Monday, February 22, 2010

Psychometric Assessment - Track Record - Merit Solutions


Psychometric Assessment

Merit Solutions has applied the PAPI assessment tool to a number of senior selection processes in both State and Local Government agencies.  These assessments have assisted to refine selection strategies and added significantly to the panels’ insight into applicants, particularly when fields are competitive and identifying the best fit for a new culture is a critical requirement.  In administering the PAPI assessments we provide personalised feedback to both applicants and selection panels and have then been able to suggest development options for the successful candidates, based on the outcomes of this more intensive assessment.
Merit Solutions Australia offers psychometric assessment on a worldwide basis for use in selection and recruitment exercises or for personal development programs.  Feedback to applicants/staff and selection/assessment center panels can be face-to-face or via phone or Skype (for overseas).

NOTE: This is an example of the use of Posterous to promote a small business.  The post is derived via the screen capture bookmarklet provided by Posterous.


Related post:

How to Use Posterous for Leverage

*********************************************
Ron Passfield is a Top 100 Squidoo Lensmaster and
Giant Squid100. He provides free resources
for Squidoo marketing on his Squidoo authority
site:
http://www.squidoo.com/squidoomarketingstrategies

To learn more about Squidoo Affiliate Marketing
check out:
http://www.squidooaffiliatemarketing.com

Subscribe to Ron's free Squidoo Marketing e-course:
http://www.smsecourse.squidoomarketingstrategies.com/

Ron is the author of the e-Book:
Squidoo Marketing Strategies

*********************************************  

Saturday, February 20, 2010

Squidoo Lens Design: Torah Bright, Olympics Gold Medal Winner, Snowboarding







Here I am following the framework I developed for Squidoo lens design:
7 Top Strategies for Lens Creation.

1. Purpose of the Squidoo Lens

I developed this lens to acknowledge the achievement
of Torah Bright in winning the Gold Medal for the Women's
Halfpipe at the 2010 Winter Olympics (18 February).

2. Concept of the Squidoo Lens

I wanted to communicate what Torah achieved against
all odds - her tenacity, courage and determination.
I also wished to display her disarming smile, her
strength of character and her down-to-earth nature.
I particularly wanted to show that Torah's win
was not a case of instant success - she has a long
track record of achieving at the highest levels.

3. Lens Design to Meet Concept and Purpose

I was aware of the considerable media coverage of
Torah's Gold Medal win and I wanted to build my lens
quickly to capitalize on the "buzz".  So I chose the
SquidWho Lens Template.  The beauty of this template
is that Squidoo creates a lot of the lens for you.  You enter
the name of the person who is the focus of your lens and
Squidoo gathers relevant information into modules drawing
on Twitter feeds, Yahoo news, YouTube, Flickr, Wikipedia
and other sources.  In other words, Squidoo does a lot of the
research for you.  You can also do a SquidWho lens about
yourself (as an autobiography or e-portfolio) as I have
done here:
http://www.squidoo.com/ron-passfield


4. Keyword Research

I undertook keyword research for my tags by using the
Google Adwords Keyword Tool. This tool provided plenty
of keywords that I could use. I will be using the
long tail keywords throughout the lens in module titles,
sub-headings and module text. I've printed out the results
for easy reference so I can regularly update the lens with
new tags.

5. Develop Content

As I mentioned in (3) above, Squidoo generated a lot of
the content by searching the Internet, locating materials
and creating relevant modules.  I re-organized the material,
used some of it to search further (e.g. specific news reports,
additional YouTube videos, Torah's own website, Flickr
photos).  I also added an Amazon module (would you believe
there are Torah Bright products?), "What Do You Love
About Torah?" poll module and Google Blog & News modules.
It's fascinating to watch these updates along with the updates
from the Twitter feed (every 5 minutes or so at the moment).

6. Source Images

I only located one "Creative Commons License" photo on
Flickr - the Flag Bearing Image.  I will have to keep my
eyes out for more as they are posted.  Most Torah photos
are taken by professionals and are on a restricted use
basis.  I could get around this by writing to Torah and
requesting the use of photos from her website.  I have
found in the past that a direct request works wonders.
For example, this lens was created with the explicit
permission (and gratitude) of the photographer:
http://www.squidoo.com/barbarajh-maroochydore


7. Revisit, Refine, Link and Promote

I will need to update this lens regularly from the many
sources that are currently available.  I particularly want
to create a couple of modules to highlight Torah's track
record, leading up to the Olympics. This will require a bit of
HTML and CSS script to create some color and variety in
presentation.  I'll also use the SnagIt program for
some screen capture material.

