Pinterest. Tumblr. You gotta know 'em.
I've been helping Moms and women (and a good number of men!) keep up with the news for many years, truly believing it is important to know what's going on in your neighborhood and world even while you're busy doing other things. If you're a Mom who is taking time out of the workplace, you know how important it is to keep up with your industry, too.
But now, with job postings calling for a "web presence" or "at least five Pinboards," there's another mountain looming--one of time-consuming things to learn and do if you want to stay competitive in the workplace now or in the future--things beyond Facebook, Twitter, Google+ and LinkedIn (which you should already be using one or more of anyway).
So, let's start a dialogue of what's needed to stay current these days, and add to it over time. Be sure to add your thoughts in the comments, please. Again, this won't be an exhaustive, but it's a start!
1. Know Tumblr (super easy blogging software), Pinterest (the latest Web phenom where you "pin" things you find intersesting), Google Docs (it's all about sharing in the cloud these days), Dropbox (transfer large files), TaskRabbit (find people to do things for you like go to the grocery store or put together Ikea furniture) and Prime (meaning Amazon Prime).
2. Understand the growth and power of sites like Gilt, OneKingsLane, Groupon, LivingSocial, RueLaLa, and the many others that are popping up just like them (hint: all offer deals).
3. Understand how important Facebook is to companies like Zynga (gaming company that derives majority of revenue from Facebook) and Airbnb (rent a room in someone's home for the weekend) and Branchout (find a job).
4. Try to read Top 10 publishings now and then, like this one from FastCompany: http://www.fastcompany.com/most-innovative-companies/2012/industry/webinternet
5. Pick a site or two to read daily (or at least a couple times a week - even reading the headlines will help!), like WSJ's Career section: http://online.wsj.com/public/page/news-career-jobs.html?mod=WSJ_topnav_careers_main
6. Read our weekly-ish EMAIL! You'll walk away smarter in five minutes or less. SIGN UP
What are you doing to stay current?
- SD


