Linkedin

For class I did my presentation on Linkedin. I wasn't too excited about it because I didn't know anything about it. I am very glad that I did have to do this report because I have learned a lot about Linkedin and can see how much it is going to help me. I have never been able to say that about a project either. My favorite thing about Linkedin is the ability to ask professionals questions. I am very interested in investments and being smart about it right now so that I can get the most out of my investments. One way that I have considered investing is through whole life insurance. I have researched it a little bit and can see how it would be beneficial. I then asked if it would be prudent for a 22 year old to buy whole life. I have gotten almost 20 different responses from professionals counseling on this matter. It has helped a lot. Although there were a couple that were completely for it and a couple that said it was a waste of time and money; the majority said that is smart to have but not until you have a family. If you do not have dependents then there is no purpose. One professional in particular said something that I really liked. He counseled that I should wait until I have a house and a family. Then get a whole life that would cover my mortgage completely then get half a million dollars in term life insurance. I really liked the idea of that and am planning on following it. Linkedin is Awesome.

Stats

I was invited to a free dinner at the Elements, the new expensive restaurant in Cache Valley. Of course I wanted to go but there was a catch, we had to listen to a presentation on fire safety. I was just fine with that and I still enjoyed the dinner. I am also taking a stats class at the moment and I can say I hate stats, but there is a lot of good that has come from me taking this class. The main thing I have learned in stats is how unreliable stats can be. It is so easy to make anything say whatever you want. So at this dinner, the guy went off on a lot of stats. He showed us a video from the 70s that also had a lot of stats saying that 55% of the time smoke detectors don't sound in a real fire and others. I was surprised at how many people were just taking his word for it and appeared ready to buy whatever he was selling. I did have fun discrediting his stats has much as I could with the group that invited me. But even though I really don't like my stats class right now I can see that it has helped me be aware of smooth talkers and it is just nice being educated so people can't take advantage of you.

There are so many things that we have to learn and perfect to get by in this competitive world that we are going into. One of the very many things that we have to perfect is professionalism. Like what we have learned in the classroom, professionalism isn't something we can just do. We have to practice and make it a habit. "Excellence isn't an act, it is a habit!" is my very quote by Aristotle. It is hard for us to think that our classroom behavior will affect out futures too much. But who writes our letters of recommendations, who helps us find jobs, who is our mentors? Our teachers notice more things than we give them credit for. They notice how serious we take their classes, how much we participate, and if we are even paying attention. They know what we need to do to be successful in this market and if they say we need to be professional then we need to be professional.

How stupid is Language Bias

In class we were going over certain rules about language bias. I've never liked going over this subject. My opinion has always been that if you want to be offended then go ahead. That has changed a little. I know someone who is a financial advisor. I know him very well and know a lot of the people that he has worked with. Just a couple of days ago my friend and his boss met with someone that I work with. My coworker came back very disappointed by them. My friends’ boss didn't treat him the way he thought he should and almost cost my friend some business. On another occasion I was talking with my friend and his coworker. He said that what I was doing financially was stupid. Something that didn't really bother me because I really don't care what he thinks. But there were other people present that heard the same comment and their outlook on my friends company isn't very good right now. I am realizing that it really doesn't matter what I think. It is very easy to ruin your company’s reputation. It may be something very simple. It doesn't matter. What matters is that it just cost you and your company customers. It is worth going out of your way to not offend anyone for any reason.

How blogging helps!!!

John Porcaro is a marketing manager for Microsoft Corp. He spends at least an hour a day blogging. He comments on the importance blogging has been for him. Blogging is a new way to share ideas with everyone out there. We have been able to network like we never have before. You get feedback all the time from valued customers and also great ideas. You are able to trace blogs and meet new people and see what is going in your profession. It is amazing how much blogging is helping the business world. In the case of John Porcaro, he has been more involved with customers’ needs. He cares more and is more aware of customers concerns. Overall blogging has made John better at his job. He has learned more about his job, he knows people in his job, and he is in contact with his customer. He loves blogging.

http://johnporcaro.typepad.com/blog/2004/01/how_do_blogs_he.html