Monica O'Brien is the author of the book Social Pollination: Escape the Hype of Social Media and Join the Companies Winning At It. The book is a step-by-step guide for small and mid-sized businesses that want to find more customers effectively. Get the book:

From the category archives:

Activism

President Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize win proves age matters less than ever in the workplace

Obama won the Nobel Peace Prize for 2009. And while plenty of people are saying he doesn’t deserve it, I completely love the idea of someone winning a prestigious international award at the young age of 48.

It gives me hope that the workplace is actually changing from a stodgy focus on number of years at the company, to promotion and recognition based on ideas, leadership, and raw talent. The prize makes sense to me for these reasons:

There is no rule that young people can’t move up quickly

People keep harping on Obama’s age and experience as a reason he doesn’t deserve the award. Get over it. If the accomplishments warrant award, there is no reason to wait until a person hits a certain age.

I hate when companies do this. I worked at a Fortune 500 out of college and a position one level above mine opened up in my department. My coworkers told me to apply because I was already performing every single one of items listed under qualifications. It makes sense – why should they hire someone else, when I was right there doing the job already?I applied, but was rejected because I had only worked at the company for a 1.5 years and they didn’t like to promote people until they’d been there for 3.

Paying your dues is fine and necessary – but some people pay faster than others. Basing due-paying on age alone is lame. It’s for academics. It’s for old school thinkers. And I’m glad the Nobel Committee is not so old school.

Leaders who inspire people win

The workplace is nothing without strong leadership, and no company moves from good to great based on its products or services alone. Likewise, the United States would not be out of the global dog house if it weren’t for the way Obama represents our country to the rest of the world.

Truthfully, not much about our country has changed since Obama became President – we are not suddenly a better or smarter or more productive group of people. What has changed is our leadership – and the way Obama has inspired both the US and other countries makes him worthy of winning. And frankly, it’s amazing and shocking that one man can change global perceptions of an entire country.

Plus, now that Obama has been recognized as a leader of world peace, he has more clout to continue his mission, and more incentive to continue inspiring others.

You can’t grow without a stretch position

It’s career suicide to take on a role that’s past the breaking point of your talents and experience level. But we also know that the best way to advance in your career is to do the job you want before you have the title or authority to do so.

That’s where stretch positions come in. Obama has an aptitude for taking stretch roles that allow him to grow, without screwing up. US President was a stretch role for Obama, but he beat out several competitors with more age and experience than him, and he seems to be faring well.

While Obama hasn’t accomplished world peace yet, he’s a Nobel laureate for world peace because he has been executing on his vision of world peace all along, before he even won the presidency. This prize is yet another opportunity to grow into a stretch position – and I’m confident he’ll do just fine.

What do you think? Workplace revolution in the making?

72 ways you can be more eco-friendly

By Monica O'Brien on July 20th in Activism 7 comments

Gen Y is well known for it’s environmental consciousness. 47% of Gen Y will pay more for green brands, and Gen Y takes notice of eco-friendly marketing. Here are 72 ways you can really make a difference to help the environment.

In the Home

Image from Kevin Dooley on Flickr

According to GreenYour, most people can live quite comfortably at a temperature of 78°F. Every degree the temperature is raised above 72 degrees, cooling costs drop by 3 percent and carbon dioxide emissions decrease by 121 pounds.

Raise the indoor temperature (during the summer)
Lower the indoor temperature (during the winter)
Unplug your cell phone charger during the day
Spend more time outside
Install energy efficient lighting
Open the windows to use natural light and air
Manage your finances online
Pay your bills online
Switch to an energy efficient water heater
Put caulking around your house for insulation
Recycle, reuse, retrofit, and restore old furniture
Invest in sustainable power like solar panels and solar wind
Use rechargeable batteries for appliances

In the Kitchen

Image from Pink Sherbet Photography on Flickr

Research at the University of Chicago shows that an average burger man (that is, not the outsize variety) emits the equivalent of 1.5 tonnes more CO2 every year than the standard vegan. By comparison, were you to trade in your conventional gas-guzzler for a state of the art Prius hybrid, your CO2 savings would amount to little more than one tonne per year.

