Week numero ocho of the Recruiting Blog Swap and here are my thoughts on print newspapers. Thanks to Toby Dayton of Diggings (with JobDig) for listening to me ramble on.

~tod

tags: recruiting

Why do I recommend the Creative ZEN Nano Plus? It's wash and wear...literally. I [accidentally] put this thing through the washer and the dryer this past weekend and it still works like a charm. Any piece of electronics that can do that gets a thumbs up in my book!

As far as why I bought it in the first place, here are the reasons...

• FM tuner - I'm in the gym 4-5 days a week and this is a must-have for me. If you don't know, the TVs in front of the cardio machines are simultaneously broadcast on FM channels so you can listen without straining to read the sub-titles.
• Small size - It's tiny & lightweight. Check out these measurements: WxHxD 1.32" x 2.58" x 0.51" Not quite as thin as the iPod nano, but it is shorter and narrower.
• Price - I love gadgets, but I don't have an unlimited budget to buy them [like some people seem to ]. The 1GB version can be found for roughly $75 instead of the $150 price tag on an iPod nano.

Update 10.12.2006: I have a quick update to this topic in this post, Update to my Zen Nano+ impressions.

~tod

tags: creative+zen nano ipod

As part of the Big Bad Recruiting Blog Swap, today's post [and the final one of the swap] is brought to you by Steven Kempton of the The Asia Pacific Headhunter. Steven offers an interesting take on developers, blogs, recruiting and how the three should go together. Enjoy!

Look at me! I am writing on Tod's blog. Why so excited? Because Tod is a software developer! So this is pretty cool since I love software and software companies. To me software is the epitome of technology. Offers so much, yet delivers so little. Unless of course you buy the "Missing Manual" ( I have always wondered, if you buy the "Missing Manual" on Amazon.com does it ever actually turn up at your house? And when you call customer service do they say, "You moron, what do you expect, it's a Missing Manual!").

Anyway a lot of hiring managers say the same things about a lot of developers. "Hey, I hired this guy, but I can't work out from what he's doing if he actually really turned up?". My experience is that developers are fun people and extremely tough to screen for recruiters and hiring managers alike. I have recruited my fair share of developers and quite simply, I have decided that from this point on I will only accept applications from developers with blogs (this doesn't preclude from headhunting people of course).

"You must be kidding" are the roars I hear from the crowd. That is exactly the answer I want because in software development, it's the crowds we all seem to be trying to avoid. You see, the developers I have met through blogs are all good. They love their work, they write about it, they can communicate (like Tod). So I am setting it as a new prerequisite, hopefully a bunch of other people in the recruitment industry will take it up and turn it into a standard (named after me). Even better if Tod can "evangelize" the idea within Microsoft for us (easily done since pretty much everyone over there blogs) then I could be on to a real winner and maybe even some "consulting trips" to Redmond to further develop the concept.

Anyway, my major point here is that blogs are awesome devices for developers. If a better marketing tool more open to any developer who wants to market their skills exists, then I have not found it yet.

Steven Kempton

A little over a month ago I chastised Dell for naming their newly founded blog One2One [at one2one.dell.com] because One2One.com is a pornographic hook-up site. Talk about a screwed up branding experience...d'oh!

Well, I was just perusing the Dell blog's past entries and noticed that maybe they do get it. Only a few weeks after announcing their blog they heard everyone clamoring about the name issues and corrected their course with a new name, Direct2Dell.com. Now one-2-one is the tagline underneath the new blog title of Direct2Dell. Kudos to the Dell corporate blogging team for 'getting it' and then making the appropriate changes! That is what blogging and connecting with your customers is all about.

The funny thing is that I didn't even realize that one2one.dell.com had automatically redirected me to Direct2Dell.com in my browser [which they call out in their explanation]. So much for my powerful skills of observation.

~tod

tags: dell blog one2one direct2dell

Yes, I did play D&D for awhile in junior high school, but I quickly recovered after attending 4 weeks of rehab...no summer camp for me. (via Haacked)

[direct link]

~tod

tags: Stephen+Colbert d&d dungeons+and+dragons

I must look or smell like a dog [hopefully a clean one] because I'm often asked by friends and even people I just meet about how to find a dog. Or maybe it's that I just look like a wise [young] man. Anyway, sometimes they're looking for a specific breed, some people just want a friendly companion, some are parents looking for a good family dog and any number of other situations. The bottom line is that I hear this question a lot. Of course it also comes in the form of "what kind of dog should I get?, where can I find a good dog?, do you know a good breeder?, what is the best breed of dog for my family?", etc.

