Dave Matthews Band, Toronto review

  

  I was at the rainy Dave Matthews show at the Toronto Molson Amphitheater the other night and thought I would share my review with the world.....well actually....no one....at the moment. Maybe having a more likely to be searched title will drive some traffic and make me rich beyond my wildest dreams, and believe me there are some wild dreams going on behind these bright blue eyes...ok.... they are brown and have huge dark bags...but lets not sweat the details.
  We got soaked by rain on the way into the show, and had to deal with a few sprinkles during, as our seats were in the last row under the roof. Props to the 7 - 8 thousand diehard fans not under the roof for sticking it out to the end in what turned out to be a foggy, rainy and cold night down by the lake.
  The warm up band, moe, were pretty good. It seemed like a few in the crowd knew who they were, however this was my first introduction. Now I have checked them out on line and learned they formed in Buffalo over 20 years ago and have put out a bunch of albums. Their jam band style of rock and roll fit well with what the DMB has going on.
  Overall it was a great evening that really highlighted the superb musician ship of Dave and the band. They preformed a well polished and tight set that had the crowd standing for a huge chunk of the two plus hour show. The improvisational style of their live performance, created an excitement for the audience, and I'm sure the band as well, that few acts are able to deliver live these days. However as a fan of the band for about 18 years and having 7-8 of their CDs in my collection I think I have the right to be a little critical in my review of the show as well. I also present my thoughts based on the hundreds of shows I have seen over 30 plus years....I think the sound could have been improved my moving some of the equipment hanging on either side of the stage out into the amphitheater a little further. (lots of room under the roof). Generally having the speakers spread out improves the sound quality without having to have the amps turned up to 11. My other complaint will be a touchy one for some fans to swallow as I'm sure the fanatics will say this is the bands "thing". In my defense consider this, I stood, wet and cold for the whole show, was amazed at how good the band is (see above), and I wasn't there to get drunk or high. I was there to see the DMB because I really enjoy their music. This was a great show, however it would have been fantastic if they had played more than one of there hits. No I didn't expect them to play their top 20 as I know this gets boring for the band over the years, however they certainly could have worked five or six hits into the set list. My two sidekicks for the evening each had a few songs they were dying to hear. None of us heard what we came for, and that seemed to be the consensus of the majority of people I talked to afterwards and for that reason I am giving the show one and a half thumbs up.

Social Media: Is who you know more important then what you know?

 

This weeks questions for social media class is, "To what extent is social media a help or hindrance in your personal life and professional life?"

     I consider myself to be a casual user of social media. I have had a Facebook account for about seven or eight years, not exactly sure as the time line does not go back that far. Facebook is a broad interactive platform that allows users to post information, personal messages, pictures, videos or links to on-line content and then allows your "friends" to comment on your posts. Gaming, applications and chat have been added over the years to keep people logged in and engaged as a means of generating ad revenue. Marketers continue to expand their reach by creating Facebook brand sites to connect with people that "Like" their profiles.  I also created a profile on LinkenIn about a year ago as a way of increasing my professional exposure. The theory behind LinkedIn is that by linking with people you know and people working in careers of interest, your "circle" grows. By connecting your circle with that of people you know, you have a link to everyone in their circle as well. Hopefully these connections allow user to increase their professional contacts as a way of self promotion. The social media site that I use the most is the CBC news website. Most people would not consider this to be a social media site, however I have learned over the last three weeks that the definition of social media is a lot broader then I originally believed. The CBC site contains news, weather, sports, music, games, activities for kids, documentaries, investigative reports etc, and allows people to add to the conversation or to thumb up/down previous comments. In my opinion it is these interactions that turn an information driven platform into a social media environment.

     In my personal life the positive aspects of social media out weight the negatives. Maintaining contact with distant family and friends on Facebook is easy, quick and basically free. The speed at which information can be shared with contacts around the world is mind blowing. Posting pictures and highlights of places and events that I visit is an easy way to share my interest with my friends, and viewing their posts also allows me to stay up to date with certain aspects of their lives. The CBC site is where I spend most on my time on line. I keep up to date with current news and enjoy many of the programs from radio and TV that are linked on the website. For me the biggest down side to social media is the time factor. Because of the vast amount of media content on the web it is easy to get lost in cyberspace and waste a bunch of time better spent with friends and a Frisbee at the local park.

