Behavioral targeting, or the method of mapping online activity, targets consumers based on the behaviors they exhibit online.

Our online identities are complex…we post our frustration with Comcast on our blogs,  videos of our kids playing Kinect on YouTube, proclaim our love for Johnny Rockets on twitter and help Coca Cola reach 22 million likes on Facebook. Despite our exhibitionist nature with brands online, when it comes to advertisers tracking our behavior to deliver targeted ads, industry moderators, consumers and government organizations are saying DO NOT TRACK ME.

Today, even as innovative online targeting companies such as Lotame Solutions Inc., Media6Degrees Inc., eXelate Media Ltd., [x + 1] Inc. and Turn Inc. rake in funding there are a myriad of initiatives from browser setting to industry groups that will protect your privacy. However threatening to cast its shadow over it all is the government, introducing new legislation to create a universal Opt-Out List. So how will the advertiser’s, publishers and targeting companies who depend on our cookies to meet their bottom line handle these oppositional forces?

Perhaps in order to figure out how to adapt the audience targeting business we must first understand why users are ok with conversing, promoting and being followed by brands in certain online mediums but not others? Is it the idea of choice and control? Do users on social mediums feel they are having a conversation rather than be delivered a message? Some believe the question really is not about how we ensure people don’t opt-out but rather how do we make people opt in?

My opinion as a professional in the online audience targeting industry: We need to start by providing users channels to express their preferences and show them the clear benefits of custom targeting. We can invest in tools to reach a million people who don’t want to be found or capture a thousand who care about what our advertisers have to offer.

Why do you think users are ok with giving companies their information through some mediums but not others and what do you think the future of behavioral targeting will look like?

*Please note this is a personal blog that in no way reflects the opinion of my Company.

The conversation started well, I shared with Bob how I found my passion for the company after seeing Microsoft technology building business during my study abroad to India. He, in turn started to tell me about Multi-Point the technology from MSFT Research India which empowers school children with individual inputs allowing them to equally share the screen of a single classroom computer. While I appreciated the anecdote I had of course already told the same one to Bob’s admin while waiting in her office that morning, what can I say great minds think alike!       

Now for my questions – these are a few of Bob’s answers; I included 4 of the questions we discussed.       

Question 1:  I know you have some programs such as BizSpark that address young entrepreneurs and I am not sure of the success of these programs; however I do notice a younger segment of developers and entrepreneurs who have developed an anti-Microsoft sentiment and are more interested in using free open-source software. To me this seems like a major miss because these are the developers of the future and also a quality talent pool who now thinks Microsoft is a cumbersome giant. Do you feel that this audience is important, if so what sorts of things are you doing to engage them, will the Azure platform have a free or low-cost offering for startups?          

Yes they are incredibly important segment, with the Microsoft DreamSpark we give away programs such as Windows Server and Visual Studio Tools to over 6 million students per year. As long as you can demonstrate you’re a student we make it available to everyone who wants it. Also our Express Products see millions of downloads per year. We currently have over 30,000 companies who use BizSpark, the reason we require a recommendation before we work with entrepreneur is so we can keep a connection to the organization and ensure they are receiving some guidance. {The BizSpark Program has been heavily criticized for requiring a strict application process and a Network Partner sponsor to even be considered for the program.}       

There has been a bias to open source, but things such as WebsiteSpark with services to build sites for organizations are fostering a lot of excitement. Of course the work we are doing with cloud will be important with this, and we are looking at getting these entrepreneurs access to cloud services.       

Question #2: In an industry historically dominated by men what do you think are some of the challenges woman face trying to move their way up in the organization?     

