All Discussions Tagged 'technology' - RecruitingBlogs2024-03-29T08:56:46Zhttps://recruitingblogs.com/forum/topic/listForTag?tag=technology&feed=yes&xn_auth=noThe End of Jobs - An interview with Author Jeff Waldtag:recruitingblogs.com,2020-07-06:502551:Topic:21758102020-07-06T21:55:07.828ZJim Stroudhttps://recruitingblogs.com/profile/jimstroud
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/6651790862?profile=original" rel="noopener" target="_blank"><img class="align-center" src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/6651790862?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="450"></img></a></p>
<p><span>In this premiere episode of TribePod, Courtney Lane, Principal Consultant of Proactive Talent interviews Jeff Wald, the author of "The End of Jobs: The Rise of On-Demand Workers and Agile Corporations." She is assisted by Jim Stroud, VP of Marketing at Proactive Talent.</span></p>
<p><strong>ABOUT OUR GUEST</strong></p>
<p><span>Jeff Wald is the…</span></p>
<p><a href="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/6651790862?profile=original" target="_blank" rel="noopener"><img src="https://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/6651790862?profile=RESIZE_710x" width="450" class="align-center"/></a></p>
<p><span>In this premiere episode of TribePod, Courtney Lane, Principal Consultant of Proactive Talent interviews Jeff Wald, the author of "The End of Jobs: The Rise of On-Demand Workers and Agile Corporations." She is assisted by Jim Stroud, VP of Marketing at Proactive Talent.</span></p>
<p><strong>ABOUT OUR GUEST</strong></p>
<p><span>Jeff Wald is the Founder of Work Market, an enterprise software platform that enables companies to efficiently and compliantly, organize, manage and pay freelancers (purchased by ADP). Jeff has founded several other technology companies, including Spinback, a social sharing platform (eventually purchased by salesforce.com). Jeff began his career in finance, serving as Managing Director at activist hedge fund Barington Capital Group, a Vice President at Israeli venture firm GlenRock and various roles in the M&A Group at JP Morgan. He is an active angel investor and startup advisor, as well as serving on numerous public and private Boards of Directors.</span></p>
<p><span>Jeff holds an MBA from Harvard University and an MS and BS from Cornell University. He also formerly served as an officer in the Auxiliary Unit of the New York Police Department. Jeff is the author of The Birthday Rules and The End of Jobs: The Rise of On-Demand Workers and Agile Corporations. He is also a Producer of the Tony Award Winning Best Musical A Gentleman’s Guide to Love and Murder, Slava’s Snowshow and the full-length feature Inez & Doug & Kira which has won best picture at various film festivals. Jeff is a regular writer in Huffington Post and Forbes and speaks widely at conferences and on television on startups and labor issues. Jeff was named “One of the 100 Most Influential People in Staffing” by the Staffing Industry Analysts in 2017 & 2018.</span></p>
<p style="text-align: center;"><span><iframe width="560" height="315" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/z7zo-AaUidI?wmode=opaque" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen=""></iframe>
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<p><strong>ABOUT "THE END OF JOBS</strong></p>
<p><span>As the robots rise, we are faced with the End of Jobs, but not in the way you might think...</span></p>
<p><span>The world has witnessed three step functions in technological change: mechanization, electrification, and computerization. These industrial revolutions led to massive increases in productivity and thus we need far fewer workers. With each of these technological breakthroughs, the power balance between companies and workers shifted heavily to companies. The abuses of that power by companies instigated employee unrest and sometimes even armed uprisings. Counterbalancing forces rose to constrain companies’ power, eventually prompting unions, regulation, and the social safety net to bring stability to the relationship.</span></p>
