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Scoop.it!
From
tech
In the startup world, failure is cause for celebration. This is true for three reasons. Although not the preferred outcome, failure is a byproduct of risk taking. Taking risks is the only path to success. 
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Scoop.it!
Editor's Note: This is a guest post for the #learningtolearn series. Finding and collecting inspiration from unexpected places is an integral part of staying motivated and expanding the scope of your knowledge.
Ally Greer's insight:
Great piece in my #learningtolearn series by guest author Jordan Rappaport. I've always found inspiration through small tidbits, whether they be famous quotes, things I overhear in my office, things I've read in a book, etc. While it's hard to know when these moments of inspiration will strike, having a strategy to harness them and use them for future motivation is an integral part of keeping your brain stimulated and continuing the learning process. I've got a notebook filled with randon bits and pieces that I feel inspired by. Do you have a version of a "Think Board?"
Scoop.it!
What the heck is a Personal Branding Illusion? That's a good question, but it begs the question "What is a Personal Brand?", so let's start there.
Ally Greer's insight:
I absolutely love this post by Liz Ryan! First off, I've never heard the concept of a personal brand explained so well: People protest "Oh, I don't have a personal brand, and I don't want one" but that's like saying "I choose not to cast a shadow when I walk in the sun." A few weeks ago, I had this exact conversation with my mom; she thought it was crazy that I referred to my online presence as my "brand," but I told her that we all have our own version of our personal brand, a concept that was difficult for her to understand. The way Liz Ryan puts it here though, explains the term personal brand as just another way of saying "reputation" or "self-description." It's true, your personal brand is just a fancy way of quantifying the way people see and perceive you, based upon the way you present yourself physically, intellectually, emotionally, digitally, etc. Here, Ryan also describes five common ways people refer to their "personal brand" that are simply inaccurate. One example of this is "tasks." The tasks that you perform on a daily basis are not your personal brand. Your skills (which help you accomplish your tasks), are a component of your personal brand, but don't just leave it at that! Another example - one that I personally can't stand - is "zombie language." Per Ryan, Zombie Language is often manifested in the form of buzzword-enhanced one-liners that professionals use to describe themselves (See: goal-focused social media strategist, or results-driven PR professional). If you use those or any of the other mentioned "strategies" to define your personal brand, have a look at this piece and get restructuring!
Ally Greer's curator insight,
June 19, 2013 1:48 PM
And by the way, a great way to build your personal brand is to create and curate content online! Thanks, Liz, for the Scoop.it shoutout! 
Guillaume Decugis's comment,
June 20, 2013 6:06 PM
Love #5: "I solve complicated, high-stakes problems" ;-)
Scoop.it!
Twitter introduces analytics and Facebook introduces hashtags. Old Spock battles the new Spock (in a well-received new commercial). Do you think the cloud is more secure than your own environment?
Ally Greer's insight:
Just in case you missed any news at all last week, spend a few minutes of your Monday morning catching up on what's going on in the world of small business.
Scoop.it!
Have you ever thought of running your LinkedIn profile like a pay-per-click campaign? Many business professionals, sales executives, small & large businesses a Via Jeff Anderson
Ally Greer's insight:
When building your LinkedIn profile (and your online presence in general), it's important to focus on keywords and make sure that you've made your skills, industry, and expertise clear. Check out these tips from Gerry Moran for more detail.
Scoop.it!
From
tech
Toss out that stack of sticky notes on your desk…now’s the time to upgrade to an app for your work to-do list instead.
Scoop.it!
With the wide adoption of social media over the last couple of years, the conversation has evolved away from “Why use social media?” to “How do you use social media?
Ally Greer's insight:
GIving examples of "bad practices" online from the perspective from how they'd look in real life is an accurate (and unfortunately giggle-worthy) way to point out the ineffectiveness of these actions.
Scoop.it!
Social media and blogging has gone from being an activity you did for just fun and pleasure to serious business.
