The customary updates, previews, and quick-takes!
More about . . .
Facebook: Big doin’s this month at the world’s second-most-visited website. Now nearing 400 million users, Facebook announced it will go for even more dominance by introducing a further array of “ways to connect.” We’ll check into the details next month—but meanwhile, those involved with social media should not ignore this development.
CERN/LHC: What’s been happening at the world’s biggest science experiment? Quite a bit, apparently, though none of it easy to understand. Get an inkling by reading about the first (ever!) “reconstruction of a Beauty particle” on April 21, 2010. The CERN search for a Recruitment Specialist is now closed, though.
The Return of the Road Show?
In my little world, a key indicator of economic health is the number of road shows I’m invited to. In the boom days, I could have had breakfast and/or lunch courtesy of some vendor(s) at least once a week, just for listening to panel discussions and watching slideshows. And probably gotten a tee shirt in the bargain. (Or a squeezy ball or a festive badge lanyard, or even a logo’d padfolio!)
No more. Of course I’m not active in the event-rich IT world now, but I’m still on a lot of “lists,” so it stands to reason that I would get fewer invitations, but not necessarily zero. Yet zero has been the exact number for the last couple of years. Imagine my surprise, then, when I got several very nice opportunities all of a sudden. A couple are in the careers/recruiting/HR arena, and I’ll report on those next month.
Meantime, I’m just wondering if the increase in events reflects/predicts improving economic conditions?
Update from the Undercover Employee
Yes, I’m still undercover—though only part-time now. That gives me an opportunity to continue observing the culture at Company Big without using up too much bandwidth. And the insight for this month is: Keep emails short, or at least give them onscreen readability. There have been dramatic developments at Company Big this month, and the well-meaning execs (those coming and those going) have sent out l-o-n-g messages explaining why, saying good-bye, saying hello, etc. They may think lengthy blocks of text look more sincere than short paragraphs and bulleted lists, but no matter what the subject, an extended message really benefits from some amount of visual organization. For a refresher on effective email, revisit a classic post from 43 Folders!
(This month’s “beautiful image” courtesy of Noel Zia Lee.)
Lucy is Editor at Corporate Eye