<p><span>As we enter the fourth great leap forward in technology with robots and AI, we face the first services revolution. The power balance will again shift massively to companies as new technologies drive productivity increases in the service industry, much as the last three industrial revolutions transformed manufacturing. What lessons can we learn from the past three industrial revolutions and the current state of the labor market? How will we renegotiate the social contract to ensure fairness for workers, set clear rules for companies, and provide stability for society? What is the future of work?</span></p> erecruit™ Partners with Textkernel to Innovate the Candidate Search and Match Experience for the Staffing Industrytag:recruitingblogs.com,2015-09-29:502551:Topic:19179442015-09-29T14:24:24.150ZCatie Augustahttps://recruitingblogs.com/profile/CatieAugusta
<p><span><strong>Boston, MA – September 29, 2015 -</strong> Today, <em>erecruit</em>™, the leading innovator in enterprise staffing software, vendor management systems (“VMS”) and onboarding solutions, announced it has partnered with Textkernel, a leading-edge semantic recruitment technology company recently acquired by CareerBuilder, to bring the next generation semantic candidate search and match experience to the global staffing market. Textkernel will be seamlessly integrated…</span></p>
<p><span><strong>Boston, MA – September 29, 2015 -</strong> Today, <em>erecruit</em>™, the leading innovator in enterprise staffing software, vendor management systems (“VMS”) and onboarding solutions, announced it has partnered with Textkernel, a leading-edge semantic recruitment technology company recently acquired by CareerBuilder, to bring the next generation semantic candidate search and match experience to the global staffing market. Textkernel will be seamlessly integrated with <em>erecruit</em> and included in the base product for all <em>erecruit</em> customers.</span></p>
<p><span>Historically, staffing companies have had a difficult time mining their own candidate databases and have relied on third-party sources to find talent for their clients. Over the years, companies have amassed databases of millions of candidates but have not reaped the full benefit of that investment because applicant tracking systems have not kept pace with the latest in search and match technology.</span></p>
<p><span>“We have been on the lookout for the next generation search and match technology, one that provides a powerful engine with the easiest possible user experience,” said Danko Fatovic, Vice Chairman, Chief Product Officer, <em>erecruit</em>. “As we know from using the consumer Internet, modern search engines are expected to understand more than just keywords, they must understand the meaning behind the search and rank results intelligently in order to present the best possible results to recruiters. Textkernel offers the best semantic solution on the market and we are proud to partner with them.”</span></p>
<p><span>Combining the power of Textkernel with <em>erecruit</em>’s business process engine will create an unparalleled search experience for recruiters. Candidate shortlists can be automatically created and matched to a position without any data entry and <em>erecruit</em>’s workflow can initiate automated next-step actions. Matches can be automatically optimized over time by learning from feedback that users are generating when they invite candidates for interviews, reject candidates and more. </span></p>
<p><span>The integration of Textkernel’s technology into <em>erecruit</em>’s enterprise staffing software platform will bring the following benefits:</span></p>
<ul>
<li><span>Speeds reaction times and creates more phone-time for recruiters by combining Textkernel matching technology with <em>erecruit’s</em> workflow automation</span></li>
<li><span>Simplifies the user experience by leveraging natural language search query processing</span></li>
<li><span>Keeps recruiters working closer to the dollar with transparent and tunable relevancy scoring</span></li>
<li><span>Improves match quality over time with machine learning</span></li>
<li><span>Maximizes recruiter efficiency with value-added search features such as saved, scheduled and shared searches</span></li>
<li><span>Eliminates manual maintenance by utilizing a knowledge base of recruitment-specific terminology including skills, synonyms, competencies, ontologies, education and company listings by automatically enriching candidate data and queries</span></li>
<li><span>Delivers enterprise-class performance, scalability and multi-lingual capabilities</span></li>
</ul>
