What hiring managers look for on candidates social media

As we all know, employers are beginning to look at social media accounts when considering a candidate to work for their company. Most consider this a negative thing but many can actually benefit.  Many do not realize what employers are looking for. Many hiring managers have actually hired employees based on their social media sites. Some employers like the way candidates portrayed themselves on sites such as Facebook and linked in. Most of us typically think employers are going to look at every bad aspect of our social media.  Managers have hired employees after reviewing their social media accounts based on the following criteria:

·         Showing their personality on social networks

·         Conveying a professional image

·         Providing background info that is supported by professional qualifications

·         Showing a wide range of interests

·         Displaying communication skills

·         Being creative

·         Having other people post references about you

There are many employers who decline job offers because of social media. Many reasons for not accepting a person based on their social media account include negative images, bad mouthing previous employer, images of drinking and drug use, and poor communication skills. Although most disagree with employers looking at their social media accounts, they can actually benefit from it. If you social media account has appropriate images and shows you can communicate effectively with others it may give you an advantage when being considered for a job.  So all things considered, having a company look at your social media site may be beneficial to you getting a job.

Boeing Spy Phone

Boeing is an aerospace and Defense Company that is known by most to make airplanes. Recently Boeing has introduced a highly secure communications device for those in the defense, government, and intelligence communities. The phone itself cannot be purchased by the public and is only intended to be used by people in the defense and intelligence fields. Boeing teamed up with Android to design the smart phone that will run on an Android network. Similar types of phones used for defense typically range from $15,000 to $20,000 per phone. That’s an insane amount of money for a phone. By using the Android network Boeing will be able to sell the phone for much less. I’m sure much less means it’s still in the thousands of dollars which is outrageous for a smart phone, although we do not know what its capabilities are. I think it’s really strange that a plane company is designing a top secret smart phone for government and defense agencies. I’m sure by teaming up with Android they will be able to create a very high tech phone. There was not much said about the actual phone due to the fact it’s a highly secure phone only to be used by certain officials and agencies. I wonder what the phone is capable of doing. I can’t imagine it being more advanced than some of the smart phones currently out on the market, but I’m sure it is.  

Google April Fools

As you all know this past Sunday was April fool’s day. For an April fool’s joke, Google decided to post various videos and images of new apps and programs that were all a joke. One of my professors showed me video Google created for the “Gmail tap”. In the video Google was advertising for a new form of texting which used Morse code. The video looked real and I was going along with it the whole time. Google advertised how it was going to be the newest form of texting because how fast you could write messages. I became suspicious at a scene when they were interviewing Google employees about the “Gmail Tap” and one of them was LL cool j. I then knew it was a joke and started laughing. Immediately after I went online and searched for the video and found multiple pranks Google posted on April fool’s day. One of which was “Google weather control”. There was an image of a basic 5 day forecast along with a drop down bar below the day. Whatever day you choose you could click the dropdown bar and select the type of weather you want for that particular day. Another funny prank is the “Google fiber bar”. The video posted for the “Google fiber bar” claimed that the fiber bar could tell which organs in the body needed certain nutrients and would send them there. I personally though all of the Google pranks were funny and creative. I was even fooled by a few of them.

Social media and Riots

Many are beginning to question whether social media is good or bad in the event of a riot. Some people argue that social media is what fuels the riots. The riots that accrued last August in England are a great example. The riots began in London and spread rapidly into other cities including Manchester and Birmingham. Blackberry messenger was the primary source of social media used to spread the rioting along with social media sites such as facebook and twitter. Many locals that were interviewed all concluded that social media, epically Blackberry messenger, were to blame. On the other hand, many believed that social media may have helped during the riots. Police officers said that monitoring the rioting allowed them to track and prevent the spread. Many locals agreed that social media gave them fair warning of the rioting which allowed people to find safety in what appeared to be a warzone. The question raised is whether social media should be blocked or shut down in rioting situations. There are two opposing sides that both raise good points. I personally think it would be wrong to shut down these networks because in a time of crises one would need to have contact with family and friends. I do think that televised news reporting should be clear, accurate, and not misconstrue the situation to local viewers.

Vupen Hackers

Recently Google held a “hackathon” contest in Vancouver were some of the worlds brightest hackers attempted to bypass Google chrome and other similar software for a price of $60,000. Google offered the winners the price of $60,000 in exchange for all the techniques and secretes used to bypass the software. Google’s intention was to gain knowledge to fix the unknown security risks. A French security firm by the name of Vupen showed up to the contest and really made themselves known. Vupen was able to bypass all of Google’s software without breaking a sweat and after doing so refused the money. Vupen says they would never tell Google their secretes, especially not for $60,000. Vupen is a security firm that offers their hacking techniques to government agencies in exchange for a large fee. Some say that a yearly subscription to Vupen’s hacking techniques will run well over six figures. There are many people who disagree with the services Vupen and others offer. Many believe that Vupen and other companies are providing the weapons for cyber war. According to Vupen they only deal with NATO government agencies. Once there techniques leave their hands there are no guarantees the information won’t be passed on. Some of Vupen’s competitors think the company is not classy in the way they do business. Dominating a Google held contest then refusing the prize really showed Vupen’s arrogance. I think there are many other companies in the same field as Vupen that like to keep business confidential. Vupen purposely exposed themselves possibly to show competitors what can do.  

Global Social Media Trends

There are many different social media networks used around the world. The most popular and well known network is facebook. What gives facebook its global popularity is being globally local. Facebook has a wide variety of languages and user can interact with others all over the world.  A recent report from Comscore shows that facebook is dominating all but seven countries.  China is one of these seven countries that do not allow facebook. The reason China does not allow facebook is due to censorship laws.  Instead China uses two networks called Qzone and Renren. In the years to come facebook will somehow make its way into China and eventually dominate the globe. Russia is another country that does use facebook but it is not the most popular social media network. The top two social media networks in Russia are Vkontakte and Odnoklassniki, leaving face book at number three. Not only does facebook need to be careful of competitors outside the United States but also inside. Many reports show that twitter is growing in users and is not too far behind facebook. Although there are seven countries that either do not use facebook or do not consider it to be the most popular, in future years to come facebook will make its way into these countries and become number one worldwide.

B2B Social Media

Business to business social media has become a very common and useful tool used in the business environment. Most companies use business to business social media for its many benefits which include marketing, advertising, and an overall decrease in costs. Not only do businesses benefit from adverting their product or service but they also build stronger relationships with customers. Staying connected with customers is a key factor in business. Businesses using social media sites allows for B2B relationships to become stronger and for new relationships to be made. Another aspect of B2B social media is the decrease in cost of sales. Social media is one of the most effective ways to advertise and build a name for a business at lower cost. Companies can stream live updates of information to stakeholders, advertise a new product, and build a larger customer base all through the use of B2B social media. Almost all businesses benefit from B2B social media and this is why more and more businesses are joining. Many experts and researches predict that this B2B trend is going to explode in the next couple of years. I personally think B2B social media relationships are an excellent business strategy. Although B2B is a very effective business strategy I don’t think it should be relied upon. A business should use B2B social media in combination with other business strategies and tools.