2009 February « Matthew A. Gilbert, MBA Presents "Doctorious: My Adventures in Education"

Archive for February, 2009

A “Road Sign” from the “PhDMV?” Graffiti-Covered “PhD-Mobile” Spotted on Interstate 5

February 26, 2009

On December 1, 2008 I blogged about my doctoral dreams and how I plan to apply for programs starting on December 1, 2009 — my “PhD-Day.” I also featured photos and a video of a graffiti-laden delivery truck on which the letters “P-H-D” are spray painted on the roll-top door. I have decided to call this truck the “PhD-Mobile” (like “Batmobile” but for academics).

I have intermittently encountered the “PhD-Mobile” and interpret it as a sign that pursuing a doctorate is the right path for me. I started seeing this truck in March 2008 when I was driving to and from the DeVry Center in Bakersfield, CA where I have been an adjunct professor since October 2007.

I am sure these letters are just some tagger’s initials, but to me they represents my dream of earning a PhD by studying the impact of social media on the management and marketing of knowledge (possibly with a focus in the health care industry).

With regard to that process, I am now evaluating disciplines in which to conduct my research. The leading contender is Communication, although Marketing and Information Science remain possibilities. You can track my progress in my PhD-Day Diary.

After a long period during which I did not see the “PhD-Mobile” I saw it again during the morning of February 24, 2009! I happened upon it while driving on Interstate 5 North (near Pyramid Lake) from my home in Santa Clarita, CA to DeVry University (as has been the case in the past).

Here’s a video of the truck (in slow motion and intentionally without sound):

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A photo of the same truck follows. Note that the truck was driving so slowly in order to get this picture (after initially getting the video, above) I had to exit Interstate 5 at Pyramid Lake, wait for approximately five minutes and then, once I saw the truck pass by, re-enter the freeway.

The timing of the sighting was auspicious as it was two days after my birthday and right after I had been evaluating my options. I had also taken a practice GRE on Sunday (my actual birthday) so my mind was very pre-occupied with thoughts related to the doctorate.

I guess this was a reminder that I am headed in the right direction!

Posted in Career, Education, Interests, On the Road, Personal, PhD | Tagged 2009, Bakersfield, Batman, Batmobile, coincidence, college, communication, commute, DeVry University, doctorate, driving, Education, February 24, graduate degree, Grapevine, GRE, health care, healthcare, Information Science, Interstate 5, knowledge management, Marketing, Matt Gilbert, matthew gilbert, P-H-D, PhD, PhD-Mobile, professor, pyramid lake, santa clarita, school, serendipity, Social Media, UCI, UCLA, UCSB, USC | 4 Comments »

Guest Speaker: Writer and Journalist Nick Belardes Shares Career Tips and Life Experiences with DeVry University Students in Bakersfield, CA

February 24, 2009

Professional writer and journalist Nick Belardes graciously took some time out of his schedule to speak to students in my ENGL-227 (Professional Writing) class at DeVry University in Bakersfield, CA.

He spoke to the students about what it means to be a writer and shared his own experiences for nearly two hours. He also answered questions at the end and really went out of his way to engage and inform those in attendance.

I edited his presentation into four parts. Each of the four videos is centered on a different theme, as follows:

Part 1: Nick explains how being a professional writer is like being Indiana Jones (9:10)

Part 2: Nick illustrates why you must be a “Terminator” to be a writer (5:46)

Part 3: Nick offers advice on how to “be” a writer and how to get published. (8:01)

Part 4: Nick shares his thoughts on “success” as a writer and offers insight on what it means when your “job” is also your passion (3:11)

For more information about Nick Belardes visit https://www.facebook.com/nlbelardes or follow him on Twitter via @nickbelardes.

Posted in Classroom, Education, Interests | Tagged Bakersfield, Blogs, books, CA, class, Corel Video Studio 12, DeVry University, Doctorious, ENGL-227, Face Bakersfield, Fresno, guest speaker, how to be a writer, Indiana Jones, matthew gilbert, Nick Belardes, professional writing, publishing, San Joaquin Valley, Terminator, video editing, writer, writing, YouTube | Leave a Comment »

Help Wanted: Seeking Recruiters Using Social Media for a Survey

February 21, 2009

I have been invited to write a chapter in a book about recruiting with social media and need to hear from individuals who are actively involved with this field. Can you help?

The book, “Enterprise 2.0: How Technology, E-Commerce, and Web 2.0 Are Transforming Business Virtually,” is published by Prager. Tracy Tuten Ryan, PhD, an associate professor of marketing at Longwood University in Virginia, is editing it. Incidentally, I first met Tracy through Twitter and it is the medium through which she invited me to write this book chapter!

The survey is designed to understand how you use social media to recruit candidates and to define which specific applications you use most frequently.

Answer as many questions as you choose: none are required so if one is not relevant to you or you don’t have an answer you can leave it blank. I might use the contents of your submission for direct quotes and general information.

Please visit http://cli.gs/smrecruit to complete the survey. If you have any questions about the survey or are otherwise interested in the book, please leave a comment below, send an e-mail to doctorious [at] generative [dot] com or send a tweet to @doctorious on Twitter.