Archive for September, 2008

Article By: Joshua ‘The Red’ Russak (Red@aclion.com)

Article By: Joshua ‘The Red’ Russak (Red@aclion.com)

For those of you looking for a group of entrepreneurs who help each other launch successful tech ventures, then Ultra Light Startups (TM) is the place to be. The group was founded by Graham Lawlor in New York City, with contributors and viewers all over the world. Ultra Light Startups meets on the first Thursday of every month, hosted by Rose Technology Ventures in New York.
last week I attended the largest meetup in Ultra Light history with 40+ attending. The panel discussion of the night – “Monetization through Online Advertising” might have been the reason for the size of the crowd. As you’ll see from the presenters bios (included below), the speakers at this event may have contributed to those numbers as well.
The night started off with “Introductions by elevator pitch”, where everyone in attendance participated in pitching their companies in 60 seconds or less. Companies ranging in all sizes from fresh start-ups to fully-staffed and successful companies were present. I was a little turned off by some of the pitch’s because of their lack of “enthusiasm”. But that’s why it was important for them to be there that night. They needed to learn from what other people did well. (Kudos to Guilherme Cunha of YellowVertical.com, for a memorable pitch!)
“Pizza and networking” was supposed to follow the elevator pitch’s, but unfortunately the Pizza was a tad late so we got started on the panel “pre-pizza”. First of foremost, the Moderator, Ronald Bradford, Principal of 42SQL. I’ve seen him around the city at different events and every time he has made himself known. A very smart, sharp and “in-the-know” individual…and kept the panel running smoothly and on-time.
The panelists of the night were…
…Alex Baydin, Founder and CEO of PerformLine
…Derek Lee, Founder and CEO of SocialDough (in the works)
…Noah Robinson, Owner at Mercenary International (his blog here)
…Max Ramirez, Head of online ad sales for blinkx.com
Each were very knowledgeable in their own space, and contributed very well to the topic at hand. I took the liberty of jotting down some highlights. Derek Lee seemed to be very clear that “if this is your life’s work, build your business for 5 years from now, not today. [...] You need to know a site is going to make money first, then make it scalable (not the other way around)”.
Alex Baydin stayed closest to the topic at hand pushing CPI, CPC and CPA for best methods of monetization. “CPA is great for a publisher with a small budget” and “CPC is good for contextual targetting”.
Next up was Max Ramirez, who took a different approach with pushing video content. “Right Now is the time to go after video and don’t be shy to call the NBC’s of this world”. Obviously he has the chihulees to call those companies and break deals, but his point was clear…”VIDEO CONTENT = $$”.
Moving into a more brand-aware direction, Noah Robinson’s approach was simple: “WEAR A PINK SHIRT AND GET NOTICED!!” (…with his hat that night, I imagine he got his point across). He also made 2 other good points: “Don’t waste time with branded ads” and “Data is everything”.
The discussions went on and the panelists contintued on. Around 9pm the panel ended and everybody headed over for a few drinks at Dewey’s Flatiorn! Overall, it was a great event and definitely worth the $5 fee! The September 4th Ultra Light Startups event was their biggest and best yet. The addition of an interactive panel discussion rather than a single speaker helped boost attendance and I’m interested to see what they do next.
For those of you interested in finding more info on the group, check out their Facebook Group, LinkedIn Group (new), or Mailing List to be sure you receive announcements.

Article By: Joshua ‘The Red’ Russak (Red@aclion.com)

And now for the “Viral Video of The Day”…as featured on ViralVideoChat.com as the most viral video of today. Bill Gates & Jerry Seinfeld – Shoe Circus Commercial Stats:

• 259,216 views
• 0 duplicate videos
• 122 blog posts
• 419 comments

Article By: Joshua ‘The Red’ Russak (Red@aclion.com)

According to AdAge.com article E-mail Blunder Alerts Carat Staff to Major Restructuring, “struggling media agency Carat is planning a major restructuring of its U.S. operations, including an undetermined number of layoffs — news it accidentally released today via a memo the agency’s top New York-based HR executive e-mailed to the entire agency that appeared to be intended only for senior managers.”
I don’t mean to laugh out loud (LOL), but this is worse than the time “a friend of mine” e-mailed 50,000 people with greetings “Hi [Firstname],”. No, this is way…way worse! If you’re wondering just how bad it was, courtesty of AdAge, read the documents for yourselves:Carat Restructuring Memo & Carat Restructuring Communication Plan.
Neither Carat President Scott Sorokin “nor a spokeswoman would comment on whether any disciplinary action would be taken as a result of the e-mail mishap”. I’d hate to be in HR’s shoes right about now. Quoting Ad Age Ediotor, John Hollon, “You pay those people to step up in these situations, not make it worse.” This may be a good time for AC Lion Online Recruiters to show corporate what they’re made of!

