next*

Maybe you've heard the rumors or read the post on my blog. It's true. After nearly ten years, I'm leaving a job I love -- leading product teams and building great products and new directions at Yahoo!. My decision has been made easier knowing that Chad "Hack Day" Dickerson is stepping in to head up the Advanced Products group.

So, here’s where I ask for a “going away gift”: If you haven't already created a profile on Kickstart, do it now! Contact your colleagues and friends and ask them to make a profile. Do it for the (college) kids!

How is this service different than all the others? Why should you sign up? Beside the fact that I’d appreciate it, Kickstart is a great way to reconnect with old colleagues and help give back to your alma mater. Use it to source new candidates or even find a new gig through your alumni network.

Over on Techcrunch, Mike Arrington said it well:

...[I can] find a deep database of individuals that went to the same schools that I did. And this clearly isn’t a place for pictures of partying and drinking - the whole point is to build up a professional network to help you move your career along. For young students just getting out of college this can be a very useful service. And they can keep having fun on Facebook…while pointing potential professional contacts to their Kickstart profiles.

We released Kickstart in November as a preview. We’ll start marketing it at schools in January. And, we’re just days away from giving away $25,000 to the school with the most alums signed up.

One thing to make connecting easier: I discovered how simple it is to export the email addresses of all my LinkedIn contacts and invite them to create a Kickstart profile. I cleaned up my list, comma-separated the addresses, and pasted them (50 at a time) into the email invite form. My goal is to beat Cynthia Johanson's number of connections. Please help spread the word and help me make my numbers. :)

Thanks. And please stay in touch.

Popularity: 12% [?]