the ki work blog

What's the point of the ki work blog?

In fact what's the point of any business blog?

I believe every business should have a blog. Of course I would say that. It's my job. But even Joe the Plumber could pick up extra customers with a little help from the internet. Seriously though, there aren't many companies that wouldn't benefit from improved communication with current and potential customers.

Before looking at the benefits I'll briefly point out the pitfalls of blogging for business. The key thing to remember is that a blog is a public representation of you and your company. If it is badly written, sparse and out of date it will reflect badly on your brand.

The problem is that it's easy to start a blog, but rather harder to keep it going. It takes considerable time and effort. That's why a business could benefit from employing a professional blogger or an editorial team who will ensure that the blog is regularly updated and of a quality to show your business in the best light. This could cost a lot less than you might expect.

Let's see how your business might benefit:

1. A blog helps you to develop a personal relationship with customers and, perhaps, employees. Partly this is a result of the informal first-person style of blog writing. More importantly they're interactive. If there isn't a public response mechanism, it isn't a blog.

2. A blog will promote your corporate website. As any search engine optimization (SEO) expert will tell you, the way up the Google rankings is through links and current content. A regularly updated blog will provide both. But do make sure your blog is properly integrated with your main business website.

3. You'll attract better job applicants. The best people want to work for dynamic businesses that are passionate about what they do. And where do potential job applicants look first? Google. Then your website and blog.

4. Blogging can help to develop internal team spirit. Communication is not always perfect for any business with more than a handful of employees, not to mention freelances and contractors. A blog provides an informal repository for information about the business and a place where people with a direct stake in the business can interact.

5. A blog can improve your media profile. News events don't always happen when we want or can control them. Competitors make announcements, governments introduce legislation and accidents happen. Journalists need quotes and expertise. Where do they turn to first? The web and Google. If a person's not immediately available the informal style of a blog makes it the next best source for a quote. And when your blog's been used once journalists will come back for more.

6. Blogging increases your intelligence. No really. I don't mean it'll boost your IQ, but a good blog links and reacts to other blogs and news sources. The whole process of creating an informative online resource is a valuable activity in itself as an objective for research.

7. Your products can be improved by blogging. A blog provides the ideal place for customers and employees to offer suggestions for improvements and new products. Just make sure somebody's responsible for keeping an eye on the interaction. A blog entry followed by a whole string of complaints is not a good advertisement for your business.

8.  Blogging gives your business authority. Everybody who runs a business is an expert on their sector. Putting your name to regular blog entries that display that expertise will boost your image, credibility and stature as a business leader and by extension that of your company.

Whatever the combination of reasons, a well-maintained blog will benefit your business. And if you're looking for a professionalto run your blog you could do worse than posting a project here on ki work .

Reuters writes about boom in online job seeking

This is one of an increasing number of articles that show how the recession is driving people to join professional social networking sites such as, in this case, LinkedIn and Xing. Online networks a magnet for job-seekers | Technology | Reuters

The fact that it was written by the Reuters news agency means it will be very widely read. Reuters has traditionally made its income from charging newspapers, television and radio stations across the world for the right to publish it articles.

For people who are insecure in their jobs this type of article represents both good and bad news. The increasing popularity of social networking services means employers will turn to them as a means of filling vacancies. But how do you differentiate yourself from the millions of other people also registering in the hope of improving their job prospects?

One of the people quoted in the Reuters article says it took him a long time to build up his network to the point where it helped him to find a job last year. Now it's much more difficult.

There is a powerful argument for investing a little cash to boost your online career. If nothing else it means you'll probably be competing in a space that's a little less crowded. After all if you're unemployed you've nothing better to do all day than post copies of your resume on free sites.

You'll still need to put some effort into networking. Money alone won't buy you friends. But it is worth cehecking out the premium options offered by social networking and employment websites.

On ki work's site we offer the option of paying $50 a month to become an accredited expert. This gives increased prominence to your online brand, allows you to certify professionals and buyers while, most importantly, giving you the opportunity to earn from leveraging your network. You'll find plenty more information here at ki work.

Of course most people won't pay a subscription for any online service and many of them may prosper. But is worth thinking about whether it might be worth boosting your earning prospects by investing a little cash along with your time.

Boris Libois interview on being Leader of CSR

In a recent interview, Boris Libois, category leader of the Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) marketplace, laid out his plans for using ki work to develop a thriving CSR community.

"My category leadership is to manage, through a cooperative and secured way, the “CSR ethical label”. This quality of service guarantee includes the pre-selection of the suppliers by the platform. It also implies a ruling-assessment of the professionals by their clients, through the platform. Finally, the service includes a professional coaching helping the suppliers to climb up the learning curve.

This will be the added-value of the ki work CSR marketplace. A mix between a commercial brand and a open standard, intended to enhance corporate citizenship following a voluntary way and local communities sensitive approach."

Boris also explains how CSR requires a multi-dimensional approach, and that ki work and other web services can help deliver this goal.

"I address CSR from a social entrepreneurial point of view. The challenge is : “Prospering with responsibility”. CSR is important to achieve the sustainable development of companies in respect of all their stakeholders interests. This means: workers, providers, clients, customers, neighbours, natural resources and shareholders. With the Web 2.0, the stakeholders and civil society also have access to large and shared resources."

Finally, Boris also outlines how CSR consultants can benefit from being accredited experts in the CSR marketplace.

"The benefits for independent CSR experts on ki work are an easier access to large CSR projects posted by companies and lower commercial expenses to find new incomes. The second advantage is to make CSR experts brand, skills and services more visible and thus more valuable for them."

