Archive for the ‘Connections’ Category
5 Tips for Campaigning
I have been at the State Leadership Conference for FBLA these last three days and one of my major “things to do” was campaigning for District Vice President! I was successful albeit I was the only one running but I learned many things that I thought I’d share.
- Don’t waste your time- This is a major one because at a 3-day event, time is of the essence. After I set up my booth at the campaigning room, I would stand by it when no one else was around. I thought this was the thing we were “supposed” to be doing or maybe someone in charge would come around and wonder where I was but both were wrong. I wasted time trying to do the right thing when I could have competed in more events and network with more people and then come to my booth during busy hours. Instead time passed under my boredom.
- Act fast, Act first- Whether it’s when you’re campaigning, talking to someone, or eyeing that cute girl you want to dance with across the room, you got to act fast and act first. There is no right time for anything but there are wrong times and that’s when you are too late. Either the opportunity will be gone or taken away and you will never know what could have came out of it if you had just toughened up to go and do it. In most cases just think about it this way, you’re going to be doing it anyways so might as well do it early and get it over with.
- Find minions- In other words, delegate your tasks. Every great boss knows this and does this well. Every unsuccessful boss has this mentality that “nobody else can do things as well as I” which leads to overworking and bombing. Learn to rely on your friends to do things when you can’t or to make your work faster. I had many friends represent me at my booth while I did other tasks which helped a lot.
- Network, network, network- You have probably heard this at every other blog you’ve read but it is still true. You meet amazing people at events or conferences and some of those people can come in very handy or lifelong friends. More connections open yourself to more opportunities so definitely take the initiative and talk to people. I’ve realized that people really don’t mind because they are looking forward to meeting new people too so taking the initiative only makes things quicker.
- Learn names- You get an awesome sense of a personal bond when you actually greet someone with their name. You come to learn someone’s name when they see it or from a peek at their nametag but learn to immediately memorize it if you feel this is a friend you will come back to. As Vice President, names are a must for me especially of board of trustee members and other important adults.
Are you keeping things too private?
In today’s growing “social” world where websites like Facebook, Flickr, Last.fm, Twitter, Wikipedia, and now Friendfeed all encourage this thing called “sharing”, should we be more focused on keeping things private or encourage sharing and the collaboration of minds?
One could argue that for startups, there is the need for privacy and to not let their “sacred ideas” get out before they get a chance to make something of it. So-called as going into stealth mode, founders try to keep as much as possible on the downlow until launch and boom from there. But this would also mean not getting other people’s view on things and being very selfish over things.
Recently I took my SAT and did pretty well (2330) so came the onslaught of “Ooh whatdya get’s?” from my friends. But no matter what I got I would have told them without embarrassment. Some of my friends on the other hand, refuse to reveal their elusive score in fear of criticism or who knows what. If they did bad, I would understand not telling the score and I instantly know it from the expression on their face so its ok.
But some cases, geniuses usually, choose not to say anything after “Ooh whatdya get?” probably in fear of competition. I know how their mind works, if they reveal what they got then I would know and if its better then I would take the test again and try to do better. Or if its worse then I can wallow inside on the sense that I did better. Or maybe they just don’t want to reveal how smart they are even though everyone probably knows they got a perfect score. Wrong, wrong and wrong, keeping it to themselves is just being selfish and conceited cause they don’t want others to do better themselves. In my case, I would never express any of the aforementioned reactions cause I honestly do want all my friends to do better and go to great colleges with me.
So I say embrace the idea of sharing and collaborating, the web sure has. Using tools like wiki’s makes things easier than ever. Of course you won’t want to reveal that super master plan for success to others but the basic ideas and concept should be out on the open market. A great example is Jessica Mah using a wiki last week to collaborate ideas for a speech she was presenting. She got the opinions of many others that crafted an even better speech.
I’m willing to bet the future will hold a lot more of this idea of sharing.
