Make short actionable goals. I think sometimes the failure of a business or goals in our life is that we don’t set some sort of actionable thing and try to achieve it. Great things don’t happen without a plan and sometimes those plans are as far as one step at a time. So if you have the high level goal of becoming a doctor your first step would be going to school. So find the small step that reaches the next step.

Just Do It. A great slogan but a must for everyone. I think the great thing about the Failure Club is that these are people who want to do something about their dream. They are each doing something about it. Whether it is meeting weekly or finding people to help them get there they are taking action.

Support your dream. Sometimes a dream realized needs support. Of course there will be people who doubt but find people who can be honest with you about your dream goals. The goal is to make the dream a reality so you need people who can help you get there and make it happen.

Set a time frame. By setting a date it gives you pressure to do something about it. If you cant achieve your goal by reasonable time frame then at least you tried even if you failed. Will we always fail? No. Might we win? Yes!

So here is to those who go out, try and fail. At least you will have an interesting story to tell. Find out about my dream.

I started off by uploading a picture of me in a new blog post. It’s not as if I am incredibly self centered to perform such a test. After all an over interested desire to search for my name might make me a bit egocentric. I also updated the content of my about page to include the schema tag including a name below. I also add the usual SEO content which you can view the code in the previous blog post. Once I added the content I watched the SERPs daily. I included in my search terms Derek Hanson and in the url space &pws=0 which removes search personalized results. Here are what the results look like.

The image as seen is in the second page of search results. I checked the results nearly daily to see how would end up. I also include in the search terms &pws=0 to remove the personalized results. Within one week the image I tagged with schema was listed in the second page of Google search results. Within the near two week result Google had the image at the top of the second page while Bing shows up in the first page. So it seems that Bing actually appears in the search results quicker than Google.

Something I also noticed was LinkedIn images were well indexed in search results. Better than images in Twitter or Facebook. If you look at the code you will notice that there are similar schema tags for profile images as well as the content. Makes me wonder about the tag because it doens’t fit the standard. Perhaps it’s because the standard is fairly new.
h1>

span class="family-name">Hanson /span
/span

The results perhaps are a bit unscientific but still interesting. Perhaps more tests are in order. If you’ve started using schema tags let me know how you use them. I would be interested in seeing what the results are.

A representation of a plan or theory in the form of an outline or model

As such Google, Bing, and Yahoo have put together a site called Schema.org to help develop a microformat standard. I thought I would give my hand a try to help get more pictures of myself on the web. Part of my test here is to see if this information at all effects listings in search results. Specifically pictures.

Derek Hanson

This was from my visit to New York City for my anniversary.

Here is the markup for based off of Schema.org.

<
div itemscope itemtype="http://schema.org/Person">
span itemprop="name">Derek Hanson img src="/images/derek-hanson-new-york-restaurant.png" alt="Derek Hanson At Bobby Flay Restaurant" /
/div
>


What will be interesting to see is how this effects organic ranking factors for search results. Microdata has been around for a while but what makes interesting is that mobile devices access this data. A lot of buzz has come out about publishers using this for the author tag. Makes since if you are PR person or a blogger. But there is so much more from using for your resume to product description.

You can learn more about the markup from schema.org.

• Buy a domain with your name in it. Preferrably with your first and last name. This can have yourfirstlastname.com, .net, or .org. If your not sure how to do it you could also get a blog through soemthing like wordpress.com, blogger.com, typepade.com or tumblr.com. Each are respected blogging sites.
• Create a Social Presence. This is a great way to show up if your potential employer is looking for you. It doesn’t have to look like Twitter or Facebook but somewhere your peers and potential employers might see you. Twitter and Facebook though are highly indexed and are easy to show up in search results.
• Brand Yourself. Treat yourself as a brand and get things like a logo, business cards, stationary, and other products that will help you stand out. Pick up social profiles so that your name appears for more search results. Namechk has a large list of social profiles with a search query which will tell you if your name is taken or not.
• If you are out of work find a nonprofit you can work for that will help you continue your experience. Nonprofits need help and are often open to having someone help out. Keeping active will help you not fall completely behind in the business world. I personally have volunteered for things like the Portland Social Media Club and a nonprofit as well.
• Networking. It is all in who you know. The more people the better. Go to things that you can connect with other business people. You will never know who you might meet that ends up being your new boss or helped you get an interview. Use Meetup to find people and interest groups that you can relate to.
• Learn. Learning is an essential part to keeping your skill current. Even if you are employed learning will help step forward in your career. The problem is your family, coworkers, boss, and friends may not be on board with the time it takes to learn. So carve out time that will help continue your skill training.

