When is the time to look back over your career and review? In terms of AGILE Software Development, you would be reviewing your initiatives constantly. If you don't know what AGILE is, then think of it as constant quality control, similar to the origional Ford production line, but the 2009/2010 version and in high level software creation.
I've been with my current company in the NYC area for almost a year now, and I'm looking back on what I've done, what I've learned, and what progress I've made. I want to be able to create a personal evaluation system that I can use year to year. I have decided on three key points to assess at each year end.
1. Impacting Experiences
2. Learned and Improved Skills
3. Has my experience maintained my personal happiness
After all, what is the point of droning on and working year to year if you can't maintain your own happiness? Too many young people in their careers fail to stay happy and find the power of positive and joyful thought in each day. The secret to life, careers, and unlimited success; leverage your happiness to motivate yourself to do the best job possible.
So after my first year, it has been incredible how I was able to take my initial position requirements of basic inside sales to building solid client relationships with global profit and nonprofit organizations, work with a development team in India every single morning to rebuild our company website, and completely design and manage the beginning of my companies Social Media campaign.
You can make your position what you want it to be. We are young in our careers, and there is a ton of competition, so make a name for yourself and build your brand as soon as you can.
- Matthew D. Taylor
follow me on Twitter - @mtaylord
my website - www.matthewdtaylor.com
Wednesday, February 24, 2010
Tuesday, February 23, 2010
Social Makeover!
I have been working furiously on my companies Social Media campaign. All of this Social Media has had me thinking about it's real value. Conclusions - oh just bits and pieces so far. But working so much on the company campaign, I have forgotten about my own personal SM.
So in the last couple of days I have revamped my Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook, Naymz, Spoke, Brazen Careerist, Brandyourself, and Blogger. There seem to be an infinite number of networking sites. I figure, the more I become a part of, the more possible it is that I will meet the right people sharing the right ideas to really make something of this life. There has never been a better time in history to network with other people. Economies may be shaky, but mentalities need not be. Get out there and share ideas and ideals with anyone you can.
After all, what's it going to hurt? Nothing - so might as well! Best part - it's pretty much free of cost, except for some of your time.
-MT
follow me on Twitter! @mtaylord
So in the last couple of days I have revamped my Linkedin, Twitter, Facebook, Naymz, Spoke, Brazen Careerist, Brandyourself, and Blogger. There seem to be an infinite number of networking sites. I figure, the more I become a part of, the more possible it is that I will meet the right people sharing the right ideas to really make something of this life. There has never been a better time in history to network with other people. Economies may be shaky, but mentalities need not be. Get out there and share ideas and ideals with anyone you can.
After all, what's it going to hurt? Nothing - so might as well! Best part - it's pretty much free of cost, except for some of your time.
-MT
follow me on Twitter! @mtaylord
Tuesday, February 16, 2010
i2y.org
If you've ever wanted to get involved in supporting an organization, I have a great one for you - I'm Too Young For This - Young Adult cancer survivorship. www.i2y.org
The founder, Matthew Zachary, is a truly inspiring individual. He is conquering a world of people left behind and cast out, people from the ages of 18-39 who are or who have been battling cancer in their lives. There are countless programs for kids, and multiple for older adults; but it seems that the middle men and women have been left behind.
i2y.org is changing the game. Check out their website, feeds, and events. What a great organization!
Stupid Cancer!
follow me on Twitter: @mtaylord
Matthew D. Taylor
www.matthewdtaylor.com
The founder, Matthew Zachary, is a truly inspiring individual. He is conquering a world of people left behind and cast out, people from the ages of 18-39 who are or who have been battling cancer in their lives. There are countless programs for kids, and multiple for older adults; but it seems that the middle men and women have been left behind.
i2y.org is changing the game. Check out their website, feeds, and events. What a great organization!
Stupid Cancer!
follow me on Twitter: @mtaylord
Matthew D. Taylor
www.matthewdtaylor.com
Monday, February 8, 2010
ASUS EePC Netbook Review
At first glance this sleek black netbook looks like a great tool. First impressions proved correct this time around. Equipped with the Intel Atom processor, 1gb of ram, 160gb hard drive, and a 10.1" screen, this netbook is exactly what I need for day to day internet and basic application operations. It has a built in wireless card, windows xp, and a built in photo/video camera.
So far I havn't tested it much. It came with a 60 day trial of ms office, but i got rid of that quickly. I am interested in efficiency and speed. I downloaded open office which is phenomenal for what I need to do. I have also downloaded the latest versions of iTunes, Skype, CCleaner, Google Chrome, and Picasa 3 photo manager.
The keyboard is a good size and the buttons are smooth and easy. The mouse touch pad is a series of raised dots in the plastic frame work that responds nicely. An interesting feature is mousepad scrolling, where you can use your finger on the bottom and right edge of the pad to slide your page up/down, left/right. Another feature is two finger zoom in/out on the touch pad. The clicker below the touchpad is less than desirable, although having a nice polished face, it clicks hard. I have overcome this with an optical wireless mouse which I prefer using much more.
Overall I highly recommend this netbook. I have only been using it for a few weeks. If I come in to any issues, I will be sure to follow up!
- MT
So far I havn't tested it much. It came with a 60 day trial of ms office, but i got rid of that quickly. I am interested in efficiency and speed. I downloaded open office which is phenomenal for what I need to do. I have also downloaded the latest versions of iTunes, Skype, CCleaner, Google Chrome, and Picasa 3 photo manager.