To post your services as a CSR consultant, or post a project, simply go direct to the CSR marketplace. To find out more about being an accredited Expert in CSR, connect with Boris Libois.

Read the full interview transcript in the PDF viewer below or listen to the webinar recording.Boris Libois interview on being ki work leader of CSR

Application development leader Michael Haschek joins the ki work top team

Organizer of the European Tool Command Language (Tcl) Conferences Michael Haschek has become the category for application development at ki work, the online marketplace for remote and virtual workers. Michael has 25 years experience  leading application development projects in a variety of languages.

He is the author of the contact manager CMfoni and the embeddable application ViCo. CMfoni is designed to work with social networking sites (LinkedIn, Viadeo, Facebook, NING) and PLAXO (see http://www.cm4net.com, http.//www.seamless-llc.com). ViCo enables users to retrieve contact information from different social networking sites.

Top IT recruiter Steve Delaney latest high-profile Leader on ki work

Bringing 30 years experience to ki work's online marketplace for the remote and virtual workforce, Steve Delaney has been announced as leader of the IT recruitment category. This is a natural extension of his existing business which already goes well beyond recruitment.

Steve coaches IT professionals to market themselves effectively and to  identify the best career options. He shows them how to harness the power of Web 2.0 tools and services to position themselves as experts in their fields.

He says: "Ki work is the ideal platform for my peers and my clients. We have at our disposal all of the tools necessary to find work and be found by people sourcing projects."

Steve will be explaining his reasons for joining and his plans for the category in a free webinar on Tuesday 9th December (register here). In the meantime, you can advertise your services or post any project you need doing in this field direct to the IT recruitment marketplace.

view the press release for more info

The Rapid Rise of the Virtual Assistant and Data Entry marketplaces

For anyone who missed out on Tawnya Sutherland's inspirational webinar on how she plans to develop the Virtual Assistant and Data Entry marketplaces on ki work, below is a recording of the session.

Both marketplaces have been growing rapidly, with several Certified Professionals in each who now have unlimited access to individual projects on ki work. This Bills of Lading project in Data Entry has been especially popular. Still some time to apply ... plenty of positions available!

Building the Supply Chain Management Software marketplace

For anyone who missed out, below is a recording of Neil OConnell's webinar with Karl Goldfield, in which Neil lays out his plans for developing the Supply Chain Management Software marketplace on ki work.

Neil OConnell on being ki work Leader of SCM Software.

Why Bush is following Lenin to overthrow Capitalism 2.0

Will managers be the real victims of the unlikely duo?

Just a few weeks ago we seemed to be facing economic Armageddon. For the short term we've been saved from meltdown thanks to George W Bush, Gordon Brown and other western leaders following in Lenin's footsteps and nationalizing many banks. 
 
Whatever happens, it's going to be a long time before trust in financial institutions is restored. And, lest we forget, our faith in Wall Street was already pretty fragile after the accounting scandals of Enron and the rest. I wonder if these crises are merely symptoms of something rather more profound. 
 
There's a real chance we may be reaching the end of managerial capitalism or Capitalism 2.0 after 150 years or so. Let me explain what I mean with some gross oversimplification. But, hey, this is a blog not a masters dissertation. 

Knowing who is boss

Capitalism 1.0 was personified by the boss who was both owner and manager. He made all the decisions, hired, fired and kept the profits or suffered the losses. It was nice and simple, but it couldn't stay that way.

The cost of the machinery and new production techniques of the Industrial Revolution of the 19th century meant bigger was almost always better or at least more profitable. So bosses started selling a share of their businesses to banks, other companies and individuals to fund expansion. 

Eventually many bosses owned only a minority stake in their businesses. Their companies had also often become so big they were beyond the control of one person. So managers were hired to run the businesses and managerial capitalism or Capitalism 2.0 was born.

It's been a remarkably successful and resilient economic system for over 150 years. The ability to adapt to has been managerial capitalism's greatest strength, but as it's developed the division between ownership and control has become both wider and more blurred.

As a result more 'ordinary' people have a direct stake in their economy than ever before. In many countries the majority of the population have borrowed the money to own the homes they live in. Their savings are often invested in pension funds which are among the most powerful institutions driving the world's stock markets. 

Despite the broadening of ownership most people have little influence on the running of the businesses they have a share in. In fact this downturn will see people laid off by companies they partly own through their pension funds. 

Of course nobody worried too much about all this while the global economy was booming. It all looks a bit different as we peer over the edge into a recession of uncertain depth and length. But we do know that nothing will ever be the same. Trust in banks and other Capitalism 2.0 institutions has been damaged, perhaps fatally. 

Taking back control

From the chaos something new will rise, perhaps Capitalism 3.0 or 'Collaborative Capitalism' as it's being dubbed. The underlying forces that could create this new way of working have been developing for years and they can fundamentally alter the economic forces that have made managerial capitalism so successful.

In many knowledge industries economies of scale have been turned on their head. Individuals and small businesses can compete with corporations on price and earn a reasonable return.

The key force in this is the Internet. It's given knowledge workers access to many of the tools which were until recently only available in large offices with sophisticated data networks. All freelancers are missing are corporate overheads and real estate costs. Big business should be worried. 

Ki workers of all countries unite

Look at the corporate success stories of the digital age such as Google, eBay and Amazon. All collaborate with their customers. In fact the divisions between customers, suppliers and competitors can be so blurred as to be meaningless. For instance, on an Amazon product page you'll find outside companies offering prices below Amazon's own.

Have a look inside at ki work's platform. See how collaborative capitalism 3.0 can provide a platform for professionals to work together and create their own virtual businesses than can undercut bricks-and-mortar corporations bidding for major projects.