In my  previous post on the Nework Business Card, I briefly talked about the email address I use in my job search.

In composing this post I had most of it written and then I found a couple of articles on another web site that have some pointers, advice, and comments about the email address you use that I wanted to share.

One of the articles is titled “What’s your Email Address Prejudice?” in which the author,  Jason Fitzpatrick references an article,  “AOL e-mail address: Is it hopelessly square to keep it?” by Nancy E. Anderson a freelance writer for the Chicago Tribune.

I personally still have an AOL email address, but I haven’t given it out or used it in a personal or professional setting in a very long time. I no longer have the AOL service either, but the email address remains free and I do check it from time to time.

I find nothing inherently wrong with an AOL address, but as mentioned in some of the comments on the posts above, it’s a throwback to ‘old’ technology.  I’ve had the old Compuserve address with the number.number@compuserve.com, as well as an email address on a internet service called Delphi, (the link to Delphi used here is what the site used to look like from web.archive.org,  a wikipedia article on the history of Delphi is located here. I was a member prior to 1997 but that is as far back as the Wayback Machine had a site snapshot) which is what I considered my first true internet email address, back then it was simply, firstinitiallastname@delphi.com for my email address and the service was completely text based.

Yesterday I saw another post on the lifehacker.com site also by Jason, titled “Know What Your Email Address Says About You”

After browsing through the many comments and reading through the articles, my advice below has not changed, and it seemed most agreed about not using the ‘cute’ email address names, and Jason makes an excellent point with this quote – “Like your clothing, your hair style, and your manner of speaking, your email address is part of your personal image.”

First and foremost, for those people especially in transition, you want to be able to project a positive image in your job search with whoever you interact with.  My recommendation is to use something in the format of firstnamelastname@domain.com, if it’s taken it’s okay to use a number or maybe middle initial to make it distinct.

Another choice is firstname.lastname@domain.com, just keep it simple and professional, that’s the main thing.  Addresses such as deerhunter22@domain.com or freakyfreddy@domain.com or sometypeofhobby@domain.com are ones that you should avoided using during your job search, I’m not saying you shouldn’t have an email address like that, but with so many different email services, making a new clean email address for your job search should be very simple.

I’ve talked to some local recruiters this week as well and they also recommend against using those ‘cute’ type of email addresses.  To be more professional, especially on a resume you’re emailing or handing to someone, most recommended the firstname.lastname@domain.com or some variation of that type of format.

Even if you’re using your internet providers email, the company I use, Cox Communications, allows up to 7 email addresses to be created per account, if you haven’t reached that limit, create one there to use specifically for your job search and networking. Also, if you own your domain name, you may have the ability to create an email address with your domain hosting account such as info@mydomainnamename.com.

All in all what I found in those articles and comments is that it does make a difference what is before the @ (at) sign, not so much who the email provider is.

What are your thoughts or ideas on the type of email address that should be used? Is it ok to use “cute” handles? Have you been told your email address is ‘dated’ (ie. AOL, Hotmail, etc)? Have you been told by a recruiter or some other authority in your job search to get or create a new email address?  Please comment below.

One of the tools for networking in your job search or entrepreneurial venture is a network or business card.  I initially had my street address on the cards I had printed last year but when I had new ones printed recently I decided to drop the address, and formatted it a bit differently, it is a completely different design than what I was using last year, my situation has changed so the card needed to change as well.

For those of you in transition and seeking a new opportunity, there are a few things at minimum that I think should be on the card:

• Name
• Title or a your main competencies
• Email address
• Valid current phone number(s)
• Web page (if you have a blog or web page you host yourself, you may want to put it on your card)
• Your social media site profile addresses (I’ve seen more recently on cards LinkedIn profiles in particular but if you’re on other sites such as twitter, or facebook  you can have that on your card as well)

I’m attaching an image of my current card for an example, I use Vistaprint but there are other printing services out there such as iPrint.com or a local print shop as well.

One thing that I got on my last order and it was only a couple more dollars was an electronic copy of my card, that I can attach to emails using Outlook, that is the representation that you see below, with the phone numbers blanked out.

I’ve found it gives a bit more professional touch than the card that’s created in an email when you click to add “Business Card” in Outlook. I delete the card pasted in the email by Outlook but leave my contact information .vcf file attached. This way someone I email will have my current contact information and can save it in their contacts.

