President Obama to Host Online Town Hall Meeting on LinkedIn Network

We encourage all 'villagers' to mark their calendars for the online town hall meeting with President Barack Obama on LinkedIn Network on Monday, September 26th. This continues a policy of open engagement by the president via social networking channels such as Facebook and Twitter.

Obama will answer questions about jobs and the economy that are posted in LinkedIn Network through their group called, Putting America Back to Work.

The exact time for the event hasn't been announced yet. We do know that the town hall will be broadcast live on both LinkedIn Network and the White House website.

The BDPA Insider - July 20, 2010

BDPA Webinar: Job Seekers: Tips for success in your IT career search

Friday July 23, 2010 12:00 PM Eastern

This 30-minute webinar is designed to help BDPA members and jobseekers maximize their exposure and chances of success with BDPA sponsors currently hiring IT professionals nationwide. The BDPA Talent Management System currently has 65 career opportunities ... the most recent was posted yesterday by Prudential Finance.

Presented by: Portia Westbrooks
National BDPA Career Center Director

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Mastering LinkedIn: Advanced Techniques and Insider Secrets (Keith Warrick)

There will be over 50 workshops at the 32nd annual BDPA Technology Conference in Philadelphia later this month. Keith Warrick will be a presenter at two of them ... including one entitled, 'Mastering LinkedIn: Advanced Techniques and Insider Secrets'.

This workshop is designed to enhance the LinkedIn user experience of current users by taking it to the next level through the introduction of advanced features and techniques designed to get the maximum value out of using LinkedIn. LinkedIn is a professional social networking site that has grown in popularity since starting up in 2003.

Click here to read the full article.

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BDPA IT Showcase: Production Planning Tools (Jessye Bemley, North Carolina A&T State University)

IBM and Eli Lilly and Company are sponsoring the 2010 BDPA IT Showcase. It provides them with an opportunity to see some of the most powerful African American high school and college students. The young people in the IT Showcase have potential to become Ph.D candidates in the hard sciences.

Jessye Bemley was a senior attending North Carolina A&T State University when she competed in the 2008 BDPA IT Showcase. She was finishing course work for her Bachelor’s Degree in Industrial Engineering. On-campus she is active in the North Carolina A&T Fellowship Gospel Choir, National Society of Black Engineers (NSBE) and Institute of Industrial Engineers (IIE).

Click here to read the full article.

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Call to Action - US Military Readers Poll - Tell Us Your Story

You've served your country in the US Military and now you're serving your country in BDPA. Got a story to tell about the US military and BDPA? We're asking all military veterans to answer the question:

• What did you learn leadership and technology by serving your country in the US Military and how have you applied what you've learned to do great things in BDPA?

Send your responses to the BDPA Social Networking Team via email socialnetworking@bdpa.org.

Read more:
BDPA in the News (military)

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Please accept our invitation to join us in the City of Brotherly Love by registering for the 32nd Annual National BDPA Conference, July 28 – 31, 2010 at the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown, Philadelphia, PA.

Hotel Rooms Are Now Going Fast: Please Book Now!!!
Reserve your room today by contacting the Philadelphia Marriott Downtown at 1-800-266-9432 and ask for the BDPA (Black Data Processing Associates) rate or register online.

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This message has been brought to you by the BDPA Social Networking Team. 

Contact our Social Networking Team - socialnetworking@bdpa.org

PS: Please share this information with your friends, co-workers, church members, etc so that they can help us pass the word. The key is that we must share what we know with others so we can all grow and prosper.

LinkedIn or Not?

UPDATE: I reached my 1,500th connection earlier this weekend. I have 3rd degree of separation with over 6,870,900 professionals around the world via the LinkedIn Network!

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I must have been invited to join LinkedIn Network a gazillion times over the past few years. I never joined it ... just as I don't have an account on MySpace or YouTube. However, a few weeks ago I saw that a brother that I truly respect was on the LinkedIn Network ... so I finally took a moment to join it. Click here to see my LinkedIn Network profile.

