It’s funny how we all have different tolerances for looking at inanimate objects. I can spend hours looking at 150 million year old rock formations in a national park, but 500 year old paintings don’t do much for me. I guess that means that I wouldn’t have the best time visiting the Fine Arts Museums of San Francisco, but maybe you would. The organization runs two separate museums: the de Young in Golden Gate Park and the Legion of Honor in Lincoln Park. Combined they make FAMSF “the largest public arts institution in the City of San Francisco and one of the largest art museums in the United States.”
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When social media marketing first started getting serious attention, I was all about it. SEO had been huge in helping me grow this site, so I thought that social would be the next big thing. But as I started working on using Twitter, Facebook, LinkedIn, and other sites to drive traffic, I realized how ineffective they were. I’ve recently decided to give social another shot because I see a lot of companies making it work for them (though I fear that the Careers space will never be as social as it should be). Most companies that take social seriously use a platform “to measure, engage and advertise across social media.” Unified is a New York, NY, San Francisco, CA, and Chicago, IL based company that offers exactly such a platform. Unified’s software is especially focused on “activating social audiences and impacting consumer actions.”
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I spent last night in Las Vegas as a stopover on the way to somewhere far more relaxing. I’d never visited Vegas before, but everything about it reminds me of a cheesy game show. It’s not really my thing–if I wanted that, I’d just turn on GSN (aka Game Show Network). In case you’re not familiar, GSN “is a multimedia entertainment company that offers original and classic game programming and competitive entertainment via its 77-million subscriber television network and online game sites.” The company is headquartered in Santa Monica, CA and also has offices in New York, NY, Waltham, MA, San Francisco, CA, and a few other cities. GSN has been around for almost 20 years now, and they’ve expanded on what used to be mostly rerun based programming with original game shows and tons of online games.
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Amy and I are headed to Japan for our honeymoon, but not yet. We decided to take short, domestic trip to relax after the wedding, and we’ll do the real honeymoon sometime early next year. Japan isn’t the most traditional destination for a romantic trip, but we’re excited by the prospect of experiencing a country that is radically different in terms of culture, but relatively similar economically. While experiencing the difference between Eastern and Western culture makes for a great adventure, it can be a huge business challenge. btrax is a San Francisco, CA based company that helps clients overcome those challenges as a “cross‐cultural consulting, branding and marketing agency focused on the US and Asian markets.”
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A wedding is a perfect example of how live music brings people together. I got married last night, but I’m writing this beforehand, so I can’t tell you how good the live music was. But I’ll bet that young and old were hitting the dancing floor together. Since we can’t go to wedding every weekend (though it can start to feel like that sometimes), we have to seek live music elsewhere. Levitt Pavilions is a non-profit organization that provides exactly that. They are a Los Angeles, CA based non-profit that “partners with cities to build and transform outdoor music venues into community treasures.” There is actually a Levitt Pavilion in the town that I went to high school in, though I must admit that I’ve never been. I assumed that it was just a local thing, but today I learned that there are six Levitt Pavilions across the country (Los Angeles and Pasadena, CA; Westport, CT.; Bethlehem, PA.; Memphis, TN.; and Arlington, TX).
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I’m getting married tomorrow! Amy and I are extremely excited to share such a special event with so many friends and family, but we’re both a little nervous… about the weather. There are thunderstorms in the forecast, and I have a bad history with lightning. Whether it rains or not, the wedding will go on, it will be great, and people will take lots of pictures. We have a great photographer who will capture many of the special moments, but our friends and family will do their best to supplement him and his crew. We decided against using an app to collect photos from friends, but we definitely considered it. Wedding Party is a Palo Alto, CA based company that offers an app that allows you to “capture all the amazing photos from your wedding.”
