I'm looking for work. - Eric Rice

But there are a lot of weird things I've found in starting this process. - Eric Rice

What thoughts do you lead? Do you give them ethical and sound leadership? - Stephen Pierzchala

For our first act, let's throw out there the 'job hunting from a practical standpoint when there's an irrational perception of superstardom'. This might be where someone is perceived as forward thinking and such, and might be thought 'to have no problem at all finding a gig'. And yet the actual opposite is true. - Eric Rice

Clarification: job hunting means finding a gig working for someone else NOT 'start up your own thing' - Eric Rice

re: "and might be thought 'to have no problem at all finding a gig'" -- When I was a lot more active as a "connector" (probably 1997-2003ish) I got that a lot. I'd be looking for work but everyone just *assumed* I wouldn't need *their* connector help because hey, It's Sooz, she knows everybody! Funny how that works. ;) - Sooz

Like I've said before, in interviews emphasize your "team player" attitude, your desire to stick with the company for the long haul and make them your priority. Keep in mind that the "irrational perception of superstardom" maybe YOUR irrational perception, not the potential employers. Keep an open mind about how you may or may not be perceived and remember that not everyone shares our echo chamber. - Jason Wehmhoener

This makes me consider how, "being rich in social capital could possibly leave you poor in the real world". If you are known (well enough to warrant some type of personal brand recognition), but, you are struggling to find a paying gig -- then perhaps the relevance and weight of social capital is not as beneficial as we often perceive. Marinate. - DYKC?™

@dykc Internet Famous, RL poor (not my situation but I believe that statement is so freaking true, but people have big issues in confronting it.) - Eric Rice

gigs are different from jobs- both need the same focus and attention. Gigs are shortterm while jobs are supposed to be more long term /career pathways - Peter Dawson

From Obama's speech yesterday: "The journey will be difficult. The road will be long. I face this challenge with profound humility, and knowledge of my own limitations. But I also face it with limitless faith in the capacity of the American people." Kinda over the top in this context, but the emphasis here is on humility and the acknowledgment that it's not about the superstar, it's about the collective effort and your individual contribution to it. - Jason Wehmhoener

@peter i say 'gig' the same as job. Like 'I got this gig as VP of something or other at MTV' etc... But I see your point. :) - Eric Rice

Eric - Keep networking (like this and in person). You'll find that's the key - Charlie Anzman

eric I jus finished a 6 wk gig , that went into 10 wks.. Kinda out of pocket for 4 wks time..that sucks. and thats the difference between the term gig and job :)- - Peter Dawson

@jason good speech example. I know fully what my limitations are, I wish those that I run into would as well. In some echo chambers, networks and circles, I run into that stupid wall of over-qualification. Someone told me 'you could totally walk into EA'... Umm, no I can't. There's not much difference in the emotions between over and under qualified. - Eric Rice

@Peter it's soda vs.pop vs. cola here. - Eric Rice

I'm in a similar boat. People seem amazed that my job hunt is taking a long time but it's partly because they know me as a founder and CEO and not as a tech lead or individual contributor, so they don't hook me up with leads. - Trevor F. Smith

Great point, Trevor. How to get the hookup when you're hooking people up. Bleh. - Eric Rice

WTF is a thought leader? - EricaJoy

I have found that companies get scard when they see the entrepeneur tag or any other indication of independant thinking - David Jacobs from Alert Thingy

David: That's a HUGE fear of mine. At least I'm not famous so that every breath I take is analyzed. Yet that sucks for wanting some iota of rank-and-file-ism, but at the same time, might be a roadmap for how things are going forward. Everyone's being social and all that. How rigidly must messages and people be regulated. Not all have the ability to affect that work environment. 'If you want to work here and get paid, you shut up.' Our 'space' doesn't quite grok that. We're obsessing over 'conversation' etc. - Eric Rice

Erica: lol there's a wikipedia entry for it http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki... I'd be willing to bet that yammering on endlessly about Friendfeed vs. Twitter (a trap many of us fall into) is NOT being what I'd consider being a thought leader. /smirk - Eric Rice

Ah: "Thought leader is a buzzword or article of jargon used to describe a futurist or person who is recognized among their peers and mentors for innovative ideas and demonstrates the confidence to promote or share those ideas as actionable distilled insights (thinklets)." If I were a business owner, I don't think I'd ever hire someone who refers to themselves as a "thought leader" because A) that definition makes me want to claw my eyes out and B) its easy to have ideas. The implementation is the hard part. - EricaJoy

Maybe it's definition tho. I can only think of ONE person who is a thought leader in 'social media'. I can maybe think of two for podcasting. One or two for virtual worlds. Not that my standards are unreasonably high, but seriously, finding 'em is really hard. - Eric Rice

Erica, I agree, doing is a helluva lot harder than talking (let alone thinking). - Jason Wehmhoener