Experimenting with software and social media tools is one of my great passions.  I'm a bit of a hacker, so I like to find ways to repurpose digital tools to fit my needs, to make my life or job easier.  And because I often write about the tools I like, I get asked by software creators to beta test their products.  It's great, I get to break things!

About once a quarter I do "cool tools talk" on my monthly TalentNet Live #TNL chat on Twitter.  And often I get asked to do a cool tools presentation at conferences around the world. 

That part is really fun.  I always have a few gems that even the most tech savvy of my colleagues have never seen.  I did one such session at the recent HRevolution conference in Atlanta on April 30th, 2011.  My thanks and Kudos go out to the organizers of HRevolution for putting on such a fun and interesting event. 

Below are the tools I profiled, and the presentation slides for your viewing pleasure.

Location Based Recruiting Services - how to find and profile prospects with Foursquare

I'm not much into gambling or prostitutes.  So Vegas to me means the other kind of gambling and prostitution, trade shows.  I've seen a million of them.  So when I was asked to be part of the Blog Squad last November for the first ever HR Demo Show, I thought I knew what to expect. 

In business I straddle the worlds of technology, HR/recruiting, sales/marketing, and Social Media.  But HR technology is central to many aspects of what I do.  And I was interested to see some live demonstrations of the type that you would usually only see in your corporate board room with a handful of people. 

What sets this apart from other shows I've seen?  Vendors do two presentations.  So if you miss one you can catch the next. And you really get to compare and contrast not just products, but sales teams, and company cultures.  When the inevitable technical glitch happens, how does the presenter or team react?  That part is fascinating to me.  It tells me much about the company.

Add this to the fact that you get two days to grill whichever vendors you like about their products, for an under-the-hood viewpoint, and you end up with a very unique trade show.  Not what I was expecting at all.

I am therefore quite pleased to be part of the Blog Squad for the next HR Demo Show this month, 5/24-5/26. 

The HR Demo Show will be hosted in conjunction with the HRO Today Forum, which includes the RPO Summit.  These events are the world’s largest gathering of buyers of HR and recruitment services and technology and technologies.  Hosted at the luxurious new tower The Palazzo At the Venetian within the Venetian Hotel, Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.  See www.HRDemoShow.com for more information.

And check out the recaps from the November 2010 show http://www.monsterthinking.com/2010/12/14/hr-demo-2010/.