Mobile Technologies You’ll Want

One of the best parts of attending unconferences is that you not only meet intelligent professionals, but you get the opportunity to hear them speak, even if they are not on the “official” track list.  Recently, I had the privlidge of meeting Gordon Lokenberg, founder of Lokloq mobile recruitment solutions.  Lokloq develops mobile apps for job boards and large recruitment companies.  I met Gordon recently at TRU London and was immediately struck by the amount of insight and information he has when it comes not only to mobile recruiting, but mobile technology in general.  He pulled together a track on the spot and went over many cool apps.  I am sharing a couple of my favorites that he told the group about.

Layar App for Android and iPhone

Layar-  This is an augmented reality browser app for Android or the iPhone.  By using the camera and GPS in your device to “see” where you are, the app adds layers of information based on your location.  So, you may be on a city street and see the street layered with restaurant and bar information.  Or, you might see homes for sale.  It gives you options to see the data you are interested in.

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Skyhook location positioning

Skyhook-  Is a wireless positioning system.  Skyhook goes beyond traditional GPS in determining the location.  It also considers information from wi-fi positioning and cell towers so that the result is the most accurate location possible.  It works well indoors and outside.  I have the MyTouch android phone and when I searched apps for Skyhook, there are several to choose from that use the technology.  This definitely works indoors and I am very impressed with the level of detail it gives beyond the GPS alone.

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Shazam App for Android and iPhone

Shazam-  This is an app that let’s you take a “musical journey”, according to their website.  Basically, when you hear a song or clip of music, you start the app.  It “listens” then searches to find the song.  I’ve tried it with radio, CDs, and TV and it works every time.  It then brings up a host of information on that particular song such as the album, genre, the band’s MySpace page (if they have one), and gives you options to purchase the song.  It then tracks your playlist for you.

So, try one of the new apps.  Oh, and be sure to check out Gordon’s site for lots of great mobile recruiting information.  Cheers!

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NCAA Championship: Top 10 Work Productivity Drains

March Madness.

Whether you are a basketball fan or not, this time of year means one thing:  NCAA Tournament watching and betting in the workplace.  It is certainly fun to get involved in all the hoop-la (pun intended).  The only problem is that it is a drain on workplace productivity that many managers complain about.

With that in mind, Steve Boese and I decided to post the “Top 10″ list of things at work that are MORE productivity draining than the tournament.  For numbers 10 through 6, jump over to Steve’s blog today.  I’m tackling numbers 5 through 1.  Here goes:

#5  Meetings, meetings, and more meetings… And, meetings to plan other meetings.

#4  “Hold on, let me write you some talking points.  No, wait.  Here are some talking points for the talking points.”

#3  Entering data in duplicate systems that do not “talk”.

#2  Look!  Look!  I just won $1,000 playing poker online.

And the number one productivity drain is….

#1  FIRE DRILL!

What time wasters do you see in your workplace that take up more time and productivity than a few days focusing on the NCAA tournament?  Let us know in the comments.

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Chasing the Leprechaun’s Gold

Well, it’s St. Patrick’s day and you know that means wearing green, drinking green beer, and maybe heading to a parade (like the Dogtown St. Pat’s parade here in St. Louis).

The image that popped into my head when talking with my kids about St. Patrick’s day is the little leprechaun who hides his gold at the end of the rainbow.  As legend has it, people who spy a rainbow often try to follow it to the end in hopes of finding that leprechaun’s gold.  Don’t we all try to do that at one time or another?  We’re always trying to earn more as our cost of living goes up, as healthcare becomes more expensive, and as we take on more work as more and more people are losing jobs.  But, is that what we should be doing?

As someone who is living in a family with only one income at the moment, it’s teaching a good lesson about how to look at what we spend on things.  It forces me to prioritize and budget.  It means that I’m not focused on finding the leprechaun with his pot of gold, I’m now focused on saving money and trying not to touch MY real pot of gold….my savings.

So, if you’re fortunate to have a job, as I am, make sure YOU are the leprechaun today…and guard the pot of gold you already have instead of chasing someone else’s.

Happy St. Pats!

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