I was in Costco yesterday and the cashier noticed that my Costco card says Hiltonhall Labradors. So she posed it to me as a question, "Hiltonhall Labradors?" And I replied as I always do, "my parents breed and train labrador retrievers." She then asked me, "would you know anyone that breeds [sorry, I don't remember what breed she actually asked for]?" There were customers behind me and it was 6:10 PM (they close at 6 on Sundays) so I didn't get to really discuss it with her, but [and keep in mind that I am no Dog Whisperer] here's what I would say to anyone asking.

First of all, the advice that I give everyone is to take your time and learn everything you can beforehand! Getting a dog, especially if you have never had one, changes your life. Not as much as having a child [crate training children is generally frowned upon ], but they still depend on you for food, shelter and everything else. Learn about the different breeds, what being a responsible owner entails and how it will affect your lifestyle.

There are a few initial questions that need to be answered...

• Are you looking for a specific breed [and do they have to be a purebred]?
• Do you have a specific purpose in mind for the dog?
• Is money an issue?

If you are looking for a specific breed...

• Ask friends you trust for breeder recommendations - If you have friends that have already been through this quest then lean on them for information. Word of mouth is still the best form of advertising.
• Ask breeders you trust for referrals - People who work with different breeds often know each other through clubs, shows and competitions so don't hesitate to ask a Greyhound breeder if they can recommend a German Shorthair breeder.
• If you don't know either of the above then start with the American Kennel Club's (AKC) Breeder Referral system - This will provide you with a list of contacts for each breed. Each point of contact should be able to direct you to registered breeders in your area. Being registered doesn't guaranty quality or honesty, but it certainly is a place to start your search.
• Talk to more than one breeder - There are tons of quality breeders out there and the good ones will even refer you to others in their circle of friends. By talking to more than one breeder you get multiple perspectives. Take it as a warning sign if a breeder will not give you referrals either to existing clients or other breeders.
• Investigate a purebred rescue program for your chosen breed - These are programs for dogs rescued from bad situations (abusive owners, puppy mills, etc.). The AKC lists breed rescue groups for the various breeds. Be aware that these dogs might require special needs or care based on the circumstances from which they were 'rescued.'

If you are NOT looking for a specific breed...then do you have a specific purpose in mind?

• Determine what it is you want from a dog - Just a household companion for yourself? Family dog? Jogging partner? Protector? Comic relief? Hunting? All dog breeds have tendencies and you should select the breed that fits your wants and needs. Just as I wouldn't recommend a Chihuahua for a jogging partner I also wouldn't recommend a Bichon Frise for duck hunting. Look through the AKC's breed descriptions for starters, then talk with friends who have dogs, go visit different breeders to get a feel for their chosen breed and continue to narrow down what it is you want.
• Once you have decided what kind of dog you want then focus on those breed(s) in your search - Now you have to decide if you want to go through a breeder, another private party or a shelter.

If you want to spend as little money as possible and/or they do not need to be a purebred...

• Go to your local dog shelter(s) - There are tons of good dogs in shelters. A lot of them are mix-breeds, but there are also plenty of purebreds to be found. Spend as much time as possible with your chosen dog to learn their personality before taking them home. Be sure that the shelter you select also allows you a trial period at home or to take the dog back in case things don't work out.
• Search the classifieds - Many people get a puppy, it grows into something they don't want or cannot handle and then change their mind. They often list them in classified ads before taking them to a shelter, so look here for good deals. Just be careful...there are a lot of unsavory people out there looking for suckers.

This is far from an all-inclusive answer to the question "how to find a dog," but I think it gives some good starting points. My main point to get across is to learn all you can before taking the plunge! Ask lots and lots of questions. Trust me, good breeders are used to people asking questions and will be willing to meet with you [even multiple times] to answer them.

Some other resources...

• AKC's Future Dog Owners - lots of good information for people looking to get a dog.
• ASPCA (The American Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Animals) - lots more good information along with a searchable listing of animal shelters for adopting pets.
• Seattle Purebred Dog Rescue

~tod

Week numero siete of the Recruiting Blog Swap and here are my thoughts on Daisy Dukes at work. Thanks to Your HR Guy for letting me reveal some teenage angst.

~tod

tags: recruiting

Week numero seises [I might as well keep typing these in Spanish {shrug}] of the Recruiting Blog Swap and here are my thoughts on whether or not blogs affect brands. Thanks to David Kippen for the opportunity to think about something way outside of my little box.

