There is a saying in international diplomacy that “my enemy’s enemy is my friend.”  Lately, one local media outlet has turned that old adage into “my enemy’s friend is my friend.”

With the documented decline of traditional print journalism(detailed in the 2011 and soon to be released 2012 Garrity Perception Survey), media outlets like the Albuquerque Journal and New Mexico Business Weekly have been more deliberate about their online footprint.

Reporters for the Albuquerque Journal have been successful in building an online following; tweeting about stories they are developing or sharing links to their published stories.

The New Mexico Business Weekly has been building its following through promotion of enterprise and wire stories from other group-owned Business Weeklies. And getting more vocal with Twitter.

The new @NMBW publisher @_IanAnderson has been active in tweeting sponsored events and articles of interest from outside his newspaper group.  The source list includes @WSJ @PNM and, as of this weekend, @JFleck the lead science reporter for across town rival @ABQJournal.

Yes, there has always been friendly banter among co-workers @newsieHeather and @antoinetteA as well as @amberlee_wx and @stILETtO7.  There is also a friendly dialog with that group and the print side of #twitter that includes @jolinegkg as well as cross channel rival @katiemkim mixing it up about issues and social plans.

Outside of established marketing partnership between certain media organizations, the cross promotion of editorial is something that isn’t seen often, if ever.

The @_IanAnderson approach is brilliant.  By sharing information from a competitor he is showing his followers as well as those who follow @JFleck that he is a resource for information.. regardless of its source.  That kind of approach has a way of building followers and credibility in the social media realm.

The recent “Building Effective Community Outreach” roundtable at the PRSA Western District Conference provided some great insight from various communication professionals.

One of the things I promised, as a moderator, was to forward some helpful links pertaining to community outreach and corporate social responsibility.

Start Something That Matters – this is the link for the book written by founder of TOMS shoes Blake Mycoskie.  I’ve given this book to some friends in the business as a new way to look at CSR.  One of the recipients even took an idea from the book to send one of the most unique “thank you’s” I’ve ever received.

CorpsGiving – this is an organization that helps to organize “both large-scale volunteer programs and large-scale branded events.”  Think of them as an event planner for charities that want to do something big but lack the people power to get it done.

RockCorps – is a unique approach that uses music to inspire people to volunteer.  They do have a clever mission “Got 2 Give 2 Get”.  They have their own volunteer database and work with organizations of various sizes.

Of course, if you are looking for a masters or Ph. D. approach to CSR, there is a great event at the end of the month sponsored by the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship.  They will have their annual conference in Phoenix from March 25-27, 2012.

Special thanks to Tiffany Payne with Comcast for providing insight on these and other organizations that provide a great service to those in the CSR arena.

The recession brings out the best and worst in people. This has manifested itself in many different things, including how people develop resumes.

Now, if you are applying for a position with a national laboratory or an engineering firm, this blog post might not be applicable.  But like most things on the net, it is free and there is a certain consideration for the price you paid for this advice.

When it comes to resumes, I am a traditionalist.  I like to see where people have worked, the dates, responsibilities and accomplishments.  In recent years there has been a move to write towards your skills instead of your experience.

For example, someone who sold shoes at a store in the mall might list this in a traditional resume: “Sales Associate, Bob’s Shoe Company – Provided sales support for Bob’s shoes and helped to set new sales records.”  Then there is the “skills” based resume: “Marketing – Developed sales strategies for a national shoe company.”

You see the difference?  The “Skills” approach is useful if you don’t have direct marketing experience.  But from an employer’s perspective, it is a bit maddening trying to figure out what kind of experience a candidate has when going through the hiring process.

My suggestion is a hybrid approach, with a twist.  List your experience and list your skill areas.  That way you provide a prospective employer your past employment and your skill sets.

Here is the twist, include a few one-paragraph case study that features your problem solving capabilities.  If you have a lot of information put two of those together on a second sheet.  Include things like the situation you walked into, the challenges, strategies developed, how it was implemented and the results.

From a hiring perspective, if you give me your experience, skills and a few success stories, then you’ve done a great job in getting my attention.