Disqus - Latest Comments for Jason Alba

Re: Utah Blogger Dinner

Jason Alba — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 15:36:09 -0000

Thom, it was great to meet you - I'm glad that you came. It was a great time - we do it the 4th TH of each month at 6pm at Applebee's.

Jason Alba
CEO - JibberJobber.com

Re: JibberJobber upgrade promotion

Jason Alba — Thu, 05 Apr 2007 08:24:03 -0000

Thom - thanks for the shoutout and for sharing this promo with your readers!

Jason Alba
CEO - JibberJobber.com

Re: The benefits of networking; will you tell me again?

Jason Alba — Mon, 09 Apr 2007 23:12:32 -0000

"Networking" is a funny thing. I hated "networking" when I "had to" ... that is when I got laid off in Jan 2006. I despised networking with other unemployed people, after all, wasn't there a reason why they were unemployed?

I changed my attitude about networking and began to focus on relationships. And I tried to give what I could, which mostly was introducing people to other people. I couldn't make two people like eachother or move forward, but I could introduce them.

In the last six months I've seen significant benefit from the relationships I've developed. I'm not sure why (in other words, I can't say that any particular thing constitutes a secret sauce, or special formula). There have been a number of times when "super networkers" let me down - their own judgement call or "personal policy" didn't make sense to me.

I quietly moved on, without holding a grudge, and went somewhere else. Sometimes I've gone back and the relationship is still great, the timing (or my desire) just wasn't right.

I'll continue to work on relationships, and give where I can. What I've started to do lately is something that I've neglected for a while - that is, ask. And when I ask for things it's been well-received.

I'm not sure how to specifically answer your concern about friend, family and network contacts not giving business that you expect, or that you deserve. I think the only thing you can do is forget about it (very hard to do), continue give, and work on the relationship.

Networking would be a lot easier without the human element... but I'm guessing we won't get away from that anytime soon. So with the human element it remains extremely complex and unpredictable.

Jason Alba
CEO - JibberJobber.com

Re: My blog is 4 years old this month

Jason Alba — Wed, 20 Jun 2007 18:21:11 -0000

Happy blog-birthday Thom!!

Jason Alba
CEO - JibberJobber.com

Re: Giving Props To My Peeps

Jason Alba — Sat, 30 Jun 2007 18:47:54 -0000

Wow Thom, what a cool way to end the week :) Thanks for the thanks, it's really been cool to get to know you better.

Wow, I can't believe a nascar fan likes me :p

Jason Alba
CEO - JibberJobber.com
:: self-serve career management ::

Re: Posting Comments On Other Blogs

Jason Alba — Wed, 10 Oct 2007 11:06:09 -0000

Thom, this is one of the most important things to do in a blog marketing strategy - in fact, I think I spent about 4 hours a day doing it last year, and it has paid off with awesome relationships.

Jason Alba
CEO - JibberJobber.com
Author - I'm on LinkedIn -- Now What???

Re: Well The Sabatical Didn’t Last Too Long

Jason Alba — Thu, 15 Jan 2009 18:28:55 -0000

lol. It never does last.

Robert Merrill calls blogging a heroin drip.

drip. drip. drip. You came back for more ;)

Re: To blog or not to blog?

Jason Alba — Wed, 07 Mar 2007 13:18:24 -0000

Thanks to Jeff Barr for introducing you to your new addiction?

thanks for the shout-out Roberto.

Re: Blogger Dinner

Jason Alba — Fri, 23 Mar 2007 14:58:47 -0000

Rob, I had a blast - thanks for taking the pictures (proof that I do network away from the computer :p)

Jason Alba
CEO - JibberJobber.com

Re: I’m Following You

Jason Alba — Mon, 11 Jun 2007 13:07:13 -0000

Yahoo! Rob follows! I'll comment more :p

Jason Alba
CEO - JibberJobber.com

Re: Nerd Guru

Jason Alba — Thu, 28 Jun 2007 18:33:22 -0000

... and he is a very classy guy with an excellent blog :)

Jason Alba
CEO - JibberJobber.com
:: self-serve career management ::

Re: Great Meetup; Good Times

Jason Alba — Fri, 02 Nov 2007 10:38:45 -0000

"Jason Alba almost unseen" ... dude, that's how it always is, how come you always hide me in your pics? :p :p

Re: Bestest Blog Post Evaaaar?

Jason Alba — Wed, 05 Mar 2008 10:20:03 -0000

I was reading that wondering why you didn't make it a post on your own blog, it was pretty cool!