~tod

tags: recruiting

As part of the Big Bad Recruiting Blog Swap, today's post is brought to you by Harry Joiner of the Marketing Headhunter. This is a very timely post for me since we're smack dab in the middle of our annual review period at Microsoft and several of my co-workers have brought up this very topic. Enjoy!

I received a call this week from a friend of a friend.

My friend is a famous search engine copywriter, and the friend she referred to me is a smart, friendly, business-oriented 29-year old woman with an unblemished 8-year track record of success with the same Fortune 500 direct-to-consumer company. Four of those years were in web development. Within the last four years, she has singlehandedly built her employer's organic SEO programs with amazing success. Her resume is a work of art.

Anyway, this young lady (let's call her "Susan") is looking for new opportunities.

Here's why: Eight years ago, Susan signed on with her company for an annual salary of $60K plus a $2500 discretionary bonus. Despite several promotions, company policy has held Susan to cost of living increases at 6% per annum, while the discretionary bonus has never changed. Today she makes $95K + a $2500 bonus. Her performance reviews have been nothing less than exemplary.

So last week Susan gets reviewed, and -- as usual -- her boss raved about her performance. All of her KPI's are through the roof. Yet when Susan mentioned to her boss that people with her background are making $150K base + bonus on the agency side of the SEO business and $125K base + bonus on the client side, her boss said ...

"Susan, if you can get that kind of money elsewhere, go for it. Your employee status allows me to pay you $95K + a cost of living increase. Take it or leave it."

Less than an hour later, Susan was on the phone with me.

Note to HR Managers: Your employees do not operate in a vacuum. They know what the market is for their skillset. In particular, SEO programs are very profitable for both agencies and clients. Simply put, there is a ton of money washing around in the SEO space. Most top-flight SEO consultants are being billed out at $150/hour -- and everyone knows it.

The best way to keep your recruiting costs low is to not lose good people. Susan's defection is totally unnecessary. She's trained. She has solid inter company relationships. She's well-respected by her peers outside of the company. And her desk is very cash-flow positive. Replacing Susan will be a costly hassle if the company does it without my help. And if the company does it with my help, I'll charge them 20-25% of the replacement's base salary -- which will likely be $125K + bonus. The total cost to clean up this mess with be $60-70K.

The worst thing a company can do is to motivate their stars to look around. Trust me, if I get an unsolicited call from one of your A-players, I will remind them think that you don't appreciate them. That's my job -- and I'm pretty good at it.

And if you want your company to go from Good to Great, for each employee under review ask "Would I hire this person again?" If the answer is yes, then keep in mind the total cost to replace that person and assign their bonus accordingly.

In the meantime, if you are a corporate recruiter who's looking for a highly-skilled organic SEO program manager (single, home owner, no kids), call me at (678) 795-0900.

Hmm, looks like I might have ruffled a few feathers with my comments to this post over at the Animal House.

The best writer in the whole "recruiting blogosphere" has called me out. Oh my, what's a poor boy to do? "Heartless and cold, it's his dreams that are lost" says the man, Billy.

Well, I don't know about you, but I'll hold on to my cold, heartless dreams for a little bit longer.

~tod

As part of the Big Bad Recruiting Blog Swap, today's post is brought to you by George Blomgren of Jobs, Job Seekers, Employers & Recruiters. Maybe it's a good thing I'm not in recruiting since he's comparing recruiters to UFC fighters...I would regularly get my arse whipped. Enjoy!

I'm not a big sports fan, but I love watching Ultimate Fighting Championship (UFC) and other "extreme" mixed martial arts competitions. A bit brutal, but fascinating. And oddly relevant to recruiting.

UFC (the most publicized and arguably best ongoing competition) dramatically changed the nature of competitive martial arts around the world. After centuries of slow evolution -- different martial arts evolving in very different directions -- mixed martial arts competitions changed things dramatically and quickly. The very public and utilitarian nature of these competitions became a crucible. In this crucible, it became painfully clear what worked and what didn't. For participants, it became obvious that anything less than a fanatical dedication to 1) training/adaptation and 2) results wasn't enough for success.

The world of recruiting has undergone similar evolution in the last 10 years. The web has enabled and forced the changes. I'd suggest that the internet is the equivalent of UFC in this movement -- an extremely visible venue, an arena where many of the best and brightest come to spar and exchange ideas in a very public manner, and a crucible that has significantly changed recruiting.

One common theme in the martial arts world, prior to UFC, was the "my way is the best/only way" mentality. Masters of any given style often felt that they had perfected the be-all, end-all techniques, and didn't need to look outside. UFC quickly proved that no martial art was complete, that fighters had to master multiple skills (from multiple arts) and be ready to adapt instantly to any new situation/opponent. See where I'm going with this?

