What to Buy That Special Geek

It’s that time of year, where most people have their holiday shopping done, and I haven’t even started. You can ask my wife, and she will tell you that I have no clue what to buy a woman for Christmas, but let me shop for a Geek, and I’m all over it. I’m lucky that my wife is a Geek Chick, and this list can also apply to her!

So, what do you buy that special Geek/Gadget freak for Christmas?

1. A Smartphone – This one is a really bad gift unless you know they really want the commitment. Sure, you’re paying the up-front costs, but you’re also sticking them with a monthly bill of $60 or more. may be a good idea to offer to pay for a few months of usage. There are tons of models out there, and it will all depend on the person you’re shopping for. The safe bet is an iPhone, as it has mass appeal, is simple to use, and is also an iPod, so you can skip my next gift idea. I would buy my wife an iPhone if I was to get her a phone as a gift. For the geek out there, I think an Android phone is the way to go! If the person is all about work, and has no idea what the internet is, then go with a Blackberry.

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HTC Dream Review

I have a Dream. An HTC Dream. The first of the Android phones. And this is my review so far. I’ve had it for a couple of months now, and have taken it through it’s paces.

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Your Personal Brand

I just read a great blog post on Mashable about taking control of your personal brand (http://mashable.com/2009/04/30/control-personal-brand/). In this age of extreme social media, this is something that is seriously overlooked.

It is said that over 50% of HR and hiring managers will look someone up on social sites before they interview them. I know I have done it, and it has definitely changed the way I have looked at that candidate. The lines between professional and personal lives are being blurred. For the most part, this is good, but this can also be a bad thing.

If you’re looking for a job where responsibility is key, maybe you should keep the pictures of you throwing up in the alley private on Facebook. And just so you know, all someone has to do is change their Facebook network to the same location as you, and they can see most of your profile (unless you actively restrict it).

If you are going to use social media to develop your personal brand for career development, then you really have to take control of it. Some people actually hire social media managers!

For example, I manage Facebook very differently than any other social site. Facebook to me is for family and friends, although, I’m still very careful as to what I put up there. I am hesitant to even share my Twitter account with friends and family, not because I don’t want them to see it, but because it’s mostly about nerdy stuff, and would bore the hell out of them.

Another reason for being proactive is that you want to control the information that people find about you. I made sure to update and fill in my Google profile, so that if someone was to look for me using Google, they would see what I want them to see. Although, Google really doesn’t like the French last name so much. If you are logged into your Google account, just do a search for “me”, and at the bottom of the screen, you can edit your profile to control what people see. You can add links, contacts, and personal and work information about yourself.

I also made sure to register on multiple networks, and promote myself, so that I show up in searches. Using a tool like namechk.com or knowem.com are both handy for finding out if your name is available on all the popular sites.

Just be yourself out there, but use common sense. This is a social web, so it’s open to anyone, and whether you’re looking for a client, a job, or even a friend, no one needs to see you drunk, running naked in public.

Hope everyone has a great weekend.

Brandon

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Google Does it Again

Gmail just unleashed another amazing feature: multiple inboxes. If you use Gmail, maybe you know that it doesn’t use a folder structure, instead it uses “labels”. well, now, you can have multiple panels that show those different “labels”. It may sound confusing, but if you use Gmail with Labels, and even Searches, then this feature is amazing. Just go into the Labs area at the top (looks like a little beaker) and enable “Multiple Inboxes”.

Another thing I’ve been hearing a lot about is the Google Drive, which is rumoured to be an online storage area from Google. On this drive, you will be able to store photos, files, music, videos, and access them from anywhere, and pretty much anything (iPhone, computer, toaster…).

Sometimes, I love Google so much I want to take it behind the middle school and get it pregnant.

In other news, today, I saw a guy wearing one of those poncho sweaters that people buy in Mexico. The early 90’s are back. I wonder if I still have any of my “Grunge” clothes?

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what you need
Photography by: Marta Hewson Photography