But...You're in IT

I had a phone interview this week with a company for a consulting job. To be fair, this company is not an IT company, they are more situated in accounting, but I was interviewing with their IT department. My interviewer asked me about my semester and this class came up.

I mentioned LinkedIn, and this person had a no idea what I was talking about. Now granted, this person is a little older, but working in IT, I was surprised that they had never heard of the site. Isn't this supposed to be the future of business? If you are working in computers and technology, then wouldn't one of the most popular networking sites pop up on your radar sooner or later? I was caught off guard, especially when the person asked me to explain what the site is for.

To be honest, it gave me a bad impression. How up on things can they be? I know that they know much more than I do, but how do you now know what LinkedIn is when working in this field? Does this surprise anyone else?

Well, all I can say is I am certainly glad that I know what it is as well as many other networking sites. These tools have a lot to offer us and the sooner people learn about them, the more effective they will surely become. (Maybe through a little networking? Eh? Eh?) Although, I will say I was happy to find out that I am, in fact, not the only person, who knows what all of this stuff is. Apparently I don't live in a hole, which comes as quite as a relief.

Taking the "Social" out of "Social Good"

It only seems natural that online social networking would be utilized by everyone, and this trend has made its way into the world of Social Good. Websites, emails, and other methods of getting in touch with fellow do-gooders has become a new avenue to get people to get together to do whatever it is that they enjoy doing.

One such network, Razoo, hosts a social networking site for those who want to come together to share what's going on in the world. It is really great that we have the capability to connect so easily with each other. Although, I have to admit when I first heard about all of this I was a little confused. When I think of social change, and getting people together to make a difference, the internet doesn't really come to mind. I always think of those types of efforts being more face to face and actually going out and doing something. I know that a site like Razoo can make giving and updating others about efforts is a great tool, but something about it seems to easy. I think that such a lofty goal as "social change" needs to be a little more out there where the public can see it. Let's face it, when a person is online they are going to their favorite sites and looking for what they are interested in and if we aren't looking for something, chances are they will be harder to stumble upon.

Another site trying to promote some of these same concepts is Fatdoor. Some of their ideas include a network for neighborhoods to help out the elderly, or sending money to a local grocery store for a homeless person. Personally, I have a hard time with these ideas. Are we so out of touch with our neighbors that we need to actually look them up from the comfort of our own homes? And why can't we just give the homeless person a couple of dollars? I mean really people, not everything needs to be on the internet. We need to be concerned about the three dimensional people too. It's wonderful that we can bring people together, but when you live on the same block, just go outside...