Times are tough no doubt. But just in case you've no 'Plan B' as the global downturn continues and your current job/business ceases to exist, help is at hand. 'How to Get a Job You'll Love - a practical guide to unlocking your talents and finding your ideal career' (ISBN 9780077121808, £12.99) by top career transition coach and author John Lees, promises to answer the plethora of classic career conundrums we face every day.

For example, what are the smartest strategies for impressing your boss? How can you effectively market yourself within an organisation? Why do you need to? What is 'career management'? How can you find new fields of work and completely change careers? How can you avoid 'Monday Blues' and love what you do every day of the week? [Please, please, please - I need answers!]

Says Lees: "No job is entirely recession proof. Right now job security is the top issue for people and there are many things you can do to improve the chances you'll still be in your job in 12 months time. Here are some strategies to set you on your way…"

Ten-Point checklist for taking control of your career in difficult times:

1. Look at what's working, rather than what isn't. Which parts of your job are still effective even in difficult times?
2. Find leverage. Concentrate your efforts on projects which are seen to be fireproof, or ways of protecting your income stream.
3. Find a fast-track mentor - an informal arrangement with someone more senior than you who can help you decode your organisation while it's going through tough times.
4. Don't ask for a pay rise just because everyone else is reacting to rising costs. Demonstrate your value - not your cost.5. Go way, way beyond your job description in value-adding ways. Career progression, ultimately, is not a question of what you do, but how far you are seen to be doing the things that matter.
6. At the same time, work smarter not harder on tasks which your organisation recognises as things that make a difference.7. Stay on winning teams. This is the time to negotiate a move away from a dead-end role, or a part of the organisation which is seen as under-performing or peripheral.
8. Stay in touch with changes in your sector, and don't stop networking - both for industry knowledge and for insider tips on the hidden job market.
9. Don't adopt cynicism of the marketplace. Not all organisations and markets are in decline - don't miss opportunities by seeing your glass as constantly half-empty - adopt a glass half-full mentality.
10. Stock your lifeboat before jumping ship: understand what you are really looking for rather than passively reacting to advertised or headhunted opportunities. Well-informed job seekers find great jobs in tough times.And if none of these work for you, then perhaps there is another way - sharpen something else and eliminate the competition…

New 'Knives on the Net' Threat

It is becoming increasingly easy to purchase deadly weapons online at a fraction of the retail price, often with no regulations controlling who is purchasing them and why.

Research by MarkMonitor (a provider of enterprise brand protection), is said to demonstrate the ease with which a variety of knives - from pocket knives to machetes - can be purchased over the Internet from high-street retail brands, e-commerce, online auction and exchange sites with little to no restrictions. Over a three-day period in July 2008, MarkMonitor found that almost 9,021 knives (worth approximately £65,000) were available for sale via online auction sites. 55% were available to purchase instantly with no warnings or restrictions.

The top five types of knife being sold online over the three day period include:

• Hunting knife - 1333
• Lock knife - 1259
• Army knife - 786
• Pocket knife - 707
• Pen knife - 498

MarkMonitor has also checked the websites of the UK's top department stores and retailers and out of a list of six top retailers, four were selling knives with no warnings, age limits or restrictions and may therefore be infringing legislation. Nice to know that we're taking knife crime seriously…

And if you are looking to trim some weight this year [and you really are as vain as a Z-list celebrity] then why not get your holiday snaps re-touched, courtesy of PicWash Slim?

Look Slim in Summer Bikini Photos

With paparazzi photos highlighting the latest in celebrity cellulite, taking pictures in bathing suits has become an almost definite no-no. Enter PicWash Slim. This new photo re-touching service promises to make you and your friends look fabulous in your bathing suit photos and have beautiful summer pictures you can share with the world.

Since August 2007, the site has been retouching user photographs for use on social networks and photo album sharing sites around the world. This week it launches its third service, PicWash Slim, to help alleviate the summer picture jitters. Costing $15 per photo, PicWash's team of designers, based in Miami, Florida, will use advanced techniques to slim the most requested areas of the body. These may include: upper arms, waist, stomach, thighs, cellulite, and general bulges. The results will be subtle and natural looking. [But remember, it is just the photos they do this for…]

The benefits of looking good in your photos are widely recognized. "Today an abundance of scientific research reveals that the physical attractiveness of a pictured person substantially affects interest to meet and to associate beyond first meeting," says Gordon Patzer, Ph.D, author of 'LOOKS: Why They Matter More Than You Ever Imagined.' Perhaps there is a market for this sort of thing, given the continuing success of social networking sites such as Facebook…

Social Networking Explodes Worldwide as Sites Increase Their Focus on Cultural Relevance

Web measurement company comScore, Inc. has released a study of worldwide usage of social networking sites, indicating that while the growth in new users in North America is beginning to level off, it is burgeoning in other regions around the world. During the past year, the total North American audience of social networkers has grown 9 percent compared to a much larger 25 percent growth for the world at large. The Middle East-Africa region (up 66 percent), Europe (up 35 percent), and Latin America (up 33 percent) have each grown at well-above average rates.

