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Where Jill Will Talk Like She Writes
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The White House Project
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Sep
30
Investor’s Daily Business: muddles info on Mandel, Ohio and divestment
Filed Under Business, Military, Government, Ohio, Media, Politics | 6 Comments
This time, the perpetuation of wrong intimations are in an op-ed that Investor’s Business Daily published:
Legislation to prevent investment by Ohio’s public pension funds in companies that do business with the terror-sponsoring and nuke-building mullahs in Iran has been introduced by State Reps. Shannon Jones and Joshua Mandel.
Mandel knows something about Iranian involvement in Iraq, particularly with Iran’s supplying jihadists with advanced IEDs to kill Americans. He served a combat tour there as a Marine.
That’s it. Not another word. And the op-ed is dated September 26, 2007.
I hope no one I know and no one responsible for policy decisions anywhere else relies on op-eds like this one, from a print publication that also publishes online. Because clearly no one did their research, or else they’d know that Ohio’s legislation was effectively derailed and placed in the roundhouse and that Rep. Mandel may in fact know more than just “something about Iranian involvement in Iraq.”
That’s what I keep saying anyway.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 10:53 pm September 30th, 2007 in Business, Military, Government, Ohio, Media, Politics | 6 Comments
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Sep
30
Wide Open posts, 9/27 & 9/28
Filed Under Civil Rights, Congress, Government, Women, Ohio, Elections, Politics | Leave a Comment
Show them the money; Hackett and Palmer together again; Dennis Kucinich and his millions; Paula Tobias; Big Brother in Akron:
How many emails did you get this weekend asking you for political contributions? (9/29/07)
Hackett pressing 10th’s flesh while Kucinich pushes away press (9/28/07)
Kucinich, Boehner spend over $1mil on staffs, via LegiStorm (9/28/07)
Profile: Lorain mayoral candidate, Paula Tobias (9/28/07)
Akron Police Dept. installs security cameras a la London (9/28/07)
By Jill Miller Zimon at 3:15 pm September 30th, 2007 in Civil Rights, Congress, Government, Women, Ohio, Elections, Politics | Please comment
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Sep
29
Where we need to be, what we need to know
Filed Under Women, Announcements, Tech | Leave a Comment
Seems to expand exponentially every time I go into my RSS feed reader or my inbox for that matter. Yet, I’m still only 46 chromosomes and 5 feet 1 inches of me. What’s wrong with this picture?
1. She’s Geeky: A Women’s Tech (un)Conference
It is designed to provide women who self-identify as geeky and who are engaged in various technology-focused disciplines with a gathering space in which they can exchange skills and discuss ideas and form community across and within disciplines.
Our goal is to create an open space forum for women in tech to come together to:
- Exchange skills and learning from women from diverse fields of technology.
- Discuss topics about women and technology.
- Connect the diverse range of women in technology, computing, entrepreneurship, funding, hardware, open source, nonprofit and any other technical geeky field.
I don’t have to feel so so badly about not getting to something like this because even though I might be geeky, I don’t think I pass the “engaged in various technology-focused disciplines” bar.
But if you do? Here’s more vitals and for the rest, go to the site.
Computer History Museum, Mountain View, CA.
October 22-23
Start Time: Noon on Monday
Ending Time: Close 6pm on Tuesday.
2. The Plain Dealer listed this Breast Cancer Brunch that will occur a week from today, Saturday, October 6 in Beachwood. The blurb says that the deadline to register is tomorrow. Go here for more info. Elizabeth Schulte, executive director of the Northern Ohio Breast Cancer Coalition Fund, is the speaker.
3. The International Women Leaders Global Security Summit
This event, in NYC from November 15-17, is one I hope, sometime in the next ten years, as a North Star kind of goal, along with being on Diane Rehm, making two more b’nai mitzvahs, surviving menopause and my 20th wedding anniversary, that actually comes to fruition. Oh - I forgot, and a Pulitzer. And a genius grant.
The goal of the Summit is to enhance the effectiveness of women’s leadership on global security through three main objectives.
The Summit will:
- launch a process to amplify the efforts of women leaders and facilitate more collective action on global security
- generate public awareness and support for women’s leadership on global security
- generate ideas and increased resources for women’s leadership on global security
Now - will these women be lion mothers or sheep mothers? I don’t know, but Michelle Malkin has not written about the event from what I can tell.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 5:58 pm September 29th, 2007 in Women, Announcements, Tech | Please comment
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Sep
29
Pepper Pike Democratic Club, Civic League hold candidate forums
Filed Under Government, Elections, Announcements, Politics | Leave a Comment
First up, the Pepper Pike Democratic Club, which meets on the first Wednesday of each month at 7pm at the Orange branch of the Cuyahoga County Library, will host a Candidates’ Night this Weds., October 3, for the Democratic and Independent candidates running for city council or the board of education in the November 6 election.