The keyboard is a good size and the buttons are smooth and easy. The mouse touch pad is a series of raised dots in the plastic frame work that responds nicely. An interesting feature is mousepad scrolling, where you can use your finger on the bottom and right edge of the pad to slide your page up/down, left/right. Another feature is two finger zoom in/out on the touch pad. The clicker below the touchpad is less than desirable, although having a nice polished face, it clicks hard. I have overcome this with an optical wireless mouse which I prefer using much more.
Overall I highly recommend this netbook. I have only been using it for a few weeks. If I come in to any issues, I will be sure to follow up!
- MT
Quantum Theory - Higher Learning
I decided to write a bit about a hidden interest of mine.
It began in 2006 when I picked up a rather entertaining novel by Michael Crichton (Rest in peace) called Timeline. In the novel, the characters travel through time - but rather the travel is based in quantum mechanics through different universes which exist at the same time. While reading this book my imagination took hold and craved to know more.
From then on my mind was opened to a very interesting world of Quantum Physics and other theoretical sciences. Since becoming interested, I designed my own independent study while in college, but it was derailed by my involvement with a not-for-profit company I started by the name of "Entrepreneur's for Alzheimers." I have skimmed through several books now and love to discover new ideas that inspire imagination and conversation.
My favorite theories are: Schroeder's Wave Theory and the theory and "proof" experiments of the multiverse.
It began in 2006 when I picked up a rather entertaining novel by Michael Crichton (Rest in peace) called Timeline. In the novel, the characters travel through time - but rather the travel is based in quantum mechanics through different universes which exist at the same time. While reading this book my imagination took hold and craved to know more.
From then on my mind was opened to a very interesting world of Quantum Physics and other theoretical sciences. Since becoming interested, I designed my own independent study while in college, but it was derailed by my involvement with a not-for-profit company I started by the name of "Entrepreneur's for Alzheimers." I have skimmed through several books now and love to discover new ideas that inspire imagination and conversation.
My favorite theories are: Schroeder's Wave Theory and the theory and "proof" experiments of the multiverse.
The Office
In about 20 minutes i'll be watching the TV show "the office". I am thinking that I will be experiencing this type of tense and socially awkward environment very soon, at least I hope so. Except for the fact that finding a job is seeming exceedingly difficult. I have been speaking to some companies that I really like, and would love to become a part of; but the common answer I receive when asking about interviewing is: "Give us a call again when you are closer to graduating and we'll see if we have any positions then." The difference is 6 weeks. If I were to interview now, and then after consideration and infrastructure setup - it will have been 2 weeks already. Then I would be starting in little less than a month.
It is a frustrating mentality that this job market is sharing. There are tons of jobs out there; people complain that the job market is terrible. When it comes down to it, it's the people complaining that make it terrible. Get out there and make money one way or another, and stop complaining.There ARE jobs, you just may need to work at Taco Bell for a while, stop living off the government, it's an inefficient structure. Only then, with hard work and fundemental common sense, will our economy truly rebound... for the long term.
It is a frustrating mentality that this job market is sharing. There are tons of jobs out there; people complain that the job market is terrible. When it comes down to it, it's the people complaining that make it terrible. Get out there and make money one way or another, and stop complaining.There ARE jobs, you just may need to work at Taco Bell for a while, stop living off the government, it's an inefficient structure. Only then, with hard work and fundemental common sense, will our economy truly rebound... for the long term.
Social Media Blog Post
Social Media seems to be this year’s “hot ticket” to success. It’s easy enough to set up an account on any of the popular social networking sites and begin using it; but leveraging social media to create scalable value, now that’s an art!
My name is Matthew Taylor and I’m going to be blogging about the ins-outs-ups-downs of social media. Through this blog you will see statistics, user stories, successes, and of course fails! It will probably be a different perspective than what you commonly see on industry reports, other professional blogs, etc...
I was made in the 80’s and I grew up with this stuff. I remember when MySpace™ came out, at first I didn’t understand it, but then I thought maybe I could meet some people in the auto racing world. I was in to hobby auto-cross at the time, later to become quite a bit more involved in the autosport drifting which I am still very involved with.
I studied quite a bit of social media marketing in the small business management program in the Sigmund Weis School of Business out in PA, now living outside of NYC. I’ve been part of a growing world of necessary online profiles, validated friendships and relationships on FaceBook™, and 24/7 instant communication via hundreds upon thousands of text messages.
So how does a company, and better yet individual resources of a company, leverage all of this?
My name is Matthew Taylor and I’m going to be blogging about the ins-outs-ups-downs of social media. Through this blog you will see statistics, user stories, successes, and of course fails! It will probably be a different perspective than what you commonly see on industry reports, other professional blogs, etc...
I was made in the 80’s and I grew up with this stuff. I remember when MySpace™ came out, at first I didn’t understand it, but then I thought maybe I could meet some people in the auto racing world. I was in to hobby auto-cross at the time, later to become quite a bit more involved in the autosport drifting which I am still very involved with.
I studied quite a bit of social media marketing in the small business management program in the Sigmund Weis School of Business out in PA, now living outside of NYC. I’ve been part of a growing world of necessary online profiles, validated friendships and relationships on FaceBook™, and 24/7 instant communication via hundreds upon thousands of text messages.
So how does a company, and better yet individual resources of a company, leverage all of this?
Wednesday, February 3, 2010
Good Morning World
I have been maintaining another Blog also titled "Higher Learning" with a different google account. I will no longer be using that one, so I am going to copy some of my entries from there to here. Keep in touch, and I hope you find some relevancy from my writings.
Follow me on twitter! @mtaylord
Matthew
Follow me on twitter! @mtaylord
Matthew
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