Why?

I created GazetMe because after a career of 20 years (plus extensive education beforehand) I suddenly realised that I couldn’t really remember what I’d achieved. Sure, I could point to the highlights and at a push could recall the year I received my degree, but what of the rest? Trawling through draft CVs was a help, but they only told me what I was trying to present to a particular potential employer at a point in time. What’s more, I looked at my network and realised that in relation to many of my contacts I couldn’t recall exactly what it was we’d worked on together.

Now you might put this down to amnesia, but actually my memory is pretty good. What’s more, I didn’t think that my failure to recall was that unusual: it happens to us all.  Quick test: what year did you start secondary school?

So GazetMe was created as a solution to this. Put simply, GazetMe creates a private record of your achievements, which can be linked to specific contacts. Worked on a project with John Smith? Great, log it at GazetMe and you’ll keep track not only of your relationship with John Smith, but also with what you achieved together. What’s more, you can ask John Smith to rate your work. It’s amazing how many projects we finish without ever really finding out what others thought of our contribution. Well now you can. Don’t confuse this with other networking sites that allow you to seek general what-a-guy endorsements: GazetMe links endorsements to specific achievements. This is important because it means that the endorsement is really worthwhile.

The other important thing about GazetMe is that it’s private. So much of what we place online is instantly in the public domain that I wanted to create a system that would start as a private record. If you then want to publish some of your achievements, you can; or if you prefer you can download a text file at any time. But the starting point is that your GazetMe record belongs to you alone. Hopefully that way it will still be valuable to you in 20 years’ time.

With the information you record, our aim is to provide services that allow you better to utilise your talents. For starters, GazetMe allows you to pull together CVs that can quickly be tailored to different audiences - after all, if you present an online profile to the guys at work, it’s not likely to be the same as the one you present to a new employer. Plus, GazetMe allows you to keep background notes on projects to use as an aide-memoire in interviews. As we think of them, we’ll add more services, although suggestions from our users are always welcome.

If we have a mission, it is to help people appreciate the sum total of their achievements, not just the highlights. Really though, I just thought GazetMe would make a better tool than storing endless Word docs and relying upon fading memories.

Ben Ely
Founder, GazetMe.com

 

More detail...

What have you achieved today? Yesterday? This month? This year? Without a record, how will you remember. GazetMe allows you to create such a record in a simple format that looks and acts like webmail.

What is GazetMe?

GazetMe enables you to build a free record of all your achievements, including things you've done a while ago (e.g your qualifications) and things you achieve every day (e.g. a project you've completed at work).  As your personal gazette grows, you can choose to share specific parts of it with your network, raising your profile among your peers and colleagues and giving them useful information about your skillset.  You can even use GazetMe as an online resumé.

Why should I use GazetMe?

GazetMe is for anyone who has ever achieved anything (so that's most of us). It allows you to create a private record of your achievements, skills, and qualifications. That way you won't forget them or contacts who worked on them with you.

What about networking?

GazetMe creates smart networks to allow you to share information about yourself in a controlled way. Rather than have one profile for all your contacts, GazetMe allows you to create different profiles for different groups (or even for individual contacts). Plus you can ask others to endorse specific achievements if you want feedback. Your contacts can be linked to specific projects that you've worked on together.

Is GazetMe private?

Yes. GazetMe’s starting point for all information that you record is that it should be private; unless you say otherwise.  Our privacy policy sets out more detail on this.  So when you register, you won’t need to start activating all the privacy settings - if you want to use GazetMe solely as a private record, that's fine by us. But if you do decide that you want to publish some of your skills then we will help you to present them in a professional way. To make life easier, we use a simple traffic light system to allow you to tell at a glance which information you've published, and which you are still keeping private.  

Who are you?

GazetMe is owned and operated by EHM Services Limited, a company registered in England and Wales, registered number 6226576, and whose registered office is at Griffins Court, 24-32 London Road, Newbury, RG14 1JX. We are also registered under the Data Protection Act.

GazetMe 1.1 is in beta test.