Eat less meat
Unplug all appliances you don’t use often
Wait until the dishwasher is full before running it
Switch to energy saving appliances
Use recyclable paper products
Recycle as much paper and plastic as possible
Recycle all aluminum cans
Get a compost machine
Reduce water pressure in the sink
Turn off the water whenever it isn’t running
Use water and vinegar for everyday cleaning

In the Bathroom

Switch to low flow sinks, toilets, and showerheads
Take shorter showers
Buy eco-friendly beauty products
Add a one-gallon jug filled with sand to the toilet tank
Reduce water pressure in the shower
Use eco-friendly cleaning products like 7th Generation or Method
Let your hair dry naturally

In the Laundry Room

Get an energy efficient stackable washer and dryer
Use vinegar in the rinse cycle as a natural antibacterial and fabric softener
Dry clothes on lines when it’s nice outside
Avoid purchasing polyester clothing
Donate old clothes to charity

In the Office

Image from quapan on Flickr

According to Greenpeace, you can contribute to the Black Pixel Project by turning a small square on your computer black. You can then move the black square anywhere on the screen, where it will keep count of the energy you are saving (about 0.057 watts per hour). So far, 110,345 watts have been saved — the same as 1,003 color TVs or 1,226 fridges, turned off for an hour.

Print on both sides of the paper
Use printing mistakes as scrap paper
Recycle ink cartridges
Put your computer on standby every night
Go to virtual meetings via Skype, rather than driving to meet
Recycle any paper you don’t use
Purchase a paper shredder and recycle important documents
Switch to electronic billing for clients
Do as much as your work online as possible
Send packages with as little packaging as possible
Using websites with black pixels rather than white (it takes less energy)
Bring your lunch to work in reusable plastic containers instead of sandwich bags

In the Yard

Image from Dan4th on Flickr

One hour of mowing your lawn with a gas-powered mower produces as much pollution as driving your car for four hours, according to the Texas Commission on Environmental Quality.

Plant vegetables in your garden
Landscape with native or draught-tolerant garden plants
Let your grass grow longer than usual
Water the lawn on alternate days
Water the lawn in the mornings or evenings
Plant more trees
Use the community pool rather than building one in your backyard

In the Garage

Ride your bike to work
Carpool to work
Drive slower
Keep your tires inflated
Avoid biofuels
Get a hybrid car
Get your car tuned up and inspected regularly
Dispose of batteries, antifreeze, paint, motor oil, or chemicals at a toxic disposal site

Outside the Home

Image from moriza on Flickr

Every newspaper represents emissions of a half pound of carbon dioxide, according to GreenInc. Marriott hotel instituted a new policy to reduce morning newspaper distribution by about 50,000 newspapers every day or by about 18 million newspapers every year. That would reduce carbon emissions by 10,350 tons each year.

Walk wherever you can
Use public transportation when possible
Shop local for clothing items
Rent or download music and media instead of purchasing CDs and DVDs
Attend your local farmer’s market (summer)
Use reusable shopping bags
Buy eco-friendly products when possible
Read newspapers and magazines online
Drink from reusable water bottles rather than plastic ones

What are some other ways you can be more eco-friendly?

Speidi is remarkable (and why you’re not)

By Monica O'Brien on July 6th in Activism 11 comments

from octoberlicious on Flickr

Why does everyone think you have to do something good to be remarkable? The world is not split into interesting, underrated people and boring-but-good marketers. That is a myth that the former use to boost their self-confidence.

Remarkable has nothing to do with “good” – it simply means buzz worthy – something that people will notice and remark upon, whether the remark is good or bad.

In fact, truly remarkable is almost impossible without a mix of bad reactions. Where is the conversation in everyone agreeing? So here is how Spencer and Heidi Pratt became so remarkable:

Speidi adds 2+1 and gets 7

Before Speidi, Heidi was just the skinny blonde friend on The Hills, and Spencer was the son of a celebrity dentist. Heidi and (especially) Spencer were nothing before they banded together, but once they did, they went from D-list reality stars to one of the most talked about celebrity couples of the decade.

Is their marriage real? I don’t know. The only thing I can tell is that they’ve both chosen a lucrative profession with their union. Sometimes that’s what it takes to be remarkable; you have to do something bigger than yourself and pair up with others at your level to take both of you to the next level. Celebrities know this and use it time and again to advance their careers; Speidi is the extreme example.

Speidi is extreme

Speidi did not get famous by playing by the rules and being nice to everyone; they got famous by being extreme. Extreme reality show personalities are such a necessity in entertainment that there is actually reality star school where you can learn the trade.

And every reality show wannabe knows that people watch The Soup clip show with Joel McHale to filter which reality shows are actually worth watching. The more often you are featured, the more interesting your reality show is – and Spencer and Heidi’s good cop bad cop routine gets in just about every week.

Reality shows teach us that people in the middle are boring, unremarkable, and plain. You have to be the first, the best, the smartest, the dumbest, the funniest, the silliest in your field to become remarkable. It’s the people with extreme opinions and ideas – the people who live on the edges – that make the news.

