The Downtown Women's Club womensDISH blog

Virtual glass floor? Gender & social networks

This week a fascinating set of data was released that shows women dominating social media.  Apparently, women outnumber men on Facebook, Twitter, FriendFeed, Flickr, Classmates, MySpace, Hi5 and del.icio.us.  Women tie men on LinkedIn, YouTube and Bebo.  The boys, however, do rule on Digg.

Here's a link to the full demographic breakdown of social networks: http://www.briansolis.com/2009/10/revealing-the-people-defining-social-networks/

And, here's a great visual: http://www.informationisbeautiful.net/2009/who-rules-the-social-web/

While this data is based on sheer numbers of people using the systems (not who is in charge, making money or has power and influence), it shouldn't be surprising.  After all, social media is all about facilitating communication and women are known communicators.

As I wrote the title to this post, I realized that a virtual glass floor is not the best visual.  First of all, some of the men I know probably wouldn't mind the view from down there (joking!!!). However, as pointed out above, it's not really a floor. We're just talking numbers, not power or influence.  Yet ... shouldn't numbers eventually equal power and influence????  It will be interesting to see how this unfolds. 

This is why it's not enough for women to just post a profile on LinkedIn.  We need women to use social networking platforms to voice their opinion and build their businesses.

To be honest, I was a bit hesitant about this post because I don't believe there should be glass floors or ceilings - it shouldn't be about gender at all - but talent, skill and capability.  Yet, we're not at equality yet in the places that count (the C-Suite) - despite more college graduates, more grad school graduates and now more social media participation.  But, perhaps demographics + social media will help us get there!

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Need help on social media and other communication skills?  Check out our upcoming Downtown Women's Club DWC+ Teleclasses.  DWC+ members can download over $1500 worth of previously recorded teleclasses on many social media topics!

DWC+ Teleclasses Free for DWC+ Premium members.  Non-DWC+ Members can purchase individual classes for $29/each. 10/8 at 12:00 noon EST - Marketing in the Facebook Era 10/15 at 12:00 noon EST - Throw Away Your Resume 10/22 at 12:00 noon EST - Perfect Your 15-Second Pitch 10/29 at 12:00 noon EST - 10 Tips to Starting a Business in this Economy 11/5 at 12:00 noon EST - Inside the Mind of the Gen Y Worker 11/12 at 12:00 noon EST - 8 Ways to Avoid Overeating During the Holidays Click here to RSVP or download previous teleclasses (DWC+ Premium members only). Need to upgrade to DWC+? Visit the DWC member center.

Book Review: What if Jane Austen was on Facebook?

A couple of years ago, my co-author Lindsey Pollak and I were struggling with how to write an engaging "how to online network" book.  Then we pondered:  what would Jane Austen do if she were a blogger?  The result:  The Savvy Gal's Guide to Online Networking (or What Would Jane Austen Do?). 

This is why when I heard about the book Ophelia Joined the Group Maidens Who Don't Float: Classic Lit Signs on to Facebook by Sarah Schmelling, I just had to get my hands on it.  Classic Lit + Social Media = Witty Fun!

Now, I took a bit of heat from some Jane Austen "purists" about how disgraceful it was to write a tech book with references to JA.  (Although, those with a sense of humor seemed to enjoy it!).  Nevertheless, my view is:  If we have to put JA into a "how to" tech book to get women to sign on and start using social networks, then bastardize classic lit we must!  And, if you can do it and have some fun, you should go for it.  This is exactly what Schmelling does in her hilarious book.

Schmelling takes classic literature characters and transports them into the modern world by imaging what they would do if handed a computer and access to Facebook.  She creates profiles, pages, news feeds, and has them interact with each other.   For the non-Facebook friendly, the title is a play off the fact that people who join Facebook usually join groups of like minded folks. Poor Ophelia of Hamlet fame would have been relegated to joining the groups of "Maidens who Don't Float;" not to be confused with the group "Men Who Float But Are Still Not Impervious to Bullets" which can count Jay Gatsby among its members.

Some of the sections worked better than others (meaning LOL funny).  What I found the most clever were generally:

• Those sections involving literature that I knew really well (Pride & Prejudice, Great Expectations, Jane Eyre, Anna Karenina, Gatsby, Lolita, Little Women); and
• Those that lent themselves to the genre (i.e. Romeo & Juliet due to the fact that they are teenagers; Lord of the Flies re: having a reunion; Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald unfriending each other; and Mark Twain and Oscar Wilde trading "quips").

