So I finally received my letter of acceptance from a top tier Business program. According to a Business Week article citing a research paper called the “Economics of Knowledge,” the United States is home to 17 out of the 20 top universities in world. Seattle is ranked 17th.

It took me a number of tries to get the GMAT, including hours of studying and enough caffiene to sterilize a championship horse, but I finally made it. I hadn’t studied that hard since I took the exams for my Microsoft Certified Systems Engineer (MCSE) certification, but after a few months and long weekends you start to develop a study habit. Now the fun begins in the Fall.
My GMAT Study Method

I have outlined my study method for the GMAT for those interested in taking it. This is my personal thoughts, rants and suggestions. It worked for me. However, the best way to overcome the gauntlet known as the GMAT is to find and create your own method that most suits you.

1. Schedule the exam (Early! Sometimes they get overbooked and you might have to wait for the next month…or so)
2. Do your research
3. Take a couple of practice GMAT exams (Figure out early where you stand)
4. Study
5. Retake practice exams
6. Focus on your weaknesses
7. Time Yourself
8. Take the real exam
9. Rinse and Repeat…

Schedule the GMAT

Before studying for the GMAT, SCHEDULE YOUR EXAM. In fact hit control T on your keyboard, open a new tab and grab your wallet. (translation, put your money on the table) When you put a deadline and financial risk on the line it makes you step up to the challenge. I have been thinking about Business school for several years before committing to it. Once you pay there is a heavy reschedule fee. It costs the same as paying to retake it. What better motivation to take an exam after dropping close to three hundred dollars.

Research

Do your research. Some of the best research on the GMAT was through mba.com, blogs, forums, and other students who have taken it. If you are looking for a couple of good links to blogs and forums shoot me an email, I have them book marked.

Take a practice GMAT

The three practice GMAT test preps and books I used were Kaplan, the Official GMAT Review and mba.com. If you have time take two practice exams before you start studying. This will give you a bench mark of where you are compared to what you need to learn. If you were like me and haven’t studied seriously in awhile, it takes some getting used to in order to sit over 3 hours and take a test. But the important part of the GMAT is being mentally prepared and staying confident during the exam. The exam is a not only a test of your verbal and math skills, but your test taking skills. i.e. learning not to panic and day dream while taking your exam.

STUDY STUDY STUDY
Start studying now. Studying is an artform, not something you just do. I suggest picking up a book or doing a quick web search, using live.com of course. Some of the best tips that helped me were:

• Pick a comfortable place (not too comfortable) and time to study and make this a habit. I studied daily from 6 pm to 9 pm at the local library. Starbucks was too distracting and home was too comfortable. The kitchen, tv and even bathroom were too close for comfort. It gave me an all to easy excuse to get up. So I preferred the local library.
• Take a break each hour. Stretch, drink water…blah blah blah…you know what to do during breaks.
• Keep in good shape by doing cardio or weight training. You will be surprised how sharp your mind and your reflexes are after working out. For me, it was an absolute MUST.
• Have fun studying. Study without music and sometimes with music. You notice that your brain functions differently when applying this technique. I studied while listening to classical music…Liszt, Beethoven and Bach to hardcore hip hop like the Wu-Tang Clan….whatever you are interested in, try it.

Retake the Practice Exams

Every Saturday take a full practice exam. It takes a few weeks to see a score difference, however, stick with it long enough and you will improve. Taking a practice exam each week will also teach you the discipline to manage time and take a grueling test on a beautiful Saturday. As soon as you wake up, jump out of bed and take 3 to 4 hours in the morning to test. I spent the remainder of day watching seasons of Entourage, Rome and The Wire on DVD anything to not fry what was left of my brain that day.

