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.

Chrysler has been hitting the tech headlines this week with the introduction of its ‘Uconnect’ service, under which all of the car maker’s 2009 vehicles will come with the option of Wi-Fi networking. The service will be powered via an in-car wireless router that connects to the 3G cellular network and uses an algorithm to prevent dropped connections while in motion.

 

Thankfully, the service is focused on providing rear-seat entertainment and wireless access while parked, but will that really stop drivers with Wi-Fi-enabled PDAs ‘wilfing’* when stuck in traffic (and cursing their traffic information system for not updating them in time)? Indeed, given the abject failure of new road safety laws implemented to stem the welling tide of drivers using their mobiles while driving, the availability of in-car Wi-Fi is likely to fill traffic cops with an unnerving sense of foreboding.

 

In addition, given the difficulties that hand-over between cell sites has posed historically, it will be interesting to see how well Uconnect’s Wi-Fi connectivity holds out when a car is travelling at high speeds, or through areas of patchy cellular coverage. One can already envisage the kids (or indeed ‘grown-ups’) groaning: “Are we nearly there yet” as the blue web-site loading indicator crawls slowly across the page…

 

Even more worryingly, the service has a 100-foot range, meaning that users don't have to be inside their vehicle to be able to connect to the service. This could give new meaning to the issues of ‘tail-gating’ and ‘piggy-backing’.

 

The service, powered by AutoNet Mobile, will cost US$29 per month and requires a dealer-installed US$449 mobile router. I would have thought a laptop loaded with a 3G USB dongle would be cheaper…

 

*’wilfing’ is the term ascribed to the habit of surfing the web without any real purpose.

 

Computer says no – or at least, wait a mo… 

 

According to an article in The Wall Street Journal (read full story) Google is learning that changing the cellphone industry is not easy. The portal giant has said that mobile phones featuring its Android software will not arrive until Q4 of this year. Handset manufacturers are believed to be struggling with the creation of custom user interfaces to meet carrier specifications, while carriers are having trouble customising Android so that it promotes their own Internet offerings.

 

Such news is not surprising and only serves to highlight the significant challenges the industry still faces in the creation of such a platform and, in particular, in ensuring that mobile applications interface with the specific features and functionalities of the mobile phone in a consistent manner (i.e. access to the browser, address book etc.).

 

Meanwhile, the Symbian software platform for mobile phones is set to be unified under the auspices of the Symbian Foundation – a non-profit organisation spearheaded by Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Motorola and NTT DoCoMo. Together with AT&T, LG Electronics, Samsung Electronics, STMicroelectronics, Texas Instruments and Vodafone, the companies aim to unite Symbian OS, S60, UIQ and MOAP(S) to create one open mobile software platform. 

 

At the same time, Nokia announced plans to acquire the remaining shares of Symbian Limited that it does not already own and then contribute the Symbian and S60 software to the Foundation. Accordingly, Sony Ericsson and Motorola intend to contribute technology from UIQ, and DoCoMo has also indicated its willingness to contribute its MOAP(S) assets. From these contributions, the Foundation will provide a unified platform with a common UI framework, and a full platform will be available for all Foundation members under a royalty-free license. The Foundation is expected to start operating during the first half of 2009, subject to the closing of the acquisition of Symbian Ltd., by Nokia.

 

Mobile industry must adapt to 2.0 web paradigm

 

Following on from my previous (pre-vacation) blog regarding the rise of mobile web 2.0, Juniper Research has released a second wave of findings from this report (click here for more details). The key forecast to be divulged is that the number of subscribers using mobile Internet services will rise from 577 million currently, to top 1.7bn by 2013, spurred by demand for collaborative applications known collectively as ‘web 2.0’, and greater 2.5/3G penetration. 

 

However, it is clear that established mobile players face increasing competition from web-based brands and will have to adapt their commercial strategies to accommodate greater collaboration with other members of the value chain, if future revenue growth in the mobile web 2.0 domain is to be achieved. Mobile network operators and handset manufacturers in particular, will need to relinquish some of their control over the value chain, but to what extent they open up their networks/devices to third-parties remains to be seen. 

