KMC On Demand, a leading provider of e-Learning and Online CE credits to the insurance adjusting industry, recently announced a partnership with I-CAR to deliver the organization's auto collision repair courses online. Colm Keenan, KMC's VP of Knowledge Management, is enthusiastic about combining the capabilities of the two organizations. “This collaboration brings together two industry leaders to seamlessly integrate the e-learning capabilities of KMC On Demand and the training expertise of I-CAR,” said Keenan.
Currently, I-CAR delivers the majority of its auto collision repair and training courses in the classroom, with only a few classes available on the web. In recent years, the organization has seen an increase in the demand for online training. KMC's e-Learning technology will enable I-CAR to "respond to this industry need and greatly expand the access to I-CAR training for all industry segments," according to John Edelen, President and CEO of I-CAR.
For more detailed information about the partnership, click here.
Thursday, March 25, 2010
Tuesday, March 9, 2010
What Will They Think of ME?
I recently attended a funeral for a man that I have known for about 16 years. I didn’t know him very well. His daughter married into our family, so I knew him through casual conversation at birthday parties and Christmas gatherings.
He had one of those way over-the-top personalities. You know the type; silly, boisterous, center of attention, rude – but in a very humorous way. He often broke into a goofy song, especially if he could embarrass someone while doing it. He was always happy to see you, but pretended not to remember your name, and maybe called you Agnes for the remainder of the 2 year old birthday party…..you get the idea.
This man had been an educator, a high school band director. There were past students that came back into his life during the last few weeks of his life; an employee at the hospital, a lawyer, a nurse at Hospice, and they lined up out the door at his visitation. But what really struck me, and caused one of those “ah-ha moments”, was the number of teachers and co-workers that came to pay tribute to him.
Two eulogies were given at the funeral, both by teachers that had worked with this man for many years and had become the best of friends. They told stories of when his zany personality had gotten the best of someone, explained how this man had changed the way children receive music education, and shed tears as they bid him farewell. At the luncheon following the service people were invited to stand up and share their favorite story about him. We heard stories from teachers, the school secretary, principals, music teachers from districts around the state, school district officials…even the Home Ec. teacher! Each had at least one, and often several, funny stories to share with the group. The school secretary knew he would over spend his budget every year…for 39 years. The quiet little orchestra teacher once opened a storage closet to get a music book, as she opened the door, he stepped out, handed her the book, and told her to have a nice day. This was a prank he pulled on several teachers throughout the building; imagine the heart attacks that could have resulted! One nice lady was in the teacher’s lounge alone trying to take a five minute break with a cup of coffee, and was terrified when something grabbed her ankle under the table…yep, you guessed it! It was him. Then there was the “trip while carrying a cup of coffee” trick that he had evidently pulled about a hundred times…..
Every one of those people remembered this man with a smile. He left a mark professionally; earning countless awards, and being credited for making music education a priority in his district. But he also made a positive impact on everyone he worked with, and they cared enough to come and share the impact he made.
Kinda made me wonder…..what will people remember of me when I’m gone? What kind of impact do I have on those that I work with? Will they smile when they remember me?
This man, that I really didn’t know very well, has shown me the relevance of my actions…both professionally and personally. He has set the bar pretty high. But I think every one of us has the ability to impact those around us in a positive way every single day. I know I will be trying a lot harder.
And now, I think I'll break into a goofy song.....
He had one of those way over-the-top personalities. You know the type; silly, boisterous, center of attention, rude – but in a very humorous way. He often broke into a goofy song, especially if he could embarrass someone while doing it. He was always happy to see you, but pretended not to remember your name, and maybe called you Agnes for the remainder of the 2 year old birthday party…..you get the idea.
This man had been an educator, a high school band director. There were past students that came back into his life during the last few weeks of his life; an employee at the hospital, a lawyer, a nurse at Hospice, and they lined up out the door at his visitation. But what really struck me, and caused one of those “ah-ha moments”, was the number of teachers and co-workers that came to pay tribute to him.
