It's Time To Read Faster

With more and more blogs out there, it’s tough to consume all the information you want to in a given day. You can’t log onto Facebook without a list of links to interesting information. A Twitter stream flies past you faster than a 95 mph fastball. 

Improving my reading speed is something I’ve wanted to do for a long time. I recently received the push I needed from Julien Smith, someone you should be reading if you aren’t already.

There’s a whole lot of business, technology, and news blogs on the Internet reaching for your attention. Sometimes there just aren’t enough hours in the day to get to all that is captivating. I recently found a tool that might help move through that information a little faster.

Accelareader pushes you to read faster by showing you one word at a time, at a speed that you are able to set. Most people read at about 200 wpm, but if you are able to keep up, you can set the speed for as fast as you need.

All you need to do is copy and paste the info on to the box on the home page of the website and set the speed. From there, your reading will be done in a form that looks closer to a rapidly moving Youtube video.

Hopefully Accelareader can help you get through your reading list a little faster than you otherwise would. The goal for me is, to use this program and some basic speed reading concepts to improve my overall reading speed over time.

The Four Ways to More LinkedIn Visibility

LinkedIn has a reputation as being a platform for job seekers, but that’s only one application for the professional network. Another application is for expanding your business’s network and increasing visibility. Are you doing everything that you can to accomplish this through LI? It’s an excellent platform for networking, especially if you are in a B2B field.

Here are four steps to increasing your visibility on LinkedIn. They are basic, but are you doing them?

Fill Out Your Profile Completely—This should go without saying. The best way to attract attention from serious potential clients or customers is to allow them to get to know you. This means giving them the information that they’re looking for in an easy to read way. Ask your connections that you’ve done business with for recommendations. Fill out your job history. Oh, and throw up a professional head shot. It can make or break the business you do.

Answers—If you’re in business for yourself, chances are you know a lot about the industry and subject. LinkedIn has an answers section that allows members to ask, and answer questions. If you know the answer, contribute to the conversation. A word of caution: be nice in how you answer questions. Some people tend to become know it alls, or scoff at the question. Interacting this way won’t win you future business. You can also add a link to your answer. If there is more information on this question on your website, you can link back to it. People will sniff you out if you link every answer back to your site however, so it’s best to do this sparingly.

Groups—Groups are another great way to interact with other professionals, and potential customers on LinkedIn. There are many groups for different industries and subject matters, and participating in the discussions can be a great way to talk shop. Just remember to talk with people the way you would if you met them at a networking event—kind and professionally.

Update Your Status—Like Facebook, LinkedIn allows you to update your status. And also like Facebook, the more quality information you post, the more other professionals will be interested. If you give the hard sell with every post, people will tune you out.