Richard for real

On Tuesday February 8th my faculty of communication and media sciences at Lund University pulled together a seminar on career opportunities in the field of strategic communication. Here is a summary of some of the insights shared by Inger Larsson (whom I couldn’t find a relevant link to after 5 mins on google), Martina Hansson (she works for Doro at the moment) and Jesper Wendel (PRoperContent):

A manager newer forgets a communication professional who saved them from utter catastrophe.

In communcation, what is true this year might not be true the next.

A successful corporate communicator must know the core business and be able to translate that complex mesh of activities to a long-term communication strategy.

It is important to never forget that the person responsible for communication has the “formulation prerogative” and therefore must “seize the word”.

Dare to be a PITA! Sometimes it is the only way to get what you want.

In an interview for a position in communication, illustrate your love for learning.

And finally, to stay up to date on the (Swedish) digital PR and social media landscape, follow:

doktorspinn.se

jardenberg.se

mashable.com

This is quick summary of presentation I did today at my uni’s study abroad fair. These are basically seven principles for maximing the use and pleasure of a limited period spent in a new location. All based on my personal experience as an Erasmus exchange student in Amsterdam last semester, but it should be applicable for other places and situations as well.

1. Learn the language

Even if English is widely spoken, knowing a few words and phrases of the local tongue will get you long way. It’s also a great of showing respect for and increasing your understanding of the locals you meet.

2. Conscious socializing

The uneasy feeling of not knowing anyone in a new place can easily make you bond with whoever comes in your way. This can lead to great things of course, but there is also a risk that it will keep you occupied from opportunities later on. Try to assess people as you would with anyone back home, especially during the first two three weeks.

3. Spare time occupations

A great way to get involved in a new community is to take up a familiar hobby or sport in the new context. This is a great way to connect with people with whom you have common ground, and a good entrance point to local networks.

4. Be a foreigner

Don’t limit yourself to being just an exchange student or just a guest worker. Frame yourself as a foreigner and you will see a lot more posssibilities. The expatriot community is a rich source of information, services and connections.

5. Bring what you want to be

When you are packing, don’t go for the things you use the most. Go for what you would like to use the most. This goes for clothes (bring more shirts to force yourself into a business look for example), accessories, gadget, books and everything.

6. Makes the most of mobile

I found a smartphone with internet access to be many times more useful in a new place than where I am more familiar. Just time you will by not getting lost is worth the investment in a mobile internet bundle.

7. CouchSurfing

This hospitality exchange community is an invaluable resource of information, events and people. It will definitely help you to get on the fast track to integration.

After just over a month in this city, it’s nice to look back and consider what golden nuggets were in all that junk I dragged here. These are some of the things I’ve used the most since coming to Amsterdam:

Oktoberfest jug – I drink tea from it almost every day

Huge five liter pot – couldn’t do my weekly cooking without it

Time capsule and airport express – both routers proved necessary to make our wifi reach the second floor of the apartment

Quiksilver backpack – I’ve been travelling with this gift from my brother for years and it never let me down

Leopard print robe – So cozy…

HTC Hero – not the best, but a very good tool for exploring a new city; extra love for google map search

1 euro soccer shoes – a second hand find that makes a huge difference on wet frisbee fields

And then there’s stuff that’s just lying around in the back of my closet:

VISA card – this country does not take visa

Bike helmet – shame on me, but I only used it once

Shirts – constantly looking for more business casual occasions, but they are rare in the exchange student universe

I had a rather (for being me) twitter intensive day so far today, so why not give this old draft a brush up and let it fly? Here are the twitter hashtags I’d really like to see in action:

#helpmetranslate – When google translate just won’t do it. Add on the relevant languages and someone will be there in a sec to help you out.

#randomlunch – For everyone seeking new company. Throw in your location and life-changing opportunities may come your way over a bite.

#commuternews - My friend @JonasLundstrom has started this locally in Skåne, Sweden. It’s fun and useful for knowing what trains are crowded, etc.

#BigIn[insertcountryhere] - Let others know what’s on the agenda around you. Help people get more global.

#globalinsight – Along the lines of the above. For the stuff everyone should know.

#twitlation – I often come across very interesting tweets in minor languages. When I do I sometimes translate them to English and RT. But I miss a proper label for this activity.

So what’s your favorite and what do you want to do on twitter?

Beer

Hoegaarden
Singha
Sailor’s beer, plastic bottle with metal cap
Mosaud-mate, Mr X help me out on the spelling

Thoughts

The discussion ranges between philosophy on one end and tools on the other.
Shuffling info should be the desired modus operandi instead of copy/paste. For this to our software needs improve text handling, for example to be able to differentiate the name of a person from that of a company.
Mr Y is looking for a unified tool to handle all his to-do needs. From capturing ideas to calling people.
The tricky part is to catch ideas fast enough on a non-pen-and-paper input device. Voice recorder? Then it has to be channeled to the right place, efficiently.
Always think about the next action!
Mr Z says his phone is for organizing while his laptop is for producing. I think I would like to be able to do both on both.
To really get stuff under way you sometimes need to apply some Viking berserk gtd, said Mr X, inspired by his boss.
Mr Z was slightly frustrated by his transition from producing to coordination. Nowadays he rather delegates than produces himself, even if the latter would be more efficient.

Online tools

Gimp, open source PhotoShop
Inkscape, open source vector graphics?
Timescape, ??
Share-o-holic, for spreading the things you like
Remember the milk, = gtd
Monity, ??
Read it later, offline storage of webpages you want to check out
OneNote, productivity by Microsoft
Evernote, for writing everything down
TullDo, another to-do site
Del.icio.us, sharing is caring
Posterous, ??
Yahoo Pipes, apparently very useful for channeling your stuff

Gowalla, Foursquare, Brightkite, location services

Tips

Use “#word1 OR #word2″ to make better searches on Twitter
Mails and posts from a phone will be shorter and probably more reader friendly
Use the wrench menu in Google Chrome to add Google wave notifications
Use Excel for being creative and organizing thoughts dressed in words, as long as you turn off the grid (remember that excel was the first software to feature tabbed browsing)

Recommended reading

Getting things done by David Allen
One minute manager
A perfect mess, (creating and maintaining order actually drains a lot of energy in relation to what you get)

Anonymized (SWEnglish I know) quotes

“When you die you will still have stuff on your todo lists. Live with it.”
“Give a problem, then give a solution.” People will be more inclined to act your way.
“2008 – the digital seventies.”
“My broadband is 10 MB/sec, but when I start creating something with these lumps [hands] I feel like a 56K myself.”
“The first time you delegate something it will always be less efficient than doing it yourself.”

Google stuff

Google notes – development has ceased, must alert my friend S so he migrates all his stuff
Google docs – easy to use and great, but hard to find for me. Use it for documents, spreadsheets and forms. A bit like Google wave
Gmail – turn on auto suggestions for search in labs. Go over labs every now and then. Why doesn’t search work like on normal Google web search?
Google voice – what exactly will it do and when will I have it?

Business concepts

A more human yet digital project management toolbox, coordination platform
A standard for virtual business cards, like ambadoo

Sites to watch

Engadget
Gizmodo
Lifehacker
Readwriteweb
Mashable

Upcoming events

Thoughtmade
TedxOresund

// Mr unsecretary