If you love literature and are familiar with Facebook, this is a great way to revisit the classics in a whole new light and have a few laughs along the way! Who can resist a chapter titled:  "Elizabeth threw a sheep at Mr. Darcy: The Love and Other Difficulties Network."   I couldn't.

Diane K. Danielson is the CEO of the Downtown Women's Clubs and the author of The Downtown Women's Club Beginner's Guide to Facebook.

DWC Guest Post: From Fired to Hired

DWC Guest Post by Tory Johnson, author of Fired to Hired: Bouncing Back from Job Loss to Get to Work Right Now.

1) When you tried to go from fired to hired after losing your job at NBC News, what obstacles did you face?

When I was fired from NBC News from a job I loved and a place I considered heaven on earth, I was stunned. I thought my world had come to an end. I was embarrassed. I didn’t want to talk to anyone. I stayed in my apartment for weeks and weeks. Ultimately I had to accept that the job was over, but my life and career could continue just fine. I had come out of hiding, pick up the phone and reach out to all of my contacts. I had to hold my head and realize that the skills and successes were still mine—and nobody could take those away.

2) If I get laid off today, what’s the first thing I should do?

Two things simultaneously: Indulge in a pity party--give yourself a moment to let your emotions run wild. You'll no doubt feel scared, frustrated, angry, and maybe a tinge of relief. Acknowledge those concerns, but don't allow them to consume you. After all, you've got a lot of work to do. Focus on your finances. If you've lived paycheck to paycheck, it's time for a reality check. What are your monthly obligations and which ones can you lower? How much money do you have in reserve? File promptly for unemployment, with an emphasis on accuracy and honesty so your claim isn’t delayed or denied.

3) What are 3 mistakes you see jobseekers making most often?

• Trotting out the “nobody’s hiring” excuse. By assuming “there are no jobs out there,” you’re looking for an easy excuse—a crutch—to throw in the towel and give up on your search. When I appeared on Larry King Live earlier this year, a caller phoned in to ask how he could possibly find a job when 90 percent of the local employers in his area weren’t hiring. My answer is always the same: Focus on the other 10 percent. You don’t need 100 percent of the employers to be in hiring mode. You only need one to say yes.
• Talking mainly about your needs. It's not about what you want, dummy. It's about what they want. No employer will hire you because of what you want—such as an “opportunity for growth in a progressive company.” Forget that nonsense and recognize that you’ll only be hired based on what the company wants. Figure out what they want and position yourself as an ideal match. (Ultimately you have to want the same things for yourself, but as a jobseeker, sell yourself based on their needs first, not your own.)
• Spraying and praying. Only a fraction of online time should be spent on the giant job boards because they lead to a false sense of accomplishment. You submit hundreds of resumes and you feel pretty good about yourself. You assume someone out there will respond to at least one, if not more, of your submissions. All logical assumptions—and all wrong. Job searching in a recession is more about quality than quantity. If you’re not following up and proactively reaching out directly to decision makers, your chances of being discovered in that big black hole are slim.

4) Where do jobseekers say they’re spending most of their time online?

Sadly, the sites they turn to most often are the giant job boards. That’s fine for finding job leads and getting a sense of who’s hiring and what’s out there. But it’s hardly enough. I steer them to social networking sites. Anyone looking for a job should be on LinkedIn, Facebook and Twitter. It’s not good enough to simply have an account and amass a slew of contacts, friends and followers: you’ve got to work those connections to make them work for you. Embrace the 60/40 rule: 60% of your jobsearch time should be spent offline, with just 40% spent online using job boards, social networking sites, blogs and industry sites.

5) Give us a few quick tips that are easy to apply:

