With celebrities quickly taking to Facebook, Twitter, and Google+, it’s clear that the entertainment industry is embracing technology and the digital space. What’s interesting is that some people in Hollywood are finding that they prefer the freedom technology and the Internet provide, as actor Kevin Pollak explained to us in this interview:

Twitter is really trying to become the company that everyone has it pegged to be, or at least it seems that way by their hiring tactics as of late. While the media daily predicts the emergence / unfettered growth / imminent doom of the micro-blogging service daily (are you sick of it yet?) Twitter goes about its merry way showing signs of brilliance (rapid growth) and signs of “WTF?!” (outages).

In America, much of Google’s success is attributed to its brilliant employees.  In China, there’s no reason that the situation would be any different, but as a bonus, the company could gain a competitive edge by hiring locals.

The Creative Artists Agency (CAA) represents some incredibly famous people, including Stephen King, Robin Williams, and Bruce Willis.  The CAA also represents Joost, the Internet television service, thanks to a deal announced earlier this week.

I’m hesitant to bring this up because it puts me at risk of being dropped into the Pollyanna Pond – business and idealism just don’t mix, I’m told. But I wonder if employers are missing out on some exceptional talent because of snap judgments and preconceived notions about job candidates.

Call it the Minority Report effect on the advertising world, as the Association of Network Advertisers (ANA) has seized upon "Integrated Marketing Communications" as the top concern of some of the most senior marketing executives working today.

Yahoo! announced the winner of their first-ever Talent Show contest last week: comedic music video maker Rex Hermogino.

All companies really want to hire the best and brightest; the best ones that they can find that meet the criteria of the job, would seem to fit into the organization, and has the ability to actually do the job.

Search engine giant Yahoo! expands its horizon with an online video contest to find the next great internet star.

Online celebrity could be a digital video away for some lucky people who enter Yahoo’s Talent Show contest, as the company turns to user-generated content again to reinforce its brand.

Shel Holtz brings us a ditty about an HR blogger named Cheesman who auctioned himself on eBay and snagged $7,000 to promote a company at the upcoming Society of Human Resources Management conference.

People across the UK want to throw off the shackles and start putting money into their own pocket rather than their employers.

What makes your organization tick? What will make it standout in the sea of similar organizations and stand the test of time, over the years?

A $250,000 promotion conducted by networking giant Cisco and Viacom’s mtvU college network will support a “Digital Incubator” for broadband content.

If Martha Stewart’s low-rated Apprentice show gets axed early, perhaps SEO marketer David Karandish can wrangle an interview with Google.

The search engine’s China operations could be impacted for over a year unless the court tosses out Dr. Kai-Fu Lee’s noncompete agreement.

I was really surprised when Michael told about a couple new hires they’ve recently brought aboard.

The New York Times today put out an internal call via email to the newsroom staff in search of an experienced editor …

Joel Johnson created a buzz by reporting that some Gmail invites and emails aren’t getting through to Hotmail users. Several reports also claim the emails aren’t getting through Yahoo! Mail filters.

PROBLEM:

With our now streamlined workforce, we are over-allocating reduced staff with tasks they are either not trained for or not interested in, resulting in both reduced efficiency of business and loss of focus on our primary goal – Customer Satisfaction and Retention.

Hypothesis #1
There is a calculable (lost) opportunity cost that each employee has which results in a dollar value per hour for obtaining new business. amount of revenue / (number of hours spent * loaded cost.)

In today’s increasingly complex business world, companies are seeking ways to make sure they have the talent they will need to compete now and in the future. Securing and retaining the right skills and competencies is fundamental to the growth and vitality of any organization.