Vijay S Paul - Page 25 of 26 - Melbourne Blogger, Storyteller, Communication Professional

Rajnikanth’s Website Doesn’t Need Internet, Runs On Rajni Power!

January 20, 2012 by vijayspaul·0 Comments

Q: Where did Superman, Batman and Spiderman go to on Teacher’s day?

A: Rajnikanth’s home.

Well, there’s no doubt as to credibility of this sentence, mainly because everyone who is someone has heard of Rajnikanth and his “Superpowers”. So it shouldn’t come as a surprise when desimartini.com, a portal for Bollywood news, released a microsite in a bid to honour Rajnikanth’s 61^st birthday, that can be opened only when it is NOT connected to the internet!

Yup. You heard me right. Fans can view different interesting stuffs about the larger-than-life figure on this site and they needn’t even be connected to the internet. When you go to the link of the site, it welcomes you with a note asking you to switch off your net connection to enter the website.

After that is done, you are congratulated for your actions that have earned yourself the “right” to enter the website!

Now that sounds so Rajnikanth!

The inner page is divided into three sections- The Man, The Star and The Legend, each bringing about different trivia, facts and jokes about the Style Mannan.

And Rajni power doesn’t end there. The site literally runs on “Rajni Power”, as is shown by the following screenshot taken when the page loads. Now that’s what I call “Rock n Load”!

In the meantime, if you plan to cheat the site by connecting to the net, up comes a Aiyyo message, requesting you to switch of your net to continue browsing.

The concept of the site is based on a complex algorithm running in the back-end that keeps an eye on the propagation of data/information packets between two terminals. ‘Magic’ kicks in soon as the broadband speed is down to zero, which is the basic premise on which the concept has been constructed.

Rocket scientists may say its just a flash based site which cache’s all the content on initial download of the site and then plays from the local browser. But well, for a layman its still Uber Cool. And anyways it’s the idea that matters. At times it’s the simplest ideas that make the maximum impact!

Gurbaksh Singh, creative director, Webchutney, says, “Desimartini came to us with a clear mandate to do something extraordinary to increase outreach and visibility. Initially, we followed protocol and began exploring ideas in the social, mobile and digital space including augmented reality, but soon realised that nothing competed with the might of Rajini’s on-screen and real-life persona. It had to be a simple concept that will baffle users to the point of disbelief, and then a miracle will occur to induce gasps of ‘OMG!’, in keeping with Rajini’s original signature style. We knew we were on to something big as soon as we cracked the idea to create a website that will run purely on ‘Rajini Power’. (as on AFaqs)

When it comes to Rajni, nobody questions the technicalities. And last time I heard, Larry Page and Mark Zuckerberg were at Rajni’s doorstep, pleading to save their websites from doom!

How To Use Facebook For Your Job Search

December 27, 2011 by vijayspaul·0 Comments

No, I haven’t gone nuts! Its true. Facebook actually CAN help you with your job search. All you need to know is “how”.

During the last few years we have heard many stories of how people have got fired by using Facebook. Ranging from status updates about how much you loathe your boss to posting pictures of you getting drunk at last Saturday’s office party, people have been shown the door of their office for various reasons. So how can Facebook be used as a” Job-Searcher” rather than a “Job-Destroyer”? Here are a few points you should keep in mind.

Smart Status Updates
Well, all of us post status updates now and then. Then why not use it for something useful! Update your status with your current situation and what kind of a job you’re looking for. You’ll be amazed at the number of people who might actually respond. Friends, family, colleagues and even long time acquaintances are all there to help you. All you need is ask. Its human nature to help and you’ll be delighted at the responses you get. But also remember that you stay in the forefront of their mind by continuously reminding them about you else they’ll forget about the whole stuff. Keep updating about the latest on your job hunt journey.

Professional Networking
Everyone expects to get contacted professionally via Twitter or LinkedIn. Though Facebook is not considered a professional network platform, there is no hard and fast rule that you cant use it for the same. You can assume that most of your colleagues and potential recruiters will be on Facebook. Try to see if you have a common friend who can get you introduced to them. Contacting them via Facebook will surely make you stand out from the usual Twitter-LinkedIn crowd. But be careful when using this tactic. Tread carefully and it’ll work. Else you might be asking for trouble.

Join And Get Active In Groups
Just like in real life, groups hold an important place in our social life too. Facebook groups are just like any other groups you can find. A place to post and discuss about a particular topic of interest, industry or incident. You can add value to the group by joining in and starting discussions that will get others involved. After a number of healthy discussions you can send them a friend’s request and they are likely to accept since they more or less know you or are acquainted. The objective here is to network with and get noticed by others in the industry which could eventually lead to you being considered for a job even before it is posted.

Facebook Marketplace
In Facebook marketplace you will be able to search for local job listings. You can now either apply or contact the person behind the posting for more information. Facebook’s marketplace may not be as complete as other marketplaces but they can benefit you as there is likely to be less competition for any roles posted there.