 

My call for development of an open environment in which users are able to share, collaborate and exploit content/information without any one party controlling the value chain, is supported in part, by a new study (read full release) by Pioneer Consulting on ‘Multimedia Mobile Content Distribution’. This study estimates that as a result of users sharing content and bypassing the existing value chain, US$16.4 billion worth of revenue opportunity will be at risk by 2012 (which is more than a quarter of the total revenue opportunity for that year, it adds). 

 

Robert Hsieh, author of the report said that, “Mobile operators need to embrace peer to peer (P2P) methodologies within their own networks and focus on the advantages of using both assisted P2P and augmented P2P to mitigate the disruption”. Aditya Kaul, Senior Analyst, Emerging Wireless at Pioneer added: “P2P is generally treated with contempt by operators and has now become the ‘P’ word that should never be uttered. It is more of an attitude problem rather than an engineering one, and unless operators wake up to the reality of the situation, we cannot even begin to solve the problem”.

 

In the news 

 

Virgin Mobile USA to acquire Helio (read full story)

 

Virgin Mobile USA is to acquire Helio, the US mobile phone operation controlled by SK Telecom of South Korea, after each side decided to combine their struggling businesses to build scale in the fast-maturing market, reports the Financial Times. 

 

Bidding Yahoo Adieu (read full story)

 

An exodus of high-profile, innovative managers leaves a leadership vacuum, and troubling implications for Yahoo’s future according to Business Week.

 

On the wire

 

Does 2.0 + 2.0 = 3.0?

CellSpin Launches Palm OS Mobile Blogging Application for MySpace, Facebook, Google Blogger, Twitter, Pownce, eBay, Flickr, Picasa, YouTube, Live Journal, Live Space and more

 

CellSpin Soft, Inc. is adding support for Palm OS to its mobile blogging software. This software is claimed to be the first to provide a free, secure, intelligent, one-click simple GUI-based mobile application for capturing images, audio, video and text, and publishing them to one or many of a user's favourite blogging, social networking, photo sharing and auction sites simultaneously [I hope they get the hang of shortening their descriptions when blogging from a mobile device…]. In addition to Palm OS, CellSpin also supports the Symbian, Windows Mobile 5.0 and 6.0 and Blackberry operating systems, with others to follow. 

 

“…with CellSpin Palm OS application users can stay connected, blog and micro-blog on leading social networks with just one click,” said Bobby Gurvinder Singh, CEO and co-founder of CellSpin. “CellSpin is about combining Web 2.0 and Mobile 2.0 technologies and giving end-users a seamless and easy Internet 3.0 experience.” 

 

So have we really arrived at Internet 3.0 already? Not content with this, CTO and co-founder Marcos Klein added: “CellSpin has become the standard for blogging not only among the technorati, but increasingly among the ‘silver surfer’ set as well.”  

 

Certainly 10.0 out of 10.0 for use of buzzwords…

 

Online Social Network Users Continue to Grow

11 million people in the UK visited social network sites in 2007 (read full release)

 

Facebook continues to trail MySpace in the US, but the online social networking site has overtaken its main rival in worldwide unique users. With almost 20 foreign-language versions of the site, starting with French, German and Spanish, Facebook has seen continuous growth throughout Europe. Now, with the new Chinese-language version, it is beginning its trajectory in Asia. 

 

Furthermore, according to new figures from research firm, eMarketer, an impressive 60.5 percent of the UK population, or 36.8 million people, went online at least once per month in 2007 and, of those, 30 percent (11 million people) visited social network sites at least once per month. 

 

Online social network ad spending in the UK and Western Europe is expected to reach UK£283 million in 2008, rising to UK£804 million pounds in 2012. 

 

Meanwhile, business-focused networking community LinkedIn has been valued at more than $1 billion, having received $53m in venture capital funding from Bain Capital Ventures and three existing investors in exchange for a 5% stake in the company. (read full story)

 

YouTube dominates UK’s online video market

27 Million People Watched More Than 3.5 Billion Videos Online in the U.K. in March 2008 (read full release)

 

Internet measurement company, comScore,’ says that 27.4 million UK Internet users viewed 3.5 billion videos online in March 2008, and that Google sites, driven by the popularity of YouTube.com (which accounted for 99 percent of all videos viewed on the property in March), attracted a 48-percent share of all online videos viewed in the UK. 