You may notice the email address on the card being a bit different, and I will explain about that in another post.  I’ve had people question it thinking it was a mis-print or wrong, but it is correct.

One other tip for those in transition, if you happen to have business cards from your old employer -     do not use them when you are out networking and seeking a new position, having to write other contact information on an old card just doesn’t look right, and I feel you’d only  be hurting yourself by giving an old business card to someone new.  Spend  a few dollars and get new cards printed, even if you buy business card stock and print a simple card on your home computer.

What are some other items you would add to your card? How about the back of the card? Blank or some other information? Please comment below.

I am pretty outgoing and very easy to speak with, but when I first started networking for my job search I found it a bit overwhelming, I was more reserved, standing there watching the action, but not participating very much. In some social situations, I tend to be more reserved, but have learned how to overcome that and I wanted to offer a few tips for people in a similar situation, especially if you have never attended a networking event at all. Most of these types of events are what I’d refer to as ‘fast networking’ events, you meet briefly in 5-10 minutes, and exchange contact information.

Friends and family

This is probably the easiest place to start, people who know you, and you know them. Ask them to help you rehearse, have them show you how they would introduce themselves in a network event setting, and practice your elevator speech with them. Practice that firm handshake, practice making and keeping eye contact, and smile. Practicing with them will help build your confidence and make it easier for you to initiate that contact with someone else.

Network with people you have a common interest with

In keeping with my last post about meetup.com,  network with people you have a common interest with. Regardless your career path or field, having that common interest makes things easier, and for me, two activities I enjoy are hiking and geocaching. You will meet people who share that activity or interest, and it will be easier to speak with them, and open up the discussion to other topics.

Arrive at the event a little early

I have done this myself, and found this does help me, depending on the venue, and how the event is organized (breakfast or lunch meeting, evening business mixer, open forum, conference, panel discussion, job fair, etc), this can be to your advantage. Including the chance to meet and introduce yourself to the host(s) and/or special guest(s) before things get very busy.

Ask for introductions

Two ways you can do this are:

1. Attend an event with someone you know
2. Seek out the host of an event and introduce yourself

In the first case, having someone at an event that knows you, will make it easier. You already have a relationship with him or her, and they may be able to make a warm introduction to someone who can assist you with your goal. This ‘tag-team’ approach goes both ways, you may find someone while you’re there that may benefit from meeting your friend, and you can make that introduction.

Another thing that has happened to me is being introduced to someone who after a few minutes would say, “I think you may want to talk to John, it sounds like you may have something in common, let me introduce you.” Then proceed to introduce me to that person, making that warm introduction. I’ve never looked at that as a brush-off, and appreciated the new introduction.

In the second case, you will have to get over your shyness, take the initiative, and make that initial contact, but it will be worth it. For some events I’ve attended the hosts have been VERY helpful in making an initial warm introduction to someone else after you speak to them and they can ‘match’ you with someone who they know that matches closely with what you’re seeking.

After being introduced to someone, ask them a question

Simple thing here is to listen, in being shy and reserved, you have the chance to listen instead of speaking, and getting to know more about the person. A great way to break the ice and depending on the meeting if it’s business or more social  is to ask them about their business or a hobby.

If you’re introduced to someone standing with a group already engaged in a conversation, listen to the conversation, to get a feel for it and join the conversation if you have something to add and contribute.

Closing the deal

After you’ve made that connection with someone, they may ask for a business card, and if you don’t have a card I recommend Vistaprint.com as a source for business cards. If they did not ask for a card, ask them for one. Always carry a pen with you, and on the back of their card write down something about them, something you discussed, also jot down the date and place you met.

Followup after the event

I recommend taking their contact information and adding it to your contact list. Follow up with an email or phone call, mention where you met, and even briefly what you discussed. You’ve done the hard part, making that initial connection. In that followup, if you want to take it to the next level, invite them out for coffee, to really get to know them better with some slow networking. I met both my financial adviser and insurance agent at networking events during the last year. I’ve recommended them to others, which is part of what networking is about, building and keeping those relationships. It will take a while for you to build up your network, but the more you practice, the easier it will get.

Use social media

Several sites come to mind for helping build your network and helping you reach your goals, LinkedIn is one I highly recommend, and when you make a followup with someone from an event, ask to connect with them on LinkedIn.  Who sends the invite is up to you. I’ve got my LinkedIn web address on my card, so a lot of times I’ll get the request before making the request of them. If they have a website or blog, or are on some other social media sites, that’s also a good place to get to know more about them, their passions, likes, dislikes,and even how you can help them. Other aspects of using social media is being able to connect with like-minded people, joining discussions online, being a contributor.  This in itself can help build your confidence when meeting people face to face for the first time.