Re: Seizing the means of production: Income security, cloud applications, serial entrepreneurship

Jason Alba — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 13:05:13 -0000

Daniel, thanks for sharing my income security post with your readers :)

Re: The Blogging A-List Is Far From Dead

Jason Alba — Thu, 05 Jul 2007 11:07:24 -0000

Ben, I agree, and have always been interested at the power of the A-list.

I do have one comment though, which is, if you are starting a web2.0 company or something that the readers of TC (or another site like that) should be interested in, getting a mention will not be the silver bullet answer. You don't say it will be but I want to just chime in - if your marketing strategy is to get mention or a post by the A-lister in question, it won't take you to "wildly successful" - yes, it's happened, but there are still core business principles that come into play.

My two cents, as I hope for the magical post but realize there is work to do before, and after, it happens :p

Jason Alba
CEO - JibberJobber.com
:: self-serve career management ::

Re: Personal Branding is More Important Than You Realize

Jason Alba — Fri, 17 Apr 2009 12:34:03 -0000

Ben, great post - you linked to one of my favorite posts :)

--
Jason Alba
:: JibberJobber.com - organize your Job Search
:: "LinkedIn for Job Seekers" DVD (not just for job seekers)
:: http://www.ImOnLinkedInNowWhat.com/dvd
::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::::

Re: Brazen Careerist: The New Rules for Success

Jason Alba — Mon, 07 May 2007 11:47:21 -0000

I agree with your review, and add that anyone that is or wants to manage people under 40 must read this book to understand the rules too. Penelope's style came through loud-and-clear in this awesome book!

Jason Alba
CEO - JibberJobber.com

Re: Worship God in Truth

Jason Alba — Sun, 27 May 2007 13:20:54 -0000

Mark, you are an excellent blogger, and your style is the kind of style I'm drawn to. Have a great time in New York!

Now, if you excuse me, I'm going to update my resume and put "master blogger" on there :p

Jason Alba
CEO - JibberJobber.com
Because no one cares more about your career than you should...

Re: 10 ways to get yourself a new job (in events) with LinkedIn

Jason Alba — Wed, 30 Jul 2008 13:00:02 -0000

Great post, great links!

Jason Alba
CEO - JibberJobber.com
Author - I'm on LinkedIn -- Now What

Re: New Events section on Linkedin

Jason Alba — Fri, 07 Nov 2008 20:00:36 -0000

Thanks for the ping - I haven't played with this yet, just heard about it from my contacts :)

I'll play around, but it seems like this would be a terrific feature for LI users, as long as it doesn't get too spammy, which is what I am getting from my FB "friends."

Jason Alba
CEO - JibberJobber.com
Author - I'm on LinkedIn -- Now What???
<abbr></abbr><abbr>Jason Albas last blog post..Avoiding a Layoff - Great Tip to Avoid a Job Search</abbr>

Re: Welcome Back

Jason Alba — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 08:53:54 -0000

I still read ya (on Connectblogs.com) :p Sounds like a BLAST!!

Re: How To Track Your Job Search Contacts With Highrise

Jason Alba — Mon, 08 Dec 2008 07:53:55 -0000

Thanks for the link to my unruly spreadsheet... I designed JibberJobber.com to do exactly what you are talking about. I think we launched about a year before Highrise launched, if I remember correctly.

- jason

<abbr>Jason Alba´s last blog post..I Used JibberJobber In A Cool Way!</abbr>

Re: 2007/04/03/state-of-technorati/

Jason Alba — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 12:08:21 -0000

I haven't used Technorati for at least 6 months to do blog searching - I tried to search on various things and was unhappy with (a) the spam results, and (b) the formatting of the results.

Right now I use Google's blogsearch function - I need to give Technorati a second shot though...

Jason Alba
CEO - JibberJobber.com

Re: 2007/07/21/job-hunt/

Jason Alba — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 08:34:13 -0000

Sean, this is a very interesting space... I entered it last year after I had been laid off as GM of a software company, thought I would find a job quickly and easily, and found that the job search was totally different than what I thought it would be.

I found a gap between real tools that were available to me (many of the sites you mention here are just some of the 40,000+ job boards out there), and what career experts advised. I designed JibberJobber.com as an empowering tool to fill that gap.

Here's the thing, though. The job search is supposedly something that we do every three to five years... even if we don't change companies we'll change roles or titles. We ALWAYS need to do things like network, have a plan, have an elevator pitch, work on our personal brand, etc.

My site is a job search tool, but it's also a long-term career management tool - something to help you prepare for that next job transition. I encourage you to check out JibberJobber for addition to this list :)

Thanks for this list, it's interesting to see your perspective on what's hot.

