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Panasonic’s London 2012 camcorders, cameras, headphones
Olympic Stadium camera 2
Olympic Stadium camera 1
How Has Cloud Computing Changed Business?
Should Your Job Title Be More Creative?

Panasonic’s London 2012 camcorders, cameras, headphones

Posted: 11 Dec 2011 05:20 PM PST

Panasonic's London 2012 camcorders, cameras, headphones

Panasonic, a Worldwide Olympic Games Partner, has unveiled a range of special and limited edition collectables to celebrate London 2012.

Fans of the Olympic Games can now capture, keep and share this momentous occasion with specially-designed London 2012 merchandise. Meanwhile, a limited edition range gives fans the opportunity to own an exclusive part of sporting history.

Custom-designed versions of the latest LUMIX G3 compact system camera, launched in June 2011, and the award-winning HDC-SD90 HD camcorder make up the limited edition range. Panasonic has manufactured just 2,012 of each model, and each comes with a commemorative one-year-to-go £5 coin from the Royal Mint* and new London 2012 packaging. Both are ideal products for fans of the Olympic Games looking to share the passion of London 2012.

The limited edition LUMIX G3, interchangeable lens compact system camera, is available in black and features a subtle gold London 2012 logo on the back and London 2012 close down screen. The ultra-compact HDC-SD90 HD camcorder with 28mm wide-angle, intelligent zoom and optional 3D recording, is available in white, with a pink logo, and comes with a London 2012 branded carry case.

Panasonic's award-winning LUMIX DMC-S3 digital camera, HX-DC1 upright HD camcorder, and a range of headphones and Secure Digital (SD) memory cards make up the special edition range.

The special edition LUMIX DMC-S3, an entry-level compact camera with 14.1 megapixels, 28mm wide-angle, and HD movie recording, is available in white, featuring a vibrant pink and green London 2012 logo; and black, featuring a subtle silver logo, both with London 2012 close down screens. The HX-DC1 upright HD camcorder, Panasonic's entry-level camcorder comes in white with a pink logo. Again, both products feature a new packaging design.

Special edition lightweight RP-HX45 headphones are available in white and come in colourful London 2012 branded packaging. Meanwhile, the RP-HJE120, RP-HS200 and RP-HS33 in-ear range, waterproof, sweat resistant and designed specifically for sport, are also available in vibrant London 2012 packaging.

Four special edition gold 4GB, 8GB, 16GB and 32GB SD cards form a collectable set. Each one features the Official London 2012 Olympic Games mascot Wenlock participating in various Olympic events, presenting the opportunity for fans to 'collect them all'.

Keith Evans, Managing Director at Panasonic UK, said: "As a Worldwide sponsor of the Olympic Games, producing licensed product for London 2012 is an exciting opportunity for Panasonic. Our range of special and limited edition collectables gives fans of the Olympic Games an opportunity to own a part of this once-in-a-lifetime event. Not only that, they can use the products to capture, keep and share their favourite moments of London 2012 – whether they are catching up on the day's events online through our headphones or snapping the action."

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Olympic Stadium camera 2

Posted: 11 Dec 2011 05:15 PM PST

Olympic Stadium camera 2

This view shows the latest London 2012 webcam photo taken of the interior of the Olympic Stadium.

The London 2012 webcams show the latest progress taking place in and around the Olympic Park and record images throughout the day and night.

To watch the progress of the Olympic Stadium interior over time:
- Click on 'Show progress over time'
- Wait for the time-lapse to load
- Press 'Play' to watch
- Watch time-lapse footage of the venue being constructed from the start, or alternatively watch the time-lapse footage in reverse

You can use your keyboard keys to use the control buttons:

- The ‘Tab’ key allows you to move between the control buttons
- The ‘Space bar’ key allows you to action a button

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Olympic Stadium camera 1

Posted: 11 Dec 2011 05:11 PM PST

Olympic Stadium camera 1

This view shows the latest London 2012 webcam photo taken of the Olympic Stadium.

The London 2012 webcams show the latest progress taking place in and around the Olympic Park and record images throughout the day and night.