This is something me and my wife are very supportive of, it is something that we are really interested in. A huge part of this is helping women work through their careers, helping women in mentor rings, connecting them with senior leaders and each other. This is a huge challenge in the industry as a whole and in hard sciences as a whole. I currently work with my Alma Mater the University of Michigan to do research on hard sciences and on technology. There are challenges just in college with the graduation rates of women in this industry. Then there are cultural barriers and how people interact with each other. We really need to make sure women are listened to. There are problems making sure women are able to fully participate in the conversation. There is the typical situation that when a woman presents an idea in a meeting everybody passes over it but a man can say the same thing five minutes later and everyone will revel in what a great idea he has. Because of this I make it a point to always really listen to what women say in meetings. If there is any single thing that should be done it is to get woman more opportunities to advance in the industry.  {Does anyone have up to date statistics of women in the tech industry?}       

Question #3: What are the top qualities you look for in a person who will be a success at Microsoft and what do you think are some of the best ways a young person just out of college can contribute to the company?       

A large part of it is energy and enthusiasm, obviously smart, focused and a huge thing is the ability to work well with others in a team, you should be able to work effectively with others and drive things to resolution. It’s up to each of us to drive for results. Microsoft, this company; it doesn’t hand it to you on a silver platter but it does give you resources to succeed. At the end of the day we need people with a focus on doing the right thing for our customers, shareholders and employees.  In that order, note that I did not put “yourself” in that equation.       

Questions #4:  I see a serious disconnect from the messaging I see on a bus wrapper or on a TV ad compared to the product that is revealed when I watch a breakfast series event. The marketing is not doing justice to the awesome things Microsoft is coming out with. A track I am particularly interested in is Product Management, can you talk to me a little bit about what you think some of the top challenges marketers and engineers face when communicating with each other and communicating the value of Microsoft offerings to consumers?       

A product manager needs to represent what’s happening with customer, yes it is important to have to have an understanding of engineering issues, but it’s pivotal to really, really understand the customer. A successful Product Manager will be the customer’s advocate within the engineering organizations and keep their efforts focused on what the customer wants. {Bob specifically called out Chris Capossela SVP in the Microsoft Business Division for doing a great job of understanding and advocating for the consumer.}       

Tips for others going in to meet with the big wigs – some of these things I wish I had thought of in retrospect:       

1. Bring a digital voice recorder: typing notes as the person is talking can distract you from thinking of follow-up questions.
2. Realize, this person is a diplomat and most of your questions will be answered with diplomatic decorum!
3. Make sure you lay out a clear call to action, go in with the names of specific people you want to be introduced to and specific requests (I did this to some extent but could have been improved).
4. Have realistic expectation about what the person you’re meeting with can/cannot and will/will not do for you.
5. Remember, for all a person may hold influence, at the end of the day they are just a human and their paradigm of importance is just a company (so don’t be too nervous).
6. Send a hand written ’Thank You’ note!

The Bright Light of Microsoft's Future Shining Behind Us!

Cool right….?

Well maybe not so much when I reveal the second thing I learned about that night, Microsoft Tag! While I had heard of Microsoft Tag before and seen types of tags used with Microsoft Surface, I did not really understand how awesome Tag was until I met a gentleman from Waggener Edstrom working on the MSFT Tag account (oh those PR folks!)… I investigated Tag more carefully the next day at work and am super stoked on it now!

What it is: A Tag which you can scan from your mobile phone for instant access to information, websites, videos, reviews, and more.

Why you want this for networking and professional development purposes:  First you can use it in a similar function as our kikimo friend above without carrying around a toy. You can save a picture of your tag on your phone, put it on your business card or a resume and the people you meet can simply scan it with their phone to get all your contact info downloaded on their phone (vcard option)! Or you can have your tag take them to a site such as a personal blog or LinkedIn page (url option)!

The marketing uses for this are also exciting, but somewhat obvious, so read about them elsewhere.

The process to get the app on your phone takes about 2 minutes and to setup your own free Tag takes about 1 minute. The Tag can then be downloaded as a pdf or jpg and used on just about anything!

All you need to go is go to the Microsoft Tag Website  to get started.

One thing I am debating on right now is what I want the Tag on my resume to link to, if it is just to my LinkedIn then I could have just put a hyperlink… but if I set it to download my contact card that a little weird because a random person looking at my resume might not want to store all my info in their phone. I am leaning towards and aggregate site that has my twitter/blog/LinkedIn on it… wait my LinkedIn is that aggregate site!

