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The GradCafe

2011-05-31T11:20:00.000-07:00

I’ll Take A Side Of Coffee With My Stress, Please!

In a world where a graduate student’s biggest drug problem consists of practically mainlining caffeine, it comes as no surprise that a popular college graduate information website is aptly dubbed www.thegradcafe.com. This website acts as a graduate student hub, trading questions and answers between students from a variety of schools across the nation. It is a venting website for users to vent about classes, assignments, and the usual struggles of being a graduate student.

In different sectors of the website, feel free to peruse areas such as:

· City Guide: ask the Café goers about a town or campus.

· IHOG: International House of Grads; a place for international students to come together. (Sorry, no pancakes.)

· The Lobby: What can we get you? Chit-chat here!

· Applying to graduate school: a forum for information to make the struggles easier.

The site also offers meet and greets between past grad students and incoming students in an effort to help them along their way. Within these meet and greets, offered are job descriptions, a sort of job craigslist and internships.

Feel free to peruse and make sure to suggest it to your fellow graduate school-goers!

Lindsay Marder

Social Learning Guru

The Celebritypreneur

2011-05-31T11:19:00.000-07:00

Spotlight On The Celebrity-Preneur.

In light of Notelog.com co-founder Mike Fingado creating another great concept dubbed Athletepreneur (connecting athletes who excel outside the sport to become entrepreneurs), I thought I’d take a moment to spotlight on some celebs who have stepped off the stage, runway, or even just outside the club and tried their hand at becoming entrepreneurs.

Let’s get the first one out of the way. Of course I’m going to name the Kardashian clan. In 2010 the family as a whole earned a whopping $65 million. How, you might ask (with your head shaking in disgust)? The Kardashians have their fingers dipped into almost every market right now. Acting, clothing, skincare, body health, modeling, and producing are only a few of the markets in which this family dominates.

Next, a much more acceptable celebrity entrepreneur is Gwen Stefani. As an entrepreneur, she balances motherhood with a clothing line, shoe line, fragrance set, and music career.

Ashton Kutcher is one of the most renowned celebrity entrepreneurs as he and his wife, Demi Moore, are thoroughly involved in many charities and functions that promote better causes throughout the world. He endorses a number of products (his biggest promotion being Nikon cameras) and started his own media production company, called Katalyst Media.

Mary-Kate and Ashley Olsen, or ‘The famous Olsen twins’. Since these girls were 9 months old they have been dominating the small and silver screen with their crafted movies. They started their own production firmed called Dual Star, and most girls that grew up with the Olsen Twins remember their clothing and hair care line. Most recently, the girls have stepped into the big leagues; they created a coffee-table book full of fashion, essays, and pictures chronicling different timelines of fashion icon developments.

Robert DeNiro holds a special place in this list because he is one of the most respected celebrities alive and offers an immense amount of intelligence along with his vast talent. DeNiro has an investation in Manhattan, NY where he has co-founded the Tribeca Film Festival. He also writes for the Daily Mail and co-founded the popular Japanese restaurant, Nobu. While he has made countless amazing movies, he has tried and succeeded in his hand as an entrepreneur.

Who doesn’t know Tyra Banks? She used to be one of the most popular Victoria’s Secret Angels, is historical for being the first African American woman to grace the cover of Sports Illustrated and simultaneously hosts and produces a number of shows. One of her most famous productions comes in the cycles of America’s Next Top Model, where she encourages young girls aspiring to be models to follow their dreams and teaches them the techniques they must use to succeed. This, combined with her talk show Tyra, has led to a successful bank account within her own production company, known as Bankable Productions (original, huh?).

The lists of celebrities who have chosen to endorse products are endless. We see celebrities only wearing certain jewelry names to award events, hoping to be photographed and increase sales for that brand. We see stars endorse political figures in an effort to help sway the vote; Carrie Underwood spoke out against this because she said the star power was an advantage over people’s decisions.

While becoming a celebrity entrepreneur (or athletepreneur) is great for a celebrity’s career, it also comes with extreme responsibility to always be a role model because you are representing a brand, not just oneself. The public has seen what happens when someone endorsing a product acts in a negative way in the public eye (i.e. Tiger Woods, Jesse James; both stripped of some of their endorsements). However, while not all of these entrepreneur acts are in the best interest of the public (more for the monetary gain), achievement points must be given for their accomplishments.

Lindsay Marder
Social Learning Guru

NoteLog Innovating Social Learning: Miami Herald Entrepreneurship

2011-04-20T14:17:00.000-07:00

NoteLog was featured in a story written by the Miami Herald. You can also view the article here.

Making the Most of an Internship

2011-03-29T20:32:00.000-07:00

Every college strives to offer their students’ the most help possible in obtaining successful jobs after college. There are job and internship fairs, advisors to point you in the right direction, and most schools have career centers offering a number of services from securing interviews to creating mock interviews in order to learn how to deliver what an employer looks for. In my experience, I have learned that internships can teach more than most jobs and help you weed out career choices that you’re unsure of. In searching for internships I have compiled a few tips that have helped me since beginning my college career:

-Begin looking early in the year:

• It’s never too early to start trolling the bulletin boards posted around campus. Companies start to look for spring candidates in the beginning of fall and like to secure their recruits by winter.

• Check out the career center and ask if there is any internship their advisors would suggest. A lot of advisors like when you’re personable and contact them for information because they get to know your personality and what would suit you better.

• Don’t wait until the last minute to apply if you find something you like. Recruiters like having a good amount of time to see you’d match what they’re looking for.