     At this point, I do not think that social media has had any impact on my professional life. I am a private person and have always been cautious about what I post on-line. After finishing college and investing time in building my contact circles, LinkedIn should prove to be a beneficial aid for building a second career. Networking becomes more important every year as a way of gaining access to companies that are hiring and to the people making those hiring decisions. Social media allows users to leverage and influence contacts for their own gain across a much wider network then ever before. With competition from thousands of applicants for the same job, it may come down to having "Liked" the right persons Facebook status to get your resume on top of the pile. Maybe who you know, really is more important then what you know.

Hello World, welcome to my first every blog post. ;-)  As part of a course at Durham College called Social Media & Society, students are required to create a blog (nailed it) and comment on a published article about social media. This is mine.

While searching for inspiration I stumbled upon an article titled "Can social media rescue your career?"
by Melissa Neiman published Tue. May 7 2013 at Bankrate.com. I thought it would be a fitting discussion as the course focuses on how social media has, and will continue to change casual, business, and even private/personal interactions and behaviors. Also I am an unemployed college student at the moment, so maybe I can learn something to up my own game.

OK lets get to the task at hand. This is homework with a due date after all.

The premise of the article in question is that companies are increasingly turning to social media to recruit and vet potential candidates.  The article quotes Dan Schawbel, a personal branding expert and author as saying, "Increasingly companies looking for workers are investing more resources into social ads on Facebook, Google, Craigslist, Twitter and blogs." Schawbel stresses that "social media is replacing classified ads" and having an online presence is essential because, "if you aren't visible, you don't exist to the world". The author goes on to suggest classified ads should be disregarded if you are a serious job searcher. Schawbel takes that sentiment further by suggesting, "If I search for your name, or someone with expertise like yours, and you don't come up, you will lose an opportunity each time that occurs. If two candidates have the same background, but one has a popular blog, the blogger will be hired," he says.

In my previous career as a Business Manager, controlling expenses while maximizing the efficient use of resources was a daily job focus. Posting ads on sites such as Kijiji allowed me to reach a vast pool of potential candidates quickly and cost effectively, thereby reducing my initial recruitment costs. In my experience social media tools delivered many more responses in much less time then traditional means of recruitment. I also regularly turned to online searches on sites such as Google, Facebook and LinkedIn as a secondary source of information to gain further insight into applicants before making a final decision. Despite the case made,  I believe the writer has overstated the current  importance of candidates having an online presence. I have removed many candidates from the selection process do to unflattering content online, however I have not eliminated candidates do to a lack of an engaging online profile. For this reason I can not support the writer's notion that without an visible online presence, we are invisible to the world.

 While I agree that social media allows employers to reach a broader pool of applicants, quantity does not equal quality.  I would argue that the process for job seekers has gotten simpler, however the selecting of the right candidate for the job has become much more challenging for hiring managers. Just a few years ago job seekers had to buy and search a local newspaper or go to the job bank offices to identify job opportunities, individually customize and print their resume for each company, and then hand deliver or direct mail their resume to each potential employer. The time consuming nature of the process caused many uncommitted or under qualified applicants to eliminate themselves from the process. Why go through the expense, time and hassle for a job that I not willing, able or likely to secure. Today social media allows information to reach a much broader pool of people almost instantly. Combined with the technological advances making it easier to research employers,  create and electronically deliver resumes quickly around the globe for free, has eliminated the natural constraints previously in place. Job seekers can apply for hundreds of jobs across the country in just a few hours, with virtually no cost all from the comfort of their living room sofa. There are few natural deterrents preventing seekers from applying for jobs they have no or little chance of landing. The ease of the process for job seekers has caused employers to be bombarded by thousands of resumes resulting in what I would classify as nothing more then SPAM.