<p><span>“We have recruited some of the best minds in the semantic search and machine learning space and spent more than a decade honing our technology for the recruiting industry. This has allowed us to provide a search experience that helps recruiters find candidates faster," said Jakub Zavrel, Founder and CEO of Textkernel. “We are pleased to partner with a company with a shared vision of innovation as well as commitment to the staffing industry.”</span></p>
<p><span>“We are excited to deepen our relationship with <em>erecruit</em> as we bring new possibilities to the recruiting space,” said Eric Gilpin, President of Vertical Sales at CareerBuilder. “This partnership will provide<em> erecruit </em>customers with a cutting edge search experience, boosting productivity and efficiency.”</span></p>
<p><span><strong>About <em>erecruit</em></strong></span></p>
<p><span><em>erecruit</em> is the leading innovator in enterprise staffing software, VMS and onboarding solutions for large staffing firms and employers. <em>erecruit</em> uses modern, standards-based technologies to provide a highly scalable and configurable solution that allows today’s best firms to put their clients, candidates and vendors at the heart of their businesses. <em>erecruit</em> is headquartered in Boston, MA. To learn more, visit <span><a href="http://www.erecruit.com/">www.erecruit.com</a></span>. <em>erecruit</em> is a trademark of Erecruit Holdings, LLC.</span></p>
<p><span><strong>About Textkernel</strong></span></p>
<p><span>Textkernel specializes in semantic recruitment technology providing multilingual CV parsing, job parsing, and semantic search, sourcing and matching software to help accelerate the process of matching supply and demand in the job market. The company was founded in 2001 as a private commercial R&D spin-off of research in natural language processing and machine learning at the universities of Tilburg, Antwerp and Amsterdam. Textkernel now operates internationally as the leader in multilingual semantic recruitment technology. For more information, visit <span><a href="http://www.textkernel.com/">www.textkernel.com</a></span>.</span></p>
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<p>Full press release: <a href="http://www.erecruit.com/news-press/partnership-with-textkernel">http://www.erecruit.com/news-press/partnership-with-textkernel</a></p> eQuest and Work4 Sign Technology Agreement to Open Free Job Posting Gateway to Facebooktag:recruitingblogs.com,2013-04-10:502551:Topic:16877342013-04-10T12:54:33.615ZNoel Coccahttps://recruitingblogs.com/profile/NoelCocca
<div id="ctl00_p_wpcpageplaceholder_re1_div_company_us"><p><strong>SOURCE: eQuest</strong></p>
<a href="http://www.equest.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="eQuest" src="http://media.marketwire.com/attachments/201009/12682_equest.jpg"></img></a></div>
<p id="news-date">April 09, 2013 07:30 ET</p>
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<p><strong>Companies Now Offer Job Posting and Advertising Content Along With Business Intelligence to Gain Valuable Insight Into Facebook Recruitment Portal</strong></p>
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<div class="mw_release"><p>SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Apr 9, 2013) - eQuest today…</p>
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<div id="ctl00_p_wpcpageplaceholder_re1_div_company_us"><p><strong>SOURCE: eQuest</strong></p>
<a href="http://www.equest.com/" target="_blank"><img alt="eQuest" src="http://media.marketwire.com/attachments/201009/12682_equest.jpg"/></a></div>
<p id="news-date">April 09, 2013 07:30 ET</p>
<p></p>
<p><strong>Companies Now Offer Job Posting and Advertising Content Along With Business Intelligence to Gain Valuable Insight Into Facebook Recruitment Portal</strong></p>
<p></p>
<p></p>
<div class="mw_release"><p>SAN FRANCISCO, CA--(Marketwired - Apr 9, 2013) - eQuest today announced that it has signed a long term agreement with Work4 that will open an unrestricted job posting gateway to Facebook's 1 billion users. The arrangement allows eQuest users unlimited, delivery-free access toWork4, the market leader in social recruiting solutions. Work4 offers job advertising and Facebook Recruiting Ads specifically for Facebook.</p>