Posting Ads Of Yourself
It may sound as madness but its worth giving a try if you are crazy and creative enough. And is sure to turn some heads around! If you are ready to spend money on your search, you can post an ad telling where you would like to work. You can pick the demographics of the audience you want to target and set your daily budget. The more specific you can make it, the better. These ads are likely to render some interest n yourself and may or may not lead to your dream job but its certainly another way to reach out.

Finally, the answer to whether you can use Facebook to land a job. Well, lets just say its still in the backyard when compared to LinkedIn, but sure is worth a try. Anyways you spend a lot of time in Facebook so why not utilize it for something useful. Another tool in your kit is not going to hurt!

Have more points to add to these? Feel free to comment.

How Optimizing Twitter Profile Can Help You Land A Job

December 27, 2011 by vijayspaul·0 Comments

Twitter is not just a platform to tweet about everything under the sun. If used effectively, it can become an important weapon in your arsenal, for job search. Here are a few points on how you can use Twitter effectively.

Have An Effective Bio
Twitter allows you just 160 characters to write a bio so utilize it well. Make it clear about your field of interests and your skills and maybe even add up a bit of your personal interests if space allows.

Use A Real Photo
90% of people see the profile pic first when they visit the profile of a person. So make sure you have a good and neat photo of yours uploaded. No Tom Cruise or Megan Fox there. Or even a laughing hyena or praying mantis! As much as fun it would be uploading such photos, it doesn’t look very professional in the eyes of your potential employers.

Follow Relevant People
It’ll be really useful to follow people, organizations and companies that are associated with your target area. Twitter itself helps you find important people in particular fields. Along with that “Twellow” is a good tool that helps you find people in your area of interest.

Connect
Its just pointless if you follow people and they don’t know who you are and whether you exist or not! Connect with potentially useful contacts by replying to their tweets “smartly”, following links they post to their blog posts and then posting comments there and even asking them advices and suggestions on any doubts you may have related to the field. Asking questions make them feel important and they know you’re giving value to their advices. This will place you in their mind and might eventually help you further down the lane.

Tweet Smart. Don’t Spam.
Once you have started connecting to people and have slowly started making your presence felt in the Twitter world, it becomes increasingly important that you tweet smartly. Don’t just keep posting a million links without even reading what they are. Don’t spam. Twitter takes spamming seriously and once anyone feels you’re a spammer, they might just block/report you. Stay relevant to your topic and maybe even drop in a bit of humor and personal touch once a while. Though personal branding is important don’t tweet too much about yourself. Post informative and useful stuff which will help in giving off a good professional vibe.

Also, take care to avoid grammatical errors and spelling mistakes in your tweet along with swearing, lying and posting inappropriate content.

Offer Your Help
You can prove your authenticity and goodwill by offering help to other tweeters. This may be by just answering a poll, clearing a doubt they have or providing link to a useful source they are in need of. This will make an impression that you’re a good listener too and also a helpful person. Most of them would be glad o return the favor by maybe informing you first when they come to know of a job listing that might be apt for you.

Ask For Help
Feel free to ask for help. There are a number of people out there ready to help you if you just ask them. As you’ll gradually learn, most experts in their respective fields are glad and happy to help newcomers. Best example, based on personal experience, I would recommend is “Eric Weaver”, veteran digital marketer. He’s been pretty helpful to many newcomers in the SMM field and is always available to lend a helping hand.

Be Cautious
If you get a tweet or DM from someone you haven’t been interacting with or haven’t been told about, offering you a “Dream Job”, be wary. Just as there are a million non-existent, questionable, or even illegal jobs disguised as legit positions on listings websites, they can also appear on Twitter and other Social Media platforms.

Just cater to these points and am sure you’ll be able to utilize Twitter to its fullest. Do let me know if you have any other points to add to this list.
Other articles in this series include-

How To Optimize Your LinkedIn Profile For Job Search

December 27, 2011 by vijayspaul·0 Comments

As competition grows everyday with respect to all fields, it becomes more and more necessary that we fully understand the resources at our dispersal. With almost all of us having a Facebook account and a majority also having a Twitter presence, it is also needed that we understand the immense prospects LinkedIn reserves for us. Described as the Social Media Platform for entrepreneurs, business owners and industry professionals, it also stands as a good opportunity for students to connect to experts in their fields of interest and start getting an idea about the corporate industry, even before they leave college.

With the advent of Social Media, connecting has never been easier and it is important that professionals, and especially students understand the chances available to them. LinkedIn, helps connect to a wider professional industry by helping you connect to people, ask recommendations and join groups of interest so as to take part in discussions and improve your credibility.

Here are a few tips to keep in mind while updating your LinkedIn profile:

Make Your Elevator Pitch Catchy

LinkedIn is basically about branding. Branding either your company or yourself. Focus should be given on what you hope to accomplish and not what you are now. Recruiters will often search for a specific job title when looking for potential candidates. And include keywords into it because that’s how people find you on LinkedIn. Keywords that are related to your field of interest. This doesn’t mean you just go berserk over the results of Google Ad Words Keyword Tool! Be concise, discrete and to the point. Be focused!

