Nick Clegg & The Political Spoofs

Earlier this week, Deputy Prime Minister and leader of the Liberal Democrats, Nick Clegg spoke of his apology to students regarding the latest round of tuition fee increases. Whilst this was the main objective of his speech, no sooner had he ended on the word 'apology' the video was a viral sensation and is set to maybe even reach the UK Chart this weekend. 

The broadcast intended for students, created by 'thepoke' website gives a great opportunity to see the light er side to Politics. However whilst the spoof has been watched by just shy of 400,000 YouTube viewers, Nick Clegg has given his full backing requesting that all of the single profits be given to the Christians Hospitality Charity in Sheffield, where he is a PM. 

This is not the first time something like has happened. In the build up to Presidents Obama election in 2008 a video replicating a speech at a party broadcast was re-created by creative agency Dipdive and released on YouTube. It featured Will.i.am, John Legend and a wealth of other known celebrities supporting his campaign. The video entitled 'Yes We Can' has grossed more than 24million users since 2008 and has won a host of Webby and Emmy awards for both the creative directors at Dipdive but also Will.i.am himself. 

So whether Nick Clegg is keen to re-gain credibility to students following this spoof remains to be seen, however the video will do the coalition government no wrong going forward. 

If you have not seen both of these videos I have attached them to the bottom of this blog for your further amusement.

  

Making the Most of your LinkedIn Account

Ever wondered who is looking at your LinkedIn profile. Having been an avid user for many years I now have found it increasingly useful to gain new connections and potential new opportunities simply by connecting with people who have viewed my profile recently. 

You can view who has viewed your profile by going to 'who's viewed your profile' on the LinkedIn home screen. It will say something along the lines of '8 people have viewed your profile in the past 3 days'. Below that you will see how many times your profile has come up in searches.

These tools are all good measures of your investment you put into your profile. The likelihood of someone visiting your profile could be because they are looking for new opportunities themselves, have a point of contact or even some information they would like to share with you. This in turn allows your to modify your content and make it more applicable to the people you want to reach out to with in your particular industry. 

Who's been looking - directors, to college friends, it always intriguing to find out who has been looking at your profile. Whilst it is great that people view your profile, you can never be sure why they did, therefore in some instances it may be appropriate to send them a Linkedin connection request. 

The key to a LinkedIn connection message is to keep it short. Whilst it would be easy to stick with the default tag line "I'd like to add you to my professional network" This does not really answer the question, why should they connect with you. The key then is to make it precise but also keep it simple.

Maybe use something like this. It is straight forward and justifies the reason why other colleagues, or potential employers should connect with you.  LinkedIn offers a premium version of 'profile stats', it allows you to build a complete picture of more recent viewers in your industry. Whilst this is a paid version I feel the 'free' tool is just as good. It depends on how deep your pockets are as the premium version is on monthly subscription basis.

Next time you are on LinkedIn have a look at this tool and use it to your full potential. It is a great way of connecting with different people in many different industries. 

Britons told don't fly but support locals