"While the social networking trend first took off in North America, it is beginning to reach a point of maturity in the region," said Jack Flanagan, comScore executive vice president. "However, the phenomenon is still growing rapidly in other regions around the world - especially as the established American brands turn their focus to developing markets."

And comScore believes that a focus on tailoring a site's relevance to local markets is playing a big part in the continuing success of monoliths such as Facebook. "Facebook has done an exceptional job of leveraging its brand internationally during the past year," added Flanagan. "By increasing the site's relevance to local markets through local language interface translation, the site is now competing strongly or even capturing the lead in several markets where it had a relatively minor presence just a year ago."

comScore Enhances Reporting of Ad Networks' Audiences

comScore, Inc. also announced this week that it will provide enhanced measurement of the audiences for online advertising networks. The new reporting structure will provide two sets of measures-the "potential reach" for each network and an "actual reach" reading.

The 'potential reach' measure will be a calculation of the unduplicated visitors to all sites with which each ad network has contracted to deliver advertising. The definitions will be based on written documentation and confirmation provided by the networks. This measure represents the largest potential reach a network could deliver if all parts of the network are used to deliver ads.

he 'actual reach' measure will represent the reach of the ads that are actually served by the network during a given reporting period. In order to report 'actual reach', networks must participate by providing comScore with the appropriate identification protocols for rendered ads. Consequently, only participating networks will be included in the 'actual reach' report.

We believe these two toolsets provide the information that ad agencies need when they are deciding on which advertising networks to consider for ad buys. And, the ad networks will have the high quality, third-party information needed to compete for advertising dollars," commented Magid Abraham, President and ceo, comScore, Inc.

In the news

Gov't battles EU to use passenger data (read full story)

The UK Government is battling European Union (EU) proposals to restrict the way it uses air passenger data to monitor immigration. The Home Office claims that the names and travel plans it collects are crucial to control cross-border movements.

Sad day for the industry as Siemens exits telecoms sector after 160 years (read full story)
Its been a long and glorious history. The German company Siemens was one of the very first companies ever to lay telephone cables and make telephony switches, but this week it is exiting the industry after more than a century and a half.

On the wire

Ten Million Zombies Distributing Spam and Malware Every Day, According to PandaLabs and CommTouch (read full report)

IT security solutions provider Panda Security says that its laboratory for detecting and analysing malware - known as 'PandaLabs' - has just announced the findings from a joint report with CommTouch on the current state of spam. The report found that on average during the second quarter of this year, more than 10 million zombie computers (systems infected by
'bots' and controlled remotely by cyber criminals) were sending spam and emails with malware every day.

Entrepreneur.com's Social Networking Site Opens New Doors for 8.3 Million Businesses

A business-to-business marketplace designed specifically for entrepreneurs has been launched by Entrepreneur.com via US carrier Sprint. While other social networking sites feature an atmosphere of play, Entrepreneur Connect was created by the online authority in entrepreneurial business to facilitate company growth. The network is presented by Sprint to allow businesses to exchange ideas and network with small business owners across the country, providing them with more tools to help them get work done and build their companies.

Let LS Simple help you get the Government to pay 30% of your costs! (read full release)

The Simple Intelligent Power Management (Simple IPM) solution from LS has become the first comprehensive structured cabling system in the world to be eligible for enhanced tax relief under the UK Enhanced Capital Allowance Scheme (ECA). Enhanced Capital Allowances enable a business to claim 100% first-year capital allowances on their spending on qualifying plant and machinery.

eCrypt announces launch of BeCrypt Media Client, its CD/USB media/file encryption solution (read full release)

BeCrypt is able to provide approved data security and data handling solutions to meet requirements for transformational Government BeCrypt’s newly developed CD/USB media/file ‘zero footprint’ encryption solution, BeCrypt Media Client will be available from 1 September. It is currently going through CAPS approval, with FIPS 140-2 approval expected later in the year.

The early availability of BeCrypt Media Client gives government departments and other public sector bodies that need to adhere to Data Handling requirements an easy upgrade path to a CAPS approved solution.

In the bloggosphere

Cable is Cornering the Broadband Market

In the harsh glare of second quarter seasonality, the telcos’ wired businesses suddenly look not only like they are weakening… they look like they are positively collapsing.

Google's GMail Outage: Another Blow for 'The Cloud'

When will 'Cloud Computing' be as reliable as your ATM? Questions are asked about Google’s ability to manage, protect, and make available your data better than you can. Based on recent history, bloggers are not convinced…

Er, just one more thing…

Samsong, Samsung or Samstrung?

A 'phenomenal competition' has just launched on borders.co.uk, offering visitors the chance to win a cutting-edge laptop. In association with Currys, Borders is offering customers the chance to win a brand new Toshiba laptop, in return for answering the extremely difficult question above.

