BRAND THYSELF SAYS MARK TWAIN

Here is a terrific article from the Woodrow Wilson Center of International Studies about Mark Twain, and his understanding of the importance of branding oneself and having a clear brand voice.

CREATE AND LAUNCH YOUR OWN T-SHIRT STORE TODAY

To start off 2010, here is a wonderful empowerment idea....Create your own freestanding t-shirt store, that lives independently of a broader portal (like eBay) FOR FREE.
Great concept.
http://www.pikistore.com

FREE HANDWRITING FONT CREATOR

http://www.fontcapture.com

FREE LOGO DESIGN

This very generous person offers a free logo design service!
http://www.freelogodesign.org

GOOGLE SEO STARTER GUIDE

Very good information from Google on Search Engine Optimization. An excellent briefing on how to gain more web traffic.

http://www.google.com/support/webmasters/bin/answer.py?hl=en&answer=35291

PERSONAL BRANDING

Boston University - Personal Branding Keynote - Round 2

START A HEALTHY FOOD SERVICES COMPANY TO SERVICE LOCAL SCHOOL CAFETERIAS

One of the biggest needs in US schools is better quality meals.

Check out www.revfoods.com as a case study. Within two years, this small start-up went from serving 500 lunches a day to 5,000 in 30 Bay Area Schools. They have raised two additional rounds of funding totaling $10 million. Good business.

HELP TO SECURE FEDERAL GRANT MONEY

Seliger + Associates provides comprehensive grant writing, grant source research and related services for public and nonprofit agencies, as well as selected businesses and individuals, throughout the United States. We have been in business since 1993 and have had over 600 clients in 43 states.

Seliger + Associates has written over $220,000,000 in funded grant applications. We differ from other grant writers in that we use a turn-key approach. Our clients only have to give us general direction and sign the completed grant applications. In most cases, we do all the rest, including the program design, needs assessment, narrative, budget and final submission package.

www.Seliger.com

GREAT FELLOWSHIP OPPORTUNITY

Keith Reinhard Scholarship of Excellence: Berlin School of Creative Leadership at Steinbeis University

Through the Keith Reinhard Scholarship of Excellence, one multicultural advertising professional will receive full-tuition for the Executive MBA program (a $71,500 value.) The scholarship is named in honor of advertising legend Keith Reinhard, chairman emeritus of DDB Worldwide and class “godfather” at the Berlin School of Creative Leadership. Reinhard is one of several creative industry leaders who have donated their time and energy to this unique global program. www.berlin-school.com

To be eligible for scholarship consideration, an applicant must be:

• Asian/Asian American or Pacific Islander, Latino/Hispanic, Black/African American, American Indian/Native American, Multiracial or Multiethnic (e.g., Hispanic and Black)
• A mid- to senior-level advertising professional with at least eight years of experience
• An employee of a 4A’s member agency
• A bachelor’s degree recipient.

To apply for the scholarship, one must submit:

• The scholarship application form and essay
• The completed Executive MBA in Creative Leadership application form
• A current curriculum vitae
• A thesis proposal.

The scholarship recipient will be selected based on professional and academic achievements, career objectives and leadership potential in his or her company and industry.

The next Executive MBA in Creative Leadership program begins in February 2010. To apply for the full-tuition scholarship, application materials must be submitted by Thursday, December 24, 2009.

MASTER GOOGLE

Boost eLearning offers a comprehensive training suite on 15 virtually unknown techniques available within Google. These techniques enable knowledge workers to effectively find high value information, and provide immediate and significant value for everyone.

FIND FREE PDFs and eBOOKS FAST

PDFGeni is a dedicated pdf search engine for PDF ebooks, sheets, forms and documents.
Nice tool.

CREATE A DIGITAL IMAGE REPAIR / MANAGEMENT SERVICE

Increasingly, due to the proliferation of social networks, nasty rumors, often false, spread fast.

Create a web based service that can help people to repair a damaged reputation due to a false facebook rumor

This Wall Street Journal article outlines the growing problem.

DELL SOICAL INNOVATION COMPETITION

Interesting competition sponsored by Dell for college students interested in social entreprenuership and altruism.
http://www.dellsocialinnovationcompetition.com/DSICHomePage

FREE ONLINE WEB RESOURCES

Here are a range of very interesting, free web tools that could be useful for building your
online presence.
http://www.futurelab.org.uk/resources/multimedia/free-online-learning-tools

TEMPLATES FOR MAPPING YOUR IDEAS

This is a great site provides a variety of design templates for mapping and charting your ideas.
Much cooler that the standard powerpoint templates.
http://www.exploratree.org.uk

$4 MILLION IN SCHOLARSHIPS TO EARN AN ONLINE DEGREE

http://www.elearners.com/careerstimuluspackage
The Career Stimulus Package, presented by eLearners.com, is an educational campaign, created to support under-employed and under-educated Americans.

Founded along with major college and corporate sponsors from across the country, the campaign is awarding full tuition scholarships and job shadowing opportunities to more than 100 deserving adults.

Apply today! Don't delay.

GOOGLE PROJECT FOR GOOD

http://www.project10tothe100.com

Project 10¹⁰⁰ is a call for ideas to change the world by helping as many people as possible.

GOLDMAN SACHS ASSISTANCE WITH WORKPLACE RE-ENTRY

In the fall of 2008, the firm launched the Goldman Sachs Returnship Program. The first program of its kind aims to provide individuals re-entering the workforce with an opportunity to sharpen the skills essential for “on-ramping.” Based on the success of the pilot program, we are proud to continue this signature on-ramping initiative by hosting a 2009 Returnship Program.

Mission

The Returnship Program aims to prepare on-rampers for a return to the workforce. Throughout the eight week program, “returnees” are provided with an opportunity to:

• Explore a new career path or reacquaint themselves with new market trends.
• Gain work experience and strengthen technical skills.
• Assess the feasibility of career-life balance while returning to the workforce on a full-time basis

Program Dates and Location:
October 19, 2009 – December 18, 2009
Goldman Sachs Offices
New York, NY

http://www.gs.com/events/gsrp2009/attendee

For more information please contact:
Monica Marquez at 1-917-343-7204 or monica.marquez@gs.com

DELL SOCIAL INNOVATION COMPETITION

http://www.dellsocialinnovationcompetition.com/

FREE FRIEDMAN AUDIO BOOK FOR BLACKBERRY

Here is great resource, audio books for blackberry. Sign up and get a free download of Thomas Friedman's latest book, "Hot, Flat and Crowded"