Speidi does not try to please everyone

Some might say Spencer and Heidi don’t try to please anyone except themselves. The truth is they please the people who matter: the tabloids. And the people that buy them.

Say what you want, but Speidi can sell – magazines, hairspray, a dying reality show, Playboy. There are people who love to hate them, but at the end of the day they are doing a lot of business.

You can’t be remarkable without irritating some people. No business serves every customer out there. Nobody wants to talk about how great you are all the time. And nobody can live at the extremes without causing dissent from some subsection of the masses.

Speidi reinvents themselves as a couple

First they were antagonizing Lauren Conrad on The Hills, then they were the on-again off-again couple that was maybe married. Then they went on I’m a Celebrity… Get Me Out Of Here! and became the bible-thumping quitters, and now my Dad knows who they are.

But look, Spencer and Heidi understand that being remarkable is an ongoing job. The way you create continuous buzz is not by pulling one stunt and sitting back. It’s by killing yesterday’s news about you with something fresh, interesting and “remark”-able from today.

So why are you unremarkable? Why is your company unremarkable?

Because you are not taking risks, not giving extreme opinions, not disagreeing with others, not partnering with your peers, not creating buzz, and not reinventing yourself. Spencer and Heidi are obnoxious, but that’s their brand, and it works for them. Take a lesson from Speidi, and watch your opportunities flourish.

UPDATE: Jamie (@jamielovely) wrote a fun picture blog post about this almost a year ago called The one where I applaud Speidi. Check it out!

6 Personal Branding Lessons I Learned from Observing Dan Schawbel

By Monica O'Brien on April 7th in Activism 24 comments

Dan Schawbel is kind of a big deal these days – he has a book Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success that just came out (today! go get it), tons of press publicity, his award-winning blog, and his reputation as the #1 personal branding expert. But while Dan’s articles can teach us a lot about how to use social media to brand yourself, I actually learn more about personal branding just from watching Dan work his magic.

Here are some of things I’ve learned:

Dan gives a lot of himself

As one of the Personal Branding Blog writers, I get the opportunity to talk to Dan on a fairly regular basis about everything he’s doing in his career. What I’ve found is he has a huge heart and gives so much of himself to everyone he possibly can. He speaks at local colleges and organizations, he writes articles all the time, he shares interesting information through his twitter account, he does press interviews, he answers questions via email, he writes LinkedIn recommendations for everyone he knows… the list goes on and on.

I recently wrote a post about How to be Popular on Social Media, and Dan is the epitome of one of the points – to make the conversation about your followers, not yourself. It’s no surprise that Dan has a great following, because he truly gives more than he ever asks.

Dan keeps track of his online brand

Dan uses every outlet he has to promote good content of others, but he never misses a chance for self-promotion. I think this is a great thing, because nobody is going to toot your horn for you. Promoting your own accomplishments gives you credibility among your followers and sets an example for what people like you can accomplish.

In Dan’s case, he always shares every article that is written about him, no matter how large or small the publication. The situation is win-win – Dan gets publicity and the publication gets traffic, an incentive that encourages other publications to interview Dan.

Dan writes a ton of articles for various publications

Dan is known as the personal branding expert, but he knows that personal branding is not a vacuum. That’s why Dan applies his subject (personal branding) to broader subjects so he can write on a variety of topics.

Dan also knows that in order to grow a reputation, you cannot invest too much time into one community. He knows that every networking connection is a series of transactions rather than an intense, ongoing conversation. Instead of becoming just another member in several communities, Dan builds his own community around his work. He accomplishes this by gaining more reach – tapping into other communities through his writing, and bringing a portion of those communities back to his own blog.

Dan takes his network with him

The great thing about Dan is he uses his own status to elevate others in his network with him. He is constantly sharing press and speaking opportunities with the people who support him and his career.

For example, the week before Dan launched his book Me 2.0, he emailed the entire Personal Branding Blog team to thank us for making his book launch so successful. In other words, he let us know we were contributors to the Me 2.0 launch and could share in its success. I know that as Dan’s career skyrockets, he will bring his network with him.

Dan wrote a book to move his personal brand forward

I recently wrote that blogging to demonstrate “expert” credentials was sooo 2007. That’s not really fair, because Dan became a personal branding expert largely due to branding himself through his blog.

Not that Dan’s blog is his biggest accomplishment – not nearly. He simply used it as a stepping stone to make an even bigger career jump – writing his book.

While Dan did not get article in Business Week and the New York Times through his blog, he did get them because he had a book deal. So if you really want to become an expert, write a blog about a particular subject, and use your blog to sell a book.

But first you have to find a great hook that sells. And “personal branding expert” is already taken, unfortunately.

