Monday, August 12, 2013

Chowda Chat | Jen Kramer


Chowda Chat is a periodic Beantown Web installment that features a conversation with an influential member of the Web technology community.

The purpose of Chowda Chat is to provide Web technology professionals with information to help advance their careers. The format involves three questions and responses followed by one final thought.

Today's Chowda Chat presents the insights of Jen Kramer, speaker, author, instructor, curriculum developer.

You are an instructor at Lynda.com.  What are the technology topics you focus on?

"I started making videos with lynda.com back in 2008. I was at their headquarters in California last week recording titles #15 and #16, with #17 coming up at the end of the month. While I can't tell you what I'm recording now, most of my released titles focus on Joomla and on responsive design frameworks like Bootstrap and Foundation."

There is a rumor that you are writing a technology book?  Are there any updates you would like to share with our audience at this time?

 "I am writing my third book, "Sams Teach Yourself Bootstrap in 24 Hours".  It will be published by Pearson, probably sometime early next year.  I'll be focusing on Bootstrap 3 in the book."

You are a featured speaker at the upcoming Northeast PHP Conference in Cambridge (August 16 - 18).  Tell us about your presentations.

"I'm doing a three-hour workshop at the conference, "Up and Running with Bootstrap". Attendees will get a great overview of Bootstrap very quickly. We'll look at the grid system, navigation systems, a bit of styling, and some of the built-in JavaScript functions. It's a hands-on workshop, so bring your laptop and be ready to code!"

"I'll also be presenting a talk on Sunday afternoon comparing Bootstrap and Foundation. On the surface, these two frameworks seem to solve the same problems. However, they are actually very different frameworks that serve different target audiences in different ways. I'll be addressing those differences in my talk."

Final Thought

"Teaching is a passion for me! I just had an article about teaching HTML to new web design students on Smashing Magazine, and I'll be teaching a class on multimedia at Harvard Extension this fall. I'm looking forward to seeing everyone at Northeast PHP!"
The three-day Northeast PHP Conference begins Friday, August 16, 2013 in Cambridge, MA.  Tickets are still available.

Follow Jen Kramer on Twitter.

Previous Chowda Chats

[ NOTE: Follow Beantown Web on Twitter @webapprentices and on Facebook by becoming a Fan of Beantown Web. ] 
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Monday, July 29, 2013

Best (PR--Communications) Places to Work | 2013


The Boston Business Journal recently honored the 80 Best Places to Work in Massachusetts.  The 11th annual celebration of companies that are creating a high level of workforce satisfaction and loyalty took place on June 13, 2013.  Companies were recognized in each of four categories as follows:
  • small (20-100 employees)
  • medium (101-500 employees)
  • large (501 or more employees)
  • plus a PR/communications category

PR/Communications Company Category


If you are looking to work at a PR/Communications company that values the efforts of its workers, then start with the list of five below.  Click the LinkedIn icon to identify the connections you have into each company.
Additional Lists:
Google Maps:
  • Access Google maps of the 80 Best Places to Work in Massachusetts in 2013. 
[ NOTE: The Best Places to Work in Massachusetts are being recognized daily on Twitter.  Follow Beantown Web on Twitter @webapprentices and on Facebook by becoming a Fan of Beantown Web. ]
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Tuesday, July 09, 2013

Best (Large) Places to Work | 2013


The Boston Business Journal recently honored the 80 Best Places to Work in Massachusetts.  The 11th annual celebration of companies that are creating a high level of workforce satisfaction and loyalty took place on June 13, 2013.  Companies were recognized in each of four categories as follows:
  • small (20-100 employees)
  • medium (101-500 employees)
  • large (501 or more employees)
  • plus a PR/communications category

Large Company Category


If you are looking to work at a large company that values the efforts of its workers, then start with the list of 25 below.  Click the LinkedIn icon to identify the connections you have into each company.
Additional Lists:
Google Maps:
  • Access Google maps of the 80 Best Places to Work in Massachusetts in 2013.
[ NOTE: The Best Places to Work in Massachusetts are being recognized daily on Twitter.  Follow Beantown Web on Twitter @webapprentices and on Facebook by becoming a Fan of Beantown Web. ]
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Tuesday, July 02, 2013

Boston's Rockstar Recruiters | Q3 2013

 
Six continues to be the magic number.
  • The Beatles have six platinum singles.
  • Jimi Hendrix has six multi-platinum albums.  
  • Michael Jordan has six NBA championship rings.
You need Six to make The List -- The Boston Rockstar Recruiter list.
  • Six recommendations from adoring fans

Boston's Top 100 Technology Recruiters


In the fall of 2012 Beantown Web asked the question, "Who are Boston's Rockstar Recruiters?"  Welcome to the fourth installment of The List.

