Blogs are great.  They let you keep in touch and stay informed.

One of the down sides of Blogs, though, is that because many of the best ones aren’t updated every day (who has quality information to write about every day?), it’s easy to forget to check in with them on a regular basis.

One of the best solutions for keeping up to date on blogs is called an RSS reader.  I wanted to share the video below to explain how an RSS reader can work to help you stay on top of the Capitol CREAG blog and your other favorite blogs.

Google Reader in Plain English

If you decide to use Google Reader to follow the Capitol CREAG blog, all you have to do to subscribe is click the button to the right of this entry that looks like this:

Feel free to post links to some of your other favorite blogs in the Comments section below.

Leticia and Bill have been working diligently to prepare for the implementation of an Electronic Timesheet System and we’re ready to go live across the organization effective 10/01/2008.

This Thursday, we will be hosting a live training session at our headquarters at the Ronald Reagan Building during lunch.  We will also have a live Internet presentation in our Atlanta office.

Locations

• Ronald Reagan Bldg. - 1300 Pennsylvania Ave., Suite 700, Washington, DC
• Atlanta - 260 Peachtree St., Suite 900, Atlanta, GA

Time

If you cant make it into one of these locations, we will have a phone in teleconference option for personnel located at Capitol CREAG outposts.  You will need a phone line and internet connection to participate.

Phone 1-800-511-7983
Access Code 572627

If you have any questions, please contact Paul, Kendra or Matt at (202)355-1028.

I hear all the time from both employees and directors at GSA, “Hey!  I didn’t know they also work for Capitol CREAG!”

One of the difficult things about being a contractor is you may sometimes feel like you or you and your immediate co-workers are an island in the middle of a vast GSA sea.  Because both Art and I started at GSA as contractors, we know first hand how easy it is to overlook the other Capitol CREAG co-workers in other groups or on other floors, but in the same building — but they’re there!

An easy way to keep track of who else in the building — those that you run into in the cafeteria, in the hallways, and waiting in the Slug line — is also a Capitol CREAG co-workers is through simple networking.  With all kinds of online social networks popping up, there’s never been an easier time to network with people and learn who they are.

The number one thing that I encourage is a robust LinkedIn profile.  A LinkedIn profile can help you meet other co-workers, help them meet you, and help others at GSA who may not be Capitol CREAG employees get to know you.

LinkedIn can:

• Show others your work history
• Help you discover which alumni also work at GSA
• Help others discover other interests you share outside of work
• Create new lead opportunities
• Show you potential recommendations for new Capitol CREAG hires (remember the bonus structure!)

Because I think social networking is so important, I encourage each of you to please take the time to create a robust profile.  Once you have, you can also be listed in the Capitol CREAG directory — a way for you to find out who else in your building is a co-worker.  Joining is easy; all you have to do is click here.

Once you join LinkedIn, don’t forget to add me to your network!

Sometimes we have trouble getting in touch with the folks who are contractors off-site.  We recognize the hassle in trying to keep up with both GSA e-mail (where you will often get your e-mail) and Capitol CREAG’s corporate e-mail system where you may not get e-mail everyday and might forget about the account for long periods of time.

One of the great things about the Google Apps e-mail that we use is that you can tell your capitolcreag.com e-mail to be forwarded to another account that you check more often.  This helps you keep track of things in many ways.

• It helps ensure you see important corporate e-mails in a timely fashion
• It helps ensure those who contact you through this e-mail get replied to in a timely fashion
• It provides a “safety net” where you can view the e-mail in your daily e-mail, but also keeps a copy safe in your capitolcreag.com e-mail box

Setting up the mail forwarding is a simple task.  I’ve asked Shaun to provide the easy-to-follow instructions below to help you set up the mail forwarding in just a few clicks.  If you have any questions, please feel free to e-mail him at shaun.wilson@capitolcreag.com.

Setting Up Your E-mail

Step 1

Go to http://go.capitolcreag.com and login to your account.  Read the rest of this entry »