online

The Cisco Connected World Technology Report provides insight into challenges that companies face as they strive to balance current and future employee and business needs amid expanding mobility capabilities, security risks, and technologies.

Cisco examined nearly 3,000 college students and young professionals in an international workforce study and questioned them about their behavior and expectations and looked at how their demands for information access is changing business communication and the future of work.

Among other findings, the 2011 report revealed:

• One of every 3 college students and young employees believes the Internet is as important as air, water, food, and shelter.

• Two of five said they would accept a lower-paying job that had more flexibility with regard to device choice, social media access, and mobility than a higher-paying job with less flexibility.

• Regarding security-related issues in the workplace, seven of ten employees admitted to knowingly breaking IT policies on a regular basis, and three of five believe they are not responsible for protecting corporate information and devices.

Google+ provides some interesting tools for freelancers, including Google+ Brand Pages. Another aspect of Google+ that freelancers should consider is the Hangouts feature.

Google+ Hangouts is a very interesting social media tool – especially for freelancers. It is one of the unique Google+ features that helps to distinguish Google+ from other social media tools.

If you’re a freelancer, you should think about the various ways that Google+ Hangouts can benefit you as a freelancer. Google+ Hangouts offers a great opportunity for freelancers to connect on a more personal level with individuals they would ordinarily not be able to interact with on a face-to-face basis. Google+ Hangouts are easy to use, versatile, and free of charge.

Here are some ways that freelancers can use Google+ Hangouts:

• Hosting a conference call
• Brainstorming
• Training
• Holding a status meeting
• Networking
• Building a community
• Discussing potential projects with prospective clients (instead of sales calls)
• Collaborating on a group project
• Holding “office hours” for clients

Google+ Hangout sessions can also be recorded, so a team meeting can be shared with absent members at a later date. Also, this means that a training session could potentially be used over and over. In fact, there are countless possibilities for using hangouts. Can you think of Google+ Hangout uses for your own freelancing business? Currently, the only downside is that Google+ Hangouts is limited to ten people (including the person who initiated the hangout). So, if you have a need to connect with more people, you’ll need to use another method of communication.

Having a solid search engine optimization strategy is very important because today’s internet search is in a constant state of change. In order to create more transparency about how their search actually works, Google regularly updates its users about algorithm and feature changes on its Inside Search Blog. SEOMoz, a leading provider of SEO software, published a great infographic showing all of the significant algorithm changes that Google has made in the past months, including a version breakdown of the controversial “Panda” update.

Please click to view Infographic | courtesy of SEOMoz

Portfolios trump resumes, more workers telecommute, social media continues its spread, and mobile marches over desktop: Online magazine CIO provides technology and business leaders with insight and analysis on information technology developments and gives an interesting forecast of some of the key trends for the next year.

According to CIO, the workplace has evolved in new and exciting ways and has become even more centered on the Web. In 2010, mobile applications gained on desktop apps as many companies focused on facilitating smartphones and tablet PCs. Traditional marketing techniques were edged out by web-based marketing via search engines and social media. However, one of the most important trends is the continuous growth of online work. According to the CEO of one of the leading marketplaces for online talent: “It’s a digital world, and the smart companies will hire more flexibly and get more work done online in 2011″. Read the full post on CIO.com.

Technology-centered work trends for 2011:

• Digital portfolios replacing resumes
• Mobile is the new desktop
• Online work: Hiring in the could
• The HTML5/Flash War: Programmers needed
• Businesses will get even more social
• The decline of traditional marketing

“why should i sign up for another website, and just add to all the sites i already use? …the idea for vreebit grew out of frustration with artificial limitations of these sites. vreebit does not just combine the most valuable elements of existing social networking and groupware technologies – it transforms these indispensible platforms into powerful and effective tools. in short, vreebit changes the very concept of social networking into one of versatility, simplicity, efficiency – and fun!”

“in the midst of the worst job market in 26 years, desperate job seekers are trying all sorts of extreme tactics to find employment. but for some, sorting through good online job postings reaps more results than parading down main street wearing a résumé on a sandwich board…”

…for many, online job / project boards are the ticket to the perfect job. read the full article.

ruder finn, a u.s. public relations firm, recently conducted a survey on ‘why people use the internet’. the firms puplic relations cover healthcare, technology, consumer, interactive, media, arts and culture, and environmental programming. according to ruder finn, the most popular reason for going online is to “pass time”. other popular reasons were “education”, “connecting with others”, “researching” and “sharing”.

…take a look at the complete survey here.