• Enhance your digital identity. When we want to find out about someone or something, we google it. If nothing comes up, it must not exist. Don’t be absent in cyberspace. When a prospective employer or contact googles you, make sure something comes up—ideally information that enhances your professionalism and touts your credentials. Online social networks—Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn—can help you do just that. Create a free digital resume at VisualCV.com. Start a blog. Post comments on influential industry blogs to tout your knowledge.
• No typos, duh. Three out of four (76%) executives surveyed by staffing firm Accountemps said just one or two typos in a resume would remove applicants from consideration for a job. Ask 3 people to proof a hard copy—don’t rely on spell check. Read it backwards too.
• Don’t blame your age. Resist the urge to blame the one thing you can’t control—age. Even though workers age 45+ are disproportionately represented in the long-term unemployed, it’s not impossible to get hired. You’ll no doubt encounter “over-qualified,” which is often code for “too old,” but keep plugging away.
• Spend 3 to 4 hours a day devoted to your search. If you’re not working on it daily, it’ll take longer to get hired. If you’ve been struggling for months without success, wipe the slate clean and start over.
• Mind your credit. Poor credit, which is more and more likely for some people in a recession with prolonged unemployment, can prevent you from getting hired. Don’t bury your head to mounting debt and unpaid bills. Be proactive about addressing this if it’s an issue for you.
• Ask for feedback. If you’re going on interviews but never hearing back, ask for candid comments on why you weren’t selected. Don’t get confrontational; just make it clear that you’d greatly appreciate the benefit of feedback to help you going forward.

About the Book

At just 22, Tory Johnson was fired from her dream job as a publicist at NBC News. What followed is an all too familiar story—days of denial, Häagen-Dazs, and daytime TV. Tory’s pity party turned into a misery marathon until she decided to own up to her new reality and move forward. After writing a cathartic “Dear Andy” letter to the boss who arrogantly sent her packing, Tory made a cognitive shift—vowing to get going on the next chapter of her life, learning valuable lessons along the way. After a few intermediate jobs, Tory founded Women For Hire, a leading provider of comprehensive career services for women, which celebrates its 10th anniversary this fall.

Could your email autoresponder be oversharing?

This post from Peter Shankman about the misuse of autoresponders on emails caught my eye.  It's something we can relate to here at the Downtown Women's Club.  You see, when we send out our event announcements, we can get between 50-300 "out of office" replies back.  Now, we like to know you are out of the office, but Peter picks up a couple of good points on doing it properly:

• Make the subject line say "Out of Office."  I never really thought about this, but when we get those emails back, we can easily delete these without opening (or have them filtered to a folder).  But, if it's just a "re:" then we have to open each one.
• No gratuitous autoresponses.  This one is for those who put: "Thanks for contacting us, we'll get back to you when we get a chance."  As, Peter points out, it adds an extra click to our day, and besides, isn't that the whole gist of email anyhow, that you'll get back to us when you get a chance?  It's really not something we need to read about.
• His least favorite is the “I only check my email twice a day to increase productivity, and I’ll send everyone who emails me an auto-reply telling you that.”  Again, we really don't need that cluttering up our inboxes no matter how few or many times a day we check it.

One point where we disagree is on vacation emails.  Peter doesn't like to know about your vacations:

That’s lovely that you’re on vacation. WE DON’T NEED TO KNOW ABOUT IT. If I send you an email and get back an auto-reply saying you’re “Out of the office for the next two weeks, scuba diving in the Maldives,” that means that I’M NOT, BECAUSE I HAD TO SEND THE EMAIL. So automatically, my hatred of you goes up a notch. Simple and to the point: “Out of office until 9/4. Will return your email upon my return.” And don’t try and be cute. “Hey, I could answer your email, but I can’t email you from under the sea, where I am!” I’ll find you and crimp your air-hose.

I confess that I like creative out of office responses, or ones that let me know you're doing something really cool. Maybe that's because I once put nothing more than "Gone sailing."  And, I got some of the best replies about it.

Click here to read Peter's compete rant.

Diane K. Danielson is the ceo of the Downtown Women's Club and the author of The Downtown Women's Club Beginner's Guide to Facebook.

What's your take on out-of-office emails?

The Twitterization of Celebrities

I'm not a celebrity groupie, although I do love me a good edition of People magazine. I've also been known to frequent sites like Jezebel.com.  But, the whole "celebrities twittering" thing is fascinating to me. 

Somehow I found my way to John Mayer's twitter page (looking up what Pedamundo was - saw it as a trending topic today on search.twitter.com). While on his page, I noticed he was tweeting with Josh Groban, who when I checked out his page saw he was trading tweets with Katy Perry (her other tweet pals weren't so quite so bizarre ... Lady GaGa, Dita Von Teese, Sarah Silverman and one of my favorite new artists who I once had the pleasure of hanging out with one weekend before I even knew who he was ... MIKA).

