Some of you may have read my Ember.js series of articles and realized I'm pretty smitten with the framework. But as a professional developer, it's important that I consider other tools and take the time to vet them properly. One of the frameworks that everyone keeps telling me to look at is AngularJS. It aims to make building complex web apps easier but from experience, I know that most frameworks have a learning curve. It's never just dive in and code.

As such, I wanted to complile a list of resources which I've found that I'll be leveraging as I go down the path of learning AngularJS and which I thought might be useful to Tuts+ readers. I've broken them down by categories and included both commercial and freely available resources.

And to be clear, this isn't the end-all, be-all of resources. Invariably, someone will ask why I didn't include a specific resource and that's okay. Just realize this list isn't all-inclusive and solely meant to kickstart my AngularJS learning effort.

AngularJS Official Resources

The AngularJS Project Site

Google has done an excellent job of compiling solid documentation and support resources to help developers work with AngularJS. When you visit the site, the thing that stands out for me is how it immediately drives you to understanding how to begin using Angular. That's important since, as with any MVC-type framework, Angular has a learning curve to overcome and it seems Google are doing their best to help ease any pain associated with it.

Also, being an open-source effort affords you the opportunity to peak under the hood as the code is hosted on GitHub.

AngularJS YouTube Channel

The Angular YouTube channel has a wealth of information available to you to understand specifics about the framework. In looking through the videos, I would consider this less of a beginner's resource as a hub for those who want to dig deeper into specific areas of AngularJS like data-binding. There are some videos that will walk you through building an app but it's not typical courseware that you'd expect from sites like Tuts+ or PluralSight. Nonetheless, the videos are well-done and considering the amount of content, certainly well-worth investigating especially since they're free.

Google Group Support Forum

Support is always the bane of every open source project, mainly because they're typically volunteer-driven so support is basically a labor of love. While there are a couple of ways to get support for your AngularJS questions, this is an official Google medium and it is VERY active.

IRC #angularjs

Want more direct and immediate support? Then jump on into #angularjs on Freenode for some real-time help. When I jumped into the channel, it was jam packed with developers so you should have no problems striking up a chat with someone about Angular.

Online AngularJS Courses

Sometimes you need a jumpstart. Something to guide you through the basics of a technology and get you over the initial hump. Thankfully, there's a nice blend of free and commercial courseware at your disposal.

Tuts+ Premium Angular Course

Obviously a little biased but we're pretty pleased with our AngularJS course by Tom Ashworth which walks you through the important concepts of AngularJS

Egghead.io

John Lindquist has produced 49 videos of sheer AngularJS awesomeness and the amazing part is that he's provided them for free. To quote him, "I've never been satisfied with video tutorial sites, so I'm doing something about it."

What I like about the course is that each video is short and concise (average of three to five minutes per video). I loathe overly long videos and prefer quick hits that drill down into a topic to get you the info you need to start hacking.

Thinkster.io

The team at Thinkster put an interesting twist on their course. They took the excellent courseware created at Egghead.io and combined it with walk-throughs that break down what the video taught you and expand on the topic. This is actually very clever. They even give credit where it's deserved:

We’ve found that the egghead.io videos are the best starting resource available, so every chapter will lead off with them.

This will be my second resource for learning AngularJS (after Tuts+ of course).

Code School

Code School has an excellent reputation for building online courses. While I haven't done this specific course, in looking at the comments, it seems like it's a solid introduction to the framework.

Pluralsight

Another great company that has steadily amassed a ton of great courseware on a variety of topics, Pluralsight also offers a course on AngularJS which from the syllabus appears to be one of the most comprehensive courses available. I especially like that it includes a big section on testing AngularJS apps, something that seems to be an afterthought in most cases.

AngularJS Community Resources

Jeff Cunningham's AngularJS-Learning Repo

If there's one community resource you need to know about, it's the AngularJS-Learning Github page created by Jeff Cunningham. It is one the most comprehensive lists of AngularJS resources I've seen and includes links to blog posts, articles, videos and more. It's also been translated into multiple languages which is icing on the cake.

This truly is a resource to bookmark regardless your level of experience with the framework.