Ask for help

In closing, plain and simple, ask for help from those who are closest to you, ask a friend to go with you to an event with you, and practice, practice practice.

Happy Reading!

-Martin

Joining Meetup

I’ve been using meetup.com as part of my networking efforts. The site has a lot of really good features. Being able to search by interest, locality (by zip code), distance from that zipcode.

Registering for an account is quick, free and easy and the link to register is here: Register for meetup.com.

My profile can be found here: My meetup.com profile.

For those of you in the Phoenix metro area looking for work I would recommend these groups to  join,  Business Networking Classified  and Face Time Friday™ . The experience I’ve had with these groups, has been very positive, and I’ve attended several of their events in the north east valley.

Meetup site Features

Calendar Export:

One of the best site features I like is the export to calendar feature. On the  main meetup page there is a calendar, and you can export the calendar into various formats, Outlook, iCal, Google, RSS, and Atom.  Either All your meetup events, or just the ones you’ve RSVP’d yes or maybe to. 

While I haven’t found a way to utilize the RSS feed yet, it is something that can be exported and used in another web page as I have my Networking Calendar feed from a calendar I own.

On individual event pages such as Face Time Friday – East Valley the calendar options are a bit different since it’s an individual event, you have Outlook, iCal, Google and Yahoo!.

Searching for a local meetup group:

The Find Meetup page is where you begin your search, entering your location by zip code,  and entering a keyword such as “small business” or “networking” for example.

It will bring up a list of results, once you find a group to join, you can join the group, and more than likely will be prompted with a short questionaire from the group owner which will be part of that groups profile when someone looks at your profile in that group.

Some groups are private and membership will need to be approved by the owner before you’ll be allowed to join.

Group Message boards:

The message boards are individual for each group you’re a member of, and you can choose to ‘track’ the message board where you will recieve notification of new messages in a threaded discussion by email, or not.  I watch the message boards for upcomming events, or if someone has a comment or suggestion for an event it can be posted there by the membership of the group.

Facebook Integration:

Another very cool feature I’ve utilized a few times is the facebook integration, when you RSVP Yes or Maybe for an event there is a checkbox to add it to facebook, this will post the event details to your wall and friends feed.  This allows me to show my facebook connections that I’ll be attending the event.

The “What’s Happening?” feed

While I haven’t had much of a chance to utilize this feature, or even tune it to my liking, it is a feed showing all activity across all your subscribed meetup groups, when someone joins the group, when a message is posted, an event is added, someone RSVP’s or changes an RSVP for an event they are attending, and activity on your profile, such as  someone sends a greeting, tags you in a photo (much like facebook tagging).

Overall thoughts:

I like the design and layout of the meetup site, it is easy to navigate, and finding groups you’re interested in is relatively easy.  Depending on your location, there may be more or less meetup groups available. 

I’ve found it a useful tool in my job search and networking efforts, as well as just generallly being a social outlet as I belong to a couple of local hiking groups through the meetup site, and hiking is one of my other interests. Even in the other groups, networking comes just from talking and letting someone know what you’re looking for and what you have to offer.

Happy Reading!

-Martin

Greetings everyone,

After a long break, I’m back.  I’ve had some temporary short term contract work which has kept me busy for a while.

I’m writing this to let everyone know that I’ve added a new feature to the site, a networking calendar that can be found by clicking the networking calendar tab at the top of the page, or for those of you subscribed to my feed, by clicking this link: Networking Calendar.  It gets updated from a personal calendar I have online, and will be updated pretty regularly as I move forward.

During my job search I have been to many different types of networking events from a one on one get together, to business mixers, to faith based support groups, to what is called a SST or Self Support Team. The list goes on.

I found out about the SST through Southwest Job Network, it’s an idea of a small group of 6-8 people meeting to discuss employment trends in different jobs and functional areas, specific job opportunities, share successes, ask advice, and get feedback on various areas of the job search process and networking.

I plan on posting events I will attend, or have attended and been to in the past that are repeating events, and will make a note of it in the calendar entry if it is an event I will actually be attending or if it is just one I’ve been to before that I found helpful in my job search.  There are some events on there now, and I will be adding more in the near future.