UFC also created a lot of unprecedented partnerships. Traditional enmity between competitors disappeared as smart fighters realized that partnering up was the best way to learn new skills and/or complement their areas of mastery. Homogenous schools/clubs were replaced by dynamic "camps" sharing first and foremost a commitment to results. This has also happened to a remarkable extent in recruiting. The Recruiting blogswap that made this posting possible demonstrates that.

The octagon, where UFC bouts occur, attracts an interesting mix of people. Innovators, experts, coaches, synthesizers of information, and a few pompous windbags. If you're familiar with the variety of people who have hung as shingle as career coaches, recruiting experts, employment gurus, etc. the whole cast of characters should sound familiar.

UFC created real-world pragmatic standards. Previously, there had been belts, which reflected experience. Experience helps create champions, but it doesn't always work that way. The octagon created a real world distinction between truly world class fighters, and those who weren't capable of this level of performance. Thanks to UFC, this elite circle became recognizable and recognized. The high-tech, high-touch and high-concept recruiting techniques (and challenges) created by the internet have similarly separated the champions from the duffers.

Thanks to UFC, martial arts have evolved more in the last 15 years than in the centuries before. The internet has brought similar (r)evolution to recruiting. It will be interesting to see what the future holds for both.

In my very first post I said "my intention here is to discuss come current issues I see in our environments and how I/we handle them so that others can hopefully glean something from the learning process I go through each and every day here at Microsoft."

I was referring to technical issues at the time and I do write about those, but not to the extent that I had originally intended. I quickly moved into posting about working at Microsoft, random technology stuff, some current events, tidbits about video gaming and miscellaneous funny stuff I found online. Eight months later (August 2005) I really wanted to discuss some things that were going on with my daughter (1-1/2 at the time), but I didn't feel like they 'fit' the persona I was creating here. So I went and started another blog, thDad [pronouced the-dad], to talk specifically [and only] about fatherhood, parenting issues and kids. My posting started off pretty strong at thDad, but after a few months it started to feel too much like work, I resented the time I felt I had to put into it and as a result my posting frequency was very erratic. In fact, I've only posted 7 times in the past 5 months over there.

So what exactly do I mean by "taking back my blog?" Well, as we all know people are complex. After reading a few blogs on how to be a successful blogger (like ProBlogger, even though I wasn't trying to make money) I thought that splitting up my interests was the 'best' way to go. Most successful bloggers said to pick a topic and focus on it so your readers would always know what to expect. Photography, parenting, snowboarding, etc. Do one thing and do it well. Sounds great, right? What I didn't take into consideration was that by splitting myself into a few different blogs it was kind of like splitting my personality. thDad would get one side of me while dirtyDogStink would get another, but neither one was a complete representation. There were times I wanted to post something, but just couldn't get myself into the right frame of mind for either blog's 'area of focus' so I just didn't post it.

Well, I'm tired of having a split personality and am going against what the big-wigs recommend. I'm locking the door on thDad, adding a parenthood category to this site and turning dirtyDogStink into the 'complete Tod Hilton.' Not just one part of me, but the whole damn thing.

I think I've made some great posts at thDad and it still gets a lot of hits from search engines so I'm going to archive it here at http://dirtydogstink.com/thdad/. I will even leave the comments open as I really like the input...even months later. But from now on, anything I would have posted under that blog will be right here on dirtyDogStink under the parenthood category [for your easy reference].

Things really aren't going to change much around here. I have already started posting some stuff about my family and dogs that I wouldn't have a few months ago (with positive responses to them), so I think I'm better off just being myself here...my whole self.

~tod

Windows Live Writer was announced a few days ago and the buzz online has been almost deafening [in a good way]! I have been using the beta releases for about the past month since the Writer team made them available internally. Honestly, I was very impressed even with the first iteration I used.  It has...

• an extremely clean UI,
• uses RSD to discover my blog information [which means I don't have to look up that crazy URL for the Live Spaces MetaWeblog API],
• the Web Preview [Shift+F11] rocks by letting me preview the entry using my style sheets
• and the SDK allows developer-types to easily create plug-ins for things like Technorati tags, Flickr photos, etc.