Two eulogies were given at the funeral, both by teachers that had worked with this man for many years and had become the best of friends. They told stories of when his zany personality had gotten the best of someone, explained how this man had changed the way children receive music education, and shed tears as they bid him farewell. At the luncheon following the service people were invited to stand up and share their favorite story about him. We heard stories from teachers, the school secretary, principals, music teachers from districts around the state, school district officials…even the Home Ec. teacher! Each had at least one, and often several, funny stories to share with the group. The school secretary knew he would over spend his budget every year…for 39 years. The quiet little orchestra teacher once opened a storage closet to get a music book, as she opened the door, he stepped out, handed her the book, and told her to have a nice day. This was a prank he pulled on several teachers throughout the building; imagine the heart attacks that could have resulted! One nice lady was in the teacher’s lounge alone trying to take a five minute break with a cup of coffee, and was terrified when something grabbed her ankle under the table…yep, you guessed it! It was him. Then there was the “trip while carrying a cup of coffee” trick that he had evidently pulled about a hundred times…..
Every one of those people remembered this man with a smile. He left a mark professionally; earning countless awards, and being credited for making music education a priority in his district. But he also made a positive impact on everyone he worked with, and they cared enough to come and share the impact he made.
Kinda made me wonder…..what will people remember of me when I’m gone? What kind of impact do I have on those that I work with? Will they smile when they remember me?
This man, that I really didn’t know very well, has shown me the relevance of my actions…both professionally and personally. He has set the bar pretty high. But I think every one of us has the ability to impact those around us in a positive way every single day. I know I will be trying a lot harder.
And now, I think I'll break into a goofy song.....
Friday, February 12, 2010
Super Bowl 2010
Yet another year of football has come and gone and much to our surprise the underdog came out on top. It was by far the best Super Bowl game in years. With an estimated 106.5 million viewers, the expectation of the famed million dollar commercials did not live up to the hype. Jay Leno and David Letterman being in the same room together might have caught people off guard (possibly even NBC), but how many people winced as Betty White was about to get hit playing football. Click here for a recap of all the 2010 commercials. My favorite, although not funny or too clever, was James vs Howard in the remake of the Jordan vs Bird commercials for McDonalds. What was your favorite?
Friday, January 22, 2010
We introduce to you, 1stGiG.com
We started our relationship with Al Marco and Mason Kemp last Fall as they were in the midst of starting a new venture. After over 20 years of executive search experience with the Trovato Group, they had come to the conclusion that something just wasn't right about the recruiting game.
HR professionals told them time and time again of their frustrations with finding motivated college graduates.
It’s expensive to recruit nationally and time consuming to sift through piles of resumes.
It’s disruptive to continually start, stop, and restart the recruitment process as positions become available, are filled, and open again.
That’s why 1stGiG.com is the first college undergraduate and graduate job site that’s not really a job site at all. Here, the focus is on careers.
This week, we are happy celebrate the launch of the culmination of a lot of hard work and initiative. We highly recommend that you check out the site for any career fulfillment needs your company may have.
Here is a little snap shot of how the system works:
- A matching matrix identifies compatible profiles between young career-bound talent and potential employers.
- When the “talent” accepts the match, an introduction is made with the prospective company.
- Over time, both parties make multiple connections, establish a relationship and create “opportunity pools” based on their mutual interest.
- When the right opportunity arises, the parties are prepared to move forward in the hiring process – eliminating the time-consuming process that has been the norm so far.
- The talent is charged a one-time fee of $20. This way we know the talent is serious and uphold the integrity of the system. Also, it reduces the cost to the employer so we can offer greater access to small-to-midsized companies nation-wide.
New talent and employers are added every day so follow 1stGiG.com for updates.Friday, December 4, 2009
Most Expensive T.V. Programs
In a recent survey of conducted by Advertising Age, the results show NBC’s “Sunday Night Football” ranks highest on the list at $339,700 per 30 second spot. Fox’s “American Idol” will not make its debut until 2010 and is expected to bring in between $360,000 and $490,000 per 30 second spot. Other T.V. shows such as “Two and a Half Men”, “Family Guy”, “The Simpsons” and “CSI” are also near the top. So where does the return of Jay Leno rank? Well, it is one of the cheapest new shows of the year with an average cost between $48,803 and $65,678 per spot depending on the night. Click here to read about other prime time TV hits.
Monday, November 30, 2009
Snazzy Apps with Utility
AdWeek posted their list of what they deem the most successful iPhone apps. Ranking at the top are brands that utilize mobile marketing by offering something… get this… useful. Placing an extension of your brand in the palm of your customer builds a pretty tight relationship, considering people act like a fish out of water when they forget their cell at home. Overall, equipping your customers with a tool instead of mere entertainment (although that doesn’t hurt) will cause them to actually rely on it.
A perfect example is Amazon Remembers, Ranked No. 9 in the App Store lifestyle category. A user takes a picture of the newest gadget his or her daughter wants for Christmas and Amazon tries to match it to an item in their store. It’s an experimental feature at this point but since well over half of it’s users rate it 4 or 5 stars, I would say the frugal shoppers are rejoicing!