~Kevin Xu
Photo courtesy of photoai
GoCrossCampus― Bringing Risk Online
Remember the traditional board game you used to play with your friends on bored weekends? Well a couple of guys from Yale and a guy from Columbia want to bring that same intense territory-conquering battle to the web, to your campus, dorm vs dorm. Meet GoCrossCampus (GXC).
This has created a huge stir across campuses as dorms get to make secret alliances and betrayals to battle for supremacy! All in the sake for bragging rights, exactly what college students love.
The game has recently hit the NYT and Techcrunch providing substantial coverage for an otherwise unheard of game beyond the college campus. They hope to expand their user base to even more universities and even large corporations for office vs office type battles. According to the NYT, it seems that Google has taken quite an interest. I hope they find their way to my high school next!
In my opinion, they have done all the right steps so far growing what was an idea into a full-fledged startup. Not many ideas have become more than an idea in a college dorm room (not everyone can be a Facebook) but GXC shows a lot of promise.
The one thing I always wished to see more of with Web 2.0 was integration with the real world. I always viewed the internet as the next “New World”, kinda how America used to be viewed with limitless possibilities, but we still need direct interaction in our current world. GXC involves optional planned meetups to elect commanders and spies for even more fun which is exactly what I wanted to happen. I bet this can be expanded for even greater depth!
GXC even emailed me and we chatted about ideas and such. Who knows, this might possibly turn into something. I’ll keep you guys updated.
So everyone go sign up! You don’t have to be affiliated with any colleges to play some games like the GoCrossPoliticalBash. Go Colbert! =D
~Kevin Xu
Hello San Francisco!
Tomorrow I’m flying to California for a week-long super vacation extravaganza!
Basically I want to check out the startup culture and visit some colleges. I view San Francisco as a city full of wonderful opportunities for a young lad like me. Just by meeting the right people and making the right connections can get me really far in my dream.
First up I’ll be in Los Angeles from the 16th to the 18th. There will be a Super Smash Brothers Brawl tourney that I hope to get in. Only first 256 people though, let’s see how clever I am.
Then I hit the road and off to San Francisco from the 19th through the 22nd. I will be visiting Stanford on the 21st but other than that I will just be around the area just basking in the culture. I don’t think any big companies like Google or Apple will just let me talk to someone if I go into HQ. But I sure will try to take lots of pictures in front of those company logos!
I’ll also be sure to blog anything worth mentioning here. California has great wi-fi spots =D
So if anyone is in those areas, I will be more than happy to meet up with anyone! Just send an email or leave a comment. Aaron Stanton from CanGoogleHearMe actually offered to have lunch with me after reading my last post. He hasn’t replied back to my email but here’s me hoping for the best.
~Kevin Xu
Box.net- Great Concept, Bad Pitch
Last week Brian, an intern working at box.net emailed me the following email:
My name is Brian, I’m an intern working at Box.net.
I saw your blog post about firefox add-on, and wanted to let you know Box just made one that backs up and synchronizes your bookmarks.https://addons.mozilla.org/en-US/firefox/addon/5525 Its very simple, you can set it to auto update you bookmarks so they are
synchronized wherever you go, or you can manually backup and restore
bookmarks. The bookmarks are then stored on Box.net, and can be access
anywhere.I thought I would write to let you know, in case you were interested in
writing about it on your blog, and had any questions.Thanks,
Please let me know if you have any suggestions for how to improve it!
Sincerely,
Brian
The first thing that caught my eye was that I had never written a post about a Firefox add-on.
Ever.
So why was Brian informing me I did and then trying to promote his company Box.net?
Can You Hear Us Yet?
Welcome old and new readers to the brand new Can The World Hear Me blog! We are pleased to unveil our new website on our very own domain and new server. So update those bookmarks and those RSS feeds!
