The mission of Beantown Web is to provide information about web development training and career opportunities in the Boston metro area.
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
Boston’s Web Innovators Group (WebInno)
A gathering of Boston’s leading entrepreneurs and Web/Mobile experts will take place on Monday, July 9. If you are looking to learn more about Web 2.0 start-ups and want to network with Boston-based business and technology professionals, then this event is for you.
WebInno Mission
Web Innovators Group (WebInno) is comprised of people engaged in Internet and mobile innovation in the Boston area. They aim to support entrepreneurs, visionaries, and creative thinkers in the field by holding events which foster community interaction.
Format
Three "main dish" presenters will take the stage for a six-minute demo of their service:
Each "side dish" demonstrator will give a 30-second overview of their service followed by a showcase of their companies at tables spread throughout the room:
Job Seekers
Job Seekers and employers will have an easy time connecting at the event because employers looking for talent will identify themselves with a colored sticker on their name badge.
The event will be held at the Royal Sonesta Hotel Cambridge and will begin at 6:30 pm. To register for this FREE event access the WebInno Wiki.
Monday, July 02, 2007
Boston Market -- 3rd Quarter, 2007
"Tight labor markets in many areas of the country and in specific occupations and industries like IT and healthcare are forcing companies to advertise more aggressively than last year in order to find the employees they need," according to a representative of The Conference Board.
"We do not expect economic growth to accelerate until the end of the year, but finding the right employee is already a challenge in many areas of the country."
Access the July Conference Board Help-Wanted OnLine Data Series™ press release (pdf) for details.
Top 30 Countdown
Each quarter Beantown Web conducts an extended analysis of the 30 most in-demand Web-related skills in the greater Boston area, based on keyword searches. This quarter is the first to utilize the new Boston.com/Monster website.
The Top 10 Web Technologies in Boston have been updated and appear in the right-hand column. Average Salaries in Boston have also been updated.
The Web Design skills most in-demand are as follows:
The Web Programming skills most in-demand are as follows:
- Java [ 1,386 ]
- JavaScript [ 898 ]
- C# [ 583 ]
- Perl [ 507 ]
- SQL [ 2,073 ]
- Oracle [ 1,830 ]
- XML [ 994 ]
- SQL Server [ 809 ]
The second ten most in-demand skills are as follows:
- Photoshop [ 375 ]
- Java Server Pages (JSP) [ 356 ]
- ASP.NET [ 349 ]
- Flash [ 303 ]
- VB.NET [ 266 ]
- Ajax [ 262 ]
- Illustrator [ 218 ]
- MySQL [ 197 ]
- PHP [ 195 ]
- Acrobat [ 172 ]
The third ten most in-demand skills are as follows:
- Dreamweaver [ 155 ]
- DHTML [ 155 ]
- Visual Studio [ 152 ]
- DB2 [ 142 ]
- Python [ 135 ]
- InDesign [ 110 ]
- Quark [ 103 ]
- XHTML [ 96 ]
- VBScript [ 88 ]
- ColdFusion [ 86 ]
The following keyword searches did not make this quarter's Top 30 Countdown:
- Ruby [ 64 ]
- Web 2.0 [ 63 ]
- ActionScript [ 54 ]
- DOM [ 35 ]
- Rails [ 28 ]
- Fireworks [ 27 ]
- QuarkXPress [ 23 ]
- Web standards [ 21 ]
- mashup [ 20 ]
- social networking [ 19 ]
- wiki [ 16 ]
- blog [ 14 ]
- Adobe Flex [ 11 ]
- CS2 [ 12 ]
- CS3 [ 5 ]
- podcast [ 3 ]
- JavaFX [ 2 ]
- Silverlight [ 1 ]
The best training value in the greater Boston area this summer focuses on C# (pronounced C Sharp), one of the Top 10 Web Technologies. C# is the most popular language used in conjunction with ASP.NET, Microsoft's technology for creating dynamic Web applications. You can start learning about C# by accessing Getting Started with Visual C#.