Key Lessons:  The SquidWho Lens Template
is a powerful way to very quickly create an informative lens
and capitalize on the buzz surrounding a public figure (artist,
singer, athlete etc.).   A heap of material is provided for
you via the lens template. All you need to do is to organize
it and add some further research drawing on the sources
provided by Squidoo through the lens creation process.
A possible application of this would be to create a fan
lens when one of your favorite performers is visiting
your town or country.

Related Posts:

Squidoo Lens Design - Merit Solutions Australia
Top 7 Steps for Squidoo Lens Design
Long Tail Keywords and Deep Indexing of Squidoo Lenses
Squidoo Lens Design - Tropical Rainforest
Create a Squidoo Lens Ring

*********************************************
Ron Passfield is a Top 100 Squidoo Lensmaster and
Giant Squid100. He provides free resources
for Squidoo marketing on his Squidoo authority
site:
http://www.squidoo.com/squidoomarketingstrategies

To learn more about Squidoo Affiliate Marketing
check out:
http://www.squidooaffiliatemarketing.com

Subscribe to Ron's free Squidoo Marketing e-course:
http://www.smsecourse.squidoomarketingstrategies.com/

Ron is the author of the e-Book:
Squidoo Marketing Strategies

*********************************************






SquidooRoo is coming - 6 month social media marketing course 


Animoto - Instant Music Videos

Thursday, February 04, 2010

Beat procrastination with productivity

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Podcast recorded on my iPhone via AudioBoo. Explains how I have implemented my New Year's Resolution to improve my productivity and overcome the tyranny of e-mail.

Posted via web from Ronpass posterous

Sunday, January 31, 2010

AudioBoo / Posterous.com

Bulimba, QLD, Australia

My Podcast at AudioBoo where I discuss Posterous.com and its many applications.

Posted via web from Ronpass posterous

Tuesday, January 26, 2010

Turn your holiday photos into music videos

I have just returned from a great week's holiday at Mooloolaba
Beach.

We were treated to perfect weather in this idyllic holiday
location on the Sunshine Coast in Queensland (about
1 1/2 hours drive from Brisbane).

Mooloolaba is noted for its surfing, restaurants and accommodation.

Here's the video I created from photos I took over the week.

I took about 200 photos and selected about 60 to create this
3 minute music video using Animoto.



I have also created a Squidoo lens where I explain the easy process
of converting your own holiday pictures to video:

http://www.squidoo.com/promovideo

****************************

Related Posts:

Steps to create animated music videos from your holiday photos

Squidoo: Animoto for Fun and Profit

*********************************************
Ron Passfield is a Top 100 Squidoo Lensmaster and
Giant Squid100. He provides free resources
for Squidoo marketing on his Squidoo authority
site:
http://www.squidoo.com/squidoomarketingstrategies

To learn more about Squidoo Affiliate Marketing
check out:
http://www.squidooaffiliatemarketing.com

Subscribe to Ron's free Squidoo Marketing e-course:
http://www.smsecourse.squidoomarketingstrategies.com/

Ron is the author of the e-Book:
Squidoo Marketing Strategies

*********************************************


Animoto - Instant Music Videos

Wednesday, January 13, 2010

"I just updated my Squidoo lens"...so what!



Well the "so what" is a natural
reaction when people see this
comment on Twitter for the
hundredth or thousandth time.




The same applies to the comment, "I'm reading [lens]".

These are the default settings when you use the Squidoo facility
to tweet about Squidoo actions.

It's important to make the most of each tweet and make it meaningful.

Ways to do this are to:
  1. advise readers of the content of a recently updated lens
  2. highlight a new feature, post or module
  3. explain the use of a special module
  4. show how you have used a newly released module
  5. comment on a guestbook post
  6. advise of an award for the lens (e.g. Purple Star)
  7. mention a significant lensrank change
  8. highlight an increase in traffic for the lens
  9. mention a newly added module.
Here's some examples of what I have posted lately
on Twitter instead of using the standard tweet,
"I've updated [my Squidoo lens]":

Squidoo training: how to add modules, analyze traffic
and promote affiliate products:
http://tinyurl.com/ykx9gzq

Cupcake recipes and designs - the cupcake
company Brisbane:
http://tinyurl.com/dcu6xe