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I’ve been working for myself for the past six years, so the only perk that I get is flexibility. But when I interned at Orvis, I got a 50% employee discount. It was a big part of the reason that I went back for another summer (and spent most of the money I made from the internship). While many companies have unique perks that only they can offer, there are all kinds of perks that are available to pretty much any company that wants to make them available to their employees. AnyPerk is a San Francisco, CA based company that puts all of these perks into a single package that employers can get access to for $5 per employee per month. AnyPerk’s goal is “to help businesses attract and retain top talent while providing a rewarding work environment,” and they’ve found that perks are a great way to do that.
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Memorial Day is first and foremost about remembering those who served (which is why we’ve look at organizations like Hope for the Warriors and Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America in past years), but we all know that it’s also the official start of Summer and grilling season. Unfortunately, this year the weather has made sitting by the fireplace feel like a more appropriate activity than a barbecue. Either way Duraflame has you covered. They are a Stockton, CA based company that offers “a wide variety of fire-related products, including fire logs, fire starters and barbecue products.” If you need to start a fire, one of their products will help you avoid the frustration of never having been a boy/girl scout.
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I downloaded my first MP3 from an AOL chat room. I was an extremely early adopter when it came to “file sharing,” but after the lawsuits started and some of my favorite services were shut down, I gave up. Torrenting became all of the rage, and I missed the boat. I’ve heard a lot about BitTorrent, but I never realized that they are a real company with more than 100 employees. They’re based in San Francisco, CA, and they are “passionate about building a better, smarter Internet through distributed computing.” That may sound like an unattainable mission for such a small company, but it’s not. BitTorrent’s protocols account for 20-40% of the Internet’s traffic, which means that the company has a ton of influence..
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As an online publisher I understand how difficult it is to balance ads and content. I’m lucky in that the job search space allows a little more flexibility–most job postings are technically ads, so people don’t really differentiate between “editorial” and paid placement (though I still try to). The toughest part for most publishers is that ads perform best when they blend in with the content. This is really hard to do in an honest and unobtrusive way, but that’s exactly what Vibrant Media tries to do. They are based in New York, NY, and they are “the world’s leading provider of in-content contextual technology that gets brand content and advertising discovered across platforms.” With a network of more than 6,000 publishers they are able to reach upwards of 300,000,000 unique visitors every month.
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In my day… Macs and PCs used completely different file formats. Writing a paper on my Mac (I was one of the few back then) and printing it on one of my school’s PCs was always a risky proposition. If I didn’t convert the file properly, I might end up with no homework and a really lame excuse for my teacher. We’re well past those days, yet many people still struggle with PDFs and other files. A simple request to sign a form and send it back can lead me down a half hour process of trying to find any way possible to avoid buying a new ink cartridge for my printer. Next time I’m going to try Nitro. They’re a San Francisco, CA based company that builds “easy-to-use products that help people work smarter with digital documents.” Whether it’s for personal use or for a corporation with thousands of employees, Nitro offers a simple, affordable solution.
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I’m headed to Colorado for my bachelor party this weekend. We rented a ranch, and we’re planning on hiking, fishing, and eating meat. My hope was that we’d get shorts and t-shirt weather, but it’s looking more and more like we might need to bring along something from The North Face. It’s not that we’ll be doing any hardcore mountaineering during the trip–it’s just going to be cold. As much as we all know that The North Face, which is based in Alameda, CA, is about pushing “the boundaries of innovation so that you can push the boundaries of exploration,” we also know that a lot of their gear is purchased to keep suburban kids warm while they wait for the school bus. That’s not a slight The North Face. It’s just that when you make high performance clothing and outerwear that looks great and is relatively affordable, people are going to use it in all kinds of situations.
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There’s a bar in Chicago that is filled with board games. It’s a really good time, if you can get a table. While more and more gaming is moving on to mobile devices, there is still a huge group of people that prefer to sit around a table with friends or family and enjoy a game the old fashioned way. That’s good news for Blue Orange Games, a San Francisco, CA based board game company that was founded in 2001. They now have a catalog of more than 40 games, and they’ve won more than 200 awards. While most of their games aren’t explicitly educational, they are the kinds of games that make you think (they still call them educational). That’s why they’re great for schools, families, and anyone else who is sick of the mindlessness of many of today’s gaming options.