Then, on Tuesday, October 16, 2007, the Pepper Pike Civic League sponsors its Candidates and Issues Forum from 7:30 to 9:30pm at Brady Middle School.
Candidates:
Mayor: Bruce Akers, incumbent, unopposed
City Council, choose three: Allan Krulak (D), Gail Mayland (D), Cleve Svetlik (R); all are incumbents and, according to this Chagrin Herald Sun news item, Joshua Schaffer (the pictures still freak me out), a twenty-something University of Akron student who had filed to run as an Independent, has withdrawn from the race.
Orange School Board, choose two: Tom Bonda (D), Cindy Eickhoff; both are incumbents and are running unopposed
Issues
Appears to be, per the League’s flyer, only the Cleveland-Cuyahoga County Port Authority renewal request for an 0.13 Mill levy (13 cents per $1,000 of valuation) “for five years for the purpose of the Authority’s budget.”
I think we’re fairly sure that the repeal the adult entertainment restrictions law effort will not be on the ballot.
As an aside, I live here. I know it’s not peach keen. I know many, many active parents and adults. The only reason I know of as to why no one else runs against anyone for anything is resources - time, money and family support in terms of time and money. To run for a position requires an immense effort if you aren’t one of the incumbents. But once you are, look how they sail?
I know every single one of the folks - they’re fine to good to great. But new blood? Not so much. I don’t know if that’s good or bad. But stasis is a problem in general in leadership, when everything around you is dynamic.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 5:24 pm September 29th, 2007 in Government, Elections, Announcements, Politics | Please comment
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Sep
29
Remains of the Week, 9/24-29/07
Filed Under Women, Marketing, Business, Ohio, Remains of the Day, Politics, Education, Cleveland+, Blogging | 6 Comments
How’s that for a catch-all?
1. Great web-related, entrepreneur-related, youth isn’t wasted-related, girls and tech-related article courtesy of a Positivity post from Tom Blumer at Bizzy Blog.
2. Piss off a censor, read a book, from Bill Sloat.
3. Cleveland Mayor Frank Jackson wants to use the Hopkins Cleveland police to re-instate an FT gang unit.
4. Are you one of the disenfranchised absentee ballot Akron voters?
5. MoveOn’s “Petraeus Betray Us” versus Rush Limbaugh’s “phony soldiers” - the slide down the slippery slope accelerates.
6. FIELD TRIP! to the Hanna Tech Hotel. H/t Brewed Fresh Daily, I think, though I can’t find the original post because George doesn’t believe in search tools on his blog!
7. Deer? On our roads? Causing up to 60,000 collisions a year? Nooooooo! You’re kidding! How about, DUH! Because municipalities keep telling their residents that re-zoning for commercial or multi-house residential units is the only viable use and then developers clear-cut forests, not unlike my new neighbors, who’ve increased my wildlife population 10-fold. What I most love about this link? The tips. OH. MY. GAWD. Sooooo not helpful. Ugh.
8. Women dominate college enrollment. Tom, I’m telling you, women don’t care so much about treating like queens as they do getting what they’re worth.
9. I’m really unhappy about Myanmar. Here’s the video being reviewed by Japan re: the Japanese photog that was killed in Rangoon/Yangon. Here’s an excellent Wall Street Journal piece on how citizen journalists are evading the news blackout there. Eric Vessels sent me a link to this statement by the Dalia Lama.
10. The National Networker - anyone familiar with this company? I’m not exactly sure I understand what they do, but there sure are a lot of people working there and they have a blog.
11. Native Clevelander Adam Brandon comments on BFD about an 11/15 Cleveland diaspora event on Capitol Hill where he hopes to remind people of how great Cleveland is. Thank you, Adam. I agree. More on Recruiting to Cleveland here and the IdentiFYI project - another BFD hattip.
12. LeBron James hosts Saturday Night Live tonight, per Crains.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 4:54 pm September 29th, 2007 in Women, Marketing, Business, Ohio, Remains of the Day, Politics, Education, Cleveland+, Blogging | 6 Comments
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Sep
29
Googling applicants becoming standard, says HR survey
Filed Under Business, Marketing, Blogging | 3 Comments
Once again, I’ve read HR Magazine’s articles in the print edition before its available online. Given that Oct. 1 is Monday, I don’t know - don’t you think it should be available by now, in this day and age? What’s particularly odd about the lag is that the print edition includes, on page 7, an entire page of “SHRM Online highlights” - none of which are available yet, even though I have the print version in hand. For example, an online-only article titled, “Facebook Face-Off: workers surfing the Internet social networking site Facebook during the workday could be costing employers millions of dollars in wasted time” isn’t here at the link listed in the print edition, which I have. Boo.