Then, register for a FREE Day of C# Training on Friday, August 3!
More job descriptions mention C# (583) than mention Illustrator (218), Dreamweaver (155), InDesign (110) and Fireworks (27) combined! Can you afford to pass up this opportunity?
Saturday, June 23, 2007
IT Hiring Index & Skills Report
Looking for a technology-related job in the third quarter? Prospects couldn't be brighter according to a survey of more than 1,400 Chief Information Officers (CIOs). Here's a quick snapshot:
- 17 percent plan to add IT staff in the next three months
- 2 percent foresee personnel cutbacks
When asked "Within your IT department, which single job area is experiencing the most growth?" the response included the following:
- Internet/intranet development (9 percent)
When asked "Which of the following technical skill sets are most in demand within your IT department?" the response included the following:
- database management (64 percent)
- .NET development (22 percent)
Relational Databases
Sales of relational database management systems (RDBMS) continues to expand at a 14 percent clip according to report issued by Gartner. Adding database knowledge and expertise to your resume offers perhaps the single best return on investment that a Web designer/developer can make.
Three top-tier vendors account for more than 85 percent of worldwide RDBMS sales. These vendors are as follows:
- Oracle (47 percent)
- IBM (21 percent)
- Microsoft (17 percent)
With SQL topping the list of the most in-demand Web-related technologies at more than 2,000 current job listings, there might never be a better time to add database connectivity to your Web arsenal.
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Sunday, June 10, 2007
Oscars of the Internet
The Webby Awards is the leading international award honoring excellence on the Internet. The Webby Awards presents two honors in each of more than 100 categories -- The Webby Award and The People's Voice Award -- in each of its four entry types: Websites, Interactive Advertising, Online Film & Video and Mobile.
Beantown Web highlights this year's Webby Award winners in the Websites entry type. The 11th Annual Webby Awards received a record 8,000 entries from all 50 states and over 60 countries worldwide. In addition, more than 400,000 votes were cast by people around the world to identify the People's Voice Awards.
Organizers also announced recipients of this year's Webby Special Achievement awards, including the following:
- Lifetime Achievement > David Bowie
- Lifetime Achievement > Meg Whitman
- Person(s) of the Year > Steve Chen & Chad Hurley
- Best Actor & Actress > "Ninja" & Jessica Lee Rose
Also, fans of LinkedIn will be pleased to know that this business-oriented site walked away with two awards -- Services and Social Networking.
The 2007 Webby Awards winners are as follows:
- Activism > Green my Apple
- Art > Electrolux Design Lab
- Associations > PoetryFoundation.org
- Automotive > Volvo C30 - A Product of Free Will
- Banking / Bill Paying > Zopa
- Beauty & Cosmetics > Philips Norelco Bodygroom
- Best Copy/Writing > HowStuffWorks
- Best Home/Welcome Page > Sony.com
- Best Navigation/Structure > IKEA, Dream Kitchen
- Best Practices > Flickr
- Best Use of Animation or Motion Graphics > Jonathan Yuen (2006)
- Best Use of Video or Moving Image > Adobe CS2.3 - The Creative Mind
- Best Visual Design - Aesthetic > Jonathan Yuen (2006)
- Best Visual Design - Function > Flickr
- Blog - Business > DealBook
- Blog - Culture/Personal > we make money not art
- Blog - Political > Truthdig
- Broadband > blip.tv
- Celebrity/Fan > Verizon Dave Matthews Band
- Charitable Organization Nonprofit > I spy with my little eye
- Community > Flickr
- Consumer Electronics > PlayB3yond
- Corporate Communications > MGM Grand Hotel & Casino
- Cultural Institutions > Smithsonian Photography Initiative
- Education > HowStuffWorks
- Employment > Army Strong Launch Site
- Events > Mercedes-Benz E-Class Experience Paris-Beijing
- Family/Parenting > PBS KIDS Sprout--Sprout Diner
- Fashion > ZOOZOOM 'The Original Online Glossy'