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Advertising has changed a lot over the last century, but it’s also stayed the same. While the media, tactics, and trends are always evolving, the general premise of creating an emotional response in potential customers hasn’t changed. Few companies know this better than Campbell Ewald, a Warren, MI based advertising agency that was founded in 1911 and continues to “create game-changing solutions that drive [their] clients’ business.” Despite their centenarian status, Campbell Ewald doesn’t show their age. They’re still coming up with edgy campaigns like the Zipcar ad on their home page that says, “No booty call should go unanswered.”
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I’m always looking for an adventure… as long as it includes fly fishing. Having a hobby that takes me to all kinds of interesting places is awesome, but I realize that many people get their excitement from trying something new. If that sounds like you, take a look at ZOZI. They’re based in San Francisco, CA, and they want “to make everyone’s passions accessible, and most importantly, help you discover new ones.” Whether you’re looking for a better way to spend a weekend without leaving town or you want to travel across the world to get an adrenaline rush, ZOZI offers a ton of options at amazing prices. And if that’s enough, they’ll also give you a deal on some of the gear that you might need for your experience.
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When my wedding invitations went out, they didn’t have just regular stamps. We had special stamps made with our initials on them to give the envelopes a little extra flair. (Yes, I know it’s ridiculous.) You can get nearly anything customized these days, but postage is pretty surprising considering that the USPS is a federal agency. Whether you want your own version of postage, a t-shirt, a wall decal, or playing cards, you should consider Zazzle. They’re the company we used, and they’re a Redwood City, CA based company that allows you to “create amazing custom products with artwork you choose, and prices you’ll love.”
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I’m in Michigan on a short fly fishing trip, and that means that I’m making the most of my access to public land. It’s easy to forget how lucky we are in the United States to have access to so many interesting places for free. Much of that is thanks to organizations like The Trust for Public Land. They’re a national non-profit based in San Francisco, CA that was “founded in 1972 with goals of protecting land in and around cities and pioneering new land conservation techniques.” Since then they’ve done work on more than 5,000 parks and conservation projects, and by using “sophisticated finance and legal techniques,” they’ve had amazing success.
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Button down shirts never fit me properly. I’m only 6’3, but I end up needing an XXL from many brands to get close to the right length (otherwise raising my arms turns the shirt into a belly shirt–and don’t get me started on sleeve length). The problem is that XXL shirts are made for 300 pound dudes, and though I’m by no means thin, I’m not built like that. I made the same exact complaint a few years ago when I wrote about Proper Cloth, but I still haven’t purchased a custom shirt. Maybe Trumaker will change that. They’re a San Francisco, CA based e-commerce and men’s fashion upstart that makes “it easy to get shirts made just for you.” Though Trumaker is positioning itself as an e-commerce company, they’re also using in-person “Outfitters” to get measurements and show off fabrics.
Be Tru
Right now it seems that Trumaker is only operating in San Francisco and Los Angeles, but I’m sure expansion will move quickly. When all you need is sales people to launch a new location, you can move pretty fast. Once a customer meets with the Outfitter, the rest happens over the web. You can shop online like you would on any other site, and they’ll send you shirts that are made for your dimensions. One thing I really like about Trumaker is that they’re not just making dress shirts–they’re offering more casual wear with great plaids and other patterns. There aren’t any prices posted on the Trumaker site, but they say that they “are comparable to similar high-quality, off-the-rack shirts.” This a business with a ton of potential, so if you want to get in on it take a look at Trumaker’s Internships page. Right now they’re hiring an Apparel & E-commerce Intern. They don’t say whether the position is paid, but it looks like a really cool opportunity. You might also want to take a look at their Outfitter positions as an internship alternative.
Links to Help You Begin Your Research
Have you ever bought a custom shirt?