What things are you finding helpful in making you stand out to employers? Have you had any success that you would like to share.

It takes focus. Focus on things that matter that actually get you somewhere and that a geo location service won’t let you tweet. What do I do? Try to emulate someone. Really follow someone’s thinking and leadership even from afar. Then start modeling your life a little like theirs without being creepy. Then get out there a work at it hard. So for the strategy here are my goals.
1) Write more frequently. I am not an excellent writer but I hope to improve that and perhaps one day I will be at least decent.
2) Continued education. Spanish, javascript, more Adobe products, search engine marketing, and analytics.
3) Foster professional and personal relationships.
4) Start yet another blog that has been lingering in the recesses of my brain.

Really, if the world ends in 2012 most of this won’t matter. How are you improving yourself this year. What goals are you setting to improve who you are?

I am following up with yesterday’s post on customer reviews. I gave reasons to start asking for reviews but today I want to help you to think about getting reviews. This comes down to you providing the means for people to write a review. If people are 10 times more likely share a bad experience how much more do you need to fight for recommendation on good experiences? I think that our fears are people will then write a negative review. The truth is that they are going to do that any way so why not ask those that haven’t thought about. Here is how you can get those glowing reviews.

Start asking your repeat customers for a review. These are the easiest because they are already committed to your business. You have established rapport with them so leverage that relationship to get the ball running.
Next you should include links from your website to places where people can write a review. Instead of having your recommendations on the site you can use the business listing as a way to show the authenticity of your customers. This will also help people to include a comment about your company.

Then you should include something on promotional material for these sites. Put your website and how to write a review for the company. As you ask for feedback you can hand them your business card and it has a way to remind them of your request. Not everyone will do it but you reducing the barriers to getting yourself recommended. On the rest of your materials you can have a way for people to recognize your business for a job well done.

Finally, don’t sweat the disgruntled people. There are people out there who may not like you but if you are doing a great job then you have really nothing worry about. If you are concerned, simply gauge the level of satisfaction and then ask for that recommendation. I would lean toward attempting to get as much feedback as possible. For people who are not happy it might be your opportunity to shine all the more and resolve the situation. The result could be your greatest customer today.

Local business reviews really are a benefit to any company who utilizes them. The easier you make it for them the more you will get. So start asking and see where it takes you. Do you have ways in which you are using recommendations online? Has utilizing reviews been successful for you? Share your thoughts about gaining customer reviews.

Blogging to Establish a Reputation

The clearest and best way to start creating your reputation is through a blog.  Begin by simply writing about your expertise.  Defining who you are what you are about will help people know your expertise.  The best place to start is buy a domain name with your name in it (www.yourname.com).   For instance, a simple modification in my name, Derek Hanson, to Derek Live has allowed me to gain a results in my field.  Now it may seem difficult but you can buy domain hosting where they have a simple installation done by your hosting company for a blog even if you don’t have the technical skills to do it.  This is a quick way to get your reputation online quickly.

Networking to Manage Your Reputation

Another way to manage your reputation is through interacting in the field that you are in.  Joining groups, associations, and online forums will allow you to be visible to those in your industry.   It is said that most jobs people land because of the people they know.  So networking in forums, Linked In, and industry sites will allow visibility.  Even networking with people in your industry through LinkedIn may help you get a job.

Managing Your Expertise Through Consistency

Now that you are visible online stay consistent.  Blog and participate on a regular basis will help your reputation.  Follow through is essential.  Continual updates, comments, and participation will allow your website to  appear higher in search results.   It will also establish you r expertise and offer your employer the chance to view your profile online (i.e. Derek Hanson , Portland, Oregon).   If you want cut through the clutter of a job interview then start managing who you are today.

Conclusion to Your Online Reputation

Managing your online reputation is a great way to get noticed for a job.  You can do this by purchasing your name online and managing a blog about your particular industry.  Joining industry related organizations and groups will help establish your reputation as knowledgeable in the least and at best an expert.  Finally, be consistent and vigilant.  If not someone else may cut through the clutter and land that dream job or worse manage your name for you.