Sam Michel's blog

Getting that dream job, sometimes requires more than a straight-forward job hunt, application and nailing the interview.

As an extension of a marketing discipline, it's all about understanding your audience and targeting them with an effective campaign. That's exactly what Alec Brownstein did using ingenuity and the grand total of $6 on Google Adwords.

The result? A gig at Y&R New York. Here's how he did it...

UPDATE: 10% discount, use code 'Chinwag' when registering.

Don't say we don't spoil you!

On 1st July, The Guardian's Activate Summit is back, and we've hooked up with the lovely folks at Guardian Towers for a competition to win two tickets to this high-profile conference, worth over £600.

After an incredible first year, this powerful gathering of global visionaries returns for a day of ideas and inspiration, providing insight into how the web and associated technologies are reshaping our world.

Search Marketing Expo Advanced hits London next week, and the lovely folks at SMX Advanced have offered up free tickets for two lucky Chinwag readers.

The program put together by search gurus Danny Sullivan and Chris Sherman from SearchEngineLand, this conference lifts the lids on all aspects of advanced search marketing with a packed agenda.

The opening keynote features Barak Berkowitz, Managing Director of Wolfram|Alpha, the UK's very own computational knowledge engine examining the future of search.

To win the tickets worth hundreds of pounds, simply fill out the form below and we'll let you know on Thursday (13th) whether you're one of the lucky recipients.

Can't Wait? Grab your tickets now, save £200 by registering in advance. For more info and to register, check out the SMX Advanced London website.

The lovely folks at the Social Media in Business conference (SMiB10) have offered up two free tickets to their next conference taking place on May 21st in London. 

The conference examines how social media culture and social networking platforms are having a major impact on business communication, practices and processes.

Enter the competition now, just fill out the simple form below and we'll let you know next Fri (30th Apr) if you're the lucky winner, getting your hands on two tickets worth £345 each!

The One Small Step competition from Barclays Business will see ten businesses collar £50,000 in funding for their startup.

With funding hard to come by, this looks like a good opportunity to secure that crucial initial cash to get the ball rolling. The competition has a broad remit:

"The brief is open - it could be a lifelong ambition or a recent brainwave. It could be a personal experience or a distant dream. Even a revolutionary concept that changes the world. It’s an open invitation and anyone with a great business idea and the drive to make it happen could win."

In an X-Factor meets Dragon's Den move, the One Small Step competition will sees the public vote on a shortlist of three companies from each region drawn up by the judges. Expect to see plenty of Twitter and Facebook canvassing for your vote over the next few weeks.

Chinwag's street cred has just taken a dip, with the news that the lovely Juliet is leaving our ranks to concentrate on her totally wicked music blog/A&R project, itsfreestyle.com (see earlier street cred reference)

We're going to miss her lots, especially her exasperated look, when I try and make a convincing argument that The Thompson Twins were the hipsters of their time, or cite the artistic merits of Girls Aloud. 

This also means we're on the hunt for a new member of the Chinwag team. It's a part-time role, that requires that special blend of organisation, efficiency, unflappability, brain power and occasional banter.

Working with our little gang, this person will be a critical part of keeping our multitudinous projects including Chinwag.com, Chinwag Jobs, Digital Missions and lots more running smoothly.

Hot on the heels of our recent summary of juicy intern roles, news reaches Chinwag Towers from Channel 4 of their Generation Next Programme.

Focusing on potential rather than age, skills or qualifications, seven lucky interns will get an in-depth ten week placement,

Spring has sprung. Even the plant life inside Chinwag Towers is showing signs of life despite its usual mistreatment.

It's also the time of the year when soon-to-be graduates, and those about to embark on their gap year start the hunt for a worthwhile pursuit to fill the coming months.

