An extremely tech saavy old congressman once told me that the Internet is a series of tubes. Well in the late nineties the information going through said tubes was apparently VERY valuable.
In class on Monday we talked about the net bubble. It was interesting to listen to how it really went down. When all of this happened I was like 13 and just getting into computers. My dad bought a 3500$ Gateway as our first computer. It had a staggering 100 mhz and 16 megs of ram. I remember when websites were absurdly basic, and you had to deal with the slow internet that came as a result of a loud box making weird beeps.
I had no clue how crazy investors got. I remember hearing a bit about it, but I was young and didn't care. I drew a lot of parallels between it and the housing/banking problem we just saw. It really looks like greed is a terrifying force. Some of the actions described in the lecture were so absurd that I can't believe anyone could do that with a straight face. I mean I guess if you see an opportunity to become a millionaire in a month it will look great, but to justify it enough to say "meh who cares how many thousands of investors are investing in a fake company" is pretty heartless.
It really sounds like an exciting time to have been alive. I wish I had been a computer science major back then. I'm hoping to get a similarly crazy experience out of my late 20's.
-Caleb
Wednesday, March 10, 2010
Monday, March 8, 2010
A Visit from Michele Armstrong
Last class we had another guest speaker. This time it was Michele Armstrong.
Michele works for Vulcan Inc, a company owned by Paul Allen. Her job is to find and hire people to work there. It was very interesting to here her discuss the process Vulcan goes through because it is a very exclusive company, so getting a job there is harder than the average job interview.
One thing she talked about that was particularly interesting was her suggestion to market yourself on social networks. I thought Facebook was more just a means to check and make sure your potential employee isn't a nutjob. Michele however suggested a few strategies to finding and getting a job.
-She said to market yourself on Facebook. By that I mean that we should treat Facebook like a resume, and make sure it reflects us in a professional way.
-She said to follow the companies you want to work for on Twitter. Apparently companies are increasingly posting job listings on Twitter. You can also find out more about the culture at the company by seeing it's "tweets."
-She said it is essential to have a LinkedIn account. I didn't really know what LinkedIn is, but I definitely made an account after she suggested it. It is quite the interesting professinal tool.
-She had a similar point to her Facebook point about myspace as well.
Another suggestion she gave was to make sure we check craigslist.org for job listings. Even at Vulcan, a decently prestigious company, they use craigslist.org. It is a cheap, effective way for a company to market itself, and if a company like Vulcan is doing it I guarantee plenty of software companies are doing it. Apparently a corporate membership to sites like Monster.com costs Vulcan 20k a year. That is crazy expensive.
Anyway it was a very insightful look into how high level hiring is done. I got some good tips and some good insight that should help me when I start looking for a job after graduation.
-Caleb Benningfield
Michele works for Vulcan Inc, a company owned by Paul Allen. Her job is to find and hire people to work there. It was very interesting to here her discuss the process Vulcan goes through because it is a very exclusive company, so getting a job there is harder than the average job interview.
One thing she talked about that was particularly interesting was her suggestion to market yourself on social networks. I thought Facebook was more just a means to check and make sure your potential employee isn't a nutjob. Michele however suggested a few strategies to finding and getting a job.
-She said to market yourself on Facebook. By that I mean that we should treat Facebook like a resume, and make sure it reflects us in a professional way.
-She said to follow the companies you want to work for on Twitter. Apparently companies are increasingly posting job listings on Twitter. You can also find out more about the culture at the company by seeing it's "tweets."
-She said it is essential to have a LinkedIn account. I didn't really know what LinkedIn is, but I definitely made an account after she suggested it. It is quite the interesting professinal tool.
-She had a similar point to her Facebook point about myspace as well.
Another suggestion she gave was to make sure we check craigslist.org for job listings. Even at Vulcan, a decently prestigious company, they use craigslist.org. It is a cheap, effective way for a company to market itself, and if a company like Vulcan is doing it I guarantee plenty of software companies are doing it. Apparently a corporate membership to sites like Monster.com costs Vulcan 20k a year. That is crazy expensive.
Anyway it was a very insightful look into how high level hiring is done. I got some good tips and some good insight that should help me when I start looking for a job after graduation.
