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“The “wage gap” is not so much about employers discriminating against women as about women making discriminating choices in the labor market.” .

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Today, I spoke to Amber MacArthur, who is a new media host/producer, strategist, speaker, and author of Power Friending. In this interview, Amber talks about her new book, how to stand out, how to show ROI in social media, and more.

What is “Power Friending” and how did you get the idea for the name?

I got the idea of “Power Friending” when I was thinking about how the Internet has changed the definition of a friend and how important it was for businesses to learn more about this changing definition.  When practicing social media, it’s key to work hard and push the boundaries, so I think the “Power” reference is significant.

What makes you stand out amongst the new media crowd? What do you recommend to others who are having difficulty standing out?

I’ve been participating in social media for most of my career. As far as having trouble standing out, I think it’s important to communicate in the social media space on a regular basis.  Consistency is the only way you will see results.  Think of practicing social media like going to the gym; if you only go once a week, chances are you won’t get the body you want.

Why are so many people having trouble showing real business value when it comes to social media?

I think a lot of businesses are looking for a return on investment in the form of money, but the reality is that social media is simply another way to market and it’s difficult to calculate direct ROI.  However, there is definitely return on engagement.  In other words, you can build community and loyalty, which leads to sales.

What success stories have you seen for personal and corporate brands?

Zappos is perhaps one of best examples of social media done well, so I encourage everyone online to learn from them.  From listing employee tweets on their website to their CEO’s active online life, Zappos has grown from the inside out.  They’ve made social media a priority inside the company, so it’s been easier to build community externally.

How have you developed your own personal brand and turn it into a book deal with Portfolio?

I’ve always tried to have a strong presence online and respond to emails, messages, tweets, etc. with a personal touch. As for my book deal with Portfolio, the timing was right for me since I have turned my new media expertise into a career on the speaking circuit and a book is a natural fit.  Portfolio represents many great authors in the digital space, so I’m honored that they signed me on.

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Amber MacArthur is a new media host/producer, strategist, and speaker. She is the author of Power Friending. Most recently Amber worked at Citytv as its New Media Specialist in 2006, reporting on new media and interactive news and trends on a national news program and hosting/producing Webnation, a half-hour current affairs program about internet culture. Prior to Citytv, Amber spent two years working as a TV host/producer with tech guru Leo Laporte at G4techTV, a national television channel entirely devoted to technology. Amber also developed “commandN,” a popular video podcast that covers online and offline technology trends. Aside from experience in the broadcast industry, Amber spent four years as a web strategist at Razorfish and software start-up HigherMarkets, both in San Francisco. She also worked as a web strategy manager for Microsoft Canada, but she is a Mac fan at heart.

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If you are facing a job interview, you may not think about asking questions yourself when in fact, you can and should. There are many great reasons you should ask questions in a job interview. For one, you want to make sure you are really the right person for the job. You also want to be sure the position you are interviewing for is what you understand it to be.

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A lot of businesses like to chatter about the importance of their people. This is little more than lip service to the minions.

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• Dr David Ballard: Study suggest moral actions may increase capacity for willpower & physical endurance http://j.mp/dhktmk
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One of the mainstays of the 'business' blog world is the occasional book review post.  Bloggers get pitched by PR agencies or writers all the time to see if there is interest in reading and potentially reviewing the latest work on management, marketing, leadership -  you name it.  Other times bloggers provide their take on one of the popular business books of the day that have a subject matter in line with their blog's focus and target audience.

Some recent (and good) examples of this kind of review are Paul Hebert's look at 'Switch', or Kris Dunn's take on 'Linchpin'. Switch is all about influencing people to change, right in Paul's sweet spot, and Linchpin, with its focus on results and getting stuff done aligns well with some of the recurring themes of Kris' blog.

I don't write many book reviews on this site, since in the case of books like Switch or Linchpin I am either a bit late to the party, or don't really have much to add to or improve upon what people like Paul and Kris (and lots of others) have already covered. More so, in the case of the majority of books I read, they are not really in line with the realm of what this blog is (theoretically) about, technology and HR topics.

So when I picked up Kaya Oakes' 'Slanted and Enchanted : The Evolution of Indie Culture' a few weeks ago I did not intend on writing about it on the blog. I am actually not sure why I bought the book, maybe I was a bit tired of reading about how to convince people to do stuff they really do not want to do, or undergoing more admonitions of how to be fantastic and awesome by just being fantastic and awesome.  Possibly it was the cool looking cover.

Either way, after completing the book I felt like posting about it. Not so much a 'review' but just some observations of the similarities between indie culture and what is going on in the HR space lately. The book is essentially about the history and evolution of so-called indie culture, that is creative works done outside the 'mainstream' of corporations and organizations and without much concern about the viability or financial rewards.

In the book's retelling of the origins, early heroes, development, and export of indie music, books, art, and design I saw some parallels in the creation, distribution, and eventual attempted absorption by big corporate interests of indie culture, and some of what is starting to happen in the HR and Talent world where this little blog (and hundreds of others) reside.

When I think about the growing influence of the HR and recruiting blogs, radio shows, and bootstrapped 'unofficial' Unconferences in the Human Resources community it seems to me not unlike some of the stories in Slanted and Enchanted. Death Cab for Cutie gets a major label deal and makes regular appearances on The OC, and HR bloggers now routinely get press credentials to 'mainstream' HR events, get asked to make speeches or sit on panels, and many major and entrenched organizations and associations are trying to figure out how to understand, embrace, and possibly even absorb elements of this growing 'indie' movement in HR.

I think it is fantastic the the 'Indie HR' community is getting more recognition, notice, and is gaining (subtly) in influence with the mainstream HR world.  But here is the thing, as 'Indie HR' gains acceptance and gets more intertwined with 'traditional' HR is it in danger of losing what makes it so vibrant and meaningful?  Will it get toned down, homogenized, or otherwise turned into just another extension of the status-quo?

Last thought, in 'Slanted and Enchanted' Kaya Oakes says this about what being 'indie' really means:

Independence means rebellion, risk, tenacity, innovation, and resistance to convention.

She was referring to art, music, and poetry.  For those of us in 'Indie HR' we could be talking about interviewing, social networking, performance management - you get the picture.

As Indie HR goes more mainstream, can it still remain rebellious?  Or will it resort to making VH1-friendly videos and counting the royalties?

This afternoon a new Ms. Learning Management Systems will be crowned.  Who will it be?  Will GeoLearning successfully defend their crown?  SumTotal Systems and Cornerstone OnDemand are ready to fight their way to the top!

For those that aren’t familiar with HRchitect’s wildly popular Beauty Pageant Webinar Series, here’s what you need to know:

• Top vendors compete for your votes, bragging rights, and the illustrious title of Ms. Learning Management Systems
• Each vendor has 10 minutes to present, than takes audience questions during the interview portion of the pageant

HRchitect has developed a format to help guide each vendor on an outline of what should be covered during each portion of the pageant.

Evening gown – To start off each portion, we ask the vendor to come out in their best ‘outfit’ – corporate overview, history, specific identity, financial viability, marquee clients, leadership team, etc. This will be the grand entrance.

Swimsuit – Here the vendors will show some skin in this portion – usability, configurability, etc.

Talent – This portion will cover functionality, technology/integration, global ability, etc.

Interview – This will be the Q & A section from the audience.

Don’t miss this exciting event to help crown the winner and learn more about our contestants!  The pageant starts at 11AM Central and registration is available here.