Its been a painstakingly long week as Josh tried to balance schoolwork during the day and code well into the night but he did it and this is the final product. We were only able to make the big move because of the awesome Jessica Mah who is providing us with free hosting. This is what I mean by a random act of kindness as it was a truly kind act to host our new website as it opens up a whole new world for us to venture forth. Our goals and our dreams have been revitalized by one kind act.
So what do you all think of the new theme? Is the blue color scheme working? Does it look professional? What about the logo? Any and all feedback would be wonderful.
Now think of this as just an inaugural post because there are many more great posts to come. Kevin has been itching to write more and more and the ideas just kept on coming. We are going to keep a whole new focus as to actually generate a possible idea that will turn into something. The world is currently in a technological revolution and we want to be a part of it. We are still two teens that want their names to be known so with that relaunches Can The World Hear Me. Well, can you?
~Can The World Hear Me
Age of Riches: Hedge Funds Altering MBA Goals
Article
An interesting article highlighting the growing changes that are found in the business world. Hedge funds, which had often been seen as an investment for the elite, are now being managed by a new generation of energetic men fresh from college. Many of these new college graduates entering the business are making 6 digit and 7 digit salaries.
Now it seems a transition has begun favoring those graduates with more “hands-on experience” and potential rather than those going to graduate school for their MBA. The traditional approach is being bombarded with “Why did you leave your job? What were you doing wrong that you couldn’t get a promotion… or pursue an opportunity with a private equity or hedge fund?”
No doubt the world of business is very volatile and chaotic but often offers rewards beyond some of our wildest dreams. But there is a dramatic change that is reshaping the world of hedge fund investments. MBA’s are gradually falling out of place as hedge funds are favoring those who have already begun. It is noted that many seeking an MBA are from different backgrounds or those switching out of other careers, a trait that disfavors you in the business world.
Which leaves us with the awkward question: for those of us who truly want to aspire to great things, should we take a detour off of the main road? As we yearn for the world to hear us, will the normal approach of education, college, and work… work?
-Kevin Z
Connecting the human lifelines
I wish I had connections… real connections that could get me a job or bring me to amazing places or even box seats to a baseball game. But for some reason I don’t. I am a first-generation born son in America and I have to establish my own roots.
Don’t get me wrong, I love my parents and all they have done for me. They risked a lot coming here and formed their own lives pretty well as well as raised a great family. But maybe it is because of the area I live in that makes me feel like I wish I knew more important people. I am surrounded by other kids with parents as doctors, researchers, and even millionaires. And then they gain more friends and favors and I feel more out of the loop. Of course I would be jealous sometimes but there’s nothing I can really do about it so I tend not to care. But maybe this is why I try so hard to make a name for myself. Since I don’t have a legacy to follow I will create my own.
It’s no one’s fault that I am where I am today. It was simply a stroke of luck that I was even raised in a ‘normal’ standard of living. But whenever I hear of other people meeting extraordinary people or going to extravagant places simply because of a connection, I wish I had that. So I decided to put matters into my own hands and try to become someone important. If there was any opportunity to go somewhere or do something out of the ordinary, I would take it and hope for the best. I take every opportunity as a chance for great things to happen so this is what this blog has become. A chance for great things to happen.
I tend to get overly ecstatic whenever I meet anyone I consider famous. This can be anyone from a CEO to a famous blogger! I consider them famous because they have the power to influence a large amount of people just by doing something they love. I only shook hands with the CEO of Zinch and didn’t even know he was that big of a deal at the time! And I only talked to 17 year-old entrepreneur/college sophomore Jessica Mah on Gtalk but that makes me feel important. Even though I know she’s just another teenager, I treat every conversation with her special because what she wrote has affected so many other people including me. She was basically the person who sparked my interest in starting a blog thus the creation of CanTheWorldHearMe.
Maybe one day people will find me again and think “Oh I used to know that kid!” Or maybe I do have connections and I’m just being greedy. Maybe I’ll fail at making a legacy and all my efforts were a waste. Or maybe I’m just thinking too much. Well always expect the unexpected…
~Kevin X