- Financial Services > The Wall Street Journal Online
- Food & Beverage > Altoids.com
- Games > Samorost2
- Games-Related > Gamasutra
- Government > MBTA.com
- Guides/Ratings/Reviews > Yelp
- Health > That Guy
- Humor > The Onion
- Insurance > eHealthInsurance
- IT Hardware/Software > CLEARIFICATION
- Law > LawHelp.org
- Lifestyle > BP Carbon Footprint Calculator
- Magazine > MediaStorm
- Movie & Film > 2006 Pan's Labyrinth
- Music > Last.fm
- Netart > The Dumpster
- News > BBC News
- Newspaper > Guardian Unlimited
- Personal Website > Jonathan Yuen (2006)
- Pharmaceuticals > Know Menopause
- Podcasts > NPR Podcasts
- Politics > OpenSecrets
- Professional Services > Mindflood Seduction
- Radio > BBC Radio 1
- Real Estate > Bankside 123
- Religion & Spirituality > Religion & Ethics Newsweekly
- Restaurant > KFC’s Flavor Station: Choose Your Sauce
- Retail > Nike Women
- School > 10 Ways IU is Red Hot
- Science > HubbleSite
- Services > LInkedIn
- Social Networking > LinkedIn
- Sports > The Reggie Bush Project
- Student > The Science of Sex
- Telecommunications > Black Label Series No.1 Chocolate Micro
- Television > Current TV
- Tourism > YellowstonePark.com
- Travel > Wikitravel
- Weird > Cute Overload
- Youth > OwnYourC
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Sunday, June 03, 2007
Boston Market -- June
During the month of May the Boston Globe and Monster.com announced the launch of a co-branded website for Boston-area employers and job seekers. This new Boston.com/Monster website replaces the BostonWorks.com website that Beantown Web has been using for its monthly Boston Market analysis. On average there are two to three times more listings on the new joint venture website.
Job prospects for technology workers in the greater Boston area with in-demand skills remain bright. Two studies confirm these findings:
- Hudson Employment Index -- the number of workers who said their company had plans to add headcount stands at nearly 30 percent, the highest recording since last November. In addition nearly three out of four Boston area workers said they were happy with their job, the highest reporting since last October.
- The 2007 State New Economy Index -- this index measures the drivers of the information technology revolution that is transforming virtually all industries and contributing to increased productivity. This index places Massachusetts in the top spot among all 50 states.
So, what are the hot New Economy skills? Beantown Web's monthly analysis of salaries and job postings provides some insight.
The Average Salaries in Boston for common Web-related job titles has been updated for June. The salaries are posted in the right-hand column. Here is a snapshot of title and salary ranges:
- "Designer" >> mid-$30s to the low $60s
- "Developer" or "Programmer" >> mid-$50s to the low $70s
- "Database">> low-$70s to the low $80s
- "Designers"
- HTML (#4)
- CSS (#9)
- "Developer" or "Programmer"
- Java (#3)
- JavaScript (#6)
- Perl (#8)
- ASP.NET (#10)
- "Database"
- SQL (#1)
- Oracle (#2)
- XML (#6)
- SQL Server (#8)
Conclusion
The New Economy is clearly a programming / database-driven economy. Web Designers who develop skills in these areas not only increase their earning potential, they also expand their pool of potential job opportunities.
Action Plan
If you are new to programming and databases, consider signing up for Introduction to Programming, a FREE eight-lesson online course offered at the HP Learning Center. Classes begin Thursday, June 7.
Editor's Note: Next month's Boston Market -- Third Quarter will offer an expanded Top 30 list of Web technology skills in demand in the greater Boston area using the new Boston.com/Monster job search engine.
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Thursday, May 31, 2007
O'Reilly Ignites Boston
O'Reilly wants to Ignite Boston and you are invited to a special event.
O'Reilly Media is the publisher of technology books including such popular series as Head First, In a Nutshell and the upcoming Dynamic Learning self-paced training system for learning Adobe CS3.