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One thing that surprises me about today’s crop of college graduates is that as a whole they seem far less willing to move for a job than one would expect (though this blog post says that’s changing). I think the biggest thing holding young people back is that you often have to move to a new city to even have a chance at landing a job there. That’s a big risk to take when you have no money. Things change as you gain more experience and become more valuable to employers. If you do really well, they’ll often try to convince you to move for them. Many will offer relocation bonuses, but only top executives typically get concierge-level relocation assistance. UrbanBound is trying to change that. They’re a Chicago, IL based company that offers “a web-based platform that helps companies offer a comprehensive transition system to their newly hired and transferring employees.” UrbanBound enables employees to plan their entire relocation in one place, and that’s a big deal when we’re talking about such a significant life change.
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I was blessed to go to great schools with great teachers. I’m convinced that a big part of why the schools performed so well was that the parents demanded it (especially at my private school where the parents were truly customers). Unfortunately, many of our country’s schools are underperforming, and often the parents of children at those schools are unable to hold the administration and teachers accountable. Parent Revolution is a Los Angeles, CA based non-profit that is aiming to change that. They want to “transform public education based on what is good for children, not adults, by empowering parents to transform their under-performing schools through community organizing.” That obviously sounds great, but it comes with a ton of controversy.
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Our country was built on railroads. Rail travel changed the way that nearly every entity did business in the 19th and early 20th centuries, much like the Internet has done during our lifetimes. The similarities don’t end there. The railroad system was subject to multiple boom and bust cycles, and that led to far more rail being laid than could ever be used. Chances are that you have abandoned rails somewhere near you. Rails-to-Trails is an organization that wants to put them to use. They’re a Washington, DC based non-profit that is aiming “to create a nationwide network of trails from former rail lines and connecting corridors to build healthier places for healthier people.” Rails-to-Trails Conservancy has been around for more than 25 years now, and in that time they’ve helped the number of rail-trails grow by more than 700%.
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In the world of marketing, it’s easy to get distracted from the end goal. Increasing sales. There are a number of commercials that repeatedly make me laugh, but I can’t name the brand of the advertiser even 5 seconds after the commercial airs. It’s easy to get caught up in the vanity of marketing, but the only thing that really matters is results. G2 is “a marketing communications agency created with one purpose: to help [its] clients sell more.” They have offices in New York, NY, San Francisco, CA, Chicago, IL, and Philadelphia, PA, and they “have serious experts in every communications channel delivering fresh, compelling work that creates greater awareness, consideration, sales and loyalty for our clients’ brands.” G2 is yet another company that has consolidated its entire website to a single page. It’s definitely a recent trend, and I kind of like it. It makes it easy to get a quick overview of the company.
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I’ve written a lot of Easter posts. On the candy front we’ve covered Just Born Quality Confections, Jelly Belly, Russell Stover, UNREAL Brands, and the PMCA. And we’ve also looked at Easter Seals (that one’s obvious), The Easter Bunny Foundation, Hatchlings, the ASPCA, and Rabbit Rescue (and I probably should have saved Red Rabbit for Easter too). Today I’m continuing with the rabbit theme and looking at Bunny World Foundation. They’re a Los Angeles, CA based non-profit that is “dedicated to combatting animal cruelty, illegal animal sales, exploitation and neglect of all animals, through rescue efforts, public education, research, investigations, legislation, special events, and media attention.” Obviously, their focus is on saving bunnies (their Team page shows each team member with her favorite rabbit).
I have an Easter Egg Hunt to get to, so I’ll let you do the rest of the research on your own. They don’t have a Jobs page, but I did see something about an internship from a few years back. Even if Bunny World Foundation doesn’t have any career opportunities right now, you can still use Easter as inspiration to explore new job search ideas.