There are several good reviews of Writer out there [so I'm not going to bother] and here are a few I liked:

• Scott Hanselman - Fair criticism and I agree with his sentiment about using an MSN Group as a discussion board. Huh?
• Phil Haack - I look forward to any plug-ins this smart-as-a-whip dev-turned-manager can come up with.
• Omar Shahine - He's already written 2 plug-ins [while Writer was an internal-only beta].
• Dare Obasanjo - He actually helped implement the integration with Live Spaces.
• Tim Heuer - This guy was consistently on the bleeding edge of the internal-only beta and has written 2 plug-ins now available on CodePlex: Technorati tags and Flickr photos
• Microsoft Monitor - I'm not sure I agree with his 'pulling everything back to the desktop' theory, but it's interesting.
• Ken Fisher - I couldn't agree more about the clean HTML!

There you have it!  Links to download Writer, the SDK, the Writer team's blog and several reviews.

Lastly, I would like to give a public kudos to the Windows Live Writer team for something specific...the great interaction they had with the internal beta users. J.J. Allaire, Joe, Spike, Charles and Rebecca were all extremely responsive to feedback [positive, negative and indifferent]. I am so impressed with how open they were...they fixed bugs where they could, changed features when users requested it [and it made sense], explained why features couldn't be changed when it didn't make sense and have an obvious passion for their product. If only every product team out there would be like this. I highly recommend that you give them whatever feedback you have...they are definitely listening!

~tod

tags: windows+live+writer writer

So, what sort of evil tendencies do I have?

Hmm, perhaps there is some truth to this...

By the way, I got this from Chris Wilson.

~tod

As part of the Big Bad Recruiting Blog Swap, today's post is brought to you by Frank Mulligan of Talent Software in China. This is interesting to read, especially after Gautam's post yesterday discussing whether software companies in India should focus on services or products. Enjoy...

One of the most commonly made comparisons in this part of the world is between India and China. It's as if there were actually a race with a defined start and finish line. Everyone explores the issue of who will win, the rabbit or the hare.

China, we are told, has raced off into the lead with a strong FDI model. India, with its stronger base of indigenous technology companies, might be the first past the post of this marathon.

Overall Race Report - Odds on favorite leading, long shot making a surge from the back.

But one area where India is already in the lead is software offshoring. There has been some recent movement in China, but India is easily 20 years ahead. The Chinese government is heavily backing efforts to create a local offshoring industry. Given the lack of success of government bureacrats in choosing favored industries this is not something to crow about. Nevertheless, the support is there and the first steps have been taken.

Over the past few years these efforts have begun to yield results. A recent government push for outsourcing is likely to accelerate this.

As with many other previous industry expansions, China doesn't have the burden of installed legacy technology. It has skipped many of the stages that many others went through. In terms of the PC business you could just as easily talk to the wall as mention CP/M, MS-DOS, or the IBM XT to a programmer in China. The current generation talks in terms of Software As A Service, Web 2.0 and MSN Spaces.

This leapfrogging has allowed companies to start software centres from scratch very quickly. There are quite a few software centres in China now and some have in excess of 1000 programmers. 'Ha, we can beat that easily', says Gautam Ghosh, and he would be right (had he actually said it).

There are, of course, a lot of barriers that have to be overcome if China is going to succeed.

The first and most obvious shortcoming of China is a total lack of experience in running software centres with hundreds, if not thousands, of developers. Systems, procedures, standards and workflows all have to build from scratch. The Capability Maturity Model (CMM) is the perfect example. Only 3-5 years ago there wasn't so much as one company with a Level 1 certification in China. Now many have Level 4 and there are a few companies, such as Bleum here in Shanghai, who have been accredited to Level 5.

At the same time as multinational companies like HP or Microsoft build their software development footprints in China, Indian companies are also active. They have the advantage of a deep knowledge of what it takes to deliver English-language software cheaply, and with quality. Chinese programmers offer them an 'in' to the character-based language markets in Korea, Japan, Hong Kong, and of course China itself.

So maybe the final result will be a win for Indian offshoring companies in China. They bring in international clients, well-defined procedures, developed standard and systems, and many years working at CMM Level 5. China kickstarts its software offshoring industry and India gets a new source of IT skills.

Final Software Offshoring Result:

• China - Winner
• India - Winner

As part of the Big Bad Recruiting Blog Swap, today's post is brought to you by Gautam Ghosh. Enjoy...

I apologise to Tod and you dear reader for this late blogswap posting. My dilemma was on which topic to write this blogswap post.

I am a Organizational consultant based in India and have as an employee for Indian IT services and MNC IT consulting firms in addition to hardware firms like HP and Dell also. I blog here.

One of the frequent questions that the media keeps asking India's IT services firms like TCS, Infosys and Wipro is "Why can't you go the product route, like say...Microsoft?" The assumption being software companies are about higher per person productivity and profitability and that the services business is too much about arithmetical growth.