I've used the screen capture program, SnagIt, to add
screen shots to my Squidoo training lens:
http://bit.ly/7UysXR

My Squidoo lens on cupcakes has had 6,900 visitors
since its creation in June 2008 (without active promotion):
http://bit.ly/5XxlHF

SEO? - 650 different keywords used on Google
(over 3 months) to locate this tropical rainforest
Squidoo lens:
http://bit.ly/6r33ua



*********************************************
Ron Passfield is a Top 100 Squidoo Lensmaster and
Giant Squid100. He provides free resources
for Squidoo marketing on his Squidoo authority
site:
http://www.squidoo.com/squidoomarketingstrategies

To learn more about Squidoo Affiliate Marketing
check out:
http://www.squidooaffiliatemarketing.com

Subscribe to Ron's free Squidoo Marketing e-course:
http://www.smsecourse.squidoomarketingstrategies.com/

Ron is the author of the e-Book:
Squidoo Marketing Strategies

*********************************************


Saturday, January 09, 2010

Create animated music videos from your holiday photos

Well now that I am in my holiday break, I decided that I would
re-visit some of the digital photos I had taken during the year
and turn them into videos.

I told myself, "This is not work - it's too much fun, and it is!"

I get great satisfaction from turning my digital photos into
animated music videos.  I like the professional image of the
the finished product and the video gives me new perspectives
and nostalgic memories.  It's a good way to record a peaceful
experience that you can re-visit in times of stress.

Well, here's my latest effort which is based on a weekend visit
to the mountain village, Montville, on the Sunshine Coast,
Queensland:



This animated music video was produced with the
Animoto video creation program.

These videos are very simple to produce and very easy
to-remix to create multiple versions of the same video.

The simple recipe is:
Upload photos, add music and press button for "create"

Animoto uses the latest in cinematography to create a video from
your digital photos.  So you end up with a professional looking
animated music video that you can be proud of.

...and the cost?

Animoto is free if you just want to create 30 second videos -
and you can create as many of these short movies as you want
at no cost.  [By way of example of video duration, the above
video is 3 minutes long and took 60 photos to make.]

If you want to create an unlimited number of movies of unlimited
length you can get an All-Access Pass which at the time of writing
costs $30 per year.  The All-Access Pass also gives you access
to Animoto's music library for adding music to your video and
can be obtained at the discount price of $25
through the link below:
http://animoto.com/?ref=tzolcekr

If you want to use the created videos purely for commercial
purposes there are three monthly and annual business rates
as well. 

...and the downside?

It takes a while to upload the photos to Animoto (particularly if
you have 60 to upload).  Animoto offers suggestions to speed up
the process however.  What I do is go off and do something
else while the uploading is happening - clear out my email,
edit my Squidoo lenses, write a blog post, etc.  When you
finish, one time benefit is that you can upload your new video
directly to YouTube ...and this is fast!

Since I travel a lot throughout Queensland conducting manager
development programs, I have been in the habit of taking my
camera with me and taking photos of the towns I visit.  I now
have a nice stock of photos to turn into videos and/or to
use as images to add to my Squidoo lenses.

[Note for teachers : if you are a teacher, imagine how much fun
your students could have creating and re-mixing movies? -
what a great way  to teach geography or any other subject for
that matter. Gen "Y" appears to me as the "re-mix" age.]

After that aside, I'm off to create some more videos from my
digital photos with Animoto.  BUT, I can't decide whether
my next one will be Surfers Paradise (at twilight), Stradbroke
Island, Noosaville, Mooloolaba Beach or Townsville on the
north coast!!

What a problem to have!  This is the most fun affiliate
program I have ever had the pleasure to promote.

If you want to see some of the Animoto videos I have created
to get some ideas, pop on over to my lens:
http://www.squidoo.com/promovideo

Related Post:
Squidoo: Animoto for Fun and Profit

*********************************************
Ron Passfield is a Top 100 Squidoo Lensmaster and
Giant Squid100. He provides free resources
for Squidoo marketing on his Squidoo authority
site:
http://www.squidoo.com/squidoomarketingstrategies

To learn more about Squidoo Affiliate Marketing
check out:
http://www.squidooaffiliatemarketing.com

Subscribe to Ron's free Squidoo Marketing e-course:
http://www.smsecourse.squidoomarketingstrategies.com/

Ron is the author of the e-Book:
Squidoo Marketing Strategies

*********************************************


Animoto - Instant Music Videos