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When I was a kid, making t-shirts was a big thing. We had fabric markers and some sort of glittery paint in a squeeze bottle. The end result was always a huge mess and a t-shirt that I would be embarrassed to wear. Then there was tie dye, which is even messier and more embarrassing to wear. My mom once had a photo t-shirt made for me, and that was awesome, but there was no way that I could do that on my own. Things have changed. Lumi is a Los Angeles, CA based company that has developed “a revolutionary photographic print process for textiles and natural materials.” It’s basically Instagram, but your photo ends up on a t-shirt or pretty much any other appropriate surface.
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I’ve only purchased one car in my life. I barely used the Internet (mostly because it wasn’t all that helpful for buying cars in 2001), and I got an ok deal. I know a lot has changed in terms of buying cars over the past decade (just look at what TrueCar is doing), but Edmunds has been along for the ride since well before the Internet was invented. The Santa Monica, CA based company was started in 1966 “for the purpose of publishing new and used automotive pricing guides to assist automobile buyers” and they’ve continued to become “one of the most beloved and well-known automotive resources of the 21st century.” If you’re looking to do some research before buying a car, Edmunds is the place to go.
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Marketing is all about attention. It used to be that marketers would try to interrupt you while you were paying attention to something else (like a tv show or baseball game), but that’s changing as most of us get better at ignoring distractions. Brands are realizing that if they want attention, they have to earn it, and that’s why they’re turning to social. And if they need help with that, they may want to turn to an appropriately named full-service media agency called Attention. Attention is based in New York, NY and Los Angeles, CA that “drives measurable business results by integrating social behavior across the customer journey.” Even they’re willing to admit that it’s not just about the attention.
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I made it from seventh grade through college with a single TI-83, who wants to touch me? Maybe it’s because I went to a private school where people were careless with $80 devices (they’re about $95 on Amazon now), but I swear everybody I knew either lost, broke, or had theirs stolen at least twice. While the need for students to have a graphing calculator hasn’t changed, the need for a standalone device has. That’s why we’re going to celebrate Pi Day by looking at Desmos (on past Pi Days we’ve looked at Pi Media, The Mathematical Association of America, and Orbotix–one of my favorites). They’re a San Francisco, CA based startup that offers a free online graphing calculator for students, teachers, and anyone interested in math.
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Reading should be part of your career search, but it needs to be part of an active pursuit to learn new things and become more employable, not a passive way to make yourself think that you’re doing something productive. That’s not to say that everything you read should be a how-to guide, but you need to choose books, articles, and publications with a purpose. If you do that, you’ll probably run into a lot of stuff published by Wiley, a Hoboken, NJ based “global publishing company that specializes in academic publishing and markets its products to professionals and consumers, students and instructors in higher education, and researchers and practitioners in scientific, technical, medical, and scholarly fields.” They’re a billion dollar business, so they’re publishing a lot of books on a lot of topics.
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Most college kitchens are filled with decades old hand-me-down tools (at least mine was). They’re not the best, but they get the job done. That used to be the way that all kitchen tools were. OXO changed that in 1989 with the launch of their Good Grips brand. Their focus on design helped take kitchen tools from a commodity to a product where brand matters and grow from startup to acquisition. A lot of the credit for the success has to be attributed to Oxo’s working with Smart Design, “an award-winning design and innovation consulting firm with offices in New York, San Francisco and Barcelona.” Smart Design has been around since 1980, and in that time they’ve worked “with companies of all sizes and across diverse industries to create human-centered design solutions that delight customers and help companies achieve their business goals.”
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Cancer is a scary word, and it’s at its scariest when we’re talking about kids. It would be nice if kids didn’t even have to know what cancer is, but every year in the U.S. about 10,000 kids under the age of 15 will be diagnosed with cancer. About 1,500 will end up dying from the disease. Pablo Thrailkill Castelaz was one of the kids who didn’t make it. He died just days after his sixth birthday in 2009 after a “valiant yearlong battle with bilateral Wilms Tumor, a rare form of childhood cancer.” In his memory The Pablove Foundation was formed. It’s a Los Angeles, CA based non-profit that is “fighting childhood cancer with love.”
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