Earlier they would get all flustered up. These days they answer it with elan focussing on a message that basically says - "Services is our core competence. That is what we do well, and that is what is causing the big boys like Accenture, IBM etc to play catch up with us."

But that is not to say that they haven't tried. Infosys has had a modest success with a Banking tool called Finacle. iFlex solutions is India's most successful software product company - it too is in the banking domain - a product called flexcube.

But Indian companies do not have any success story in the prodcut for mass market area. The reasons given usually are that we lack the financial muscle to market software products to the mass market.

I however think that what Indian software companies lack is imagination. The focus should not be the mass market in the West but the mass market of the Latin American, Asian and African continents. A tool like the accounting software "Tally" has been a moderate success within India in the small retail segment. Marketed well, these can be quite successful in the markets that are similar to India at a retail level.

So Tod and dear readers, what do you think? Should Indian IT firms concentrate and services or also do products? Is it possible to do both together, or does the DNA of the company need to be different?

ps: Gautam was a little bit late submitting his post, but followed through which is what really counts. So Gautam...no apology is necessary. Thanks for the perspective.

If you like entertaining stories by someone who has a flair for writing then I highly suggest you check out WaiterRant.net. I've been reading him for a few months now and really enjoy it.

Oh, and Waiter Rant just got a book deal based on his blog. How cool is that...congrats!

~tod

I created my MSN Live Space, justAnotherSE, on December 28, 2004, shortly after the beta went public. I had never blogged before and it was an experiment for me. Well, almost 2 years later it turns out I kinda like it.

But I'm in a sort of quandry now. You see, when I created my Space I was a systems engineer (SE) and I thought I was being cool by naming it "just another SE." Well, a few months later I found myself making the transition into a development role...a software development engineer (SDE). I changed the title of my Space to "just another SDE," but the url remained "spaces.msn.com/members/justanotherse" [before all of the name changes]. It felt stupid, but there wasn't a lot I could do about it so I just let it slide.

Then, a few months ago I decided to purchase a domain name and have it hosted outside of Spaces. I go into the reasons why in this post, but suffice it to say that I picked a unique name that means something to me: dirtyDogStink. I cross-post [that's where you post the same thing at 2 or more different sites/blogs] at my Live Space because I honestly like the service and want to play around with it as they make updates. For instance, I really want to write a gadget [that can be used in Spaces or Live.com], but I just can't think of what type I want. [shrug]

Anyway, the other reason I didn't make a name change to the Live Space is because I didn't want to lose all of my posts (200+)! Live Spaces does not allow you to simply rename your Space, which is a big mistake in my opinion. If you want to change/rename the Space tied to your passport ID then you have to delete the current one and create a new one. That sucks big time. Well, that's not an issue anymore. I recently wrote an application (getSpaces) that will backup a Live Space and then allow you to repost everything to a new Space. So that means I can backup all of my posts [yes, every single one], delete justAnotherSE, create my new Space [with a cool name I like] and then re-post all of my old entries from my backup.

The only drawback remaining is that anyone that links to "justanotherse.spaces.live.com" [yes, there actually are quite a few out there ] will have dead links on their site and I have no way to redirect them to the new Space. That also sucks big time.

I'm really leaning towards renaming my Space... I'll keep you posted. Because I just know you're in deep suspense over the whole thing.

~tod

ps: I hope to make getSpaces public very soon so everyone else out there can do the same thing [if they're so inclined]. No promises, I'm just saying...

tags: live+spaces spaces

Week numero cinco [I really have no idea why I keep typing these in Spanish] of the Recruiting Blog Swap and here's a story I cooked up around midnight this past Saturday night. I probably shouldn't be allowed to try writing creatively at that time of the day, but oh well. Thanks to Amitai Givertz at Recruitomatic for letting me ramble on while trying to make a point.

~tod

tags: recruiting

My Name Is Earl is my hands-down favorite show on TV right now. Yeah, I realize we're in the off season, but I'll even sit down and watch the re-runs because they're so damn funny. I also like the show because I see several elements of truth...if you're Christian [the golden rule], Buddhist [path of moderation] or just believe in Karma. Actions and consequences in a simple, entertaining format.

As often happens when I'm reading a blog post, I click an interesting link then another one catches my eye and I finally end up nowhere even near where I started. I suppose that's the way of the web, but that's not my point.

My point is why did John Sumser [who I have never heard of by the way] feel it was necessary to attack Heather Hamilton for sharing her thoughts on metrics? He calls her a "Pollyanna" inferring her naiveté. He states that she "destroys HR's credibility over and over again." He equates her to "spoiled children." He says that she's "not [a] good example[s] to follow."