-Identify your interests (broaden your search)

• Of course it’s important to know what you’d like to do but taking up an internship that satisfies a hobby could be a rewarding experience and point you in a new career direction.

• Knowing the field you’re interested in, look for jobs that have a base in that field but offer you an experience you would find ‘out of the box’.

-Use your resources!!

• Websites such as www.Internships.com, MonsterTRAK, and school classified ad sites (FSU’s is SeminoleLink) offer many internships and small jobs that will usually accommodate a student’s schedule.

• Have a professor or TA that you’re particularly friendly with or shares interesting stories with the class that have caught your attention? Set a meeting with them to personally introduce yourself and see if they know of anything in their field that would fit your interests well.

• Meet with a representative at your local career center to perfect your interview manner.

• Get that resume in tiptop shape. Have a few copies printed or the online document handy in case an opportunity falls into your lap and you want to show off your experience.

-Time matters

• Every company that offers you a place on their team is going to expect 100% of your efforts. Don’t let them down by not devoting enough consideration to projects by having a schedule that will not fit enough internship-time.

• Discuss your schedule with a possible employer and make sure that you both will be satisfied with the time you can lend them.

-Give it your all (no ifs, ands or buts about it!)

• Whether or not your internship is your dream connection, give it your all. You never know the connections you’ll meet within the company and they might be able to help you in the future.

• Do your best to satisfy your employer and to gain as much knowledge from the experience as possible.

Using these tips, embark on a search for a great match that will hopefully put your career on a path to success.

College Test Prep: Study and Exam Tips

2011-03-18T21:18:00.000-07:00

Here we are about six weeks from the spring semester finish line! It’s a common feeling that once spring break is over, it’s crunch time for those grades. With most tests behind in the semester, those dreaded finals loom ahead. So what’s the best way to prepare? After a couple years of figuring out a good method of studying and preparing, I’ve compiled a list that have always seem to work for me. Knowing that an array of motivations drive students to earn the grades they want, early preparation and good scheduling can be a students’ best friend. Try these out as you approach your final hurdle:

Information is key-

• Find out all the details about the test you can from your instructor (cumulative, essay, multiple choice etc.).

• Seek out old students’ recall about the material (college forums usually have discussion boards with specific schools for students to blog on).

• It never hurts to ask your instructor if they’d be willing to let the class peek at previous semester’s tests (most won’t mind if the content has been adjusted) and review what you can remember from your own previous tests.

Avoid the cramming-

• Now is a good time to go through your material and sort out how much time you’ll need to devote to each class in order to get the grade you want to achieve.

• Skim through the material you’ll be learning in the upcoming weeks so you don’t spend your time reviewing all previous information and wind up feeling like you haven’t a grasp on the current material.

• Train yourself to use a variety a learning styles: audio learning, flash cards, diagrams. (www.flashcardmachine.com is a good website for a variety of tools.)

Location, location, location-

• Sure, the library is full of books and scholarly material, but it’s also full of distractions. People watching and web surfing act as the perfect distraction for the average college student avoiding their studying. Try to pick an isolated stop where you’re least likely to let your eyes and mind wander.

• Some of us like to listen to music while we study (I can’t concentrate for 5 minutes without a little bit of background noise!). Find which kind of background helps you and stick to it while you study. Turn off the TV, and remove clutter from your surroundings that offer possible distraction.

As we approach test week-

• Look for emails from other students offering group studying or the good Samaritan who sends out their created study guide so you can see if they have anything you might have missed. Or better yet manage your notes and study guides with classmates on NoteLog.com.

• Get sleep; staying up all night is physically and mentally draining, and energy drinks aren’t a good sustenance for anyone.

• Get clarification on any of the material you’re unclear of.

• Most important: don’t psych yourself out! If you’ve prepared properly and think you have a handle on the material, have confidence in yourself, stress won’t help you pass the test.

Have a happy crunch time!

Lindsay Marder
Social Learning Guru

Co-founder Mike Fingado featured as Student Star

2011-03-12T22:38:00.000-08:00

Mike Fingado Co-founder of NoteLog, LooksForBooks, and Athletepreneur was interviewed and featured for his contribution while at his alma mater Florida State University. Check out the interview here.

Michael (Mike) Fingado: NoteLog Co-founder and CEO

NoteLog Co-founder Cedric Nabe Eyes 2012 Olympics and Social Learning Endeavors

2011-03-12T21:01:00.000-08:00

NoteLog co-founder Cedric Nabe was featured by CBS news, as he pursues his entrepreneurial endeavors along with Olympic dreams. Check out the video below and article here.

Notelog.com Overview Video

2010-11-04T02:26:00.001-07:00

Florida State University's Jim Moran Institute Announces Notelog.com as Newest Addition to Student Business Incubator

2010-10-23T23:39:00.000-07:00

The Jim Moran Institute has announced Notelog LLC as the third student business to locate in the Student Business Incubator (SBI). You can read more about Notelog on the JMI web site, http://jmi.fsu.edu/Students/Student-Business-Incubator.

Mike Fingado, co-founder of Notelog LLC, is a graduate student majoring in sports management and former FSU track athlete. He is also co-founder of Athletepreneur (http://www.athletepreneur.com/), a blog that is “a leading source for news, updates and stories about the success of entrepreneurial minded athletes around the world.”

Notelog :: Should I rent or buy my textbooks?

2010-08-20T00:51:00.000-07:00

Why buy your textbooks when you can rent and save hundreds? Learn more!