Article By: Joshua ‘The Red’ Russak (Red@aclion.com)

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If you don’t know by now, Google recently released a web-browser – CHROME! “Google Chrome is a browser that combines a minimal design with sophisticated technology to make the web faster, safer, and easier.” (~Google.com/chrome)
It has only been in beta release for a few hours, but I am extremely impressed. It’s fast, it’s simple in design and it’s minimalistic approach is quite sophisticated. Now, with every browser comes geeky followers with their own “Google Chrome Themes” and “AddOns“. Well, after 1 simple search using Chrome and the simple term “Google Chrome Themes”, this is what I came up with…

1. Nothing Here – Freechromethemes.com
2. Cheap Marketing – Digg.com
3. FIRST REAL *NEW* THEME – Chrome Dar (by NukeIt.org)
4. A forum for “Chromers” – Chromespot.com
5. Another THEME here too – GetChromeThemes.com

Well, 2 out of 5, not bad so far. This list will undoubtably grow. This a marketers dream and I imagine this will make theme/addon designers PPC Rich and sites like Digg and StumbleUpon very…very happy!

Article By: Nadav Geft (Nadav@aclion.com)

As the world of digital advertising evolves, so does the tedious/“Man, I am so not in the mood to do this” world of resume writing. While some may stick to the old, conventional ways of “showing your stuff” on paper, here are a few tips I’ve come across (in my experience as a digital media recruiter) to help you separate yourself from the competition and land the position you’ve been ever-so yearning for in the digital space.

A. Down with Objectives! (well, most of the time) – I would go as far to say that most hiring managers rarely, if ever, look at the “objective” portion of a resume. This is largely due to the fact that most people state the obvious and resume readers view it as a waste of time. For example, if you are an Account Manager with two years AM experience, trying to further your career in the same field, there is no need to state, “looking to utilize my skills in account management to grow my career in client services.” Of course you’re looking to move your career forward in client services, otherwise you wouldn’t have applied for a Senior Account Manager position!
However, as with every rule, there are of course exceptions Although 95% of the time objectives are useless, there are some cases where they can be very helpful. The first: when you are trying to switch over into a new department or a more focused role; for example, “looking to transfer my up-selling skills in account management into a full-fledged sales position.” The second: if you bring a very diverse background or wear many hats in your current role, you can sum up your best talents in a sentence or two. For example, “…highly proficient in affiliate marketing, search, and online video. Led teams of up to 10 salespeople and bring national contacts in CPG, pharmaceuticals, and technology.” Specifics are what sell and is really what a hiring manager wants to see when evaluating your candidacy. If you think that these managers sit down at their desk and spend their afternoon examining your resume, you can think again because I would say they look at it for somewhere between 7-10 seconds.
B. Details, details, details…– Many years ago, it was recommended to keep your resume relatively vague so that hiring managers would feel as though they need to meet face-to-face in order to learn more about your experience. Nowadays, especially if you are in sales, it is suggested that you be very specific in your descriptions, and include as many details as possible. If you’re a solid seller, SHOW IT! Instead of using the last three bullet points to reiterate what a salesperson does, insert sales numbers, account lists, account growth, etc.
For example:

• Exceeded yearly quota of $1MM by 120%
• Grew revenue from $250,000 to $2.3MM in one year
• Succeeded in closing deals with clients such as: Coca-cola (list agency worked with), P&G, Hilton Hotels, etc.
• Won “Most New Business” award for Q3 and Q4

If you are in a client service capacity, talk about the size of accounts you work on, up-selling numbers, and account retention/growth [e.g. “Grew BestBuy account 110% (from 200,000 to 750,000)”]. These seemingly minor additions will not only distinguish you from the other applicants, but bode extremely well during the interview process too. In other words, by agreeing to meet with you, the company is essentially saying that they know all about you, can see that you have the necessary abilities to perform, and will speak to you in a more open manner from the get-go. Having an interview start with “So, looks like you really know your stuff my friend,” is usually better than “So what would you say, ya do here?!” (Office Space – sorry I had to throw it in there)

C. The Relevant Experience – After working with a few different companies, people tend to only discuss the experience that is pertinent to the position they are applying for. Though I agree with this approach, it is also important to include one’s previous employment (even if it reads, “Construction Worker, BNC Inc., 1998-2001”) to eliminate any questions such as “where was he for the 5 years before all of this?” And hey, maybe that interviewer of yours was also a professional bass fisherman before turning CEO.

Well, there you have it folks, the 3 big tips to writing a great resume and earning yourself a spot at the head of the table. Let your resume tell a story instead of being a page-full of job descriptions. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to email me at Nadav@aclion.com.