http://techcrunch.com/2012/05/01/yuri-milner-dave-morin-sv-angel-crunchfund-and-more-hook-up-pair-with-4-2m/

Thanks for adding to the conversation.

I have to agree with you that I believe the comeback for RIM will be in their security. I do find their security the best on the market and agree that it is the reason companies tend to gravitate towards using these devices.

I will say, I believe RIM has spent too much time trying to “catch up” in the social market. I am happy to see them refocusing on the enterprise market as I believe this is the area where they need to stay, improve upon and reinforce why they are the top choice for a business tool.

I am happy to see their new campaign angle – bringing some energy back into the product.

How do you feel about their most recent flash mob flop in Australia? Apparently, their most recent media attempt was not well received. See the article in the Toronto Star here: http://www.thestar.com/business/article/1171036–blackberry-maker-rim-admits-panned-apple-flashmob-was-a-marketing-stunt

Thanks again for contributing such great points to this discussion.

I am so inspired by your points that I’m going to suggest that we write a new blog post about it called “Blackberry’s Triumphant Return to Enterprise Domination”. Would you like to write that guest post for us? Of course we would give you full credit as the author

The problem is that Apple and Google devices have been penetrating the Enterprise at a relatively alarming rate and despite best efforts, RIM has not made much if any progress into consumer markets in order to offset that lost market share. BBM was one of the last components that made Blackberry appealing to social-minded consumers, but things like iMessage have effectively nullifed that advantage for many.

In all honesty, I’m still not too worried. Open-source OS on Android phones is just asking for a massive security breach, and even with enhanced security options with iPhones there is potential there (there’s a good reason why IT has to be involved in setting up a Blackberry with a BES server…the fact that anyone who knows their mail server location and domain credentials can sync corporate email to their iPhone or Android makes me wonder how any organization with sensitive information could trust those devices). Not to mention, have you ever seen someone unlock their iPhone? A 4 digit pin with buttons that size, how can I NOT memorize the combination! There will come a day when these consumer toys turned Enterprise tools let us down in a big way, likely in the security domain, which will pave the way for Blackberry’s triumphant return to Enterprise domination.

The key to social media success is linking all of your platforms. The more networks you are an active contributor to – the better. For sourcing social media websites, this is where the art of Boolean comes in with a dash of time management. Boolean search strings allow me to use a variety of social media platforms without spending hours sourcing through resumes. The better you are at Boolean – the faster you can target the information you are looking for. We will discuss some Boolean strings in more detail next week.

As far as branding yourself across various social media sites, I like to have my handle and “brand” the same across all of the social media platforms I use. It is easier to manage my brand if my persona is the same across the board. I also love to link my social media tools. On LinkedIn – I can post an update that I also broadcast to Twitter. I can broadcast an interesting blog out to my facebook page, my LinkedIn groups and my mashable friends.

Only join what you can handle. It is better to be very active on two platforms then somewhat active on ten. Start with a few and let them grow. The key is to keep it simple, link them whenever you can and provide value.

If you’re a new grad it seems like a Catch-22 — You need experience to get a job, but how do you get your first job? It helps if you can prove that you already have some valuable experience. Even if it’s not work that you got paid for. Internships, school projects, voluteer work and personal projects still count as work experience.

Depending on your skill set you can help hiring managers see your true potential by setting up a portfolio website of your best work and the key skills that you have to offer employers. There are some free online apps you can use like http://vizualize.me/ or http://about.me or http://www.visualcv.com/. Or you could set up your own e-resume portfolio site which I talk about in this post: http://blog.stafflink.ca/job-search-tips/eresume-portfolio-website.

Also, try using LinkedIn for career networking.
- http://blog.stafflink.ca/job-search-tips/getting-the-most-out-of-your-linkedin-profile
- http://blog.stafflink.ca/job-search-tips/new-grads-should-get-linkedin

I agree that private institutions have very strong programs and sometimes stronger programs than public institutions. There are some employers that need to be educated on some educational institutions. We often work with groups like WES (World Education Services) http://www.wes.org to show employers the credentials are just as strong from one institution to another.

What type of private institutions are you referring to? One of the things that many employers are looking at is graduates with co-op experience.

I agree that new grads have fresh flexible ideas. One of the things I often recommend to technical new grads is to look at development for mobile phones or tablets.

I believe that everyone should be given an opportunity, regardless of the
institution that was finished. Even if there are things that hasn’t been taught by the private institutions, they can be taught right at the workplace. Recent grads have a fresh, flexible mind that can be adjusted to any workplace.

Such behavior creates very high competition for a lot of people. And as the result, the interest towards career path for technology vanishes.