<p>Work4 CEO Stéphane Le Viet remarked, "We have combined two very powerful Work4 integrations; Facebook and eQuest. We can now efficiently and effectively provide mutual customers the ability to target a vibrant pool of talent through this technology arrangement."</p>
<p>Part of the agreement also allows eQuest to gain a significant foothold on Facebook's candidate data.</p>
<p>"The integration allows eQuest to capture critical candidate trending data -- by job class, function, title, and geography -- enabling us to track and measure the effectiveness of job posting performance on the world's largest social network," said David Bernstein, VP of Data Analytics for eQuest. "It is a significant step, as well as a key data addition to our predictive analysis capabilities for our customers."</p>
<p><strong>About eQuest<br/></strong>eQuest is the world's dominant and most utilized job posting distribution company. Its primary customer base consists of the majority of the Global Fortune 500. It also provides job deliveries on behalf of the world's largest Applicant Tracking Systems, ERP's, and job boards -- managing thousands of companies through these channels. Present job posting deliveries average 250 million annually. Its Big Data for HR division consults companies wanting to take advantage of its corporate intelligence and predictive analysis services. Other products include consulting, OFCCP compliance and audit protection, technology services, data analytics, Interactive media representation, and various predictive tools. eQuest was established in 1994. eQuest can be reached at <a href="http://ctt.marketwire.com/?release=1004102&id=2825989&type=1&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.equest.com%2f">www.equest.com</a>.</p>
<p><strong>About Work4 Labs<br/></strong>Work4 Labs develops Facebook's #1 corporate recruiting solution, which enables tens of thousands of companies -- including VMware, Gap, and L'Oreal -- to hire qualified candidates across industries, geographies, and pay-grades. Our award-winning products help recruiters easily launch branded corporate career sites on Facebook and mobile devices, and drive traffic, job applications, and employee referrals from the network's 1 billion users. Work4 Labs was founded in 2010, and is headquartered in San Francisco with an additional office in Paris. For more information, please visit <a href="http://ctt.marketwire.com/?release=1004102&id=2825992&type=1&url=http%3a%2f%2fwww.work4labs.com%2f">work4labs.com</a> and connect with us on Facebook at facebook.com/work4labs and Twitter @work4labs.</p>
<h1>Contact Information</h1>
<ul>
<li><p>Media contact:<br/>Kirsten Smith<br/>VP of Marketing<br/>Work4 Labs<br/><a href="mailto:ksmith@work4labs.com">ksmith@work4labs.com</a><br/>916 204 2333<br/><br/>May Ton<br/>Marketing<br/>eQuest<br/><a href="mailto:may.ton@equest.com">may.ton@equest.com</a><br/>925.275.8181</p>
</li>
</ul>
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</div> 94% Of the Fortune 500 Companies do not have a mobile Optimized career website!tag:recruitingblogs.com,2012-10-19:502551:Topic:16152962012-10-19T14:32:53.399ZSylvester Simon Pascalhttps://recruitingblogs.com/profile/SylvesterSimonPascal
<p>In the recent case study done by iMomentous, we got to learn that 94% Of the Fortune 500 Companies do not have a mobile Optimized career website. After reading the report you will be able to identify where you rank among the Fortune 500 and clearly see the actions to take in order to improve.</p>
<ul class="doc_li">
<li>Evaluate your company against our scoring methodology – See how your rank with the Fortune 500.</li>
<li>Identify your gaps and what you can do to close…</li>
</ul>
<p>In the recent case study done by iMomentous, we got to learn that 94% Of the Fortune 500 Companies do not have a mobile Optimized career website. After reading the report you will be able to identify where you rank among the Fortune 500 and clearly see the actions to take in order to improve.</p>
<ul class="doc_li">
<li>Evaluate your company against our scoring methodology – See how your rank with the Fortune 500.</li>
<li>Identify your gaps and what you can do to close them.</li>
<li>Understand and avoid the common pitfalls and mistakes.</li>
<li>Learn about the key opportunities that can emerge by developing a mobile strategy.</li>
</ul>
<p>This is a very important move by iMomentous considering the fact that every 1 out of 5 recruitment searches is done on a smart phone. To see the complete break up of all the Fortune 500 companies, kindly go download the whitepaper from the link below. Please note that this report is absolutely free!</p>