Jason Alba
CEO - JibberJobber.com
:: self-serve career management ::

Re: 2007/07/21/job-hunt/

Jason Alba — Sat, 21 Jul 2007 15:32:56 -0000

There is a difference between "I need a job right now, where are the tools" and "I am in career management mode." I agree that FB, LinkedIn and others are useful career tools, and of course they have their jobs aspects, they are still networking, which can take a while. Finding someone is one thing, getting an introduction to their contact is another, but developing a relationship to where people trust you and think about you for a position is entirely different... that's why we should all always be in career management mode.

I neglected my career while I was focusing on my job. So when I lost my job I had no resources, no network, 40,000 job boards to sift through, billions of how to articles... it was very, very frustrating.

I should mention, me resume was pretty beefy (I wasn't looking for a McJob). I have a CIS degree and an MBA, and past titles included CIO, VP, GM, etc.

Jason Alba
CEO - JibberJobber.com
:: managing career relationships ::

Re: How to Get the Most Out of LinkedIn

Jason Alba — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 17:53:46 -0000

Bob, interesting comment. I find that people can get passive value out of LinkedIn (by having a strong profile and growing their network (not like crazy, but calculated growth), or active value out of LinkedIn by participating in Answers, Group discussions (relatively new), and actively reaching out to their contacts. I'm guessing you are on the more passive side?

Jason Alba
Author - I'm on LinkedIn -- Now What???

Re: 2008/10/15/how-to-execute-against-your-resume/

Jason Alba — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 12:36:30 -0000

Maybe I'm just short-sighted but I can't imagine resumes really dying. Perhaps there are some hip and cool HR and recruiters out there who are more visionary, but for every one of them I'm guessing there are 1,000 (or more) who just love that resume.

I remember my first real job offer, after going through a comprensive interview process, getting a nice offer, etc. and they said "oh yeah, one more thing, could you please fill out this employment applications?"

HUH?

Old habits die hard... and the resume is so universal I can't imagine it's going to die.

Then again, no vision :p

Jason Alba
CEO - JibberJobber.com

Re: 2008/12/10/personal-branding-in-recession/

Jason Alba — Wed, 10 Dec 2008 12:12:23 -0000

Dan, great post and great ideas. Building on the other comments, and your response about this being a "process," I think it's critical that you think about how personal branding fits into how you manage your own career.

Some of the stuff you need to do is one-time (like setting up a profile on a social site), but other stuff should be part of a schedule... like, give recommendations on LinkedIn once a week or once a month, comment on blogs once a week or once a month, etc.

Also, regarding the database, you know my site is a personal CRM used to manage career relationships... I can't emphasize how important it is to start collecting and organizing your network contacts now, before you need them (as you mention). When you get laid off, or get in transition, you'll have so many other worries and concerns that trying to figure out who is "in your network" will be a sloppy exercise.

Is this stuff hard, and does it take time? Whether it is or not, it's seriously time to take charge of your own career path, and networking and your personal brand are key.

Jason Alba
CEO - JibberJobber.com
Author - I'm on LinkedIn -- Now What???

Re: 65+ killer resources to become a Networking Idol

Jason Alba — Tue, 27 Jan 2009 15:10:44 -0000

Awesome post and resources - thanks for including me (#13, #36)!

Re: Keep Your Brand Current

Jason Alba — Sat, 14 Jul 2007 23:00:10 -0000

Cody, thanks for the shoutout :) I really like something that you wrote that I totally missed:

"don’t be afraid to rebrand yourself or your business from time to time"

Cool stuff, I'm sure I'll be rebranding again and again.

Jason Alba
CEO - JibberJobber.com
:: self-serve career management ::

Re: Blogs as Business Tools (Investors’ Business Daily)

Jason Alba — Tue, 06 Mar 2007 09:34:13 -0000

Blogs have some significant benefits over traditional websites. I have a former-coworker in San Antonio TX that creates new websites for clients (his moonlighting job)... and he always uses blog software because it is so fast to get up and running, functional admin tools, nice templates, etc.

I see larger companies having complementary tools (traditional website + blog + whatever), but for smaller business, individuals, etc. a blog is a no-brainer.

Re: Evalueserve acquires Nitron Circle of Experts

Jason Alba — Mon, 21 May 2007 17:26:13 -0000

David - congratulations! That is really cool news!

Jason Alba
CEO - JibberJobber.com

Re: JibberJobber

Jason Alba — Fri, 13 Jul 2007 00:52:06 -0000

David, thanks for the post about JibberJobber. The Job Seeker's CRM that you mention (the shoe box and business cards (not to mention index cards)) is alive and strong!