If you have been to an event I’ve listed, please e-mail me or comment on my blog about it, and let me know your thoughts, what has worked for you, what hasn’t, what you liked or disliked about a particulr event, and if there is an event you would like to have listed, let me know and I will post it for you.

Happy Reading!

After talking with Frank about our blogs he asked about guest posting, and I felt it was a great idea to get some other input on how important networking can be in finding the right opportunity and his post is below. – Martin

I learned from my uncle how important it was that I get an internship over the summer once my Junior year of college was complete.  Hearing those words really opened my eyes to reality.  For me this dates back to when my Dad pushed me to apply to a really good college when I was fresh out of high school.  Two scenarios in my life that would help me grow and become a better man!

I am now going into my Senior year at Penn State.  However, during my Junior year I took my uncle’s advice and began searching for possible internships.  It didn’t matter to me where they were, but I was hoping for something in the IT field.  Two problems I had to deal with were - I was a Management major and my G.P.A. was just under a 3.0.  Most companies looking for interns want someone with a G.P.A of 3.0 or higher.  With having applied to so many companies that I lost count, I began to get frustrated.  My G.P.A. I felt was holding me back and with the poor economy my chances of landing an internship seemed limited.

Through this process I remember my uncle saying to me, “internships are huge and can set you up with a career after college.”  Those words had me inspired and motivated.  Although, the more I tried, the more I was turned down.  No companies out there were interested.  I knew at this point I needed to do some things that would give employers positive first impressions of me.  I started off with putting together my resume and having it reviewed continuously until I had a perfect format.  I took advantage of the opportunities my college gave me.  Since there weren’t any companies interested in me, I felt I had to go to them myself and network.  That’s why I went to the career fair at my school where there were a ton of companies.

Going to a career fair was another piece of advice suggested to me by my uncle and I made so many contacts there talking to one company after another.  Handing out resumes and getting contact information is key! Finishing my Junior year of college with no internship wasn’t something I wanted to deal with.

Realizing that the internship seemed like a long shot, I decided I wanted to work towards becoming an Internet entrepreneur since the real world wouldn’t give me a break.  So, I started blogging and networking with all well known people on the internet.  I made some great connections on the internet and today I have more contacts there than in the “real world”.  Slowly, I have started making money online.  I was employed by Databanq as one of their 25 writers and I made money from doing product reviews for Expo TV.  I was becoming a better writer and better at networking over the internet.  However, I was at the very beginning stages of working towards becoming an entrepreneur.  I couldn’t survive on the money I was making at this point.   I knew I needed an internship and I needed a break.  However, I didn’t know who else to contact.  Then one day, I received an email that would change my life.

My uncle emails me saying, “send me your resume.”  After I had done that, he started networking with people he knew and having me contact them as well.  Pretty soon, I was developing contacts in the business world and then when I least expected it, with my uncles help I found an internship working at Alberto Culver.  I’m gaining so much experience there and it’s knowledge that will last me a lifetime.  This opportunity will open so many doors for me and all along my best contact was my uncle.  I still continue to work on becoming an entrepreneur and becoming affiliates for different companies.  What this shows is that networking does pay off.  Eventually everyone catches a break.

Look at me, I never thought I would have this opportunity and now I do.  I couldn’t be more grateful.  One thing is certain, I never gave up and that’s what I hope those of you walk away with after reading this post! Thanks for your time and for Martin allowing me to share this with you!

Frank is a blogger at Social Tech Zone where he provides news and opinions about social networks and technology.  He has a lot of knowledge on these topics and the posts invite discussion about his passions.

Over the last month or so there has been some changes with Scottsdale Job Network, a non-profit organization I volunteer for, and is also one of the resources I have been utilizing during my job search.

They have been renamed Southwest Job Network to better position themselves and be recognized as the premier valley wide resource for those in the community who are  in a job search or career transition or for anyone considering a change in careers during these challenging economic times.

During the month of June they have held events in other parts of the valley, on the west side of the valley in Glendale for their kickoff event at co-sponsor Glendale Community College a workshop entitled “Get Wired to Get Hired”  held on 6/4/09.

They also held an event at Chandler-Gilbert Community College on 6/11/09 for the start of their six part job search curriculum, with part one titled, “Understanding the Emotions of a Career Change”.