Perhaps every medium, ie my resume, is not meant for a Microsoft Tag? Thoughts? Perhaps a text tag with my mission statement, which would otherwise take up a lot of room on a resume?

All 3 of these are different kinds of Tags, scan each!

What uses have you seen for the Microsoft Tag, what would you link your Tag to and what other tools have you seen to capture contacts while networking!?

That’s how I feel about this blog, I don’t update it enough, I always think about what to write for too long and I never seem to capture that snappy succinct, Seth Godin-esque vibe I am going for!

However I am OK with that. I have heard the advice many time don’t put the cart before the horse. “The biggest and most common mistake people make is using the tools for personal branding, such as blogs, LinkedIn and Twitter, without first taking the time to define a strong, authentic brand for themselves.” – From Meridith Levinson in her article on ’6 Personal Branding Mistakes That Can Threaten Your Job Search’.

In some ways I agree with Meridith, and I did not jump into this game without any thought to my authentic brand. However I believe you need to start somewhere. I could wait for a year or two until I fine tuned my unique value proposition, but isn’t that process something blog worthy in the first place?  

Why do companies ask puzzle questions with no right answer in interviews?  It is to understand your problem solving process; I don’t see why developing your personal brand should be different.

So now my professional development learning process is a public one… and I am ok with that, I started this blog because I wanted to link myself to the things I was passionate about. I wanted to share my enthusiasm about professional development, Microsoft and marketing.  I would encourage other young professionals to stop putting it off; if you are passionate about something don’t wait to make yourself perfect… start writing!

Does anyone else watch those Miracle Whip ads and think: “who associates their identity with a type of sandwich spread?”

I mean honestly, who wants to self proclaim themselves as a fatty white substance? Of all the consumer packaged goods one could identify with… a soft drink, a beer, or even a larger brand, like “we are a Nestle family.” But sandwich spread? The nasty white substance smeared between the bread and your lettuce/meat/pickles….

I know if the Ad is not resonating with me, it’s probably not targeted at me. However I would be interested to meet all of these outrageously cool hipsters who have developed their identity with the assistance of Miracle whip.  

Come on Miracle Whip… you should tone it down.

The fact that the water is carbon negative, committed to reforestation and contains 91 mg/L of Silica never comes into my decision making process.

Reaching into the frosty case at the Shell Station on Broadway and Pike I simply know I can treat myself to something special by choosing FIJI.

Perhaps with the world sipping from cylinders I feel like a stand out hydrating from a square.

What products or brands make you feel special or indulgent?

Am I the only one who wants to know where Mich went to school, how she became the SVP for the MS Central Marketing Group, previous experience, is she married, does she have kids?

As a young woman trying to move my way up in the world of marketing, especially at Microsoft Mich is and idol and complete mystery to me.  Tell us Mich what does it take to get ahead?

Yet no Wikipedia article?

Making one now, I will use existing articles to support it and email Mich to fill in the details, lets see if she replies, hey its worth a shot right!

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mich_Mathews you should add something in too! Unfortunately large sections of this article keep getting deleted, tricky Wikipedia!

*** Update 4/14: I reached out to Mich via email and to my pleasant surprise  she replied and had some words of advice!

“My best advice to you if you want a career in marketing at Microsoft, is to always walk in your customers’ shoes and always be loyal to your brand.”

But this is why I think students and young professionals especially should take advantage of Twitter:

1. A lot of professionals have Twitter, if they are there you should be too
2. Twitter is an easy was to establish your personal brand and show people you are knowledgeable in your industry
3. Twitter can help you stay on top of potential jobs, companies and networking opportunities

Getting started: No one wants to hear what you are doing every 5 minutes, but you can share what you’re learning every couple of hours! Read publications that interest you. Tweet cool finds using a service such as http://bit.ly/ to shorten links. Eventually you will start to develop a pattern to your tweets about things you care about. For example my tweets revolve around Augmented Reality in Marketing, Technology, and Philanthropy.