I have to admit that I was pleasantly surprised by the professionalism and grown-folks nature of the service. It is not a gossip place. It appears to be a place for serious networking. I've used it to re-connect with some of my buddies from my undergraduate days at UC Riverside. I also used it to get an answer to a question about migrating from my Outlook calendar to the Google calendar. I received six legit answers to that question within about three hours.

I'm still trying to learn how to best use the system. I would be very interested in any ideas or thoughts that you might have on the LinkedIn Network. A colleague pointed out that there was an excellent story on the founder of the network in CNNMoney.com recently.

I will probably try to use the network to promote projects or programs that I'm involved in. Currently, I'm using the complimentary ('free') parts of the network. There are regular reminders that I can upgrade my account on LinkedIn Network. Since there are few advertisements or pop-ups or banner ads ... I imagine that upgrades from subscribers to the network is a big part of the business model. I haven't seen a reason to upgrade yet. If you can share your thoughts on upgrading ... that would be appreciated.

Addendum: My LinkedIn Profile is http://www.linkedin.com/in/waynehicks

Here is update on my network connections over the course of time:

• 5/26/2008 - 1,500 connections (created groups for BDPA, CBI & The AfroSpear)
• 3/23/2008 - 1,400 connections (added many AfroSpear bloggers in past month)
• 2/14/2008 - 1,300 connections (connecting with BDPA program meeting speakers)
• 12/17/2007 - 1,200 connections (actively looking for BDPA, BETF and CBI contacts)
• 6/24/2007 - 900 connections (still rolling in from my personal Outlook contact list)
• 6/19/2007 - 800 connections (invited many in my personal Outlook contact list)
• 3/12/2007 - 600 connections (worked http://www.mybloglog.com/ hard in past week)
• 3/4/2007 - 500 connections (joined LinkedInAfricanAmericans YG)
• 2/20/2007 -400 connections (joined My LinkedIn Power Forum, MLPF)
• 2/14/2007 - 300 connections (many of them from around the globe)
• 2/13/2007 - 200 connections (most are my personal contacts in IT industry)
• 1/28/2007 - 1 connection (joined connection today)

Are you LinkedIn yet? If so, would you care to share any tips or famous folks in your network?

Undocumented Ways to Use LinkedIn Network

Villagers, many of you know that I've been using LinkedIn Network for the past year or so. It is amazing to me that there are still professionals who are not taking advantage of this online tool.

I currently have over 1,477 direct connections with access to over 6,645,500 people through my LinkedIn Network.

Anyhow, I recently listened to a podcast with Dave Millman. He is an MIT graduate and former Director of Marketing at IBM. His present role is Vice President of Marketing at CiraNova, a software company located in San Francisco’s Bay Area in California, servicing the semiconductor industry.

I encourage you to listen to his views on ways to use LinkedIn to deliver business benefit. Are you a LinkedIn user?

LinkedIn Brothers & Sisters

I accepted duty as a moderator for a new YahooGroup called LinkedIn African Americans. LinkedIn African Americans is a professional discussion and networking group for LinkedIn African Americans or for those looking to do business with us. LinkedIn African Americans is a moderated forum so once you are a member you won't have to worry about spam.

It is our intention to have a good, rich conversation and even a bit of fun in networking with other LinkedIn African American professionals. Click here to see my profile. Part of the issue in our community is lack of unity. Perhaps if we systemically improve our ability to network with one another we can also improve our chance of finding 'common ground' on any number of issues.

Those that know me realize that I believe that economic empowerment is the best likelihood for the uplifting of our people. Networking in forums such as LinkedIn provide foundation for the spirit of Ujamaa to permeate us. Let's take advantage of cyberspace for the positive movement of ourselves, our families, our community and our people.

Have you made the move to the LinkedIn Network? If not, perhaps now is the time!