Posts Tagged ‘job’

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YouTube gives homeless man a ‘golden’ opportunity


2012
10.20

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Posted in YouTube | 6 Comments »

Ted Williams is internationally known as “the man with the golden voice.”

But without modern-day social media and a chance encounter with a Columbus Dispatch videographer, Williams might still only be known as “the homeless man on Hudson Street” in northeast Columbus, Ohio.

Williams was plucked from obscurity and thrust into the limelight in January 2011, when the Dispatch’s Doral Chenoweth recorded an interview with him and posted it to the newspaper’s website. Once determined to become a radio personality, Williams, 53, had fallen victim to drugs, alcohol, criminal activity and apathy. Even though he was now clean of drugs and alcohol, he was left homeless, panhandling for change with a sign that claimed he had “a God given gift of voice.”

An anonymous user copied the video and posted it to YouTube, where it quickly went viral. (You can read the original Dispatch story and watch the video here.) The world was mesmerized by “the man with the golden voice” and his plea for a second chance. Williams soon received several job offers and donations while simultaneously garnering attention from mainstream media, bloggers and Twitter and Facebook users.

Williams ultimately landed a job with the Cleveland Cavaliers and Quicken Loans Arena, who also offered him a home. He has also done other voice-over work on television including commercials for Kraft Macaroni & Cheese. After getting a job and getting clean, he was reunited with his 90-year-old mother, whom he had lost contact with because of his addictions. You can learn more about his work and his story on his website.

Unfortunately, Williams’s story does have its setbacks. After achieving overwhelming popularity and success, he began drinking heavily again and lost his job with the Cavaliers. He is now clean of drugs and alcohol once again, thanks to the help of his girlfriend, a sober living coach and two trips to rehab.

Williams now works out of his home in Dublin, Ohio, a Columbus suburb, as the voice of New England Cable News. He also wrote a book about his struggles on the path to success, “A Golden Voice,” which debuted this May.

Without the assistance and receptivity of the Internet community, Williams would have probably been unable to get his life back on track and reunite with his family. In countless interviews he has said he is very grateful those who helped share his story. Williams’s story is a true tale of “social media success,” and it illustrates how much social media can change peoples’ lives for the better.

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Social media is our generation’s second nature — why not capitalize on it?


2012
09.15

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Posted in Social Media | 1 Comment »

Doesn’t an ages-old saying state “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks?”

It appears a handful of company owners and Internet gurus want to challenge that mindset, based on some articles and blog posts surfacing online.

Authors are advocating for businesses to think before they hire young college graduates to operate their social media services. It appears they want to teach older employees how to use social media, rather than hire someone new who already has the skills to utilize it.

A recent article in Inc. Magazine is bold enough to blatantly warn business owners “a 23-year-old shouldn’t run your social media” in its headline. Although the author contradictorily retracts the generalization in the first sentence of her article, the statement still irks me, because it is hugely inaccurate.

A majority of the Inc. article’s 11 reasons to not hire fresh college graduates to manage social media services are based more on stereotypes of younger adults than on fact. (For example, this statement: “… if you hire a young person to manage your social media, you may also need to need to worry about how he or she is actually spending his or her time. Will you need to be monitoring the person?)

I hope businesses would conduct normal hiring practices when considering to hire someone for a position to manage social media. I agree, it is foolish for a company to hire someone strictly based on their young age, but it is also foolish to assume a younger person is too immature to handle a position if they are more qualified than any other candidates for the job.

While interning at The Columbus Dispatch this summer, I met a younger staff member who was hired a few years after she graduated college to help operate the newspaper’s Internet presence, including its Website, Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest and Tumblr. She works with a Web staff of several people. When she gave an engaging presentation to the interns about social media it was clear she knew more about it than the rest of the staff members combined.

She taught us — no one had to teach her. And she was definitely mature enough and skilled enough to handle the position.

Social media is second nature to a majority of recent college graduates. Hiring a young employee with fresh ideas — someone who is responsible, hard-working and knows how social media works — is not a bad idea. If the new hire has the right credentials, it’s smart and cost-effective.

A person’s age shouldn’t be the only reason he or she is hired. But if a person is qualified, age shouldn’t be a reason he or she isn’t hired, either.

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When does “creeping” cross the line?


2012
08.29

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Posted in Social Media | No Comments »

Social media users today have given the term “creeping” a whole new meaning. What was once a frowned upon real-life invasion of privacy has morphed into a socially acceptable digital practice, with a great number of people participating daily.

It’s perfectly fine to thoroughly examine someone’s Facebook profile, Twitter feed, LinkedIn page or Instagram photos from the comfort of your home — after all, they’re posting the information for you to look at in the first place, right?

But is there ever a time when this so-called “creeping” crosses the line, specifically in the business world?

Late this spring and early this summer, media outlets across the country quickly nabbed attention with stories of businesses demanding social media passwords of potential employees prior to their hire. The idea was to investigate websites like Facebook for information that could influence their hiring practices (or simply put, to “creep” on potential employees in search of drunken photos, offensive posts, etc.). Most Americans, including myself, were outraged by the practice.

It’s worth noting that I think it is perfectly acceptable for employers to utilize social media to learn more about potential hires or current employees. Today it’s not uncommon to perform a Google search on everyone from our college professor to our upcoming weekend date. We have the tools to do so with ease and it’s foolish to expect employers not to utilize what’s available to anyone with an Internet connection. This is why it’s important for working adults to keep their social media profiles both personal and professional.

I do not, however, think it is acceptable for employers to demand passwords to Facebook, Twitter or other social media sites to learn more about potential hires or current employees. The act is a blatant invasion of privacy and a threat to a person’s online security. If an average person (or average employer) surfing the Web cannot find the information due to privacy blocks, why is it necessary to obtain that information with a password? It doesn’t threaten a person’s reputation or a company’s reputation if it is not easily accessed online.

Social media is free and readily available for anyone with an Internet connection. It can be used for great things in the professional world, including obtaining feedback and establishing relationships with customers. Unfortunately, I fear employers may deter employees from utilizing social media altogether if they ask for employees’ passwords and they place so much emphasis on constantly reviewing it.

A little common sense goes a long way, and I think that’s all employers need to emphasize to keep social media professional, safe and effective for everyone.

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