I say "what a fucking load of crap!"

I realize this happened four months ago, but this is the first I've heard of it and I'm a bit irritated at the moment. Jim Durbin says in his post at Recruting.com that he "won't deal with [the]….personal attacks" so I will. First of all, let me share what I know about Heather:

• Heather has replied to each and every single comment I have ever left on her blog. I read the blogs of several successful/popular software developers and NONE of them do this! Her sincerity shines through in her posts and the subsequent dialog she fosters in the comments. Note that Mr. Sumser's articles do not allow for ANY comments which completely kills any possibility of further discussion.
• Heather and I have communicated via email several times, but we have never met in person or even worked together inside Microsoft. The first time I contacted her with the typical "you don't know me, but I read your blog and have a question" opening statement. She replied almost immediately with several details that really helped me through a PR situation. Not only that , but she was so sincere and nice that after our initial email conversation I felt comfortable enough to drop her a line every now and then with random questions or bits that I thought might interest her. Hopefully she doesn't think I'm a stalker.
• Heather has a positive attitude, but a firm grip on reality [as seen in the comments to this post where she and I discuss knowing a dog's personality for what it really is]. Studies have shown that positive/optimistic people are more likely to succeed in life…period.

Suffice it to say that I like Heather and even though she's too nice to say anything to or about John on her blog I don't suffer from that type of personal filter. Mr. Sumser does attempt an apology in his post Come Back, Heather, but it reads like he's standing high on a pulpit with white clouds and angels floating around him preaching to a child-like Heather sitting cross-legged on the floor far below his godly level. Yes, I'm saying that he is a pompous ass. He says that his "criticism was strong but never personal" and he does "not engage in personal attacks" which is another load of that stuff my Doberman drops in my backyard every day.

I have ranted about Sumser's pompous attitude towards Heather, but I really don't want this post to be all about attacking him. I don't make it a habit of writing personal attacks and in this case I simply consider myself defending Heather by responding to Sumser's accusations. Which leads me to my theory. I believe his accusations are grounded in an elitist, egotistical attitude driven by his own popularity. What I didn't realize until participating in the Big Bad Recruiting Blog Swap is that John Sumser is an icon in the recruiting industry. I'm happy for his success, but does that give him the right to be an asshole? Umm, not in my book. So here's my theory [in a nice, easy to read graph]:

Trust me, this attitude is not limited to John Sumser or the online world of recruiting. I regularly read the blogs of several extremely popular people in the software industry for their pertinent, intelligent discourses. But in my personal opinion a few of them are arrogant, elitist and pretty much act like their shit doesn't stink. I have tried emailng a few of them [yes, even internally at Microsoft] and never received a response. They often act like they are 'blessing us with their presence' by simply posting anything at all, let alone responding to email or comments on their own posts. I'm not going to name names because that would just turn me into an asshole, which I already have enough problems with.

My point is that you can be a popular blogger without being an asshole! Here are a few examples of people that I consider to be very popular bloggers and yet I have had cordial personal interaction with them... Heather Hamilton, Scott Hanselman, Omar Shahine, Mark Russinovich, Gretchen Ledgard, Eric Gunnerson and yes, even Robert Scoble.

In conclusion, this post is a bit mean-spirited and I might pay the price for it, but in the words of my prophet, Earl Hickey, "I am Karma's bitch." A few other people out there need to be reminded of this because Karma will eventually take what's rightfully hers.

~tod

tags: karma popular+bloggers

As part of the Big Bad Recruiting Blog Swap, today's post is brought to you by Glenn Gutmacher, creator of Recruiting-Online.com. He actually called me eclectic which I take as a compliment. Enjoy...

This week, the Recruiting.com blogswap has assigned me to post to a fellow Microsoftie's blog. One would think that easy, except Tod Hilton is a software programmer and I'm not. But I am an Internet researcher, curious about how to find things online, and have learned to do so fairly quickly. Those skills can serve any programmer well, especially on sites like Koders, Krugle, etc.

But also please spend some time mastering the search syntax and special commands available on (at least) Google, MSN and Yahoo. The help section of each site cover these in decent depth. It will make a big difference in getting to the results you want, and eliminating the chaff. And why all three? Because the overlap in results is exceedingly small (typically under 10%), which means you won't get all the relevant results from just one of them. Don't believe me? Compare the top 100 results visually for your favorite search string (at Thumbshots Ranking).

Good search skills have also enabled me to:

• create a sideline business that couldn't have existed pre-Web,
• virtually and physically meet great people, such as Frank and Shally, who have tangibly furthered my main career, and
• find cool functionality to help enhance about a dozen websites I've designed for small business clients over the years so they were more effective than the brochureware typically seen at that level.

