Tomorrow - July 3 - is Contribupendence Day.

What is Contribupendence Day, you ask?  Well it's the day when all readers of my blog agree to send me $20.

Not really.  Contribupendence Day is the brainchild of Microsoft Developer Evangelist Jeff Blankenburg, who woke up one day and noticed the untapped potential of networking sites such as LinkedIn, Plaxo and Facebook.  These sites give us the opportunity to recommend or comment on those we have worked.  Unfortunately, few of us take advantage of this feature which is a shame.  These recommendations could be a good source of feedback to potential employers and might make the difference in getting an interview or landing a job.

He's right of course. I've been on LinkedIn for a couple months and I am connected to a few dozen people but these are very passive connections.  In the back of my mind, I tell myself I'll focus on LinkedIn the next time I look for a job (which hopefully won't be for a long time).  The problem with this attitude is that I'm relying on everyone else to motivate themselves around my schedule.  When I'm ready to look for a job, will others have the time to write a glowing review for me?  If I worked for or with them, will they even remember my specific accomplishments?

So, at Jeff's urging, I'm being proactive.  Tomorrow I resolve to write reviews of 5 people on LinkedIn.  In doing so, I hope to inspire these 5 to either review me or to review someone else, which will set in motion a process that may very well come back to me.

I've worked with some great people in my life so it wasn't difficult to pick five that I can rave about.  I'll be reviewing them tomorrow and I urge you to do the same.

Happy Contribupendence Day everybody!  And you are welcome to review me.  Or, if that's too much trouble, just send me the 20 bucks.