As a fellow foodie, I gotta love the Kraft iFood Assistant. Everyone can use a little helper when it comes to cooking, so the 99 cents they charge seems like nothing when you get quick access to 7,000 recipes. The iFood Assistant ranks No. 53 in the App Store lifestyle category (paid apps).
The No. 1 music app in the App Store is none other than Pandora. Users create a personalized radio station that streams music and even takes your preferences from your online account. This proves to be incredibly convenient when a user can avoid loading up the iTunes playlists with music that can get old, fast. This every-changing radio stream keeps the music fresh and in your ear buds anywhere you go.
These are just a few examples of apps that fulfilled their promise of utility, but there are plenty who missed the boat. Check out AdWeek’s iPhone Apps Put Brands in Hands for their full list of noteworthy apps and other missed opportunities.
Wednesday, November 11, 2009
Socialnomics
A YouTube video was recently passed around our office. This is not an uncommon occurrence; we all enjoy a good giggle now and then. But this one had a much different effect. It was actually rather scary. Not scary in the “Boo!” kind of way, but more scary in a professional, “this is unbelievable!” kind of way. Maybe even more so for those of us in the over 40 category that tend to nervously tremble and perspire as we try and navigate our way through the unfamiliar terrain that is Social Media.
To a generation that grew up thinking the only way to reach a market audience was through a comprehensive mix of radio, TV, and newspaper, this new information on social media is mind blowing. This video speaks of the time it took those dinosaur mediums to reach 50 million users: radio…38 years. TV…13 years. The internet took 4years. IPOD took just 3 years to reach 50 million users. In comparison, Facebook recently added 100 million users in less than 9 months!
Is this possible? Really? How can this be?
Well, the video goes on to say that if Facebook was a country, it would be the world’s 4th largest! Number 1 would be China, number 2 would be India, number 3 the United States and number 4 would be Facebook!
Oh, and it’s not just Facebook that people are paying attention to; Twitter has also taken the world by storm. There are two celebrities (Ashton Kutcher and Ellen DeGeneres) that have more followers on Twitter than the entire population of Ireland, Norway and Panema! In China, QZone has over 300 million users. Wikipedia has become more accurate than Encyclopedia Britannica, posting more than 13 million articles.
The title of the video is “Socialnomics”. I watched it the first time and was intrigued. I watched it a second time and was amazed… OK, and slightly terrified. I watched it a third time and felt compelled to share it with all of you. Take a peek for yourself….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVXKI506w-E
So, is social media just a fad? I’m thinking it’s not only here to stay, but it’s redefining the way we think about the world as we know it.
A YouTube video was recently passed around our office. This is not an uncommon occurrence; we all enjoy a good giggle now and then. But this one had a much different effect. It was actually rather scary. Not scary in the “Boo!” kind of way, but more scary in a professional, “this is unbelievable!” kind of way. Maybe even more so for those of us in the over 40 category that tend to nervously tremble and perspire as we try and navigate our way through the unfamiliar terrain that is Social Media.
To a generation that grew up thinking the only way to reach a market audience was through a comprehensive mix of radio, TV, and newspaper, this new information on social media is mind blowing. This video speaks of the time it took those dinosaur mediums to reach 50 million users: radio…38 years. TV…13 years. The internet took 4years. IPOD took just 3 years to reach 50 million users. In comparison, Facebook recently added 100 million users in less than 9 months!
Is this possible? Really? How can this be?
Well, the video goes on to say that if Facebook was a country, it would be the world’s 4th largest! Number 1 would be China, number 2 would be India, number 3 the United States and number 4 would be Facebook!
Oh, and it’s not just Facebook that people are paying attention to; Twitter has also taken the world by storm. There are two celebrities (Ashton Kutcher and Ellen DeGeneres) that have more followers on Twitter than the entire population of Ireland, Norway and Panema! In China, QZone has over 300 million users. Wikipedia has become more accurate than Encyclopedia Britannica, posting more than 13 million articles.
The title of the video is “Socialnomics”. I watched it the first time and was intrigued. I watched it a second time and was amazed… OK, and slightly terrified. I watched it a third time and felt compelled to share it with all of you. Take a peek for yourself….
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fVXKI506w-E
So, is social media just a fad? I’m thinking it’s not only here to stay, but it’s redefining the way we think about the world as we know it.
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