Focus on Your Weaknesses

As the test date comes closer be sure to spend your energy on the items you missed during testing times. My strengths were in the verbal section, so I spent most of my time on the Quantitative portion. Understanding how you learn is very important. Since I am a visual learner I rented a SAT math DVD from the library, you probably can get it using Netflix or Blockbuster. This was a tremendous help. It was like having a world class teacher tutoring you in person. You can stop, start, pause and especially rewind them. The set I used was called Algebra Math Tutor. The video’s were dated but math was still the same. Email me to grab the list. Trust me I went through dozens of math videos to sharpen my long forgotten algebra skills.

Time Yourself

Buy yourself a digital egg timer for $2 bucks. When taking practice problems in the book time yourself on each section. Remember each question you should only be spending no more than a minute and a half on the quant side. This digital egg timer also comes handy at work. You can set it for an hour and make sure to get up and stretch after it beeps.

Take the Real Exam

Stay confident during test day. Even though you think you blew it, stick through it with confidence. You will be surprised how well you do when just staying composed and confident throughout the exam. It is truly a long grueling experience, but the best thing to do is to get it out of the way and move on with your life.

Rinse and Repeat

Some people are excellent at taking timed exams. For me, it took sheer perseverance. Think the tortoise and the hare approach.
Is the MBA Worth It?

So is an MBA worth it? Yes, depending on your goals. Do your due diligence and research it for yourself. If you are interested in networking with like minded peers, marketing yourself, becoming well read and prepared to take on challenges, go for it. Someone once explained it to me this way…How old will you be in two to three years with an MBA? How old will you be in two to three years without it?

Best regards,

Bernard R. Ablola
See you at the top!

Larry Sanger, the co-founder of Wikipedia and now owner of Citizendium spoke last Friday at Microsoft’s first SEO Summit. The summit provided search engine optimization techniques geared at improving rankings on all engines and not just on live.com. It is interesting to see Microsoft internally promoting Search Engine Optimization strategies to leverage the already existing content. However, It was also a wake up call to see the amount of opportunity to implement the basic SEO techniques to some of the major web properties.

A sample search of “Mobile Devices” in MSN ranks Microsoft’s webpage on mobile devices as the number 4th position. Searching for the same keywords in Google ranks Microsoft’s webpage as the first position. This could be both a SEO issue or a search relevancy issue. It will be interesting to see what happens with the upcoming improvements of Live.

Here are my highlights of Larry Sanger’s presentation at Microsoft’s SEO Summit.

How to create more traffic using a Web 2.0 community:

• Provide useful content. If you want to succeed in an online community you must develop a readership by providing useful content.
• Viral growth is the key. In order to make your site viral you must motivate others to participate. Organize from the bottom up. Motivate people to participate. Each contributor of Wikipedia felt some ownership of the content that they help created. Writers get excited when acknowledged by the community for contributing. Senger states “the reason people like contributing to Wikipedia because it is a rush when people comment, the more egos invested the more important it seems.”

How to make a Web 2.0 community work?

• Senger’s goal in creating Citizendium is to provide the world with higher quality content. Each member is required to use real names and not use pseudonyms to establish credibility. Although Wikipedia provides plenty of information, academics deem it lacks credibility. I find it as a good “starting point,” however, I would not go as far as to submit it in the footnotes for my end of year thesis.
• The content should be “spiderable.” Having a login for your subscription based content is fine if you can find the balance between monetizing premium content and making it easily indexed and “searchable.” Your site will attract more subscribers if users can find the information they are looking for. Also if you do require a registration, make it easy and efficient.

How can one create a viral project?

Elements of a compelling project

• The content must be worthwhile and interesting. The more niche a site or potential demand the better.
• Make the process of contribution must be easy. Digg has a successful rating system. Either Digg this or don’t, thumbs up or thumbs down. This point is often overlooked. A book I recommend reading for those involved in any part of website creation is Steven Krug’s book, Don’t Make Me Think. Website usability should come first.
• Simplicity of concept. For example, Wikipedia is an encyclopedia and it is not a mash up of you tube, etc…

Make it a public project

• Free (open) content is the best way to make it viral.
• Nonprofit helps too.
• Advertising-free is another bonus.
• Make the inner workings of a design open. For example, Firefox. It is also going to be interesting to see developers working with extending the Facebook application.