Tim O'Reilly is the founder and CEO of O'Reilly Media and a Harvard graduate. He is credited with coining the phrase Web 2.0.
Ignite Boston takes place on Thursday, May 31 from 6:00 pm to 10:00 pm at Tommy Doyle's at Harvard Square in Cambridge. The event includes a keynote address and "guest speakers who’ll catch you up on the cool, new, innovative stuff going on in technology today."
RSVP
If you plan to attend, email IgniteBoston [at] oreilly [dot] com for the chance to win $300 worth of really cool technology books, compliments of O’Reilly Media. You must be present to walk away with the prize, so sign up and show up to win!
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Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Google Developer Day
Google is going global on Thursday, May 31 to discuss its view of the future of web applications. The first ever Google Developer Day™ will feature live, free webcasts discussing Google's Web development tools.
Early birds can catch the London keynote address live at 7:00 am EDT. The Mountain View keynote address will be broadcast live at 1:00 pm EDT.
Building Blocks for Better Web Applications
Google will offer presentations on the following topics:
- Google Maps
- Google Calendar
- Google Spreadsheet
- Google Checkout
- Ajax
- XML
- Mashups
- Python
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Friday, May 25, 2007
Second Life (In the Year 2525)
In the Year 1969
Zager and Evans became a one-hit wonder when their hauntingly futuristic song In the Year 2525 orbited the Billboard charts for six weeks.
"In the year 2525,In the Year 2007
If man is still alive,
If woman can survive,
They may find..."
A San Francisco-based company with its own vision for the future acquired a Waltham-based company called Windward Mark Interactive and is looking for talent to help bring its vision of the future into focus. The name of the company is Linden Lab and its vision of the future can be found in Second Life, a three dimensional online community.
In the Year 2011
. . . 80 percent of active Internet users (and Fortune 500 enterprises) will have a "Second Life"' in the virtual world, according to Gartner, Inc. " . . . don't ignore this trend. [It] will have a significant impact on your enterprise during the next five years." To learn more access a summary of Gartner's Five Laws for companies participating in the virtual world.In the Year 2017
Meet The Lindens
If you would like to be part of this future, Linden Lab would like to meet you. They are throwing a private party in Boston the evening of Wednesday, May 30. To find out how you can attend and impress the Lindens with your skills, register for the Boston Recruiting Party for your opportunity to begin a Second Life!
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Monday, May 21, 2007
Omnivore or Indifferent?
Imagine a world without the Internet or cell phones. It was not that long ago that this world existed. Yet, nearly half of adults in the United States have a somewhat distant or non-existent relationship with modern information technology. This technology includes Internet access and cell phone usage.
A survey of more than 4,000 adults conducted by the Pew Internet Project categorized adults into the following three groups:- elite technology users (31%)
- moderate technology users (20%)
- have little or no usage of the Internet or cell phones (49%)
Omnivores
Elite technology users were categorized into four subgroups as follows:
- Omnivores: voracious users of information gadgets and services
- Connectors: use technology to connect to people and manage digital content
- Lackluster Veterans: frequent Internet users, but not early adapters; less avid about cell phones
- Productivity Enhancers: main focus is personal and professional communication
- Mobile Centrics: heavy cell phone users; infrequent Internet users
- Connected But Hassled: find connectivity intrusive and information something of a burden
Low level technology users were categorized into four subgroups as follows:
- Inexperienced Experimenters: occasionally interactive; late Internet adopters
- Light But Satisfied: technology does not play a central role in their daily lives
- Indifferents: use cell phone and the Internet intermittently and find connectivity annoying
- Off the Network: content with old media and have little use for cell phones, digital cameras and the Internet
Which technology group do you belong to? To find out take a ten-question quiz.
Editor's Note: The results of my quiz reveal that I am a Connector. Here is my profile:
Connectors, which make up 7% of the population, have a median age of 38, with a majority (54%) in the 30-49 age range. Ethnically, it is mostly white (72%); 16% are Black and 12% are English-speaking Hispanics. The typical Connector has been online for 9 years, which suggests they were a second-wave of late 1990s adopters. Most are women (55%) and they rate above average in educational attainment and income.