To begin the quest, Beantown Web identified more than 340 technology recruiters via LinkedIn.  Most are located in the Boston area.  Some are located in New Hampshire and Rhode Island and conduct a significant amount of business in the Boston area.

 Beantown Web then turned to LinkedIn to identify customer satisfaction scores.  In particular, how many people were willing to provide a public recommendation for that recruiter?

 Rock 'n Rollers have platinum singles and albums.  Michael Jordan has championship rings.  The rest of us mere mortals have to make due with recommendations.

 The market for Rockstar Recruiters remains stable.  In order for a recruiter to make the inaugural Boston Rockstar Recruiter List a mere three LinkedIn recommendations was enough to merit Rockstar status.  Then, the bar was raised to five.  Then, six.  The bar remains at six recommendations for the second quarter in a row.

Only three out to 10 technology recruiters in the Boston metro area have earned Boston Rockstar Recruiter status with at least six LinkedIn recommendations.

Boston's Top 10 Technology Recruiters


Boston's Top 10 Rockstar Recruiters play to packed houses and receive standing ovations.  The best in the biz have received at least 33 Rockommendations from adoring fans.

 Here are the Top 10 Boston Rockstar Recruiters for the third quarter of 2013 [number of LinkedIn recommendations received]:
  1. Scott Dunlop [96] -- The Bivium Group
  2. John VanderSande [62] -- WinterWyman
  3. Jamie LeBlanc [57] -- The Bivium Group
  4. Chris Fountas [55] -- AVID Technical Resources 
  5. Doug Schade [48] -- Winter Wyman 
  6. Robin Napier [48] -- CyberCoders
  7. Brendan Andersen [40] -- CyberCoders
  8. Leanne Owens [39] -- Onward Search
  9. David Honig [34] -- MarketSearch 
  10. Chris Mitchell [33] --  Winter Wyman

Top 10 in Assists


Some players are valuable because they score a lot of points.  Others pass the ball effectively.  This quarter a new list is being introduced that ranks "assists."  It answers the following:
"Of the recruiters listed in the Top 100, who are the most generous in offering recommendations to others?"
The Top 10 most generous Boston Rockstar Recruiters for the third quarter [number of LinkedIn recommendations given]:
  1. David Perlman [55] -- Grenadier Search Group
  2. Marsh Sutherland [31] -- Walden Recruiting
  3. Carol Taylor [29] -- Private Clients
  4. Andrea Williams [25] -- Career Minded Recruiting LLC
  5. Kelley White [19] -- Advantage Technical Resourcing
  6. Matt Ramos [17] -- Computer Express, Inc. (CEI)
  7. Brendan Andersen [16] -- CyberCoders
  8. Nagesh Kumar Gona [15] -- XpertTech, Inc.
  9. Jonathan Anderson [15] -- Softworld
  10. Jack Fellers [14] -- Hollister, Inc.
Congrats to Brendan Andersen [40 + 16] for posting Top 10 scores on both the receiving and giving lists.

Team Scores


Finally, the team scores. The following teams placed the most recruiters (at least three) in the Top 100 [number of recruiters in the Top 100]:
The Boston Rockstar Recruiter Countdown begins @webapprentices and will continue throughout the third quarter listing all 100 Boston Rockstar Recruiters.  Simply follow @webapprentices and connect with your favorite Boston Rockstar Recruiter each day.

 If you are aware of a Boston-based Technology Recruiter who has garnered at least six LinkedIn recommendations, go to Beantown Web on Facebook and share your Rockstar Recruiter selection with our readers.  Rock on!
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Sunday, June 30, 2013

Best (Medium) Places to Work | 2013


The Boston Business Journal recently honored the 80 Best Places to Work in Massachusetts.  The 11th annual celebration of companies that are creating a high level of workforce satisfaction and loyalty took place on June 13, 2013.  Companies were recognized in each of four categories as follows:
  • small (20-100 employees)
  • medium (101-500 employees)
  • large (501 or more employees)
  • plus a PR/communications category

Medium Company Category


If you are looking to work at a medium-size company that values the efforts of its workers, then start with the list of 25 below.  Click the LinkedIn icon to identify the connections you have into each company.
Additional Lists:
Google Maps:
  • Access Google maps of the 80 Best Places to Work in Massachusetts in 2013.  
[ NOTE: The Best Places to Work in Massachusetts are being recognized daily on Twitter.  Follow Beantown Web on Twitter @webapprentices and on Facebook by becoming a Fan of Beantown Web. ]
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