Dan is a Google Reader rockstar

I recently dusted off my Google Reader, and as I started using it, I was shocked to discover that Dan Schawbel shares, like, 50 articles a day. How the heck does he read that much, I thought?

But then I observed Dan’s shared items, and found a lot of truly great content. And I realized quickly it’s all in the title – you can skim article titles in Google reader and tell what’s going to be interesting and relevant to you and what’s not.

Now, I have over 200 feeds in my Google Reader. I give basically anyone who communicates with me in any way a chance, whether through commenting or sending me a message on Twitter. I add feeds to my reader without fear, because I can scan 500 posts, pick out and read the best 10 (based on titles), and share the most relevant 5 on Twitter and my blog in about 10 minutes.

I know this has to be how Dan Schawbel finds great content to share with his following, and has built a loyal fan base that makes him the personal branding expert he is today. And I love reading Dan Schawbel’s shared items because they are usually intelligent, insightful picks. And I think if I can share good picks with people, I can brand myself as someone in the know too.

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PS. I highly recommend Dan Schawbel’s book, Me 2.0: Build a Powerful Brand to Achieve Career Success, which I have already read and found very impressive.

Need Something? Try Asking For It

By Monica O'Brien on January 27th in Activism 9 comments

Sometimes the number of requests I get to do something surprise me. After all, someone took the time to write me a personalized message asking me to read their blog, tweet a link for them, review their book, or announce their contest. Or, at the least, they copied and pasted a form letter and put my name at the top – hey, that still takes a lot of effort.

What surprises me more sometimes is that these requests actually work.

Someone DM’d (direct messaged) me yesterday on Twitter and asked me to read an article on his blog and write a comment. Though I’d never read his blog before, he seemed like a nice guy, his request was polite and personal, and either way I was already following him on Twitter, so why not cement that connection a little further?

I ended up going to his post and adding a comment, because I actually did have something to say about it. Then I found another one of his posts in his similar posts section, which I loved. I tweeted it immediately, and the post got three retweets from my followers. I also received a few messages from my followers, thanking me for sharing the link with them because it was exactly what they had been looking for.

Then I subscribed to his blog, because two good articles on one site indicates more good articles to come.

He didn’t ask me to do those last two things, but I’m glad I did because I benefited in the end – I got credit on Twitter for sharing information and I found a new source for quality articles.

Here is something maybe not so surprising – aside from the actual PR requests (or blasts) I receive, almost all of the requests I get are from guys. That’s because women are generally worse at negotiating than men, and naturally that trait spills into even trivial tasks like promoting a blog. I myself am guilty of this at times (though at least I do well at negotiating my salary, for the most part).

We all need to start asking more often. And as you can see, there are implicit benefits to respond to someone’s request and giving them exactly what they want. So here are some people who sent me requests lately:

The Forte Foundation

I love what the Forte Foundation does, and I was thrilled to receive this announcement:

An extension of our Career Labs, held on college campuses nationwide, the Career Lab Virtual Campus, provides undergraduates with free access to the secrets and insights that will help them navigate the early stages of their career.

Virtual Campus is broken down into three sections—Career Lab On Demand, Land Your Dream Job and Girl Talk—undergrads can watch videos, listen to podcasts, and ask questions on the Discussion Forum.

Dan Schawbel’s Personal Branding Magazine

As usual, Dan Schawbel has wowed me with another impressive issue of Personal Branding Magazine, which comes out February 1st.

Free sample URL: www.personalbrandingsample.com
Paid subscription URL: www.personalbrandingmag.com
Facebook page: www.facebook.com/pages/Personal-Branding-Magazine/18138629524

MWW Group Contest

This looks like a fun contest – entry is free, easy, and the prizes are pretty substantial.

MWW Group is asking individuals and organizations to provide a 100 word written or spoken (via video) description of a positive change that they hope will happen during Obama’s first 100 days in office. It’s based on the idea that ever since FDR’s administration, every President has been measured by their accomplishments during their first 100 days. Submissions are sent in via the website www.mww.com/change

Gen-Y Hospitality Report

Here’s a cool report about how Gen Y views hospitality. Good read for anyone who studies or writes about Gen Y – plus my friend Greg helped put it together. You can get the report here: Gen Y Hospitality Report.

And… Me

And since I should take my own advice about asking, here are a few requests of my own. If you aren’t already, consider subscribing to my blog (600+ already do) or following me on Twitter (1400+ already do).

Also, the job hunt I started in January is going extremely well and I should have good news within the next few weeks. However, if you have any good leads for positions within the city limits of Chicago (no suburbs) in the areas of social media, technology, marketing, or business, please send me an email, tweet, or leave a comment. Thanks!

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