Did you hear that?

knock, knock,

"Did you hear that?"

"What…"

knock, knock

"There it is again?"

"What are you talking about?"

knock, knock

"Wait, there it is once more!"

"Really, I have no clue what you are talking about…"

That, my friends was the sound of opportunity, knocking on your door. Followed by, the sound of the planets coming into alignment. And lastly, that sound was someone turning on the light at the end of the tunnel. Welcome to your second wind, also known as, graduating from the Mini MBA program in Digital Marketing at the Center for Management Development at Rutgers.

I’ve been unemployed (or in ‘transition’) for the last fifteen months and I have been exploring several avenues of employment since that time. I’ve done several informational interviews with various friends in the design/marketing industry, I volunteered at a non-profit agency (The Seeing Eye) and a music festival (wrote the FB posts for the Waterloo Music festival), and then I tried fifteen weeks in thirteenth grade, but spending 40 hours in ‘the’ Piscataway with some of the best instructors in Social Media and Digital Marketing at the Rutgers Center for Management Development Mini MBA class has easily been the best move I have made so far.

Let’s do a quick recap – An engaging Matt Bailey talked about the SEO and Blogging and then Mark Schaeffer walked us through a comprehensive Social Media guide. Glen Gilmore eased us through Privatization while Christian ‘CK’ Kerley barreled through the benefits of Mobile Marketing. Greg Jarboe smoothly explained the benefits of ‘the’ You Tube and finally Mike Moran wrapped up the whole course in a neat and tidy box and imposed a great case study on us using everything we learned. Wow, my head was spinning.

As we neared completion of the course, Mike Moran finished the week with some excellent advice for us students. He told us to ‘take a deep breath and let the information sink in,’ then he asked that we take three items that we learned this week and explore those. For me, it will be re-doing my blogging website, researching Mobile Optimization and understanding ‘the’ You Tube. Hopefully, by next week, I should have a new website for my blog, up and running.

I also attend the New Jersey Open Coffee Social Media Meetup that takes place every Thursday in Montclair to continue my networking and if you have been following this blog, I will also continue to try and have the best lawn on my block.

So, yes, opportunity does knock, planets do align and lights in tunnels can be turned on.

Enjoy the ride.

Media that is Social

So, I’m looking to get into the somewhat new industry of Social Media. I have heard that conversations amongst ‘social media-ians’ (just made that up) usually goes like this –

Man 1 – Hey dude, have you Tweeted today yet?
Man 2 – No, but I have tumblr-ed this morning.
Man 1 – Wow, you feeling ok?
Man 2 – Yeah, I’m cool, I posted it on Facebook!
Man 1 – That’s totally Hootsuite, man…
Man 2 – LOL, dude….

Well, it might not be exactly like that, but that, ladies and gentlemen, are where we are headed. Yes, social media is here to stay. Another aspect of this new trend and something that has been around for quite a long time is blogging (or imaginative writing found on obscure sounding websites that the author thinks is funny or (gasp!) creative!).

A prime example of that kind of nonsense can be found at http://totallywink.blogspot.com

Well, yes, I have tweeted (I’m @totallywink), occasionally, I Facebook (Facebook is now a verb), this morning I Hootsuit-ed but I have yet to Tumblr. As I continue to network and research potential employment positions, I need to be confident in my answers when I am asked about my Twitter account (sounds creepy, doesn’t it?) or any Blog post I may have written (telling an HR rep my fascination with a psychotic bunny styled polo may take some kid gloves).

That’s why attending the New Jersey Open Coffee Meet Up about Social Media and Digital Marketing on Thursdays (http://www.meetup.com/New-Jersey-Open-Coffee-Montclair/) has been instrumental in me learning the language that so many geeks and HR folks speak.

This, and my future sojourn (actually next Monday) at the Rutgers Center for Management Development in Digital Marketing (It’s part of their Mini MBA program!! - http://www.cmd.rutgers.edu/mini-mba-digital-marketing.html) will help with my education (Right On!).

The real key to this Social Media experience is too hopefully, not make it an Anti-Social Media. Networking can only go so far via the internet. That’s why getting out and going to the Social Media Meetup in Montclair and the class at Rutgers will help folks put a face with the Tweet. Or the Hootsuite. Or the Tumblr.