 

BBC Sites ranked second with a 1.2-percent share, followed by Fox Interactive Media (0.9 percent share), Microsoft Sites (0.7 percent share), Yahoo! Sites (0.6 percent share), and French video sharing site, Dailymotion.com (0.4 percent share). 

 

According to the comScore Video Metrix service, UK Internet users watched an average of 127.7 videos per viewer in March – the highest usage rate of any of the five countries its Video Metrix service covers (which also includes the US, Canada, France and Germany).

 

Is China Leaving the Internet's Back Door Open?

Chinese Networks Are Hosting Majority of the Internet’s Malware Sites, StopBadware.org Report Finds

 

The majority of the Internet’s malware-infected websites are located on Chinese networks according to the latest ‘Infected Sites Report’ from StopBadware.org. The university-based research initiative, which aims to protect users from dangerous software, also found that six of the ten network blocks that contain the largest number of badware [sic] sites, are located in China. 

 

“Sites that infect visiting PCs represent some of the worst of digital pollution," said Jonathan Zittrain, StopBadware.org co-director and Professor of Law at Harvard Law School. Digital pollution of course, might be just one concern for China given its infamous Shanghai smog. Ironically, the US, which is another country not recognised for a particularly green approach, was found to be a another major ‘digital polluter’, with US-based networks accounting for 21 percent of bad sites.

 

However, Maxim Weinstein, manager of StopBadware.org, was keen to point out that although the country and network data published within the report are a helpful step in understanding the distribution of malware, people should be careful about assigning blame. “Our goal in releasing this report is not to point fingers or to imply that network owners or governments are at fault for the malware on their networks, but rather to start a conversation. When different links in the Internet chain talk to each other and share information, it leads to solutions that in turn lead to a safer Internet for all of us.”

 

Delivering more for less

IT Managers Batten Down the Hatches for the Year Ahead (read full release)

 

IT managers predict they will be under even more pressure to deliver more for less next year, new research from CIO Connect revealed this week. In a survey carried out ahead of CIO Connect’s annual Team Connect conference for IT managers in London on July 1st, managers confirmed they will have to batten down the hatches in the coming 12-18 months, as board-level executives demand IT departments focus on driving more value from existing infrastructure. 

 

“The difficult economic backdrop looks to be casting a cloud over the forecasts of IT managers for the 18 months ahead. In these circumstances, it is certainly important for IS departments to be driving value from their existing applications infrastructure, but the pressure of tougher economic times can also provide the perfect environment for IT departments to create imaginative and innovative solutions to assist their businesses to gain a competitive edge,” commented CIO Connect chief executive, Nick Kirkland. 

 

One would hope that IT departments already strive to create imaginative and innovative solutions and, despite the impending doom predicted by many as the ‘credit crunch’ continues to bite, surely the ‘more for less’ mantra has been espoused since the early ‘80s?

 

Mastering Millennials

Porter Novelli Offers Insight Into a Generation That's Reinventing the Workplace (read full report)

 

To help employers around the globe navigate the sometimes treacherous inter-generational waters, global communications agency Porter Novelli has issued a white paper about Millennials that aims to address five key questions: 

 

• How different are Millennials?
• What happens to confidentiality in an age of radical transparency?
• If being entertained is the norm, what happens to work?
• What does the world of work and business mean to Millennials?
• What stories are Millennials telling to make sense of themselves and their generation? 

 

In examining these challenges and others, the report also features tips on managing Millennials from 24 senior managers at Porter Novelli. 

 

Born in the 1980s, Millennials are beginning to enter the workforce and are said to be making a profound impact with their wholly different perspective on, approach to, and expectations of a professional experience. “If you want to understand Millennials, you need to allow your mind to freewheel,” noted Porter Novelli CEO, Gary Stockman.

 

“They do not strive for the things we Baby Boomers and Gen X’ers have accepted as gospel. That everyone wants to get ahead at work. That work is the means to a rewarding life. That privacy is something to be held dear. It can be very hard, but understanding Millennials requires parking these preconceptions – and many more – at the door."

 

'Nuff said…