Ally Greer's insight:
"Social media used to be what teenagers and students did after dinner. Blogging was an online personal diary where you kept pictures of your dog, cat and travels." It's true. It also couldn't be further from the current state of social media. Jeff Bullas is a blogging and social media veteran who knows a little bit about these things. This list of tools and resources is an awesome reference for anyone and everyone, whether you're looking for a career in social media, looking to start your own website or blog, or looking to just advance your knowledge of the social space.
Scoop.it!
How to best market, present and showcase your best talent and work
Ally Greer's insight:
This is an awesome topic by top-notch curator, Robin Good.
Scoop.it!
The fuzzy front end is the nickname for the start of innovation or innovation phase. Why? Because getting innovative ideas is a vague process. It’s considered as hard to do.
Ally Greer's insight:
I can't even pull anything out of here that I like more than the rest of it. Bookmarking this list forever and ever. If you always do what you always did, you will always get what you always got.
Scoop.it!
If you’re on LinkedIn, you want to grow your network -- because there’s some serious career-boosting power in those connections. Via Steve Cassady
Ally Greer's insight:
THIS times a million. I always try to write something personal on LinkedIn invitations (and have a general rule to not accept invites from people who I don't know unless they have a personal message). Show that you're interested in the person you're trying to connect to, not just that you're clicking a button because you're told you have to.
Steve Cassady's curator insight,
June 2, 2013 11:41 AM
Great tip since many users do not accept non-personalized invites.
Scoop.it!
"I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work.”
Ally Greer's insight:
Fred Kofman offers a great perspective of what can happen when everything goes right and a project is still not successful, as well as how to prevent that from happening.
Scoop.it!
From
theyec
A Wharton degree is great training for your career as an entrepreneur -- but some startup lessons can't be taught in a classroom.
Ally Greer's insight:
Zach Yungst, co-founder of Cater2.me, has some tips on things they don't teach you about being an entrepreneur even when it's your area of study. Notice that three out of his four tips begin with "learn how to..." I'm observing more and more that building a business and making your ideas into realities is all about learning how to learn, and never ever stopping.
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Scoop.it!
From
tech
I’m guessing you’re familiar with AddThis? You know, the “world’s largest sharing platform” used by the likes of The Today Show, The Chicago Sun Times, and American Idol.
Ally Greer's insight:
There is so much great insight in this interview with Hooman Radfar of AddThis. Some highlights: -You shouldn't have to rely on someone else in order to create your business or make a profit. "To paraphrase Fred Wilson, we learned that we 'did not want to be any other platform's bitch." -Media coverage is great, but you'll never get it if your product isn't good. Plus, even if you do, it won't matterin the end if you can't live up to the type. Focusing on meeting a consumer need will give the media something to actually want to cover. "The winners will be masters at using context to help the user get the right content at the right time."
Scoop.it!
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Ally Greer
June 19, 2013 12:39 AM
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Scoop.it!
"Here are three things I’ve learned from Warren over the years."
The thing I love most about Warren Buffett is that every single article that's written about him and the lessons he's taught so many of his admirers is that the content is always consistent. It's clear that the life lessons Buffett has to teach are truly things that he believes in and lives by.
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Scooped by
Ally Greer
June 11, 2013 3:29 PM
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Scoop.it!
"First things first: Confidence is not bravado, or swagger, or an overt pretense of bravery. Confidence is not some bold or brash air of self-belief directed at others.Confidence is quiet: It’s It’s a natural expression of ability, expertise, and self-regard."
Quoteable, actionable advice from Dharmesh Shah, founder and CTO at HubSpot:
-Finding out what is right is a lot more important than being right.
-Confident people don’t need the validation of others, because true validation comes from within.
-Everyone you know knows someone you should know.
Y es que puedes ser o Rey de la selva o Rey del cotarro ..
Confidence is something you can work on. Learn these 9 qualities.
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Rescooped by
Ally Greer
from Ideas for entrepreneurs
June 10, 2013 5:09 PM
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Scoop.it!
Nothing has the power to engage people like a great story. From a carefully crafted elevator pitch to the perfect customer testimonial, a great narrative can propel your brand and business like
I'd love to be able to hear each and every one of these from all of the entrepreneurs I'm lucky enough to talk to!
