The EU General Data Protection regulation will be law on May 25, 2018.
From what I can see, it will generate a lot of activity in the enterprise space - not least because of the potential fines that can be imposed (up to 4% of previous year worldwide turnover or 20 million Euros - whichever is the greater). This will undoubtable generate a mini-industry of consultants and experts - it is going to be that important.
To get a quick overview, Troy Hunt has recorded a free course - it can be found here
I've been a fan of Troy’s work for some time and have mentioned him in previous articles. It's well worth a watch - even if you don't think it applies to you.
Last week saw me take a first step into getting more traction for my ROI articles by using the sponsorship facility within LinkedIn.
As you'd expect, LinkedIn operates in much the same was as any similar service - you choose what to sponsor (in my case I've sponsored a couple of blog posts), the audience and how much you are prepared to pay.
I've currently tried two different audiences - one based on the Midlands/ North West area and being reasonably senior. The other being based from Stoke only. The intention of these (hopefully) is to increase the brand (Red Folder Consultancy) within the local area.
The first article (5 Pro Tips for recruiting Software Developers - see below) I based on PPC (Pay-Per-Click) and I received just over 2,000 impressions and 6 clicks (with 1 new follower) on a £20 spend.
The second article (my Software Development Health Check service) was again based on PPC and so far I've received just over 1,000 impressions and 2 clicks on a £5.20 spend.
The main difference between the two is the bid value I places - with the second campaign being much lower.
There is an alternative to PPC - to pay per 1,000 impressions - but so far, I believe I've getting better ROI from the PPC.
I may run another campaign later this week to sponsor another article. It feels like a small but regular spend will increase the following - but it will likely take considerable time.
As mentioned last week, I'm into my end-of-contract process. Again while renewal seems very likely, it is foolhardy to make assumptions.
So I've updated CV and posted to the Job Boards - I use CW Jobs, Job Serve, Job Site and Monster. As is normal, posting them yesterday generated the normal level of kneejerk contacts ... one agency this morning desperate to contact me about this unique opportunity for which I was perfect for ... it turned out be a junior role which may have suited me 20 years ago.
But that is why I post to the Job Boards 3 weeks out. With any luck, it clears the keyword recruiters from the final two important weeks - or at least it helps.
Two articles released last week.
5 Pro Tips for recruiting Software Developers was written directly for LinkedIn advertising. It pulled in a few pieces which I'd written about previously - along with some content that I'd prepared for a Recruitment Agency video-blog that never came off. A slightly different style to the normal ROI articles - but I feel it still fits with the general vein.
ROI of Estimates takes a look at how estimate, when used badly, produce poor ROI. I use my own experiences to illustrate how easy it is to get an estimate wrong. I go so far as to say that every estimate every given has been wrong - it is just a question of by how much. In acknowledging that, to get better ROI from Software Development then you need to change away from the estimate = commitment mind-set. One of my favourite topics.