Following our call for internships and work placements a few weeks back, here's a round-up of the response we got. For enterprising souls, there's certainly plenty of experience to be gained at some great digital companies, check out the list of available placements: 

• addidas
• PharmiWeb Solutions
• INPROMO GmbH
• Flip Media FZ LLC
• Amberlight Partners
• FootballUnited.com
• Global Beach
• fish in a bottle
• Pitchup.com
• Direct Traffic Media
• Browser Creative
• ParcelPoke Limited
• Carve Consulting
• Great Marketing Works
• Smarkets
• Guru
• Bluw-i
• Halpern Cowan
• Quirk Emarketing Ltd
• Brightlemon Ltd
• Spotless Interactive
• OpenBusiness.cc

This list was put together purely as a rough'n'ready trial, it's a list of internships and work placements only. If you're looking for a full-time or freelance role, check out the full listings on our sister site, Chinwag Jobs (hint: there's a list of the latest and greatest to your right-hand side).

We'd also love to hear from employers and interns on their experiences, so do leave a comment or drop us a line. It's always good to get a steer on the state of the industry, both good and bad.

A highlight of SXSW is the enormous opportunity for networking. And it's not just catching up with the Americans, with such a large British contingent making the trip to Austin, it's a great chance to catch-up with people from the UK, too.

Bill Thompson, Gareth Mitchell and the crew from BBC World Service's Digital Planet show were in town to record a special live session at SXSW interactive (listen here). Bill swung by the Digital Mission stand where I pounced on him with my flip and asked him about his first SXSW...

The third video installment from Digital Mission to SXSWi 2010 from Techfluff.tv's Hermione Way.

In a whirlwind trip around SXSWi, she speaks to the Digital Mission companies, visitors to the Digital Mission stand "Trust Agents" author, Chris Brogan and Tuttle Club's Lloyd Davis with a ukelele solo (yup, you read that right).

It's hard to describe South by South West interactive. Yes, it is a trade show. Yes, it's a conference. Yes, there's lots of business going on.

The laid-back atmosphere of Austin pervades the event, and despite the frenetic activity, networking and business going on, for the attendees it doesn't feel like a corporate environment.

Hermone Way from Techfluff.tv, took her film crew out and about at the Austin Convention Center, to try and capture what makes SXSW special.

The first day of the Digital Mission to SXSWi 2010 day starts with the masterclass, an opportunity for the companies to wrap their heads around doing business in the USA, the legal issues, the cultural approach, the business landscape and insight into SXSW.

Techfluff's Hermione Way stopped by to film some of the attendees and Leah Mayo from UK Trade & Investment's office in Houston.

It might be called 'Glastonbury for Geeks', but despite the laid-back demeanour, South by South West (SXSWi), there's plenty of business going taking place.

SXSWi is famous as a launch-pad for Twitter and laterly foursquare, and with so many tech types crammed into Austin for a week, provides the perfect cauldron of opportunity for spreading the word.

The UK firms taking part in the Digital Mission are seizing this opportunity with both hands (imagine a mobile phone in one hand, a mouse in the other). Here's a summary of the shiny new launches that will be unleashed from from Brainient, Codegent, Codility, Littleloud, Little World Gifts, oneDrum, PageDo, Skimlinks, Smidgn and Tweetjobs:

Preparations for the impending mission to South by South West interactive (SXSWi) are in their final stages. Chinwag Towers is littered with all manner of goodies ready for the trip to Austin.

Hermione Way and her crew at Techfluff.tv, with a helping hand from the folks at Viadeo, have put together a trailer for the Digital Mission to SXSWi, giving a flavour of the companies attending, and capturing the pace of what awaits them...with a dollop of tongue-in-cheek for good measure.

Check out 'Mission Possible'...

I've noticed a steady increase in the number of roles on Chinwag Jobs that mention "social media" or "community" in the title. But what's it like to do the job? In this guest post, Rebecca Jesson, Social Media Manager at Sheffield-based agency, Quba shares her day...

One of the questions I get asked frequently is “What exactly does a Social Media Manager do?” As Kat French so rightly puts it “…because apparently, people think social media managers spend all day on Twitter/Facebook collecting followers and congratulating each other on getting paid to spend all day on Twitter/Facebook”. Her “day in the life of…” post covers a lot of the things I do all day, but I wanted to write one of my own. So here it goes...