<p></p>
<p><a href="http://www.imomentous.com/download/">http://www.imomentous.com/download/</a></p>
<p></p>
<p>Thank you for your time & consideration</p>
<p>Sylvester Simon & iMomentous team</p> For those that use "LinkedIn Recruiter" upgrade, anyone willing to share your experience?tag:recruitingblogs.com,2012-04-12:502551:Topic:15424432012-04-12T03:47:53.911ZKelly Blokdijkhttps://recruitingblogs.com/profile/KellyBlokdijk
<p>Just curious if you find the "upgrade" worthwhile and what you feel is the most beneficial access that you didn't have or wouldn't have had otherwise.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Also, someone mentioned to me that they recently applied via the "apply through LinkedIn" function to a job posting on LI and when the recruiter replied back it showed their profile view including number of connections. The part that stood out was this person has more than 500 connections and usually all other views of LI only…</p>
<p>Just curious if you find the "upgrade" worthwhile and what you feel is the most beneficial access that you didn't have or wouldn't have had otherwise.</p>
<p></p>
<p>Also, someone mentioned to me that they recently applied via the "apply through LinkedIn" function to a job posting on LI and when the recruiter replied back it showed their profile view including number of connections. The part that stood out was this person has more than 500 connections and usually all other views of LI only show 500+ not the actual number which was shown here... Anyone else notice that? </p>
<p></p>
<p>Thanks, </p>
<p>KB @TalentTalks </p> Permanent Recruitment Fees for the Middle Easttag:recruitingblogs.com,2011-11-16:502551:Topic:14669402011-11-16T12:47:11.465ZMichelleWagnerhttps://recruitingblogs.com/profile/MichelleWagner
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; color: black; font-size: 10pt;">Hello, </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; color: black; font-size: 10pt;">I wanted to see if anyone had recruited in the Middle East? Can you tell me what is considered as standard permanent recruitment fees for this region? The type of recruitment is Information Technology, CIO, Project Managers, B/A, Implementation Consultants, Architects, Testers, support etc thank you…</span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; color: black; font-size: 10pt;">Hello, </span></p>
<p><span style="font-family: 'Arial','sans-serif'; color: black; font-size: 10pt;">I wanted to see if anyone had recruited in the Middle East? Can you tell me what is considered as standard permanent recruitment fees for this region? The type of recruitment is Information Technology, CIO, Project Managers, B/A, Implementation Consultants, Architects, Testers, support etc thank you Michelle</span></p>
<p> </p> San Francisco Recruiting Jobtag:recruitingblogs.com,2011-07-28:502551:Topic:13045272011-07-28T16:05:48.510ZAmy Elderhttps://recruitingblogs.com/profile/AmyElderRecruiter
<p>Dear Friends,</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I am looking for a recruiter/sourcer who will work 50% onsite in San Francisco (by the ballpark - awesome location, 1 block from train and water) and 50% from their home.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>If you are looking or know of someone who is, please email me - amy@strotherconsulting.com</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>Amy</p>
<p> </p>
<p>p.s. I hope I am posting this on the right spot in Recruiting Blogs?</p>
<p>Dear Friends,</p>
<p> </p>
<p>I am looking for a recruiter/sourcer who will work 50% onsite in San Francisco (by the ballpark - awesome location, 1 block from train and water) and 50% from their home.</p>
<p> </p>
<p>If you are looking or know of someone who is, please email me - amy@strotherconsulting.com</p>
<p> </p>
<p>Thank you!</p>
<p>Amy</p>
<p> </p>
<p>p.s. I hope I am posting this on the right spot in Recruiting Blogs?</p> People vs. Technology - Are Recruiters Facing Extinction?tag:recruitingblogs.com,2011-07-18:502551:Topic:12884092011-07-18T20:56:16.521ZJessica Lunkhttps://recruitingblogs.com/profile/JessicaLunk
