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Join us this Thursday, September 27 for our monthly Blogger Dinner.
It’s free. It’s fun. And first-timers are always welcome.
Where:
Applebees
123 E. 12300 S.
Draper Utah
(801) 495-4460
Blog it. Invite You List. Show up.
I received a tweet (from my twitter group) that Guy Kawasaki was speaking in Utah thanks to Doba.com so I immediately looked into it, confirmed my availability, punched in my credit card (from my mobile - [nice touch Doba
The next morning I received a call - caller id says it’s from Doba.com. I found this interesting considering I don’t do business with them. So I answered assuming it was a confirmation call only to find a young-sounding, very scattered voice asking me if he could answer any questions about Doba.com and what my interest was in their website.
I was shocked, to be honest. I’ve heard great things about Doba, having never dealt with them before. Keep in mind it wasn’t that they called me or even that they would want to introduce their business to me - I’m a business owner so I understand how marketing works. I just didn’t expect Doba to assume I had signed up “for more information” when I had actually paid to hear Guy speak. They had no idea who I was (or why I was on their list) and it seemed very unprofessional. To say nothing for the fact that the caller was so confused that it left both of us speechless. It was very awkward.
Then this morning two more tweets come across that Doba is spamming those who signed up for Guy’s talk. I never received an email, but maybe my awkward phone call prompted Doba to soft-sell through email - an even worse approach IMO.
I only write this blog to make sure that Doba hears about it - I know you’re listening. 
I’m not anti-Doba, and I’m excited to hear Guy speak. You should probably sign up as well cause it’s only $10. Visit here for more.
To be clear, I still hear great things about Doba and I know they intended for good things. I just believe they failed miserably.
I was asked to review Jason Alba’s new book, I’m on LinkedIn, Now what? and at first I hesitated because of my busy schedule. Then I accepted, started reading, got distracted, and disappeared for a week. I finally finished the book this morning, and I’m very impressed overall.
Disclaimer: I know Jason Alba personally. He is the founder of very fun to say, JibberJobber.com Career Toolset and writes an excellent career management blog.
When I signed up with LinkedIn, many months ago, I didn’t get it. I had a few friends recommend it, and I was fresh out of college, so I got listed. But then nothing happened - no emails, no connections, and no phone calls. I was a little discouraged and looked elsewhere for work and quickly got busy there, started a business, and networked like crazy (something new for me).
The key points about this book that were critical for me were in Chapter 2 when Jason speaks about how LinkedIn is not a “Be All End All” job hunting ground but rather a place to make connections. From there you have to manage your relationships as you would any other relationship. This can be done with off-the-shelf software. I really expected more from LinkedIn initially, and still do today, but I also understand that it isn’t meant to be everything.
Throughout the book, Jason does a great job of teaching the steps, pointing out the details of some of LinkedIn’s lingo such as InMail, degrees, etc. Not that this is extremely difficult to figure out given enough time but for those who are new, it’s a great starting point. He also includes a ton of great tips on how to maximize your experience on LinkedIn without upsetting your network.
Lastly, I appreciated the comments by LinkedIn users at the closing of each chapter. It’s an interesting perspective to listen to other customers/users because everyone has different needs and several new ideas were presented to me about LinkedIn that I’ve never spent enough time thinking about.
I’ve known Jason for about 6-8 months now, and we’ve had regular meetings at our monthly Utah Blogger Dinners and other lunches. He’s a stand-up guy who really gets the networking side of business relationships and has taught me a lot by just watching how he handles certain situations.
Get a copy of his book, read it right away, and get yourself networking with others. You won’t regret the time spent once you see the benefits financially.