Create an attractive governance system

• Provide enough rules that the game is playable, people will then be interested in tweaking the rules.
• Participants need structure. Make it clear for them to know what to do (ex. Digg, thumbs up or thumbs down)
• Again have rewards of various sorts. Bear in mind you’re setting up a community. You’re a politician; your job is complicated.

Sanger’s presentation on creating a successful Web 2.0 site are basic but often overlooked. I would have liked to have more discussion around mission of new Web 2.0 sites. Where if any does the business model come in to play? The balance of creating an online community and making a profit. How does a large organization like Microsoft leverage existing platforms, Live, MSN Spaces, Hotmail and Messenger to develop a fully engaged community?

Best regards,

Bernard R. Ablola

See you at the top!

So I cancelled my subscription, and here’s why. There is a ton of great information on the site from videos, audios, active forums and instructors. The information that StomperNet provides is great for someone just starting out with an online business or Search Engine Marketing. I wish I had a resource like this 5 years ago. That being said, for someone who has been around the Internet and search engine marketing world a while may not come out of the program with that much, at least within the first 30 days. For the $1 dollar trial members, after the first 30 days, the offered a limited program for $97 per month instead of the full $800 or so per month program. Personally, I could not justify the value of the $97 per month subscription.

If you are looking to learn about search engine optimization and don’t have the $97 per month to blow, consider Aaron Wall’s SEO Book as a good start and is always up to date. I’ve had the book for sometime now and it’s rock solid information. If you don’t want to pitch out for the book just yet, his blog is filled with deep insights.

Speaking of SEO Blogs, be sure to check out SEOMoz. Rand and his team spit out blog post gold. They even to videos every Friday. They also have a premium membership, of which I’m a member, that allows you to have access to books, and resources only available to subscribers.

But Of course, if you want to spend money on your search engine marketing education, the best investment you can make is a round of beer at a conference!

BTW. If anyone is in the North Florida area and wants to talk search from me or other talented professionals in Jacksonville check out the Search Engine Marketing Association or Jacksonville, FL (SEMJAX.org).

That’s enough for now, I’m leaving on a Jet Plane. Exciting changes but more on that in a later post.

The Ablola Brothers are in town and up to no good!

After the delayed flights, and lost luggage, my wife and I finally touched down in the Emerald City late Wednesday night. Bernard has been a great host, showing us his neighborhood, taking us on the MS tour, and exploring the touristy spots of downtown Seattle (pictures to come). The weather here has been amazing. Luckily we missed the downpours from Tropical Storm Berry, back home.

It’s Sunday morning and the Search Marketing Expo events begin this evening, kicking off with the Search Bash sponsored by MS. The plan for the day is to explore the festival at Pikes Place Market before checking into the hotel and getting my business game face on.

See you all at SMX.

I’m leaving for Seattle tonight to spend a few days visiting my brother before Search Marketing Expo. A stop to tour the MS campus is definitely on the agenda. Does anyone know if a working model is on display at Redmond?

Bernard Ablola and Deepak Chopra in Seattle on May 15th, 2007.

“There are no extra pieces in the universe. Everyone is here because he or she has a place to fill, and every piece must fit itself into the big jigsaw puzzle. ” - Deepak Chopra

Deepak Chopra was in Seattle to discuss his new book, Budda: A Story of Enlightenment. I look forward to reading it and discussing on this blog. Deepak tells the story of Budda and his path to enlightenment. Deepak mentioned we may see this story on the big screen. I have been a long time reader and listener of Deepak Chopra’s books on spirituality, health and meditation and look forward to being enlightened.

Bernard

A year ago today at the Strategic Account Summit, Microsoft announced the launch of adCenter. Today marks a big day for the release of our product.