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Friday, May 18, 2007
JavaFX Script & Silverlight
Two new kids have moved into the neighborhood and Web designers and developers should take notice. The kids names are JavaFX Script and Silverlight. JavaFX Script has siblings in the JavaFX family and Silverlight is related to the Expression family.
New Kids on the Block
JavaFX Script is a new scripting language based on Java which was created by Sun Microsystems. JavaFX Script enables content rich, highly interactive sites to be built by creative professionals on Java-based devices including computer, television and mobile.
Silverlight is a Microsoft product designed to compete with Adobe Flash. It was engineered using a subset of Microsoft's .NET technology. Silverlight provides support for such technologies as XHTML, JavaScript, Ajax, Apache, PHP, Visual Basic, C#, Python, Ruby and MP3.
Families
JavaFX is a Sun Microsytems family that currently includes the siblings JavaFX Script and JavaFX Mobile. New follow-on content authoring tools are expected to be added to the family in the near future.
Expression is a Microsoft family of tools developed for professional designers who build Web and Windows client applications and rich media content. Expression Studio includes the following family members:
- Expression Web, a design tool used to create standards-based Websites
- Expression Design, a illustration and graphic design tool
- Expression Blend, a user interface design platform for Silverlight
- Expression Media, an asset management tool
JavaFX Script and Silverlight are currently in test release. Microsoft Expression is available for purchase and free trial versions of the entire suite or individual family members can be downloaded for 60 days.
Beantown Web will monitor the demand for Web professionals who have developed expertise in using these new tool sets as these technologies become mainstream.
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Sunday, May 06, 2007
Boston Market -- May
Quality jobs remain plentiful as the U.S. economy continues its expansion. Here are three positive indicators from surveys released during the past week:
- Deloitte's 2007 CEO Survey -- CEOs of the fastest growing technology companies report that finding, hiring and retaining qualified employees continues to be their biggest operational challenge.
- Spherion IT Employment Report -- Three factors -- growing technology economy, increasing Web 2.0 activity, declining graduation rates of science and engineering students -- are converging to create an abundance of open IT jobs with few qualified candidates available to fill them.
- Help-Wanted OnLine Data Series -- Massachusetts leads the country in job openings per capita with more than five vacancies for every 100 persons in the labor force.
Two scripting languages provided superior security:
- Adobe® Flex™
- Microsoft ASP.NET AJAX (previously code-named “Atlas”)
- JavaScript [ 228 ]
- Perl [ 207 ]
- ASP.NET [ 177 ]
- Python [ 70 ]
- PHP [ 65 ]
- ColdFusion [ 40 ]
- VB Script [ 31 ]
- Ruby [ 25 ]
- ActionScript [ 18 ]
- Tcl [ 7 ]
- Adobe Flex [ 4 ]
- XAML [ 1 ]
All three of these languages are in the Top 10 Web Technologies list which has been updated for May and appears in the right-hand column along with links to jobs that list that technology skill in the job description.
Once again database and programming skills dominate the Top 10 Web Technologies list. Expertise with these technologies form the foundation for solid career prospects as website owners continue to move beyond static website offerings.
The remaining 17 Web-related skills are as follows:
- CSS [ 122 ]
- Photoshop [ 97 ]
- Flash [ 91 ]
- Ajax [ 86 ]
- Python [ 70 ]
- PHP [ 65 ]
- MySQL [ 64 ]
- DHTML [ 59 ]
- Visual Studio [ 47 ]
- Dreamweaver [ 45 ]
- ColdFusion [ 40 ]
- DB2 [ 40 ]
- VBScript [ 31 ]
- Ruby [ 25 ]
- XHTML [ 22 ]
- ActionScript [ 18 ]
- DOM [ 12 ]
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Sunday, April 22, 2007
Web 2.0 Expo: Best of Show
If you couldn't make it to the recently concluded, first annual Web 2.0 Expo on the Left Coast, Beantown Web provides you with links to everything you need to know.