In the end, there is only a story, badly told, or made to stick. See http://www.brandtostick.com and http://www.networkempire.com
This is the story of a brilliant entrepreneur, Leah Busque. She is passionate about her business, she lives and breathes it. And it shows.
What is your story ?
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Scooped by
Ally Greer
June 7, 2013 5:19 PM
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Scoop.it!
Web-Based Business Strategies and Monetization Models
I couldn't pick just a few pieces to share from this awesome resource. Worth a lengthy peek.
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Rescooped by
Ally Greer
from Orange rhymes with...
June 6, 2013 6:56 PM
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Scoop.it!
The C.E.O. of YouSendIt says leaders must always be clear about where they are taking a company.
"Be in, be real, and be bold." Loved everything about this. Definitley worth the time to read, for any sized business to benefit from.
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Scooped by
Ally Greer
June 5, 2013 5:28 PM
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Scoop.it!
I couldn't have said it better myself. Reddit cofounder Alexis Ohanian is 100% right to say that being resourceful is ultimately way better than having a good GPA.
Granted, for most entry-level jobs, GPA is the main way employers sort through resumes simply due to the sheer volume of applicants they're seeing, but ultimately, if you can get things done, you will be noticed.
Alexis encourages exploration of interests and implementation of skills to, esentially, get things done. Don't have a job? Not the point. "Don't wait for permission to be awesome."
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Scooped by
Ally Greer
June 5, 2013 1:03 PM
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Scoop.it!
Many successful entrepreneurs believe the world would be better if there were many more people like them. While there is truth in this, some of the most influential people in the Valley seem to believe that the panacea for the country and the world is for nearly everyone to become an entrepreneur.
Writer, professor, and CEO Ben Mangan has some great tips that really put being an entrepreneur in perspective. It's true that, in this day and age, more and more people are thinking entrepreneurially and looking for ways to innovate whatever sector they happen to be in (or aren't yet in and want to disrupt). Living the Bay Area and working in tech myself, I've observed many people with amazing ideas but a tainted perspective of what entrepreneurship actually entails.
Ben's five tips are worth a read - don't see it as discouragement; simply as a change in mindset to prepare you to actually get to where you have the potential of going.
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Scooped by
Ally Greer
June 5, 2013 1:34 AM
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Scoop.it!
Reputation.com’s Polly Wood, who counsels CEOs, politicians and movie stars on reputational matters, offers these tips for using the Internet the right way to get your dream job. (Thinking about changing career?
These are some great tips on how to leverage social media to find a job. The one that I found most interesting is probably the most relevant one, and the one that the least amount of people actually tell you with this spin: who you know can get you hired. This isn't referring to someone you know getting you a job, though. It's about your future employer wanting access to your (hopefully) extensive network of connections online and off.
Of course, the classic be present, don't be stupid, and display your expertise (#humblebrag) should never be forgotten.
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Scooped by
Ally Greer
May 31, 2013 2:30 AM
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Scoop.it!
The Internet isn't the only place to innovate, says the founder of Tesla, SpaceX, and SolarCity.
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Scooped by
Ally Greer
May 30, 2013 4:19 PM
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Scoop.it!
These five ways to leverage LinkedIn, from slacking to socializing, have nothing to do with getting a new job.
LinkedIn isn't only for finding jobs (in fact, some people don't even find it useful for that).
If you think you have no reason to be on LinkedIn, whether it be because it seems irrelevant to your industry or because you simply never took the time to understand it and are "doing fine" without it, I would advise you to think again. LinkedIn, according to this article, was the 22nd most visited website in the world as of March of this year.
Regardless of your industry or your dream job, having a (professional) presence online is more important than ever; you never know who or what you might find (or who will find you!)
No matter what you're doing, failure is an ultimate part of learning and success.
Tech Cocktail's #failurefriday series is one of my new favorite things - talking to (now successful) entrepreneurs and business people who have failed hard in the past and share what they learned from the experience.
My personal favorite excerpt of this one with TwitPic's former CTO Steve Corona is:
How to fail at startups, crash course:
1. Make interesting shit.
2. Find out people don't want to pay for the shit you think is interesting
3. See 1