Initially I designed JibberJobber to help with this immediate need, which can last more than a year... a very emotional and trying year.

It became clear, though, with constant job changes (every 3 to 5 years), even changes within one company, people needed more of a "career management tool." JibberJobber has features and a model that accommodates long-term career management, whether you are in a job search or not.

You mention that our challenge is that we are narrowly focused on the job search. Actually, one of our mistakes out of the gate is that we branded ourselves as such! It has been difficult to rebrand, although we are working towards that.

We definitely have plans to move into related markets, and are excited to have such a needed toolset for professionals. For now we need to ensure that we don't spread ourselves too thin, at the same time working on some strategic relationships.

Expect great things in the future! The first year was a fun ride, this second year will be full of surprises!

Jason Alba
CEO - JibberJobber.com
:: self-serve career management ::

Re: Keith Ferrazzi on the Duct Tape Podcast

Jason Alba — Wed, 03 Jan 2007 17:45:35 -0000

Ken's book was the inspiration for my website released in 2006 to manage the relationships - his book was a huge reason that I changed my views on networking. Awesome!

Re: Posting relevant comments on blogs is networking

Jason Alba — Thu, 25 Oct 2007 14:59:25 -0000

This is a component of what I call a "blog marketing strategy," and it's been very effective for my business. In fact, this has been the most significant thing I've done to grow and strengthen my network since I started my business last year.

I do think that posting direct links to your blog, website, etc. is okay, however, and I encourage my readers to do it. I'll not do it on this comment, though, since I want this comment to get through :) :)

- Jason Alba
CEO - JibberJobber.com
Author - I'm on LinkedIn -- Now What???

Re: Social Media for Your Career

Jason Alba — Wed, 19 Dec 2007 09:16:38 -0000

Great post Chris... the career environment is definitely different. I love the ability we have to create our own career brand and presence online. You ask for success stories, I'd like to share some that I've found.

Over a year ago I started looking for people who I thought were using online tools the right way to help them with their personal branding. I created a You Get It award, given out once a month. I found people who are using blogs, LinkedIn and other tools in a way that really helps a recruiter or hiring manager find them, and understand their breadth and depth, professionally.

You can see the past winners here: http://www.jibberjobber.com/blog/archives/category/monthly-winner

Re: Free eBook on Personal Branding

Jason Alba — Mon, 08 Sep 2008 09:58:43 -0000

Hey Chris, nice paper. One thing you don't mention, which changed the trajectory of my personal, professional and business brand in a HUGE way, was to publish my first book.

I had been blogging, commenting, etc. This hit a certain demographic, namely, those who get online, read blogs, read comments and follow links, etc.

But it wasn't until I had my first book published that things changed significantly. Interview opportunities from much different periodicals came in. When I speak, I'm not introduced as "CEO of" first, I'm introduced as "author of..."

I submit that many professionals (probably most who read your blog) have enough expertise in their field that they can write a book. It doesn't have to be a big college text book... but just becoming an author does wonders for your personal brand.

Jason Alba
CEO - JibberJobber.com
Author - I'm on LinkedIn -- Now What???
Coauthor - I'm on Facebook -- Now What???

Re: Pepsi Reaches out to Digital People in Analog

Jason Alba — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 15:37:49 -0000

I wonder if this is even slightly effective since their brand is so, so, so strong? I mean, if Chris Brogan blogs about a no-name, or a hidden treasure, that's one thing. But blogging about Pepsi... what's the real value?

I'm not smart enough to know, but I'd guess it just isn't going to affect sales, or branding, or anything.

And, I still like Coke better ;)

Jason Alba
CEO - JibberJobber

Re: Elements of a Good LinkedIn Recommendation

Jason Alba — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 11:37:04 -0000

Great post Chris, I totally agree with you on all points (how to get recommendations (not asking, although it's okay to ask), what to write, etc.

I wrote about LinkedIn Recommendations on my JibberJobber blog.

Jason Alba
Author -I'm on LinkedIn -- Now What???
(second edition coming out ... this month!)

Re: Guest Post- The Post-Geekdominant Twitterverse

Jason Alba — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 09:22:22 -0000

Great post... thought-provoking. I think this line says it best:

>> But ultimately, I think that the real winner is you.

There is a big IF after this line, about the quality of your posts, but it's true... the CNN and MSNBC and celebrity people might have huge followings, and entertain and inform, but Twitter gives a voice to the nobodies out there, and allow them to become somebodies...

@jasonalba

Re: Guest Post - What Artists Can Teach Everyone About Social Media

Jason Alba — Sat, 27 Dec 2008 13:45:42 -0000

Brilliant - refreshingly new :)

Jason Alba
CEO - JibberJobber.com
Author - I'm on LinkedIn -- Now What???

