LinkedIn and Branding: What we have forgotten

When critically acclaimed self-help guru and philosopher Napoleon Hill wrote Think and Grow Rich in 1937, there was no such thing as social networking. The buzzword “personal branding” also did not exist yet, however Napoleon Hill was the first person to publish a written work that expressed the basic principle behind it. For those of you who don't know, Napoleon Hill was born during the turn of the century in 1883 and he is famous for his philosophies regarding success and positive attitude. You see, Hill was a journalist and in the early twentieth century, he learned the secret to success. He interviewed the world's most successful and influential people of the time includeing (but not limited to): Andrew Carnegie, Henry Ford, Alexander Graham Bell and John D. Rockefeller. By interviewing these individuals, Hill came to understand what they had in common and why all of them were successful. He found that the secret to being successful and getting people to like/hire you (the primary motives behind “personal branding”) was surprisingly simple.

Here it is, the secret to success:

1) Have a positive mental attitude

2) Have a passion for what you do

3) Continue to persevere, even in the face of defeat

Everyone should read at least one of this man's books

What exactly does this have to do with LinkedIn and social networking? Here's the bottom line: Success is earned by genuine, hardworking individuals who want to see their dreams become reality and LinkedIn (along with other social networks) has little to no effect on these things. Trying to get a job on LinkedIn is like participating in a shouting contest with millions of people. You aren't going to get noticed simply by listing a bunch of skills that you supposedly know and talking yourself up over the internet. LinkedIn has millions of users doing just that. Success happens when you start taking real world actions to move yourself forward. I'm talking about working hard and enjoying every minute of it!

Now, before I finish up, I'd like to clarify that I don't think LinkedIn is bad. I am simply saying that standing out (in a good way) to employers on social networking sites is nigh impossible and the effort would be put to better use by doing more work.

It's a shame that most young people today have probably never heard of Napoleon Hill and it's painfully obvious that a large chunk of humanity has forgotten the virtues that he described in his books.

I'll leave you with one of my favorite quotes from one of my favorite computer scientists:

“Talk is cheap. Show me the code” -Linus Torvalds

QR Codes: Not Just for Advertisements!

It seems like they are everywhere these days. On fliers, on soft drinks and even on coffee collars. What am I talking about? I'm talking about Quick Response (a.k.a. QR) codes. In today's smart phone abundant, social media driven world, it's hard to miss these distinct looking two-dimensional bar codes. Why, even as I type this post, I accidentally discovered one to my immediate right taped to a table!

When I first heard about Q.R. Codes, I was skeptical. It seemed to me like every time I saw one, it was stamped to an advertisement, beckoning everyone near to load up their smart phone with more advertisements. I was talking to a friend of mine about this, when he stopped me. You see, my friend had spent a year in Japan for studying abroad. Naturally, there were QR codes around every corner there, Japan being the place of origin of the QR code. My friend explained to me that QR codes had saved him from getting lost in Japan several times by providing a map of the surrounding area. I was intrigued. It was at that point that I decided I wanted to learn more about this interesting technology.

What really amazes me about QR codes is the design. While making the QR code for this blog, I discovered that it was possible to erase sizable chunks of the code and it would still be readable. This is due Reed-Solomon error correction algorithm used in modern QR Code standards. The idea behind the error correction is that the message being encoded can be broken up into multiple, redundant blocks. This allows some of the data to be corrupted (as long as said data is present in one of the redundant blocks) allowing codes to be customized aesthetically.

Anatomy of a QR Code

This QR code still works!

Although I initially dismissed the usefulness of QR codes, after researching them my opinion has changed. QR codes are an elegant way to empower users through technology and further bridge the gap between the physical and digital worlds. Next time I see one in the wild, I won't be so quick to judge!

Social Networking in Relation to Data Security

    While the widespread influence of social networking is undeniable, this convenient way of sharing information is not without consequences. Because of their increasing popularity, their ability to span multiple platforms and the lack of concern amongst users, social networking sites have become an easy target for cyber-criminals.

    In the field of information security, it is widely regarded that a system is only as safe as its weakest link. While most major social networking websites have a sizable team of security experts devoted to keeping networks and systems safe from intrusion, security issues within social media is not (usually) caused by poorly designed security systems. The main concern in regards to security in social networking is the amount of care taken by users to keep their data sensitive data out of harm's way. This is a problem both for businesses and individuals who use social media for personal reasons. The users of these platforms often have little to no knowledge of good data security practices and often resist taking precautions such as encrypting data and creating passwords long enough to resist brute force attacks. Many users are also vulnerable to social engineering and will willingly give sensitive information to attackers posing to be part of the system they are using.

    As social media becomes a bigger part of our lives, it is important to adopt safe data security practices. When one's identity is tied to a social media site, they risk everything from public embarrassment to identity theft when they don't do a good job of protecting their data. Don't let yourself be the weakest link in your own data protection plan!