To watch the progress of the Olympic Stadium over time:
- Click on 'Show progress over time'
- Wait for the time-lapse to load
- Press 'Play' to watch
- Watch time-lapse footage of the venue being constructed from the start, or alternatively watch the time-lapse footage in reverse

You can use your keyboard keys to use the control buttons:

- The ‘Tab’ key allows you to move between the control buttons
- The ‘Space bar’ key allows you to action a button

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How Has Cloud Computing Changed Business?

Posted: 11 Dec 2011 04:19 PM PST

How Has Cloud Computing Changed Business?

We have long been advocates of moving business operations into the cloud. The remote access, cost-savings and organizational benefits alone make it a no-brainer.

Now that we've been floating around in the digital ether for a few years, what have we learned? How has cloud computing affected company bottom lines? Has it really made operations "greener?" Why do most companies move into the cloud in the first place?

Business technology company CSC commissioned a survey of IT decision makers in eight countries to find out the motivations behind their move to cloud computing systems and its effects on their businesses. The data they distilled might surprise you, and it's all packed neatly into the infographic below.

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Should Your Job Title Be More Creative?

Posted: 11 Dec 2011 03:58 PM PST

Should Your Job Title Be More Creative?

Sales Ninja, Linux Geek, Marketing Rockstar. These are all real job titles being used in the business world today, and according to data from online business card printer Moo.com, these creative titles are on the rise.

You've probably seen some of these tongue-in-cheek titles at digital conferences or among savvy startup entrepreneurs. But is an imaginative title like Word Herder or Copy Cruncher a fit for you?

We spoke with a number of HR professionals and hiring managers to get their thoughts on out-of-the-box job titles, and in the end, it all came down to corporate culture and communicating a clear role at your organization. The list of pros were few and the cons were many. But that shouldn't discourage those of you out there hoping to be known as the Head Honcho or the Website Weaver.

Read on for a look at the pros and cons of choosing an inventive job title, from the perspective of 12 hiring extraordinaires.

The Pros

In our chats with recruiters, three main positives came up when dealing with imaginative job titles. For the most part, these pros were cosmetic, and the underlying feeling among all of our interviewees is that job applicants must be able to back up their creativity with a boat load of qualifying experience, just like every other candidate. So, could a wacky title help get you noticed? Maybe. Here are the top three pros for thinking outside of the box:

Stand Out: "I believe there's a real need to be creative and 'stand out from the pack' in today's hiring climate. If handled correctly, the external message these kinds of titles and job descriptions sends will be meaningful to the entire broader audience interested in your company, signaling that your organization is different from the norm."
– Ed Nathanson, Director of Talent Acquisition, Rapid7
Strike Up a Conversation: "Having a unique title makes for fun, interesting conversation when networking and helps break the ice. As a hiring producer, I love creative titles — but they must be original. Trite never works in my book. The best creative title I think I've heard is Cineninja for a director of photography. More people should dare to be different."
– H.Cherdon Bedford, Owner and Creative Superhero, Humblebee Media
Communicate the Company's Culture: "Funky job titles can serve as an extension of a company's brand and indicate that you are a company with a fun culture that doesn't take itself too seriously."
– Carlos Jimenez, President, The Zella Company

The Cons

Our HR experts identified a long list of reasons why a clever job title could hurt your odds in the job market. If you have your heart set on a unique title, though, don't let these words of wisdom stop you — most of the cons are based on the workings of traditional business. If you have your eyes set on a more progressive company, then a list of edgy previous titles may just catch the recruiter's eye.

Imaginative titles aren't all candy and rainbows, though — think hard before you make the leap, because you may have a lot working against you. Here are some of the cons associated with job title wordsmithing:

"I'm sorry, but if you have a business that you want to be taken seriously, you don't hire someone as a Chief Playtime Officer for $100K a year. It sounds like a kindergarten monitor."

