contributors and blog about their talk.
• It’s truly open source, so you can edit the slides, the notes and your resulting talk to suit you, as long as you re-publish your changes under a CC license.
• Sound like fun? Well then chime in! In the comments below, give us your real world examples, ideas, case studies, recommendations, brain storms; whatever you’ve got.

I think this can be a lot of fun, and serve as a great way to help others understand the way the web is changing how companies can better communicate with their customer base, and truly join their communities.

So let’s hear from you! Here’s your chance to have your best ideas and voice heard, and to take the message to the streets, along with the ideas of your fellow marketers, bloggers and social media experts.

Comment away; make it a sentence, or make it a few paragraphs, your choice! And don’t forget to leave your link and name for the credits!

Cheers,

Jordan Behan
jordan[at]telltenfriends.com

Update: After some chit-chat in the comments, Rob Merlino has decided to buy a url for the hotdogtruck blog, at www.thehotdogtruck.com. Also, Bob LeDrew points us to his latest CBC article on this very topic, and I’ve selected a quick byte here:

All these social media have a few things in common. They are based in the idea of conversation, or dialogue between equals. A static Web site delivering tightly scripted messages doesn’t work with this new world.

Exactly.

Update #2: Cynthia has chimed in with a focus on B2B, and another gem of a quote:

Choose a select group of customers that are your raving fans/evangelists. Have a conversation with them about how/if they would like to interact, collaborate with your company. Or with each other. Then select the best social media tool–blog, online community, message board to fit your unique community.

Bullseye. Also, big thanks to Chris Heuer of the Social Media Club, who gave the go-ahead to pull bits and pieces from his previously published content, with attribution. That is, after all, what Creative Commons licenses are for.

Anybody else have an article or concept that they’d like to have referenced?