James Mayes

As many have noticed, I moved on from BraveNewTalent a month or so back. During the intervening period, I’ve been asked many times what I was going to do next.  Truth is, I’ve been enjoying the opportunity to evaluate a half dozen different things. Projects, tools, platforms, permanent jobs, all sorts. Might also explain why I’ve been rather quieter than usual on the Twitter and blog front!

So, with that quiet contemplation in mind, I figured it might be wise to offer an update. First up, I’m doing some consulting work. Short term projects, immediate benefit for clients and obviously, it allows me to remain independent for a while longer. Yes, I’m remaining in the technology/recruiting/social space – but consulting is not my long term plan…

… so, second, I have two start-ups in mind.  One is a technology product build, the other a service-oriented build. Unfortunately, the story ends there, for now. I’m not necessarily trying to be secretive, or to follow those who suggest stealth is a start-up’s biggest advantage. It’s more related to the desire to prove both the concepts are right before I go public – alpha iteration, you might say!

I’m making solid progress with both and I’m enjoying the experience immensely. Indeed, at least one of the two should get a public airing soon.  So many lessons from previous projects are proving relevant at this time, it truly feels like this is the culmination of many years learning.

I’ve also found over the years I much prefer multiple projects to single-focus tasks – so starting things from  scratch is perfect for me, even more so when one takes the lead and the other is a back-seat project for those evenings or weekends when I feel the need to delve into something different…

Good times!  I’ll share more when I’m ready – but if you enjoy being a sounding board for ideas, you know where to find me – happy to talk more.

Different one from me today. Booked myself a ticket to this event a while back, but overlooked my daughter’s birthday tea party… clearly more important! I don’t want the ticket to go to waste though… this event will take a great look at how different browsers are being used, the impact of mobile, gaming, TV, etc. There are representatives from the major browser firms on hand too. The event is in London (Greenwich) on Saturday 28th April.

Here’s the deal:  leave a comment below. One paragraph only on where you hope the browser will be in two years time.  I’ll review at noon BST on Friday 29th April and whichever I think is the most intriguing answer gets the ticket.  If the winner wants to write up thoughts, reflections or an event summary afterwards, I’d very much like to post it up here as a Guest Slot next week, but it’s your call.

Ready…. Steady…. Go!

Microsoft are moving with the times and the next version of Windows (Windows 8) takes a tiled approach on the main desktop with apps aplenty. If you want to check it out, the preview is available for free download and install here (note: it’s beta – which means buggy – though I’ve been using it happily for a few months now).

One of the apps they’re really pushing is SkyDrive – a cloud storage app for your personal files, music, whatever.  It competes with offerings from Google, Apple, DropBox, Box and no doubt many others. To garner users in a lively category, Microsoft have upped the levels of storage on offer for free. DropBox for example starts at 2gb for free accounts – SkyDrive offers 7gb right off the bat.

However, to really push the launch, sign up now and you’ll get 25gb. It’s a time-limited offer (no idea on how long). Sign in with a Microsoft Live account, click for the free upgrade, job done. Go here for more!

Toddling along to the Social Media in Recruitment event today and a few bits of news have caught my eye.  Thought I’d round them up!

The first follows the recent furore about charges and ownership of content over on Pinterest. It prompted someone to take closer look at the Terms for a number of the big sites out there, including Facebook’s. Under the developers and applications section, Facebook specifically state

“We do not guarantee that the Platform will always be free”

Clearly, this is different to the “free and always will be” statement on the Facebook homepage – but that’s aimed at users, not developers. Facebook are providing a huge commercial platform, developing rapidly in the mobile space (see acquisition of Instagram!) and with the forthcoming IPO, need to ensure future revenue channels are available for growth.

For the full story, head here.

From a user perspective, it would still appear Facebook will remain free. Indeed, this graphic explains perfectly why that will remain the case!

On the subject of that IPO… latest speculation remains a target valuation of $100 billion, or a trading price of around $40 per share.  Most recent date I’ve seen for the action is May 17th, as reported in TechCrunch.