Don't Follow a Dying Trend:"Several years ago, during the Internet bubble, it was 'trendy' for individuals to have job titles which were not mainstream. The silliest I ever saw was Chief Playtime Officer. I'm sorry, but if you have a business that you want to be taken seriously, you don't hire someone as a Chief Playtime Officer for $100K a year. It sounds like a kindergarten monitor."
– Alan Guinn, Managing Director and CEO, The Guinn Consultancy Group
Be as Clear as Possible: "Job titles can be a great marketing tool, but emphasis should always be on clearly communicating the role's function. There's a real backlash against titles that are creative without being clear, especially in the tech sector. An applicant, the company and future associates should all be able to understand what value the role brings to the company and the skill set implied. More creative titles can have their place in less formal settings, on business cards or personal profiles that are more for self-expression than job description."
– Bhavna Dave, Director of Talent, Clearspring
Stay Away from Cliches: "Ninja and rockstar are so overused in the startup recruiting space. I prefer to use genuine functional titles to advertise openings and attract the right candidates, but once we get someone on board, we're open to what they'd like to be called."
– Megan Pittsley, Associate Director, E la Carte
Focus on Your Work, Not the Title: "Personally, I don't like [non-traditional titles] and from the hiring meetings I've had with managers, they don't like them either. They tend to be perceived as cheesy to the elite creative talent in the industry. What gets better results with elite talent are standard titles, good clients, award-winning work and a strong culture."
– Zachary D Killian, Lead Recruiter, The Marketing Arm
Don't Fool Tracking Systems: "Creative job titles are a career 'don't,' because they often won't be recognized by Applicant Tracking Systems. Applicant Tracking Systems are automatic sorters used by many large companies — and more and more so, even SMBs — that pick out keywords, including position titles, in resumes. The systems look for keywords that correspond with the open position. So, if your resume doesn't have the applicable keywords — which likely won't include 'Word Herder' or 'Sales Ninja' — the system will discard the resume, and it'll never be read by a human."
– Heather Huhman, Founder & President, Come Recommended
Be Taken Seriously: "These [creative] titles, while fun to read, feel extremely 'forced' and give me zero idea of what a candidate's real capabilities are. If I'm comparing two resumes, one with 'Sales Ninja' and the other with 'Director of Sales,' for example, I would take the latter a lot more seriously."
– Mike Sprouse, Chief Marketing Officer, Epic Media Group
Don't Distract Recruiters:"Many recruiters and hiring managers are in the Baby Boomer age range. These individuals know more traditional titles, and that is what they will use to search for candidates. These same people often view these creative titles as distractions or desperation."
– Sharon DeLay, Founder and President, Adjunct Solutions
Don't Be a Narcissist: "I recently worked with a company who arranged to bring in its Social Media Guru for a meeting, and that was his official title, on the business cards and everything. It frankly smacked with so much machismo that he would have had to just blown me out of the water with his ideas and understanding of social media in order for me to walk out of that meeting with a good impression of him. He didn't impress. And maybe having a Director of Social Media Strategy title wouldn't have changed things, but my only real memory of the meeting now, six months later, is thinking all the way through that this guy had the gall to use such a title."
– Sean Muir, Marketing Manager, MRINetwork
Think Long-Term:"It's too easy for creative job titles to come across as creepy today and become dated tomorrow. Your team might think you're hip and edgy. Potential clients might think you are lame. What seems super cool now, in ten years will most likely to be embarrassing."
– Lisa Merriam, Brand Consultant, Merriam Associates

Some Inspiration

If the long list of cons doesn't scare you, and you're thinking of getting creative with your title, here's a little inspiration. These are the top 20 modern job titles, as determined by Moo.com:

1. Sales Ninja

2. New Media Guru

3. Word Herder

4. Linux Geek

5. Social Media Trailblazer

6. Corporate Magician

7. Master Handshaker

8. Communications Ambassador

9. Happiness Advocate

10. Copy Cruncher

11. Transportation Captain

12. Web Kahuna

13. Marketing Rockstar

14. Problem Wrangler

15. Superstar DJ

16. Digital Dynamo

17. Designer Extraordinaire

18. Head Cheese

19. Plumber Hero

20. Movie Magic Maker

What's Your Title?

Do you have a creative job title? If so, share it in the comments below. If not, what are your thoughts on changing the pace with a more imaginative title?

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