<p>Job boards, like Monster, have given companies access to more candidates that ever before. Because of free sourcing technology, many companies are tempted to skip using a recruiters and perform the job search for themselves. <br></br> <br></br> As a recruiter, what challenges do you face as companies have increased access to job-filling technologies like job boards, VMS systems, and social media? <br></br> <br></br> How do you convince companies that using a recruiter is the better…</p>
<p>Job boards, like Monster, have given companies access to more candidates that ever before. Because of free sourcing technology, many companies are tempted to skip using a recruiters and perform the job search for themselves. <br/> <br/> As a recruiter, what challenges do you face as companies have increased access to job-filling technologies like job boards, VMS systems, and social media? <br/> <br/> How do you convince companies that using a recruiter is the better route?</p>
<p> </p>
<p> </p> Retaining Reliabilitytag:recruitingblogs.com,2011-02-22:502551:Topic:11508302011-02-22T07:27:56.762ZRayannehttps://recruitingblogs.com/profile/Rayanne
<p><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1267850187?profile=original" style="float: left;"></img></p>
<br></br>Over the weekend, I dropped my phone..., <em>again.</em> The last time I dropped it - <em>about a month ago</em> - a huge crack with several splintering fractures appeared across the top 1/3 of its face. This saddened me as my phone had previously seemed indestructible for I have dropped it many, many times. But alas, my latest failure proved fatal for my phone and I found myself in an Apple store over the weekend sourcing a replacement.<br></br><br></br>I have had an iPhone for…
<p><img style="float: left;" src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1267850187?profile=original"/></p>
<br/>Over the weekend, I dropped my phone..., <em>again.</em> The last time I dropped it - <em>about a month ago</em> - a huge crack with several splintering fractures appeared across the top 1/3 of its face. This saddened me as my phone had previously seemed indestructible for I have dropped it many, many times. But alas, my latest failure proved fatal for my phone and I found myself in an Apple store over the weekend sourcing a replacement.<br/><br/>I have had an iPhone for almost three years now and <strong>I love it.</strong> It has been a great phone for me and I have been happy to upgrade with each new release. The latest is the iP4 and it's super cool. No, I stayed with AT &T. They have been reliable. And you know what they say about "If it ain't broke...," And in this case, <em>only</em> my screen was broke.<br/><br/>Over the years, I have been harassed by Palm loners, Blackberry snobs, and Android geeks. I stuck with the iPhone because I loved it - pretty simple really. <em><strong>Dependability breeds loyalty.</strong></em> Thus, <em>I am loyal.</em> Finding the right phone for me was a chore. I have only been a cell phone user for ten years and a smart phone junkie for three. But the bottom line is that I appreciate the unfailing consistency I have encountered. Granted, not everyone has had the same experience as I - and if they have not, I am sure they moved on.<br/><br/><em>Reliability</em> is not something to be taken for granted. Nor is it a quality that is easy to exude. Humans are naturally lazy. We look for the easy way out - always. It is why we innovate incessantly. We want it better, faster, and cheaper. Unfortunately, not everything should be done faster and cheaper. Our microwaved Sesame Street mentality has bred a world full of discontent and anxious working class. Individuals who crave the next best thing - now! <br/><br/><strong>"Fail fast"</strong> works in tech development, but not so much in client or business relations. Learning to change pace and shift gears is one of the hardest skills to master. Slowing down and enjoying a conversation is a lost art in business nowadays. We want everything <em>yesterday</em> and we expect quality to be supreme but we continually "fail fast" at creating lasting relationships because we have forgotten how to be friends, how to earn the return call. <em>These are the days of retention.</em> Retaining a client list. Retaining a pod of happy hiring managers. Retaining a CRM of candidates that will take your call, return your call, refer you or to you. Retaining trust. <strong><em>Retaining reliability.</em></strong> <em>Are <span style="text-decoration: underline;">you</span> up for it?</em><br/><br/><em>by <a href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/rayannethorn" target="_blank">rayannethorn</a></em> The Hot and Cool of It Alltag:recruitingblogs.com,2011-01-03:502551:Topic:11199542011-01-03T06:33:53.762ZRayannehttps://recruitingblogs.com/profile/Rayanne