I attended both of these events as a supporter for SJN and one of the things I remember Eric Walton saying in his presentation at the Chandler event was something like “We are not a job service, and won’t get you a job, but will teach you to fish.”  That is a big part of what I like about SJN, and why I will continue to volunteer my time after I’ve landed my next position. People helping people, is what it’s all about.

SJN is staffed entirely by volunteers, from the founder Chris Vicari, and the other board members, to greeters at events who take new registrations and answer questions, to people who speak at the events, to those behind the scenes providing support in a variety of way including monitoring and approving messages on the Yahoo group, uploading and updating files, responding to information requests, to people who run for refreshments for the meetings, people who review resumes at some events, and people who handle the setup and take-down of audio-visual equipment at meetings, and those that provide technical assistance when needed.

Volunteering for SJN has been a blessing for me, I’ve met many amazing people through this organization.  I started this blog after several conversations with people at SJN including Bill Austin, who answered my questions about blogging, and many other members who I am able to bounce ideas off of to get feedback.

There are many exciting things coming up for SJN, and volunteering and getting involved is one way I know to expand your network, get out and be involved.

Losing a job has many emotional sides to it, and having only moved here a year and a half ago for a job, and only knowing a handful of people which were mainly the people I worked with, SJN and people I’ve met through this organization are there for moral and emotional support, and have been part of my support structure as I move forward in my job search.

As I last posted, I was given the opportunity to speak briefly at a blogging workshop hosted by SJN and was asked to give a job-seekers view on blogging, and how it’s another tool to use in and during your job search.  I likely would not have had that opportunity had I not been involved with and volunteering for SJN at that time.  An article ran in the Arizona Republic a short time after that event and can be found here: Baby Boomers turn to blogs to find jobs

Currently the website for SJN is at Scottsdalejobnet.com but will be transitioning to Southwestjobnet.com soon.

Happy Monday and Happy Reading!

In response to a post I read this morning by Frank Angelone, I would have to agree with his assessment on posting photos on Facebook, or any social media site for that matter, especially if you are currently in career transition, and seeking employment, or currently working and looking to change jobs.

Its really important,  not just with photographs, but almost any online content, you should think before you post, who may see it, and how they may view it, especially if it is a prospective employer.

Keep it private if you need to.  I wrote a post on my blog and made password protected, and shared with few people who I trusted, and have since made it private.  It was an issue I had with copyright infringement that at the time was appropriate, but since I’ve been blogging for a while, I’ve learned to lighten up a bit and not take that issue as serious as I had.

I have chosen at this time to keep my Facebook profile public, I do have a Myspace page, but haven’t updated it in over a year, and don’t intend on doing so at this time, it is set to private so that only my friends can see it.  Nothing to worry about there, just that I’ve chosen not to update or use myspace at this time, and made it private.

Two things I’ve done actually are matching up my online profiles across the sites with the same picture, for brand recognition mainly, so people know it’s me and what I’ve written.  Secondly, when I change the photo one one site, I chage it across the board, even on sites that I would consider more social than professional.

I do have links to various social networking sites on my contact page. I do have a Youtube channel, I do have Picasa, and other photo sharing accounts which can be shared on different social media networks, but I have not and will not post inappropriate photos or videos of myself or others because on some sites such as Facebook you can Tag a photo with another users name, and it will be attached to their account, and can be looked up as well.

In my job search and in person networking, even meeting someone for the first time, I generally dress up than down, unless it’s stated prior to the meeting that it is casual.

Coming from a background in IT, the places I’ve worked in recent past have been business casual, allowing for polo shirts instead of dress shirts, and at times jeans instead of slacks.

I had an assignment through a staffing firm recently, and asked the recruiter about how I should dress for the assignment, and was asked to wear slacks, but when I showed up, almost everyone else was wearing jeans, I felt a bit out of place, but it was ok.

I had asked about dress code prior to the assignment, and done the work that was asked of me. I talked with one of the recruiters yesterday when I went to pick up my paycheck, asking him if there was any feedback from the client on the work performed, he said there were no issues, the work was performed quickly and correctly, and his comment was ‘no news is good news’.  I hope to work again for that client, because it was an enjoyable work experience, and I learned a few things in the process I hadn’t done before.

Another good idea is to google yourself, or set up a google alert, which I wrote about here,  because it can give you an idea of what employers can find about you online.

Happy Friday and Happy reading!

-Martin

When I was laid off I started attending network meetings, one place in particular I found through a site called meetup.com was Scottsdale Job Network.