Web 2.0 Expo is an annual gathering of technical, design, marketing, and business professionals who are building the next generation web.
The Expo featured 115 Web 2.0 companies competing for attention. Webware.com, a site where computer users can learn about new and useful Web applications, selected their Top Five Web 2.0 services from the conference as follows:
- Tellme provides new ways for anyone to search for information they need from any phone by speaking or typing their query and then hearing or seeing the answer.
- Octopz offers next-generation online collaboration software created specifically to meet the challenges of creative professionals, such as product designers, graphic artists, photographers and digital media producers.
- Dapper is a service that allows users to build web applications and mashups using data from any website without any programming.
- Coghead offers a way to create web-based business applications that can be used by anyone, anytime, anywhere.
- Spock, currently in private beta, is building the broadest and deepest people specific search engine.
Webware.com offers a four-minute video that summarizes its selections.
Webware.com would like you to participate in The Webware 100 Awards -- the Web's first user-generated Web 2.0 awards. The Webware 100 will list the 10 best Web 2.0 sites in 10 categories. Feel free to nominate your favorite Web 2.0 site.
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Saturday, April 21, 2007
Web 2.0: Most Likely to Succeed
<> YouTube <> Wikipedia <> Flickr <>
Two years ago you may not have heard these names. But now they are mainstream and prototypes for Web 2.0 sites to follow. All three of these services feature UGC -- user generated content.
The Next Big Thing
What are the next Web 2.0 sites that are about to explode? Hitwise offers its candidates for exponential growth over the coming months.
Hitwise is a Web service that offers competitive intelligence on how people interact on the Web. Based on an extensive filter of 25 million Internet users and some 860,000 Web sites, Hitwise has identified the following six Web 2.0 sites with the greatest potential to become the next Big Internet phenomenon:
Never heard of them? Here's what they do:
Yelp is the fun and easy way to find, review and talk about what's great -- and not so great -- in your area.
StumbleUpon helps you discover and share great websites.
Veoh is a virtual television network that organizes, showcases, and delivers clear, full-screen video programming to anyone with a broadband connection.
WeeWorld puts a friendly face on the Internet by giving you a graphic alter-ego that allows you to express yourself, communicate and have fun with old and new friends both online and on your mobile phone.
Imeem is an online community where artists, fans and friends can promote their content, share their tastes, and discover blogs, photos, music and video.
Piczo has created a space that gives teens around the world the freedom and tools to express themselves and connect with friends in a safer social networking environment.
Hitwise's prediction of explosive growth potential is the result of an extensive filtering of traffic patterns that show Web 2.0 usage compared with overall Internet traffic has expanded from 2% in its first year to more than 12% currently. Details about the Hitwise Web 2.0 projections are available in an Information Week article.
Implications for Web Developers
As UGC continues to expand, Web professionals should consider developing technical skills to offer to prospective clients who might want to add Web 2.0 features to their list of Web services. Here are three ideas to consider:
- Register for PHP and MySQL: Building Web Applications
- Register for Microsoft ASP.NET: Building Applications
- Register for a Ning account. Ning is an online service that allows you to create, customize, and share your own Social Network. You can make it public or private and use it for anything - and anyone - you'd like.
NOTE: You are cordially invited to join the new Boston LinkedIn Network, powered by Ning.
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Sunday, April 15, 2007
2007 Entry Level Job Outlook
These findings were revealed in an annual survey conducted by Monster.com. Results were captured from surveys of nearly 1,000 employers and more than 2,500 students. A summary of the results is available in a Monster press release.
