VizSense Insights

I was born and raised outside of Boston, a city built on rivalries and passionate opinion -- just ask me about Jim Rice trying to charge me for his autograph when I was 6 years-old. Whether it’s a Yanks joke or a poke at the Bills, someone has an opinion about another’s team in good times and bad. In fact, the biggest scandal since the Boston Tea Party was Deflate Gate, an event that only galvanized and heightened the level of fan support behind the New England Patriots. There are all types of fans: dedicated fans, fair weather fans, bandwagon fans or even “Uncle Rico” fans (a la Napolean Dynamite) who could have “gone pro.” Regardless of the type, fans inspire us, compel us, define us and certainly drive revenue for us. In fact, recent research illustrates how powerful the equity of an NFL team’s fans can be for the brand.  

Many nights when I’m at home and unwinding after work, I’ll sit out on my balcony, pull out my phone, and watch some of my favorite gaming YouTubers (usually a guy named after an ocean-bound banana and another sharing David Anders’ character’s last name from Alias). As a matter of fact, I enjoy watching their videos so much that I’ve started recording my own gaming sessions in hopes of one day establishing my own channel. That’s why I was really excited when I heard about VizSense and their elegant analytics platform for tracking how videos spread across different social networking platforms.

The Big Data buzz will certainly hit home for many marketing execs this holiday season. Unfortunately, it’s not a buzz from that hefty Christmas bonus, but more like a buzz that creeps in after your fifth trip to the punch bowl at the annual holiday party. This year more than ever, EVPs and CMOs will be hunting for that illustrious “golden printout” with a dashboard of charts and numbers about marketing campaign performance to showcase at the year’s final board of directors meeting in less than a month. For some, this is their time to shine. For others, this is a time fraught with questions like “Will I have the right data to help me answer the board members’ many questions?”

According to the U.S. Small Business Administration and the last census, there are over 2.4 million veteran-owned business in the United States, employing 5.7 million people and generating over $210 billion in payroll. And while veterans like me are seven percent of the population, we own nearly 10 percent of American businesses. Even more interesting is that 22 percent of veterans in the U.S. were either purchasing or starting a business, or considering doing so, in the study period. 

A career in the military can teach you a lot: situation awareness, tactical engagement and adaptable response techniques to name a few. But how does this translate to the workforce? Specifically, the technology industry workforce, the fastest growing (and one of the best paying) industries in the world? And how do you explain this experience in a way that non-veteran recruiters and hiring managers will understand and clearly see what benefit you can offer their company?

Here are six simple ways you can break down the most common military skills and translate them into a benefit for the technology industry.