Re: Dear LinkedIn - Improve Please

Jason Alba — Wed, 03 Jun 2009 10:37:01 -0000

Specifically regarding the idea of doing CRM in LinkedIn, there is a huge design/philosophy issue that must be addressed. Here's a scenerio:

Right now, if I'm connected with you in LinkedIn, and YOU disconnect from me, I lose everything about our relationship.

I'm assuming (I have asked LinkedIn but they haven't answered - it's great to see Mario respond here but hell, why won't he respond to anyone else?????) that if I have put in "notes" and some of the other CRM-like fields, they would also dissappear.

What salesperson would ever let a prospect or customer delete themselves from the CRM? That is craziness.

Technology-wise it's simple.

But LinkedIn needs to figure out what it will do with regard to "privacy," etc.

If LinkedIn allows YOU to delete any metadata I put in (once you disconnect from me), that is a huge, huge problem.

I strongly encourage people to get a CRM to complement their LI user experience. You know my choice of CRM... I'd love to see LinkedIn open up some simple, non-intrusive APIs to allow interfacing between their system and CRM systems. Hopefully that's coming soon.

Re: Do A-list bloggers have a responsibility to link to others?

Jason Alba — Mon, 29 Jan 2007 11:20:02 -0000

You're going to be busy checking out all of these blogs ;) Great stuff here, its fun to see who your other readers are and what they are about.

I started my blog last summer during a job search, and I blog on all things career management - organizing a job search, networking (thanks Thom Singer), personal branding, etc.

It does not have an IT slant on it, although I *was* an IT guy in a former life. I started the blog with the idea of supporting the website (JibberJobber) and with the hope of encouraging more folks to pay more attention to their career management!

Re: Mirror mirror on the wall, which blog search is best of them all?

Jason Alba — Tue, 03 Apr 2007 20:08:32 -0000

Excellent to see Dave Sifry so active on this thread!

I have not used the search function in Technorati for a while just because it didn't really do what I wanted (er, it gave results that I had to wade through). But it sounds like things have improved quite a bit - I'll go give it another shot.

Jason Alba
CEO - JibberJobber.com

Re: Johnson and Johnson “breaks into jail” with BabyCamp

Jason Alba — Wed, 19 Mar 2008 14:07:20 -0000

pretty awesome, it just proves there is a ton of room for social marketing consultants to help corporate folks get into this social world!

Re: You won’t get that job without this

Jason Alba — Mon, 22 Dec 2008 13:08:46 -0000

I agree with Dan... and think that honesty and integrity are always the best path.

However, I totally see where Melissa is coming from, and realize the frustration there is when "competing" with people who are not honest... yuck!

For Melissa, maybe it's a matter of communicating what happened differently... not being dishonest, but communicating (on resume, in interview) different things that are not distractions or yellow flags to the decision maker?

Re: I have a document like this and so should you

Jason Alba — Sat, 31 Jan 2009 00:04:17 -0000

Dan, great advice - this is one reason why I wrote my "Depression Clouds Everything" post... the point was that when you lose your job, the emotions (including depression) can really cloud your memory and all of your little wins can be lost when you need them most.

Re: Do You Think You Will Make Millions Through Your Blog?

Jason Alba — Mon, 18 Dec 2006 18:01:53 -0000

however, if you place the ads differently, and have certain keywords that get 25 cents to $1.50 per click, that changes everything.

For me the idea behind the adwords was residual income, not primary income.

However, my personal experience with is tainted since I had a click-frauder basically get my account cancelled and Google takes the money, gives it back the advertiser, and cuts you off - no questions asked and no real appeals process. Pretty lame way to end the story.

Re: Why Is LinkedIn So Valuable?

Jason Alba — Sat, 23 Dec 2006 21:28:12 -0000

Zale, good analysis. Its amazing how a "tool" is one thing to one person and something completely different to another. You give a good perspective on more functionality and how it would apply to... anyone.

BTW, I think the $250M is way low for a valuation ... but I did get a "D" in my finance class ;)

Re: I Have Become A Player In The Blogosphere!

Jason Alba — Thu, 04 Dec 2008 13:18:16 -0000

Cool to get to know you better Zale, mine was done last week:

http://www.jibberjobber.com/blog/2008/11/27/7-t...

Re: LinkedIntelligence Awards | Blogworld & New Media Expo

Jason Alba — Mon, 14 May 2007 11:40:33 -0000

Congrats - that is a prize I would love to have :p You'll have a blast there for sure!

Jason Alba
CEO - JibberJobber.com