Attended an excellent Reconverse event last week focussed on use of mobile apps, websites etc. (candidate survey results here). This post though, is a slight tangent to that session.  Much discussion of SMS, bluetooth and so on. Got my head ticking over and started me thinking about wifi hotspots. They’re more widely available than ever but still seem under-utilised.

Many free hotspots I see require the user to go through a quick splash page, clicking to agree to terms and conditions. Fair enough, you’re using a free resource.  However, that’s pretty much all they ever do. Seems like an opportunity to me.  If you can throw up a guest wifi access point in a talent-specific location (say for a skills-focussed conference or at a coffee shop near a major IT employer), the splash page can be:

• Branded
• Device optimised (tab, laptop, phone)
• Location specific

When asking people to accept the terms of use for free wifi, it’d be more than possible to add a few check boxes. Opt out of job opportunity messages? Opt out of future offers? For details capture, either a single email address box, or implement Facebook Connect.  Indeed, no reason a reward mechanism couldn’t also be considered – give us your details, get 60 mins free wifi with a cloud wifi provider to use any time you like.

Seems a relatively untested area so far, but not an expensive one to explore. I’ve only come up with two real challenges so far:

1. Splash pages can be annoying on a phone if you don’t realise you have to go sign in. Messaging around the venue can resolve that.
2. Clearly, skills-specific locations will limit the breadth of application.

Final thought – for event organisers – why is the wifi never branded in any way? Often you’ll see “Wifi sponsored by XXX” in the programme. Why not set the password for the day to the brand name in question? If I actually have to type that company’s name to get on the Wifi, I’m far more likely to remember it!

Thoughts, comments, challenges appreciated!

I’ve been a keen delegate at a couple of Mike’s events in this series before – indeed, the longest running series of recruiting Social Media events in the country, I believe. This time round, for the first time, I’ll be there without a company t-shirt to wear.  Looking forward to focussing on the content of the event and I’ll be live-tweeting the highlights as I go.  At the 2010 event, I went through the Twitter stream after and extracted some highlights – this year, I intend to contribute quite a few more!

The full programme for the event is available here.  Personally, I have a few highlights picked out already….

Vasco Castro – Head of Research at PotentialPark.  I’ve seen him present before and was impressed by the detail and evidence he was able to provide. Engaging and entertaining, it was a session with real depth, not simply theories that others could take away and test.  There’s much talk of the Candidate Experience at present, so it’ll be great to see Castro’s take on what the candidate perspective of social recruiting really is.

Steven Ehrlick – Global VP at the aia ad agency. Not seen him present previously and the ad agency world is one of the few parts of recruitment I’ve not spent time delving into. Should be a great learning experience for me, especially with the transatlantic nature of Steven’s experience.  UK and US recruitment practices seem to constantly be dancing around one another, but never completely aligned. Looking forward to seeing what trends Steven pulls out.

Adam Templeman – an actual practitioner, Head of Resourcing for a power company.  Having introduced social recruiting over the last year there, I’m hoping for a warts and all tale – the value for me is not just in the success stories (every supplier has a client they’ll use for that!) – I want to hear about what went wrong, how that was identified and fixed.  Should be great!

The organiser has already put up a few interviews with key speakers – if you want to join on the day, head on over here.

As a few people are already aware, it seems sensible to put this one out and clear. Times are changing and I’m moving to pastures new.  I’ve had a great time with BraveNewTalent and had the pleasure of working with some awesome people.  Lucian’s vision remains inspiring and when it delivers, it truly will address a global issue. I wish him and the team all the best!

Some say the most important part when considering future career moves is to be focussed. I’m less sure.  For me, the joy of change is the openness of opportunity, the option to change direction.

Maybe this is why my professional experience is so diverse – hands-on recruiter, sales guy, client manager, solutions design, product development.  I have a love of tech, but not to the extent that I want to write code. I take joy in trying to accurately define the problem to be addressed so the chosen route really is a solution, not just a fix.

So, what next? Well, I’ve started companies before and have a few ideas on new tools to build and services to offer. I’m not stopping there though.