For anyone local to the Phoenix Arizona metro area that is currently in transition it is a group I highly recommend connecting with and attending the bi-monthly meetings.

I simply searched meetup.com for “Networking” and found several local groups including BNI chapters, ASBA Arizona Small Business Association, and a few other groups.

When I looked at the calendar for the group posting the meetings for Scottsdale Job Network there was an event entitled “Creating Your Vision and Personal Marketing Plan” which caught my attention.  I started attending the bi-monthly meetings for Scottsdale Job Network.

I had made the acquaintance of Chris Vicari who is the founder and executive director of Scottsdale Job Network from an initial email to find out more about the group.

Some of the things that Scottsdale Job Network offers those in transition are:

1. personal connections
2. moral support
3. job transition training through various events and a job search curriculum
4. networking opportunities
   
5. resume reviews at meetings
6. access to online resources to assist those in job transition
   

Over the next couple of months I continued to attend the meetings and expand my network, finding out about other network meetings through out the valley from others who were in attendance. I continued to make personal connections, and with the technical advice of Bill Austin who is also a supporter of Scottsdale Job Network, I began this blog.

I had come to realize that I have a passion to help the people I was connecting with, and started volunteering for Scottsdale Job Network in a capacity related to my IT experience, Chris Vicari had asked me to monitor the LinkedIn group, and re-post information about jobs posted there to the Yahoo group they also have, which members join after attending a meeting and registering.

There is a variety of other resources available on the Scottsdale Job Network website as well some of which include:

1. Events Calendar
   
2. About Scottsdale Job Network
3. Frequently Asked Questions
   

I continued to build my network, and began attending other network meetings in the valley that I found out about through other members of Scottsdale Job Network.

In February I decided that I wanted to do more for the group so I approached Chris Vicari and asked her how I could help, she introduced me to Michael Prahl, a board member of Scottsdale Job Network, who was forming an ambassador program. I felt it was a great fit for me for many reasons, one of them being my passion and desire to help others.

The ambassador program has since begun, and I am attending local networking events representing Scottsdale Job Network, helping get the word out to the community, and letting people know of the resources available for those in transition through this great group of volunteers.

I will continue to volunteer and give back to this group once I’ve landed my next position as I want to continue to help others in finding their next great career opportunity.

Happy reading!

-Martin

I’ve made the acquaintance  of Rachel Levy through Twitter, we’ve been talking back and forth on twitter, and bouncing ideas off each other. I have the utmost respect for her and her ideas regarding social media and I’ve gained valuable insight in reading her material.  I was able to help her the other day with a formatting problem she had with a post as well, the text was not going where she was expecting it to, so I explained the <BR> </BR> to her would force a line feed where she needed it to get the text where she wanted.

We are both currently looking for work. She made a new post to her blog regarding how to syndicate your blog/website that I found interesting, and wanted to add my own ideas here as well.

Her post is located here: How do you Syndicate a blog or website?

The first thing she mentions is posting it on Twitter 3 times in a 24 hour period at different times of the day.  Her blog also has a list of applications for twitter. I’ve used some of them on the list, it is extensive, and something I’d recommend taking a look at to help make your Twitter experience a little easier.

One of the applications is called TweetLater, which I have utilized to spread out messages during the day on Twitter, even when I’m not at the computer. With as busy as I have been lately, it has been something I’ve used a bit more often.  I compose messages I want to send, even referencing older blog posts I’ve written to get people to read content that may be helpful or related to my most recent post, and also a couple just saying “Check out my new blog post @ http://martinpiraino.com/” without making reference to the specific permalink to the new post, and I’ve noticed this gets people to read more of the site than just the new post.

Along with this, I also send direct messages to new followers I get on Twitter, thanking them for following me, and just making a simple statement as above, and the response to that has been positive as well.

Her second point is to post on Ping-o-matic, I actually utilize this through Google’s feedburner,  and go into further detail about that later in this post.

I have also used Digg on my own post before, I don’t think it it something you should do too often as she also states in her blog post.

There are plug-ins for WordPress where you can add links for readers to click on to help them syndicate your posts for you, if you look at the bottom of my posts, there is a section that says “Share and Enjoy” where you can click on those links and share it on the sites I’ve selected to share it on.

She also says that you should update status on your social networking sites, and I do this regularly, with LinkedIn, even adding a short comment about what I may be doing for that day (networking, interviews, meetings, etc.)