<p><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1267850187?profile=original" style="float: left;"></img></p>
<p> </p>
<p>So, there is this curious little app that allows you to report <em>where and when</em> cellular calls are dropped. If enough dropped calls are reported, supposedly the carrier will try and rectify the problem. Sounds perfectly logical, does it not? Sounds like it has potential to correct the problem, right? Here's the dilemma: every single time I try to report a problem, the app comes back at me with <strong><em>"You currently have no service."</em></strong> No…</p>
<p><img src="http://storage.ning.com/topology/rest/1.0/file/get/1267850187?profile=original" style="float: left;"/></p>
<p> </p>
<p>So, there is this curious little app that allows you to report <em>where and when</em> cellular calls are dropped. If enough dropped calls are reported, supposedly the carrier will try and rectify the problem. Sounds perfectly logical, does it not? Sounds like it has potential to correct the problem, right? Here's the dilemma: every single time I try to report a problem, the app comes back at me with <strong><em>"You currently have no service."</em></strong> No shitake, Sherlock. That is why I am <em>trying</em> to report a problem. <br/><br/>Interesting how that works out, or doesn't work out - as the case may be. <em>I dig technology.</em> I think mobile phones and all the doo-dads that come with them are the <em>coolest</em> things ever. I also think social media is pretty darn <em>hot</em>. Along with the fascination, though, comes a significant amount of frustration, as dropped calls, insufficient service, necessary reboots, and blue screens of death loom, making themselves known and putting us temporarily out of commission. <em>I am only a meek and mild user.</em> I may be able to influence the way a product should work or share ideas for cool, hot functionalities or continued new product development but I am, <em>alas,</em> <span style="text-decoration: underline;">not</span> a techie or developer. <br/><br/>I have a little understanding. <em>Little.</em> But that is as far as it goes. So I must rely on those that have a steeper base of understanding than I. I must sit back and wait for the next best thing, the better phone, app, or netpad. And while I am waiting, I am getting better at using the product that is or will be obsolete before the next quarter. Sometimes, thinking about this makes me tired. How can I possibly keep up? How can I, someone who has been playing around on a computer for less than two decades, possibly comprehend or be a part of the next tech evolution? How can I, who about a decade ago was teaching myself how to attach a document to an email as an alternative to faxing, continue to cram tech info into my already crowded brain? <br/><br/>Lucky for me, you <em>can</em> teach an old dog new tricks. Somehow, I am able to grasp snippets of knowledge and add them to the already over-stuffed library in the back of my head. It daily surprises me that my children still suffer through long division and the quadratic equation in their homework. A computer, <em>resting in my palm,</em> does all of that and more. It surprises me that many hospitals are still using paper records, that they have not gone paperless. It surprises me that with all we know and are capable of, we still cannot predict earthquakes or stop flooding waters. <br/><br/>The hot and cool of it all is that we are still subject to life around us, no matter how into technology we get, no matter how savvy we all are, no matter what we learn in school, the waves still break, the creek still rises, and it's still impossible to drive safely in a blizzard. Where will the next year in tech take us? Not the moon, and not to a city at the bottom of the sea. But it will make the world smaller and thus bigger, all the same time. And thank goodness, a crowded brain, somehow, always has room for more. <br/><br/><em>by <a target="_blank" href="http://www.linkedin.com/in/rayannethorn">rayannethorn</a></em></p>