How twitter can help @ work ?

Friends,

All of you are aware how micro blogging is creating a virtual revolution in communication. Please go through the following article on how companies are using twitter.

Twitter is a simple messaging service that you’ve either heard about a lot or not at all. Either way, it’s a fun and useful tool, well worth trying if you want to reach potential and existing customers, employees or employers.

Like blogging, Twitter lets you write messages that other people can read. Unlike blogging, Twitter limits your messages to 140 characters. (The previous two sentences absorbed exactly 140 characters.) Readers can choose to receive your Twitter updates (sometimes called “tweets”) on their phones, via IM, RSS or on the Web. The brevity, combined with the variety of delivery systems, make Twitter a powerful medium. Here are five ways to harness it:

1. Share ideas. Twitter is often called “micro-blogging,” and as with regular-size blogging, some people use it primarily to share personal information, while others use it for professional reasons.

If you’re interested in the professional possibilities, ignore the Twitter prompt, “What are you doing?” because frankly, the details of your day are banal to people who don’t know you (Proof: my Twitterstream). Instead, note cool work-related things you’ve discovered — a great article, a new Web site or an intriguing idea. Whenever possible, include a link (if it’s too long, use TinyURL to shorten it with one click).

Or share your knowledge. The lexicographer Erin McKean posts neologisms; a group of venture capitalists gives tips to entrepreneurs.

2. Show respect. Another way to share ideas — and your respect for other people in your field — is to “retweet” something interesting somebody else has Twittered. Tim O’Reilly, founder of O’Reilly Media (for which I’m co-writing a research report on Twitter), does this frequently and to great effect. Simply start your message with “Retweeting@username” and then paste in the original message (the @ symbol is the Twitter convention for responding or referring to other users).

3. Build your brand. Zappos, the online emporium known for outstanding customer service, encourages employees to Twitter and to respond to customers who also use the service — increasing the company’s reputation as a friendly place to shop and work. Notably, the chief executive of Zappos, Tony Hsieh, Twitters frequently. Because the company cultivates an un-corporate image, he’s the rare executive who can effectively post personal updates.

4. Engage customers. Run contests, solicit feedback and thank customers for supportive messages. Jetblue does all three. (By the way, JetBlue doesn’t identify the person or people who Twitter under its account, but best practices suggest you should.)

5. Provide customer service. Wesabe, a personal finance site, has long used Twitter to respond to complaints and to let customers know when it’s fixing problems. Comcast doesn’t post, but it does use Twitter to respond to customers who have complained about the company.

How do Comcast and Wesabe know customers are grousing? Twitter’s excellent search feature lets you learn what people are saying about any term — including you, your competitors or your industry. (Oddly, this search feature is different from the relatively useless one at the top of your own Twitter home page.) You can then respond to individuals — as Comcast and Wesabe do — with the @username trick.

Signing up for a Twitter account takes about 15 seconds. If you first want more detail on how the service works, check out the Wikipedia entry or the “Twitter in Plain English” video. Still on the fence? Chris Brogan has 50 good ideas for using Twitter in business.

Finally, no matter how you use it, remember that messages posted to Twitter — even updates you send by phone or IM — reside on the Web in perpetuity, where prospective employers and customers can find them. While 140 characters may not seem like much, they are enough to look unprofessional.

To get started on twitter all you need to do is to sign up for an account at www.twitter.com 

To follow Raghav - Founder oof HRinIndia - www.twitter.com/Raghav_HRGuru

Source : nytimes.com

Author : sarah milstein

Sowmya

www.hrinindia.in

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The Indian Institutes of Managements (IIMs), which offer one-year executive MBA programmes, are witnessing a surge in demand. A large number of professionals are opting for these programmes and hence some of the IIMs have increased the number of seats to accommodate the rise in applications.

At IIM-C, the number of seats for its executive post-graduate programme (PGP) has risen to 55 from 40 last year. “The number of applications each year is increasing by 30 per cent,” said Biju Paul Abraham, chairman of the institute.

IIM-B is starting its one-year post graduate executive programme from April this year. The institute is planning to enrol 75 more students for its two-year post graduate programmes as well as add 75 seats to its one-year executive post-graduate programmes (PGP) for mid-level executives. Depending on the success of its one-year programme, the institute may increase its student intake next year.

According to Moloy Bhattacharya, head of executive PGP, IIM-B, there is a greater need in the market for managers. “In most cases people do not have any formal degree in management studies thereby leading to stagnation in their careers and difficulties while switching jobs.”
However, Punam Sahgal, chairman, international programme in management for executives (IPMX), at IIM-L’s Noida campus said that the economic downturn is one of the reasons behind the increased interest for these executive programmes.

“Many professionals are using the downturn as a reason to upgrade their knowledge and skill sets. With the uncertainties in the job market, employees are gradually realising that they cannot stay at one place without worries and therefore enrolling themselves in these programmes to leverage their market value,” she added.

As of now IIM-L has 45 students and is considering increasing the number of intake from next year. The one-year executive programme at IIM-L started only last year. For its full-time programme, people having a minimum of 6 years of managerial experiences can apply, while for its part-time programme, a minimum of three years of managerial experience is required.

IIM-K does not have a residential executive post-graduate programme at present, but has a one-year executive management education programme (eMEP) that is delivered through interactive distance learning. The total number of students joining this programme has gone up to 141 students in 2008, from 111 students in 2007.

“Any programme, which targets working professionals, must balance studies and their career, and this is one of the reasons for the popularity of one-year programmes,” said Jyotirmoy Bhattacharya – assistant professor, economics-IIM-K.

The one-year programmes are perceived to be easier to crack. Students don’t have to appear for CAT for these programmes, rather a GMAT score is all that is required.

Author : Shreerupa Mitra

Source : mydigitalfc.com