On Facebook I also added my own blog to my profile there, you can see it following this link: http://apps.facebook.com/blognetworks/blog/martin_pirainos_blog/ I then invite users in my network on Facebook to come to my blog, I have 6 followers there (including myself).  For now have to manually update and add a notice that I posted something, but if I get enough followers there, it will be following my blog feed automatically, I only need a few more users to follow it to do that.

One thing that I did add was a RSS feed from Twitter on Facebook, so when I do send a message on Twitter, it actually gets posted to my Facebook, and Friendfeed sites as well, basically making it easy for me to post in one place and it to be syndicated to other social networking sites that other contacts read.

It helps if you can use an RSS feed from one site to feed into another, or use applications on those sites that offer syndication, two sites I don’t utilize often but do pull my Twitter feed to are Plaxo, and Friendfeed. On LinkedIn they have a WordPress application and Bloglink appliction, so my network can see when I’ve either sent a twitter message or written a new blog post, even if I forget to update my status there.

Some people I know including Rachel and myself have also been in the news media in some form (News Print/TV) as some news media outlets turn to job searchers/bloggers to showcase their stories in regards to the current state of the economy.

I was actually contacted by the reporter for ABC15 a week after I wrote an email to him asking if I could link to a story he had on the job fair I attended. I never imagined that one email would get me the exposure I’d gotten, but I’m glad it happened.

I have links to the ABC15 story on my sidebar on my blog so that users don’t have to search for the blog post I wrote about it, and even now three weeks later I continue to get hits off that story directly, but for people reading my blog for the first time, I also direct traffic to the video interview and story on the ABC15 site, my being on a taped/televised interview, it gives people an idea of who I am and what I am passionate about with my blog as well.

When Rachel and I were speaking on Twitter on Monday March 9th, she asked for other ideas for syndication, Along with some of the ones I’d mentioned previously here, I thought of one that she hadn’t mentioned and that was to create a sitemap if she hadn’t already, I utilize the tools on my web hosting account to do just that, created in XML markup, and update it at least once a week, letting it find new URLs by my server logs or by what I post, update it, and push it out to Google.

The following is from a Google press release “Major Search Engines Unite to Support a Common Mechanism for Website Submission”

How Sitemaps Work
A Sitemap is an XML file that can be made available on a website and acts as a marker for search engines to crawl certain pages. It is an easy way for webmasters to make their sites more search engine friendly. It does this by conveniently allowing webmasters to list all of their URLs along with optional metadata, such as the last time the page changed, to improve how search engines crawl and index their websites.

There are also other things I’ve noticed in how traffic has come to my site through searches, people searching for particular tags or people I’ve mentioned in my blog posts. I’ve made it a habit to tag the names of people I talk about in my posts, and that too has brought some traffic to my site as well.  One of my last posts was indexed rather quickly on Google when I mentioned “Sean Connery” at “Austin’s Who’s Who in Arizona”, which pushed it to the top 2 pages in a search on Google.  It is worth it to pay attention to what search terms are bringing visitors to your site, and to work on different words to tag to help in that.

Another way to help syndicate your blog/website is to participate in other blogs, commenting on them, providing trackbacks to posts you reference in your own writing, as I’ve done here with two of Rachel’s posts.

I’ve also added google feedburner links on my site for the RSS feed, and the ability to subscribe to my feed by email, as someone had asked me about that recently, they preferred to be subscribed by email to my blog.

Another option in feedburner is under Publicize is called PingShot, where you can have it notify other services when you post a new message, the following is my list:

When I publish new content in my feed, notify these services…

• Technorati — Technorati is the authority on what is going on in the world of weblogs
• My Yahoo — a customizable web page with news stock quotes weather and many other features
• Bloglines — helps you subscribe to and manage lots of web information
• Ping-o-matic — Pinging lets dozens of services know you have updated your site and increases traffic to your blog
• Newsgator — tracks it all and brings the web pages to you

… plus up to five additional services.

• TailRank
• Blog Buzz Machine
• FeedBlitz
• Google Blog Search Pinging Service
• Alexa

Lastly, one other thing you can do to help get the word out, is to add your blog/website to your email signature, and have it on every message you send, my email signature consists of my name, email address, web site (this blog) and my LinkedIn public profile page.

While I’ve discussed ways to syndicate your blog online in this post, word of mouth is another very simple way to get more readership, adding your blog/website to a business or networking card is another way to get the word out with people you meet and network with face to face.

Happy Reading!

-Martin