In any case, I’ll try to come back here and include the links once they’re up - but no guarantees.
The October issue (which I assume will be highlighted on this link in the next couple of days and be archived here) includes three article of distinction for bloggers in its “HR Technology Special Report” section:
1. “Counting on Collaboration” focuses on the variety of tools available for connecting on work projects through computer software. I’m typing now from the hard copy:
Today’s collaborative tools fall into two broad groups: tools created for a web-based function, and collaborative platforms designed for various disciplines from supply chain management to HR processes to general knowledge sharing.
The first category, known as Web 2.0, includes blogs…and wikis.
[snip]
Web 2.0 provides some of the building blocks for the second category-collaborative platforms, which include HR areas such as recruiting and performance manangement. Most of this software is built on Internet open standards, including, in the case of HR-specific products, the tags and schemas developed by the HR-XML Consortium….
Honestly? You’ll have to wait for the link on that one because I don’t have a clue as to what the couple of sentences after that one means, let alone get my fingers to tap it out on the laptop keyboard.
The mag provides a “A Glossary of Collaboration Tools” which, I’m extremely excited to note, I actually knew all of (bad sentence sorry very much writing like I talk, or think): blog, collaboration platform, instant messaging, podcast, RSS, Search engine, video conferencing, web conferencing, whiteboard, wiki.
Other than that platform paragraph, I’m feeling proud of myself for knowing these terms. But now I can’t decide: am I that far ahead, or so many others - who should be up to speed, I would have thought - so far behind?
2. “How Deep Can You Probe?”
An issue that will never die so long as the Internet exists: “Many employers are going online to check out job candidates. But does the practice carry hidden risks?”
Oy.
Okay - well - what new can we add to what’s already been discussed in the Ohio blogosphere on this topic?
According to data quoted in the mag’s article that cites the 2007 Advances in e-Recruiting Leveraging the .jobs domain survey by SHRM (survey available only to members):
…nearly half of the HR professionals who responded run a candidate’s name through a search engine like Google or Yahoo! before making an offer. About one in five of those HR professionals [10% of the total number who responded] who conduct such searches said they have disqualified a candidate because of what they uncovered.
Some 15 percent of the HR professionals who responded to the SHRM survey said they check social networking sites like MySpace and its fast-growing competitor Facebook to see what a job candidate has posted…Some 40 percent of survey respondents who don’t now go to the sites say they are “somewhat likely” or “very likely” to visit them in the next 12 months. In most cases, checking such a site only takes a few moments.
Don’t we know it?
How many responded to the survey?
Surveys were emailed to 3,000 randomly selected SHRM members and yielded 450 responses. In addition, surveys were sent to 1,050 organizations that use a “.jobs” domain and yielded 152 responses. The survey results examine differences among .jobs and non-.jobs organizations by organization staff size and employment sector.
Well, then, in regard to concerns about what is the industry standard? These numbers go to HR professionals. Do HR professionals work in formal political party offices? I don’t know, and I’m not sure that’s even relevant.
What’s relevant is that these kinds of resources exists, the resource is being used by people who hire people and more people who hire people expect to be using these resources in the near future.
So people who want to be hired? For any job? You need to be aware too.
3. “Blogging for Talent”
This article addresses “recruitment blogs” and includes a tips sidebar for corporate recruitment blogs. Examples of such blogs include those done by T-Mobile’s WirelessJobs and Microsoft’s JobsBlogs‘ and Backstage at Accenture (that one is kind of fun).
Final wise idea:
Employers with successful blogs think of them as conversations with those who contact their sites and make sure that corporate language is not used in place of the blogger’s own voice.
In any kind of blogging, is there really anything else?
By Jill Miller Zimon at 12:18 pm September 29th, 2007 in Business, Marketing, Blogging | 3 Comments
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Sep
29
Thousands in blogging scholarship money, deadlines approach
Filed Under Writing, Announcements, Media, Education, Blogging | 9 Comments
Here are two, both offering up to $10,000 in sscholarship money for college students who blog. One is intended for conservative-libertarian bloggers, the other is less specific. Jerid Kurtz won the 2007 Political Blogging Scholarship from College Scholarships for his work on The New Hampshire Project - an outstanding demonstration of primary sourcing by a blogger - but that award wasn’t part of this particular competition.