TIPS:

• Meet a professional?  Follow them; it is an informal way to stay current on what they are doing and another touch point beyond their clogged Outlook inbox.
• Asking a favor of a professional? Check their tweets first to see what is going on in their life, if they are out of town or seem busy hold your email until their tweets indicate less stress. It will seem courteous and improve your chances of getting a reply.  
• Care about a company? Follow them and search for them on Twitter, so when that interview comes you don’t just have the knowledge of a couple of news articles but a real time understanding of what people are saying about them.
• Follow recruiters, they often post job openings!
• Interested in Communications, PR, Advertising, Marketing or Technology? Check out #coldpavement a great informal networking event happens monthly learn about it through twitter!

You will be amazed as your tweets start to get re-tweeted or you get thanked for sharing cool information!

There is far too much to cover with Twitter so many ways to use it and so many examples of networking and job hunting success via twitter. At the end of the day Twitter places you and your personal brand into the conversation, if your not part of the dialogue someone else will be.

If anyone has tips about how to get listed, get more relevant followers or wants to tell me your twitter experience, leave me a comment or give me a shout out @belmontej  http://twitter.com/belmontej

• Paid vs. Unpaid?
• Well known vs. small company/startup?
• Where to look?
• Uncharted waters—some agencies/companies don’t have internship programs, but I want to work there, how do I break in?

 Paid vs. Unpaid:
After two paid internships I am unexcited about the idea of not getting paid but I also know that by discounting it I really limit my options. Even big shops like some WPP and Omnicom agencies will hire their interns unpaid/for college credit and they still provide amazing opportunities for students to grow professionally.

 TIP: If you are looking for your first internship, an unpaid internship can give you the necessary experience to secure a paid on in the future.

 Well known vs. small company or start up
Still wrestling with this one! My best internship to date has been with a mid-sized company because it gave me the opportunity to take a lot of ownership and really dig into some projects. Although I know that I can learn more with a smaller shop the reality is people notice big names on your resume and it can set you apart from the pack

*My game plan right now is to shoot for a big name and if nothing shakes out go to smaller shop that will give me great connections and allow me to work on issues I care about such as microfinance.

TIP: Do both!

Where to look?
Currently I have been checking posts on:

• Craigslist > marketing/pr/ad > internships
• Seattle U Redhawk network (password required)
• UW Comm. Dept Website (no password required, don’t need to be UW student) http://www.com.washington.edu/facilities/jobs/
• Emails from Aric Lane (Works for SU Comm. Dept)
• PRSSA, email me if you would like to check out our database of internships
• www.Internmatch.com  >> Seattle internship site. Pro: lots of great companies listed including wide array of non-profits. Con: not very many paid.
• Company websites

Always looking for new resources let me know where you find internships!

TIP: many companies have RSS feeds of their job posts or twitter job accounts, follow them to stay current on open positions.

 Uncharted waters—some agencies/companies don’t have internship programs, but I want to work there, how do I break in? I have been working on this one and am not sure if I have a good formula worked out yet. I think the key to this is connections and networking, having an internal connection as opposed to just cold calling or emailing an agency can ensure that your request is heard.

 Even if you want to come in unpaid the process still requires time and money—HR and IT departments need to get you set up in the system and someone needs to supervise you. If I am proposing a company take me on, I have found they want me to provide a good reason for how I can add value to their organization.

 Additionally there are labor laws in place around interns, payment and college credit. I am trying to nail down exactly what these are so I can provide my contacts easy solutions to present to HR when they are trying to bring me on board.

If anyone has information on this or advice let me know!

 TIP: ASK! Ask, even if it is awkward or you know it’s a long shot, you will never get something if you don’t ask for it!

 I have come across many internships over the past couple years of searching, so if you need an internship let me know what field your interested in and I will try to help you out! You can email me at Belmonte@seattleu.edu or leave a comment on this post!

Let me know what resources you use to find internships or what concerns you have when looking for an internship?

More to come soon, enjoy.