What have I learned from these experiences?

1) If you have an e-product that claims to help people become more skilled at something, then you must develop a personal brand that supports the assertion that you're an expert. It isn't enough to BE an expert; you need to show it. In another blogswap post (scroll way down at The Desk), I explained ways to develop this perception of expertise. Though geared to recruiters, I think the recommendations apply to anybody in this situation. So, next subtopic...

2) What matters from a small business website customer's perspective:

• SEO to get their page rank up (and even getting them to dabble in pay-per-click purchases),
• finding specific products/service offerings easily on their site (read visual and text search),
• keeping their sites fresh in an automated way,
• easily getting the word out to attract leads (read e-newsletters and blogs),
• and most importantly, NOTHING ELSE. So if you find yourself spending time on other things, it's probably unnecessary and you could be using your time more productively elsewhere.

3) What matters from a web developer's perspective -- automating and otherwise optimizing all of the above, so you have time for other stuff. That means:

• not being embarrassed to go through step-by-step examples on tutorial websites (because you'll miss stuff if you skip around and you'll end up spending more time in the end being able to do what you want)
• reviewing interfaces and sourcecode on other websites you admire for creative ideas, and
• utilizing free-tier products of commercial functionality where available, because it saves you time from reinventing the wheel and it still impresses the heck out of most small businesses even if there's an embedded ad or three.
• and there surely are more things, but if I knew them, I'd probably have made this my vocation instead of an avocation.

And finally, since Tod's eclectic interests come through in the range of topics on his blog, I'll throw in something that may fit the parenthood category (being a father of three boys under age 9 myself). Many software developers lament the difficulty of exposing kids to programming concepts when the entry bar is high to learning languages they use at work like C++ and Java, and LOGO is decades old now.

Fortunately, some ex-Microsofties invented something called Kids Programming Language. It has a lot of power, but lends itself to creating games which kids relate to. The language apparently appeals to older programmers as well, so to get more takers at the high school/college level, KPL v2 will be rebranded and launched as Phrogram with a sister site with links back to the original KPL. Click here to learn more and/or download the full-featured KPL Beta 2 before they start charging for the program next month to recover some costs on their labor of love. However, I'm sure it will remain affordable.

Glenn Gutmacher is a Recruiting Researcher for Microsoft Corporation and creator of Recruiting-Online.com, the world's first comprehensive online course on candidate sourcing methodologies and tools, in 1997. His blog was voted the #2 recruiting research blog for 2005 in Recruiting.com's annual competition, which answers Internet sourcing questions submitted by real recruiters and researchers. Visit Glenn's blog to read the Q&A or submit your question for possible inclusion.

Week numero quatro of the Recruiting Blog Swap and here's my little story. Thanks to Claudia Faust and Alise Cortez at it's ALL about the experience for letting me talk about my first interview at Microsoft.

~tod

tags: recruiting

You know those people who yell and scream at the top of their lungs that certain breeds of dogs are always vicious? Well, they can kiss me where the sun don't shine. Take a gander at my 2-1/2 year old daughter playing with our doberman. Does he look the least bit irritated to you? I think he loves that little girl almost as much as her mother and I do.

With regard to the topic of vicious dog breeds... I do agree that all breeds have certain 'personality tendencies' and owners need to be aware of them. Just like people, dogs come in all different shapes and sizes with different personalities, likes, dislikes, etc, but breeds do tend towards personality types. Yes, I'm advocating 'dog profiling.' If you're getting a dog then get some information, talk with dog owners/breeders and understand what breed would best fit your lifestyle. For example...

Labrador retrievers have a reputation for being wonderful family dogs and they generally are, but I have known more than one lab that did not like kids at all. My dad has had labs all of his adult life for duck hunting, but when I was a kid [4-7] I was always told to be careful around the older one [who was around before I was born] because she would snap at kids. She never bit me, but my parents were also cognizant enough to realize her personality traits and to always supervise my interaction with her.

Doberman pinschers used to be the stereotypical vicious guard dog [remember Zeus and Titan from Magnum P.I.?], but most of the dobies I have known are just big goofballs with a really loud bark. Our dobie has been absolutely wonderful with our daughter, but we have also been very careful in introducing them gradually over a long period of time. We didn't just plop our daughter on the ground in front of Slone and say 'here ya go.' That's what stupid dog owners/parents do. It takes time and effort to build a good child-dog relationship, but it's worth it. Just look at that picture and tell me it's not...I dare ya!

~tod