Now, assuming they are all "real" tweeters ... it was kind of amusing to see who knows who and who hangs out together.  Adding to the amusement factor was that some of their complaints were quite pedestrian (tired fingers from tweeting, poor cell phone coverage, missed flights).  I actually found these humdrum type of tweets from celebrities/artists quite refreshing. 

I'm wondering ... if we get to see celebrities as real people, will some of the "celebrity worship" start to go away?  Now, wouldn't that be a great thing for society?!

While we're on the celebrity topic:  Kudos to Stephen Colbert for his USO tour.  Just brilliant.

Keeping Facebook separate from the Job Hunt

Just listened to some good tips from CBSAtlanta and Pink Magazine about ways to keep your online social activity separate from the job hunt.

While they recommend using your privacy settings on Facebook or other social networks, this might not always be enough because it doesn't control what your friends might do.  Their suggestion:

• For your social stuff:  Create an email address that is just connected to your social networks.  Then, use anonline "alias" for blogging, twitter or other social networks that is not your name.
• For the job hunt: Create another email address (yourname@.....com) and have that connected to your LinkedIn profile, or a twitter/blogging account which has more of a professional bent . 

On the video, they recommend the "mom" test - i.e., would you want your mom to read this.  Well, that should work for most people outside of Hollywood ...

How to Work a MIRL (Meet in Real Life)

It's happening more and more - you recognize that person, but can't quite place them. Then they strike a pose and you realize that you're following them on Twitter, they're a Facebook friend of a friend, or in a LinkedIn group with you.  Should you go over and say hello?  Most definitely! 

Often meeting an online friend/follow in real life takes things to a new level.  It's like the old marketing belief that if a person sees your product or service advertised in three different mediums it'll sink in.  So goes the online/in person meetup.  But, how do you pull off an effective real life meetup?

1. Remind the person how you know them (online), and you should mention which service (Twitter, Facebook, etc.).
2. Tell them your real name + your online one if you use something different.
3. If you follow them on Twitter, tell them why you follow them!
4. If you have mutual friends on Facebook, let them know.
5. Follow up after by DM'ing them (on Twitter), writing on their wall (Facebook), or commenting on their blog (the nice part - no need for a biz card exchange).
6. And to really make their day, tell them that they look even better in real life than their photo.  Who doesn't like a little bit of flattery?

There is nothing better than a MIRL because it does help form a closer bond than a solely-cyber connection.

How I Use Facebook Part 2 – Friends & Networks

Last week, I covered Time Management, Networking & Status Updates.  This week, we’re onto Friends & Neworks. While I’m not going into details of how to do all these things (I’m saving that for the eBooks I’m writing), I’ve gotten good feedback by simply letting everyone know how I use Facebook.  So, I'll keep going.

Friending

Let’s just start off with this Facebook in Reality video that I love:

When it comes to “friending,” it seems people have three different philosophies:

Real friends only.  I know people who keep Facebook strictly friends and family.  When someone requests to friend them who might be a business colleague, they send them back a nice message asking them to linkup on LinkedIn in or follow them on Twitter instead.  I think that’s a great plan for individuals who want to keep Facebook solely for personal use.  Besides, if someone is offended by it, would you really want to be their friend anyhow?

Passive friending.   I’m a passive friender when it gets beyond my real-life friends (both present and past) – meaning that I don’t actually seek out people on Facebook or any of the social networks I use.  However, due to the nature of my employment (running the Downtown Women’s Club) I’m generally open to being Facebook friends with anyone who writes me that they are DWC members or who are friends with several people I know very well. 

Active Frienders.  These are the folks with 5,000 friends.  Just like the LinkedIn Open Networkers (LION’s)  I don’t have a problem with this.  I know that they don’t know all those people, and when someone tries to friend me and the only “mutual friends” that appear are my own handful of Open Networking friends, I don’t feel bad ignoring the friend request, especially if they don’t indicate that they are Downtown Women's Club members.

My recommendation:  Pick a friending strategy and stick to it.  That way it eliminates any brain power deciding whether to friend or not.

Networks

You can join a network (city, workplace, school, or region), and unless you change your privacy settings, your profile can be viewed by anyone in your network. 

I haven’t really seen much use for a network, other than it helps for posting local events.   But, this is probably because:

1. I’m a passive friender, so not actively hunting through Facebook to connect with people I don’t know;
2. My college makes getting .edu addresses so difficult that I gave up; and
3. My work has no geographic boundariesl so joining the Boston network doesn’t do much good. 