This isn’t just a news-flash, it’s a request. No, I’m not asking for massive retweets of a “find my next job” post. Instead, I’d particularly appreciate two things – whether you know me well, or from a distance.

1. If you’ve read my blog over the last few years, you have a feel for what I like to be involved in.  If you think there’s an avenue I should explore, I’d LOVE that alternate opinion. Sometimes a fresh pair of eyes can spot the best answer, simply by being one step removed. You might be that fresh pair of eyes.
2. This isn’t a “blast & broadcast” post – don’t spam your followers with my needs. Instead, just let me know if you think there’s someone with whom a coffee conversation would be rewarding – that’s where the best things happen!

1. Log into the FourSquare website
2. Take your 4sq KML feed from here
3. Paste it into the search box here
4. You’re done. Scroll and zoom as you please!

You’ll get the full history here. You can remove specific places if you choose and play with the display from there. Personally, I was just interested in my Austin adventures.

The next post will look in more detail at some specific usage which has relevance to recruiters. Right now though, I’d simply suggest if you’re using Facebook and Twitter as part of your social strategy but haven’t considered FourSquare, you have work to do – and not much time to do it in!

I wrote recently about visualising FourSquare check-ins after I watched adoption of the platform skyrocket during SXSW. When I wrote that, I wanted to follow up with some micro-level observations on usage – and throw it out for wider validation. There are trends I’ve noticed which, if mirrored in your lives, have significant implications for recruiters and technologists alike. FourSquare isn’t the whole focus here, but certainly the catalyst for the thoughts.

First up – the scene.  I live in a small British town, not an urban metropolis.A handful of streets, close and friendly community, mixture of age groups, a very strong group of parents with school-age children (teenage and not-quite-teenage). A year ago, almost all were using Facebook. Some were absent, but amongst those I know well, adoption probably exceeded 80%.

Six months ago, a shift became apparent. The younger generation started hitting Twitter.  Mostly the chatter was around the music scene, but I noted a rise in smartphone around the same time. It was also evident that a few had unfriended parents in recent months on Facebook, so maybe that played a part. PLEASE, let me know what you see in your communities, I’d appreciate the feedback whether it validates or disproves! If this is borne out in the wider market, it certainly has implications for any recruitment campaign around the entry/graduate level of the market. I’d also note that while there’s been some adoption by adults, it’s been much less so. That segment still far more Facebook focussed. The teenagers are still active on Facebook, but to a lesser degree than a year ago.

The catalyst for this post remains FourSquare though. Over the last few months, a number of the parents have jumped on there. Im keen to understand why, and whether this is a wider thing. FourSquare was huge at SXSW, but that’s mecca for geeks, so makes perfect sense. The parties, the promotions, the networking, the discovery.

My area has minimal specials on there, so the recent adoption isn’t for money-saving reasons. If the kids aren’t there, it’s not for keeping track of them. It’s a fairly regular community, not a heavily digital selection, so that’s not it. Yes, there’s been an increase in smart phone adoption – but that delivers all kinds of opportunities, not just FourSquare. Certainly, there’s a focus and an interest around the mayorships – the gamification aspect is really driving engagement, no question.

Regardless – if you wanted to target this group, FourSquare’d be a great option right now – so clearly, I want to understand if this is a more widespread trend. If so, FourSquare and recruitment are only just getting acquainted…

Out at SXSW this week, with a huge range of thoughts to digest and debate when I return. Sitting by the Bat Bridge this afternoon, I was reminded of a childhood conversation which I wanted to share. There’s been much debate over the last few days of what leadership constitutes, particularly in the contexts of inspiring change, influencing action, etc.

Simply, when I was about eight, I was somewhat pretentious in class.  I read more than most, liked playing with words.  My teacher of the time set me a clear challenge. Post-prandial perambulation, she said. Go learn to use a dictionary. Properly. Come back tomorrow, tell me what it means and where the words come from. No other homework for you.

Beautiful. I felt like I’d got off lightly compared to other tasks being set. What she actually managed to do was appeal to a side of me I hadn’t recognised at that age. She set off a life-long love of words, particularly of etymology.

I’d rather experience inspiration than leadership any day.