WordPress and the Systems Programmer

There are lots of people blogging these days … Lots! But not everyone has the skills or time to manually code the web pages necessary to maintain a blog. Fortunately, that is not necessary thanks to providers like WordPress.

WordPress is software that takes care of all the grunge work in keeping a blog. Bloggers can post without knowing a thing about HTML. However, the software has to be installed on their web host’s site. Many web hosts provide WordPress, but many others would require the software to be installed by the  customer. People that are not interested in coding web pages are by and large not interested in trying to install software on their web site, either. So WordPress also hosts their own software, and makes it available to bloggers at no cost. Over a quarter million blogs are hosted on WordPress.com. This blog is one of them, as is any blog where the address is in the format http://blogname.wordpress.com. I have registered a domain named theCICSguy.com, and have it pointing to this site, http://theCICSguy.wordpress.com.

It’s not real easy to find, so to start your own blog on WordPress, click here to find out all the info you need to know to get started.

No wonder there are so many bloggers! It is easy, and it is free … All that is required is the time to post your opinions, thoughts, or information! Systems programmers have a long history in computing, and thus a lot of opinions and tons of information to share. If you have a blog that systems programmers would be interested in (especially if it is CICS related), please let me know; I’ll post some links to my favorite blogs in a future posting.

Follow theCICSguy on twitter here

LinkedIn and the Systems Programmer

LinkedIn is the most professional of the social media sites. There you will find over 70 million professionals networking with each other, and the site is growing at a pace of about 1 new professional per second!

You can think of LinkedIn as being Facebook for professionals. Instead of “friends”, you have “connections”. Instead of posting “what you are doing”, you “share networking activity”. To facilitate networking, LinkedIn can not only show you your connections (your “first connections”), but also their connections (your “second connections”). The idea is to make it easy for people to gain access to new contacts.

There are some job-seeking / employee-seeking  advantages to being on LinkedIn. Employers with a need can post job lists and search for possible candidates; they can also check with a connection for recommendations on applicants that are connected to them. Job seekers can search job lists, check the profiles for hiring managers and see if they have any mutual connections that may aid in their job pursuit, receive notifications for new job offers when particular companies are listing them, and they can bookmark possible job opportunities for review later.

There are mainframe, CICS, educational, and other special interest groups to join on LinkedIn to use to make new connections or revive old ones. I am currently a member of the Missouri University of Science and Technology Alumni (I am a UMR graduate), Mainframe Experts Network, System z Advocates, IBM MAINFRAME, CICS Special Interest Group, and SHARE groups. Please let me know if you find another z or CICS-related group that CICS sysprogs should be joining!

There are lots of reasons to be on LinkedIn. Keeping an active network can help keep you in touch with your current contacts and help you make new contacts that may help you now or down the road. If you are not on LinkedIn, sign up today and connect to theCICSguy!

Follow theCICSguy on twitter here

Facebook and the Systems Programmer

Facebook is easily the king of the social networking world. It seems like everyone is on Facebook. While I mainly use Facebook for personal communications, many use it for professional purposes – to promote their business or services, or to socialize with others in their profession. And yes, there are resources on Facebook for the CICS systems programmer.

The first place to look on Facebook are the CICS- or systems programming-related groups. The I ♥ CICS group, where members are encouraged to post tips, experiences, and resources, boasts 448 members, and is easily the largest CICS group on Facebook. At least, the largest group interested in the IBM software called CICS; you will find that there are many other types of CICS groups that have nothing to do with transactional processing if you do a search! A newly formed group, CICS TS Q&A, looks to be promising as new members jump on board. Its whole purpose is for CICS folks to have a place to ask questions and get answers. A couple of others not specific to CICS you may want to check out include IBM Mainframe Professionals and Mainframe Sysprogs.

Why check out these groups? Because that’s where you’ll find others in our field! “Friend” all those you know (request that they become your Facebook friend), and read the posts for new info and to learn about others that you do not know yet. Scan their profiles to see if they blog, as most bloggers have a link in their Facebook profile. By “friending” them, you will also learn some interesting tidbits about some of the leaders on our field; for example, Leigh Compton is an avid reader!

As I mentioned, I primarily use Facebook for personal use, and I’m sure you will find many people you know in other fields that you may want to keep up with using Facebook. It’s a great tool for that. Just don’t overlook the ability to also use it to keep up with your CICS colleagues!

I’ll post more info about Facebook as new angles appear, or as I learn new things about it that I did not know before. By all means, if you have some additional insight, please share! Facebook … Get on it, and use it while it’s worth using, before it becomes overcommercialized!

Next time … Twitter!

Follow theCICSguy on twitter here