However, I recently discovered that if you go to the Friends tab, and click on the “everyone” button, you’ll get a drop down list that allows you to sort your friends in different ways.  If you select “regional friends” you can then search by city.  This only works for your friends who have joined a network, so, you might want to consider joining your regional network for this purpose.  Besides, if you use your privacy settings appropriately, you needn’t worry about strangers wanting to friend you.

So, why would you want to sort friends geographically?  Well, I’m headed to NYC in a few weeks and have a couple down hours – I just might want to go through the list and see who is in the area to meet for coffee or lunch.  And this summer, I've got a hellish journey from France to Boston by way of Newark and Detroit.  Should I be missing a connection somewhere, I guarantee you I'll be online trying to find folks in the general vicinity!

Recommendation:  Join a network, but set all your privacy settings so that “only friends” can see your information (more on that in the next post on this topic).

How I use Facebook: Time Management, Networking & Status Updates

Last month I wrote about how I use Twitter.  This month, I’ve been all about Facebook.  First off, let me say that I don’t mind the New Facebook.  But, that’s because the changes they made are to the benefit of people like me who have a Facebook (Business) Page and only really use the status reports and the newsfeed.  In addition, I wasn’t a huge Facebook user before, so I was never entrenched in the old way.

I'm not covering Facebook Pages (for Businesses) in this post.  For a little bit about that see my review of The Facebook Era: Tapping Online Social Networks to Build Better Products, Reach new Audiences, and Sell More Stuff.

But, back to the everyday Facebook use.

Time Management & Networking

The ROI to compare is networking.  I currently check in with Facebook more than my previous once per day/couple times per week because of our new DWC Facebook Page.  Nevertheless, I still don’t see it as the major time suck that people complain about.  Why?  Because I compare my time on FB/Twitter/LinkedIn to the time I used to spend attending networking events (including travel there and back). Generally, it’s much less and can be done at my convenience. 

While I still go to networking events, due to having a kid and working from a home office in suburbia, it’s a lot harder. I’m not necessarily substituting one for another as I’m a strong believer in “clicks & mix” networking and think you need both.  But, I am using Facebook and Twitter to supplement the fact that I can’t physically (or financially) afford to go to every conference, breakfast, lunch, cocktails and dinner that I could before I had a family. 

Facebook is my coffee break.  I go into Twitter/FB about 2-3 times a day when I need a mental break and/or human interaction. I may comment on a few posts from my friends. Or pick my five favorite something or others.  I’ll add any new friend requests (more on that next week).  Or, I might check out if anyone from high school or college has hopped on.  A lot of the time I find news items and references to articles I need to read for work, so I’m quickly off and back to research and writing.

Facebooking is easier than a cocktail party.  Why?  Because I basically know everyone on there, and my Facebook friends have made an active decision that they want to engage with me. This means that I can hop into conversations and share information without getting a queasy feeling in the pit of my stomach.  Yes, even us extroverts get nervous around new people. It also means that contacts are “warm calls” and you can build relationships talking about favorite movies, TV shows, etc. This winter, I enjoyed re-meeting one of my high school friends through our Tues. morning “Bachelor wrap-up” sessions.

Could your email hinder your job hunt?

Megan Pittsley at the Free2Succeed job center has a great article about how your email address is crucial to your job hunt.  She rightly advocates skipping the silly monikers and using your real name in the address.  I couldn't agree more (as you'll see in the article).  But, here's a quote that just sums it all up:

In closing I leave you with these thoughts from Bruce Powell, Managing Partner of IQ Partners, an Executive Recruitment Firm: “Why work so hard on making your resume the best it can be, only to have something as simple as your contact information plant a seed of doubt in a Hiring Manager's head and make all that hard work for nothing? With such fierce competition out in the job market today and the critical importance that hiring carries, Hiring Mangers can get extremely picky and have eliminated candidates for much less. In the end, why risk it?”

Pittsley recommends getting a separate email address for job hunting, so that you give a consistent, professional impression; and that you're not using your company email or a silly moniker.  However, I have another reason I'd like to add.  If you are going to use a separate email for job hunting, you may have to loosen up on the spam filters.  Sure you may get a few Nigerian Princes writing you, but isn't it worth suffering through a handful of those and NOT missing an email from a recruiter with a short timeframe? At the very least, you need to check your spam filters daily.