The college conservative-libertarian competition from America’s Future Foundation, application deadline: December 31, 2007:
America’s Future Foundation is pleased to announce a nationwide contest for the best conservative or libertarian college blogger. The purpose of the contest is to encourage original liberty-minded blogger journalism on college campuses and to identify young conservative and libertarian talent who wish to pursue careers as journalists and writers.
The contest is open to all graduate and undergraduate bloggers age 25 and younger. The winning blog will be awarded a cash prize of $10,000, and be invited to be a panelist at an AFF Roundtable on higher education in Washington, D.C. Awards will be announced on April 7, 2008.
Read more details here.
The College Scholarships’ competition, submission deadline: Midnight PST on Oct. 6th:
Scholarship Requirements:
- Your blog must contain unique and interesting information about you and/or things you are passionate about. No spam bloggers please!!!
- U.S. citizen or permanent resident;
- Currently attending full-time in post-secondary education in the United States; and
- If you win, you must be willing to allow us to list your name and blog on this page. We want to be able to say we knew you before you became a well educated, rich, and famous blogging legend.
And their philosophy:
At College Scholarships.org we believe that everyone deserves a shot at a decent education. And we love bloggers. Not for the least of reasons, because we blog, and one of the founders of this site makes a living as a blogger.
We believe passion is important. As the world gets more competitive, those who are passionate about what they do, and work close to their passions, will be able to become and stay successful even as technology and automation eat away at many business models. Those who are willing to share their experiences with the world help make the world a better place, even if most bloggers only consider blogging a hobby.
We believe those who freely express themselves are far more likely to find their true passions and connect with people to bring on large scale social change.
I’ve actually interviewed Dan Kovach, the person who started Collegescholarships.org and he’s a bit of an enigma, but very charming and knowledgeable and, apparently, successful. Since I wrote this post about him, he was profiled by CNN Money.
If he’s helping bloggers, and helping college students, it’s hard to diss him. Yet. But I’m always wary of those rising stars, you know.
I still have to figure out if I can persuade him to offer a mid-life blogging scholarship, or a women’s blogging scholarship.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 9:56 am September 29th, 2007 in Writing, Announcements, Media, Education, Blogging | 9 Comments
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Sep
28
Retirement planning ISO young’uns on YouTube, MySpace
Filed Under Business, Marketing, Media, Blogging | 2 Comments
From BenefitNews.com (behind free registration), more business uses of viral video:
Jack, and his Einstein-inspired guru Doc, are the stars of a series of three videos being broadcast through YouTube and MySpace that track Jack’s journey to financial literacy. The clips were produced by a start-up company called FeelSmartAbout as a way to educate young workers about retirement planning.
“How do we get young individuals in their 20s to really change their behavior and their approach to retirement?” says Christian Echavarria, the founder and president of the upstart, based outside of Pittsburgh. “That is the biggest need in the industry.”
They’re delivered by YouTube email alerts to entice users to learn about 401(K) plans and other products.
Have you received any? Would you watch the videos and act on it? Some storylines in the videos include:
So far, a spot called “Make A Date” - a spoof of the dating game where a damsel chooses between three eligible bachelors: a conservative-talking bear, a fast-and-loose bull and a human, whose investing philosophy is somewhere in between - has been viewed 18 times. The balanced portfolio gets the girl.
In another spoof, “The Fugitive,” the manhunt focuses on a perp who fails to participate in his 401(k). It has been downloaded 36 times.
Here’s more about the company that’s produced the video, FeelSmartAbout.
You can read the article from the issue’s pdf if you don’t want to register.
By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:26 am September 28th, 2007 in Business, Marketing, Media, Blogging | 2 Comments
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Sep
27
Remains of the Day, 9-27-07
Filed Under Remains of the Day | Leave a Comment
1. Top Ten Reasons to Love Cleveland (and the post is a good reason to love Michelle’s blog, thanks for the tip, BFD).
2. In case I need more reasons to leave SPJ, I can start and end with the fact that its President thinks Michael Wolff’s Vanity Fair piece was “wonderful” and his project, Newser.com is “brilliant.” So very, very not.
3. Hate crimes legislation gets out of Senate.
4. Myanmar, first-person reportage. A perfect example as to why sanctions etc. are such dubious tools, even for those of us who wish they would work. Some governments are impervious, period, to any and all tactics.
5. Wide Open posts today:
Ohio utility complaint line opens
Major college cost assistance arrives
6. Anybody ever been to or plan on going to Wikimania?
By Jill Miller Zimon at 11:00 pm September 27th, 2007 in Remains of the Day |