No Spelling or Grammatical Errors

There is no need to specify about how much important first impressions are when you meet someone. Same goes for online media too. Your profile is your impression and you should make it good. Real good in fact. That means no SMS language, no spelling or grammatical errors. Make sure your profile is concise and articulate. In almost all cases that gets the job done.

URL’s

LinkedIn gives you an option to display links to other websites, in your profile. Make sure that this is, as much as possible, linked either to your personal/company website. Or to your online profile at either Twitter, About.me or Gravatar, to name a few. Try not to include your Facebook profile. Doesn’t give much of a good impression.

Connect Up Other Social Networks

LinkedIn can be used to connect up quite some of your social network presences, like WordPress, Slideshare and Twitter, to name a few. With the LinkedIn apps, you can connect your profile to such accounts. This again helps in increasing credibility about you and your work.

Ask For Recommendations. But First Give

LinkedIn displays recommendations very prominently. Take the time and ask your friends and colleagues to recommend you on LinkedIn. Recommendations add colour and depth to your profile. And if you have worked with anyone, make sure you offer to write a recommendation for them first.
The best way to build great connections is to always be the first one to give. Always have a helping hand ready.

Update Regularly

Keep your profile regularly updated. Not with posts about your graduation party or a trip to Disney Land. Be specific to your field of interest. If you are a student, would be useful to put updates about topics in your field that interest you and can even ask professionals in that area to give you advice or clear your doubts with respect to that. Professionals could also share important and interesting information and even tell people what you have achieved over the course of your normal work day- maybe a new client win or an award for best employee! Recruiters look out for people who are active and have an up to date profile.

Join And Take Part In Group Discussions

This is by far one of the most important things that should be kept in mind. Join groups that interest you, listen to the discussions that are going on and when possible put in your worthy suggestions or any doubts you may have. Group discussions become an important place where you can make new contacts and then carry on the acquaintance forward. Also, further down the line, groups are a good place to showcase your talent and knowledge about your field. After you have been identified as a power player in your field, people will come to you for answers.

And Finally

And finally make sure your contact settings are set to include career opportunities, consulting offers, job inquiries and likewise if you’re looking for a job and DO want to be found. No use if a potential employer is impressed by your skills but is not able to find from your profile whether or not you are interested in new career opportunities!

Well, feel free to comment if you feel any important point has been missed out. Meanwhile, leave you off with a quote from BC Forbes–

Think not of yourself as the architect of your career but as the sculptor. Expect to have to do a lot of hard hammering and chiseling and scraping and polishing.

Other articles in this series include-

How To Effectively Use Social Media To Land A Job

December 27, 2011 by vijayspaul·0 Comments

Almost all of us have some or the other form of social presence nowadays. Whether it be Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. But how many of us have actually seen them as a means to help us land a job??

Whatever your answer be to the above question, what I plan to share here are a few tips on how having an effective social media presence can positively impact your networking activities and also tag into the hidden prospects of the job market that aren’t made as obvious.

Create An Effective Profile
How would it feel if your prospective employer visited your Facebook page and saw photos of you getting drunk at last Saturday’s party, or saw your tweet with a sentence full of “censored” words? Bad right!!
With the social world growing day by day, the concept of online privacy is becoming lesser. That is the reason why we have to be discrete and biased about what we post online because it can actually decide or at least influence a lot of decisions for us.
If you are serious about getting prospective employers to find you via the internet, first and foremost make sure you have a “clean” social profile. That doesn’t mean no family photos or photos of your dog licking you. Just keep such stuff private and not open to public. Make sure you post appropriate content related to your field of interest. This gives an impression that you’re focused about your goals and interests.

Build Strong And Trustworthy Connections
One of the biggest benefits of social media lies in the fact that now it isn’t tough to get in touch with people who share your interests or are from the same industry as yours. It’s now easy to grow your network by adding friends or following people with common interests, participating in chats, discussions and forums or send personalized messages to people you would like to connect to. But at the same time make sure that the connections you build this way are trustworthy and that you maintain these connections throughout.

Search For Opportunities
Rather than just broadcasting stuff related to your industry, social media is about pursuing and networking with people who are more influential than you. As a job seeker it’s not every day you would get an opportunity to interact with the CEO or top brass of a MNC. Use this opportunity to your advantage and connect and engage with the companies and people you want to eventually work with.

Be An Influencer
One important thing that you have to keep in mind is – Personal Branding. Just like companies brand their products and services you have to learn to brand yourself. Refine your personal brand. A great way for this would be to have a personal blog about the industry you are most interested in. Not only will this help you establish yourself as an influencer in the industry but it’ll also eventually turn you into a trustworthy source. This will help you spread your name in the industry and at the same time spread your content in social media.

Be an Offline Networker Too
After you have built trustworthy connection online, make sure you try to extend them to offline too. Attend conferences and meet-ups which help you meet the person in real and build stronger connections. Or maybe just invite someone over for coffee.

These are a just a few points based generally over social media. For more read on articles focused on the top 3 social networks, you might want to follow the links below.