Here are two positive findings that employers revealed in the survey:
- 76 percent of employers plan to hire 2007 graduates in the spring or summer
- 38 percent expect to recruit more entry-level candidates than in 2006
- 89 percent expect to receive at least one job offer by graduation
- 74 percent expect two or more offers
- relevant work experience
- personal characteristics, such as interviewing skills
Here is how employers and graduates use the Internet during the hiring process:
- One-in-five employers will check candidates' personal online profiles
- Three-in-five of last year's graduates maintained an online profile
- lack of professionalism, such as tardiness or not sending a thank-you note
Summary:
If you are near the beginning of your career and exploring employment opportunities, here are three strategies that can help separate you from your competition:
- Set a goal of making at least 73 contacts in your search for meaningful work
- Maintain an up-to-date online profile that includes all relevant work-related experiences, especially internships, practicums, and other client-related work
- Show up early and express written thanks to everyone who helps you along the way
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Tuesday, April 10, 2007
Chowda Chat: Dan Keldsen
Today's issue of "Chowda Chat" presents the thoughts and observations of Dan Keldsen, Analyst and Consultant at The Innovation Lab of Perot Systems and publisher of BizTechTalk.
1. Your blog, BizTechTalk, offers podcasting, one of many "Web 2.0" technologies that are increasingly being used to connect with an audience. How time consuming is podcasting and how can one get started?
"At it's heart, podcasting is just a slight spin on older technologies or media. As with any media production exercise, the key to producing content in a timely manner is in having a system or process in place to go from concept, through pre-production, production, release and marketing (and sales if you choose to monetize the content)."
"All of the podcasts that I have done so far (roughly 45 recorded, 30 or so released as of this interview) have been interviews with either one or two people, typically recorded over the phone or via Skype, so my examples will assume another person is involved in the conversation."
"Even with relatively minimal prep time to prepare a framework for discussion (I don't use set questions for each interview), you should expect easily 30 minutes as a minimum, and perhaps as many as several hours if you need to do any significant level of reading, summarizing and creation of your interview format for these interviews."
"Once the recording starts, we treat it as though we are live in front of audience, which helps to minimize the audio editing necessary on the back end. Depending on the effort you want to put into the final product -- some stammer, um and ah removal is typical -- add 100-200% more time to the editing process than whatever amount you have recorded. If you were not careful in applying some structure to the interview, editing the audio so that it makes a more coherent story can add a significant amount of time. Avoid that at all costs!"2. The "Innovation Lab" of Perot Systems has assisted more than 20,000 professionals determine how to invest in strategic technology to create competitive advantage. What is the one non-technology skill that a technology professional should develop today to create a strategic career advantage?
"The ability to rapidly and thoroughly problem solve is at the heart of any job I can think of today, certainly in any operationally-focused technology position, but through more customer-facing and forward-facing new product development scenarios as well. If you can't solve problems on the fly, you are toast. If technology worked exactly as advertised, nothing would ever go wrong, but technology has glitches, and the swift survive on this one! Since I have a background as a musician, I tend think of life and work as one extended improvisation, where keeping one's cool while finding a solution is THE skill to have. Just don't let the thrill of solving problems instantly prevent you from keeping an eye on larger problems that may take more of an effort to solve."3. The one-word advice offered to Benjamin Braddock in The Graduate was "plastics." Assuming that the two-word advice for today's recent graduates is "The Internet," what advice would you offer a young professional just getting started in a Web-related career?
"Great question - will have to throw that back on the queue in NetFlix! Stay hungry, and assume a love of lifelong learning, because the Internet has opened up opportunity across the globe at scales we wouldn't have imagined possible just 10 years ago. If you aren't learning from this massive experiment called the Internet, be prepared to be obsolete as those who ARE learning every day outrun you in the global (and local) playing field."Final Thought: "Make sure you are personally using the tools of the Internet to keep yourself sharp, always be on the lookout for intelligent people to add to your network (LinkedIn primarily, from a professional standpoint), and keep up with the fast pace of change, not just in your current field, but in business, technology, and what is happening around the world. Eyes wide open, ready to spring into action, and you should be able to weather any change that comes at you. Chance favors the prepared mind!"
Thanks Dan for providing our readers with a perspective on podcasting and how Web technology professionals can stay sharp and prepared through networking and lifelong learning.