-Caleb Benningfield
Wednesday, March 3, 2010
A Visit from Derek Young
Monday in our class, Entrepreneur Derek Young came to talk to us.
Derek Young is what people might call a "serial entrepreneur". He specializes in web-based companies and has a series of businesses designed to foster business growth and general interest in Tacoma. His site exit133.com is a web-zine of sorts that features events and news based around Tacoma. He also founded Suite 133, which is business space that people can rent to work out of when they want to start a company, or have a company that is small enough to not need it's own full time business space.
One of his newest ventures is Seasonal View, a company made of him and other experienced individuals that basically contract to large companies to help them organize or develop call centers.
His presentation was cool because he shares certain ideals with me. For example, he wants to engineer his career so that he can go anywhere and do anything and still be able to work. That has always been one of my goals, and it's interesting to see someone actually beginning to make that happen.
Derek was a wealth of information and it was great to have him.
EDIT: I think I've asked 5 questions total.
Derek Young is what people might call a "serial entrepreneur". He specializes in web-based companies and has a series of businesses designed to foster business growth and general interest in Tacoma. His site exit133.com is a web-zine of sorts that features events and news based around Tacoma. He also founded Suite 133, which is business space that people can rent to work out of when they want to start a company, or have a company that is small enough to not need it's own full time business space.
One of his newest ventures is Seasonal View, a company made of him and other experienced individuals that basically contract to large companies to help them organize or develop call centers.
His presentation was cool because he shares certain ideals with me. For example, he wants to engineer his career so that he can go anywhere and do anything and still be able to work. That has always been one of my goals, and it's interesting to see someone actually beginning to make that happen.
Derek was a wealth of information and it was great to have him.
EDIT: I think I've asked 5 questions total.
Monday, March 1, 2010
A Visit from Bruce Kendall
The lights went dim and a cloud of steam rolled across the floor. The door burst open from behind us and a flood of light filled the room. The anticipation of the crowd rose. A silhouette disrupts the glow from the door, Bruce Kendal struts in with his six-shooter and a lit cigar. The lives of the people were never the same again...
..or at least that's how I remember it.
Bruce Kendall came into our class last time we met to talk about his work for the Economic Development Board for Tacoma-Pierce County. It was interesting to listen to him talk about his work because I didn't know organizations like this exist. Basically the EDB looks at Tacoma as an economic garden and they are the gardener. Their job is to decide what part of the garden needs the most help, then fertilize it (with money) and help it grow. Their ultimate goal is to make Tacoma a gigantic garden that wins awards and stuff... ...yeah the analogy is falling apart pretty bad so I'll move on.
His presentation really made me want to open a business downtown, or at least buy a condo. He showed how Tacoma has evolved and how all of these major elements are bringing in growth and commerce from around the world. If I were to open a business now, then as the city becomes bigger and better it would bring more and more people to my store front. Potentially 20 years from now I would have one of the better pieces of business real estate in Washington.
He also invited us to a conference towards the end of March that I am going to try to go to. His presentation really sparked my interest and I would love to hear more about the efforts being made to improve pierce county economically.
..or at least that's how I remember it.
Bruce Kendall came into our class last time we met to talk about his work for the Economic Development Board for Tacoma-Pierce County. It was interesting to listen to him talk about his work because I didn't know organizations like this exist. Basically the EDB looks at Tacoma as an economic garden and they are the gardener. Their job is to decide what part of the garden needs the most help, then fertilize it (with money) and help it grow. Their ultimate goal is to make Tacoma a gigantic garden that wins awards and stuff... ...yeah the analogy is falling apart pretty bad so I'll move on.
His presentation really made me want to open a business downtown, or at least buy a condo. He showed how Tacoma has evolved and how all of these major elements are bringing in growth and commerce from around the world. If I were to open a business now, then as the city becomes bigger and better it would bring more and more people to my store front. Potentially 20 years from now I would have one of the better pieces of business real estate in Washington.
He also invited us to a conference towards the end of March that I am going to try to go to. His presentation really sparked my interest and I would love to hear more about the efforts being made to improve pierce county economically.
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