Talking Brand...

This morning at 10am, Tiger Woods will hold a press conference from that beautiful course that is TPC Sawgrass.  (have I mentioned I'm a huge golf fan?)  I frequent his official website from time to time and while it's not the best athlete/celebrity fan site, it does serve to motivate me now and again in both my personal and professional endeavors.  Let's face it... Tiger turns people on and keeps them motivated. [insert joke about countless affairs here]  Or at least he did until recently when his personal life hit the news.

So if you're one of those fans that are devastated by his recent infidelities or that think you'll feel better when he does his public apology today (because we know that's what's coming) then I have this to say to you:
Get a freakin' life and mind your own business.

Okay, so we've had Google Buzz for what boils down to a week now.  And we've heard phrases like "what Wave should have been" or "the Twitter killer" or "the best thing in my Inbox."  But on day 7 I think I'm going to assign my own analogy to Google Buzz.  To me - it's like drinking 'social' from a fire hydrant.  Yeah - I said it.  And While I think there are some incredible possibilities here it's another example of how Google has shoved something to the masses to see how they'll react.  The only thing that really surprised me about this move by Google was that Google Buzz doesn't have "beta" stamped all over it.

So here's where I think I come out on this latest social frenzy - and yeah, it's a bit of a mixed review... 

So let's talk mobile applications for employment.  Why?  Well quite simply because I'm tired of hearing people say that job seekers aren't ready to apply for jobs via their mobile.  And I think I'm to the point where I just have to call it out and say, "that's crap."  If done right, I can't think of a single reason a job seeker wouldn't want to submit interest for a job via their mobile device.  After all, we're being honest and talking about what the job seeker wants and not the limitation of a system or the unwillingness or inability to accommodate this by the employer or a vendor... right?

Let's talk about just a few of the bigger and more obvious challenges...  No one wants to build a resume on their mobile; The vast majority of people don't have the ability to upload/carry documents (resumes) on their mobile; Many ATS or job boards just aren't mobile friendly.  These are valid for sure.  But for well over a year now I've had a solution swimming around in my head - and I think it's time that I let it out and touched lightly on how, in a perfect world, these might be addressed.

Let me walk you through how I see it working - and then I hope you'll weigh in.

Feeling flattered, surprised, and some cool facter - hey, I'm not gonna' lie.  For the most part this is what happens when our names make a list - well, depending on the list, I suppose.  I remember this one time in the 5th grade where my name was put on a list for... okay - I digress.

Regardless...  Making the FOT/HRCapitalist Talent Management Blog Power Rankings Top 10 again is certainly something that invoked the aforementioned feelings.  But what I really take away from the total listing is more than just the obvious cool part of being listed.  What I really walk away with is a list of blogs I should be checking out - if they're not already on my radar.  The true take away from this for everyone should be a listing of other people in the recruiting or [HR] marketing industry that seem to know their stuff - or are damned good at delivering it.

So here it is... and congrats to every single person involved - they each deserve a spot in your feed reader regardless of your industry.