No doubt, Borders will be looking to collect a phenomenal amount of personal data in return for entering this fantastic and brain-taxing competition.

Official: Mobiles are for the birds…

Wild birds are able to imitate the simple ringtones of mobile phones and can sing up to 78 phrases it is claimed. According to Tierramerica, an information service specialising in environment and development, German ornithologists report that birds like the Euroasian jackdaw (Corvus monedula), the European starling (Sturnus vulgaris) and the Eurasian jay (Garrulus glandarius) were put in contact with electronically created sounds as a result of the expansion of urban life, the food opportunities provided by cities, and the fast-paced growth of mobile phone use.

Apparently, it is in the nature of these birds to imitate the sounds of their environment that correspond to their own musical capabilities, and they can imitate these sounds so well that sometimes it is difficult to hear the difference. Surely nature couldn't be so twisted as to inflict the crazy frog on our feathered friends…

Apple and Blackberry pie

It seems that Blackberry has suffered as a result of the looming 3G iPhone mania. Research In Motion (RIM) shares are said to have nose-dived despite the 'crackberry' manufacturer announcing that revenues for the quarter to the end of May increased 107 percent year on year.

According to one analyst, RIM is being punished for not being Apple, although there is also some concern about the company's ability to deliver on its consumer-oriented strategy. However, on a brighter note, it is reported that the Indian Ministry of Telecommunications has come to the conclusion that Blackberry devices do not pose a security threat and that, therefore, it will not be closing down Blackberry's service in the sub-continent.

Meanwhile, there are those that believe that July 11, when the 3G iPhone hits the shelves in the US, will witness a similar frenzy to that which accompanied the launch of the original device. The problem it seems, is that AT&T is insisting that the handsets are activated in-store, to prevent unlocked iPhones making their way onto the overseas black market.

It sounds like a veritable nightmare - but one that is obviously unavoidable (and perhaps not wholly undeserved) for such people that are driven to queue round the block for days on end in order to complete their lives with the latest mobile wizardry. Okay, so the iPhone is pretty ground-breaking in certain respects, but c'mon, is it really the last word in mobile? And it seems operators are all too eager to succumb to Apple's every whim, if the story regarding one journalist's close encounter with the 3G iPhone is anything to go by…

In the News…

Biometrics to fast track 'trusted' travellers (read full story)

Under a UK-US agreement aimed at boosting business travel, fingerprint, iris and facial recognition technology will be used to speed up frequent travellers' journeys through immigration control…

ePassport upgrade scaled back (read full story)

The Identity and Passport Service (IPS) has scaled back plans to upgrade its electronic passport system.

Blogger: Google's MySpace problem is serving up unrelated ads (read Blog)

The problem Google is having monetising its inventory of News Corp.’s MySpace pages may have more to do with faulty algorithms for ad serving than it does inherent issues with social networking sites, it is claimed.

On the wire…

The generation game: Y oh Y? (read full release)

As TV and movie studios push to make more of their video content available online, a new study from Knowledge Networks reveals that while consumers are indeed turning to new video technologies - such as online streaming and mobile video - most of their video-related spending continues to be on conventional sources such as DVD rentals and purchases.

No surprises there. But what is interesting is that the market watcher plays the old 'generation X, Y lead the way' card. Have they not heard that the term 'Millennials' now denotes the younger generation?

Speaking of the whipper-snappers:

Mobiles, not knives, will help to tackle gun and knife crime say London teenagers (read full release)

A project dubbed 'LIFEWISE' involved over 200 young people from South Thames College and six secondary schools across the London Borough of Wandsworth, whereby students used Vodafone v1615 handsets to enable them to work collaboratively on a range of curriculum-based projects, including finding solutions to the increasing problem of violent crime.

This is one of the first projects funded by The Mobile Learning Network (MoLeNET) and uses handheld technology, provided by Steljes, Vodafone, Wildkey and M-learning.mobi. The result has been a theatre production, a professionally-mastered CD of music incorporating anti-violent lyrics written, mixed and produced by the students, video promos, and an action plan to tackle social cohesion problems that can contribute to violent crime.

Let's hope the mobile can prove mightier than the sword…

And if the kids didn't have enough on their plate already:

Capcom recruits academic to brainwash kids with physics and maths while they play video games (read full story)

Nipan Maniar - the University of Portsmouth academic who is famous for developing the cultural awareness game ‘C-Shock’ – will work with games company Capcom to develop subliminal mind programming techniques in the architecture of video games to provide structured learning environments that players won't be consciously aware of; and in subject areas many students find hard to understand.

I can just imagine the scenario with Grand Theft Auto: If you have £3,000 and buy a stolen hot-hatch for 2,300, a hand-gun for £250, and narcotics for £275, how much cash are you left with?

Pop, pop… pop!