DailyJS

I've been a fan of Alex Young for some time because his site, DailyJS, posts some of the best information about JavaScript on the Internet. I especially love his tutorials where he creates a multi-part series that walks you through using frameworks to actually build something.

In this tutorial series, he walks you through creating a feed reader leveraging several important technologies including Yeoman, BootStrap, Grunt and Bower. So not only do you get to learn about AngularJS but also how it ties into some of the most widely used tools and technologies in use today.

Stack Overflow

The old reliable for support questions, Stack Overflow seems to always be one of the important places to reference when you have issues. Sure, the answers may not always be what you're looking for but at 11k+ AngularJS questions already asked, it's highly likely you'll find the answer you're looking for.

One Hungry Mind

Lukas Ruebbelke's passion for AngularJS resonates in his posts about the framework. With posts dating back to April, 2012, there's certainly plenty of information available to budding AngularJS devs. There's even a post on using AngularJS to build Windows 8 apps!

TodoMVC AngularJS Demo App

Ever wanted to jump into a new technology and wish you had some solid code to use as a reference to learn by? Yeah, same here. That's what the TodoMVC project aims to provide. The project provides a simple but well-written todo app that leverages major libraries including Backbone.js, Dojo and more. Want to learn YUI? There's a todo app for that. Want to learn Kendo UI? Same thing.

Of course, AngularJS is represented here and the framework page provides you not only with source code but a live demo that you can tinker with. Good stuff.

AngularJS Books

Being so new, books on AngularJS aren't common but there are some notables to mention and several that are in production as you read this. The two standouts at the moment are:

• AngularJS by Brad Green and Shyam Seshadri
• Mastering Web Application Development with AngularJS by Pawel Kozlowski and Peter Bacon Darwin

Manning is also working on AngularJS in Action. It's currently in Manning's Early Access Program (MEAP) so you can pre-order it and receive the chapter updates as the authors make them available.

Way More Stuff Available

My list is by no means the end all. If you just look at Jeff Cunningham's list you'll find a TON more links to look over. What I wanted to do was narrow down the options to what I felt were good resources to start off with so that I don't get overwhelmed with the volume of information available.

Hopefully this list helps you kickstart your AngularJS learning efforts and allows you to build something really exciting.

Story from: http://janetfouts.com/job-hunting-with-social-media-2/

Job Hunting with Social Media

By: Jane Fouts

Whether you’ve been laid off, fired or you’re looking to upgrade your current job, social media networks and tools make it a whole lot easier to look for a job on-line. Not only do you have the potential for using your own network to find something, you can use your extended network to help in your search and use social media tools to find the right places to look. Now instead of mailing out resumes blindly you can take a pro-active approach. Use attraction based marketing by building a personal brand on-line that pulls the jobs to you.

Your Social Media Presence
Social media also makes it a whole lot easier for HR to research who you are and get a little background. Maybe more than professional background, so it’s very important that you get out there and see what your social media profiles and presence looks like through a recruiters eyes. Do some searches on yourself. Try Google first because it’s the most common. Dig more than a few pages down and see what comes up. Then give Yahoo and MSN a try too. You very well may find different information.

Make a list of the positive and negative references out there and make a plan to deal with them. Ask your college room-mate to take down the picture of you dancing on the bar in a toga with a beer bong. Some things may not be correctable. Have your explanation ready so you’re not caught off-guard. Odds are you won’t need it but be prepared.

Balance out negative things said about you on sites like MySpace and FaceBook by asking your friends to post referrals or positive comments. “Just checked out Anna’s portfolio and she positively ROCKS!!!” can’t hurt you, especially if it’s true. If you have enough positive comments and information about you, the one bad reference will dissapear under the avalanche of positive information.

Check your credit score and clean up those records too. It’s quite common for an employer to run a credit score.

Your profiles
If you’re new to social media this is a good time to get involved. There are a host of options out there to help you put your best foot forward. Crating a Twitter, Facebook and Linkedin profile allows you to reach a variety of people. Create the profiles carefully and choose the people you connect to with an eye for professionalism. I can’t get into friending strategy here, but remember you want to focus on quality not quantity and make sure to build your relationships so people are in a position to recommend you.

Resumes
There are a wonderful array of tools to create a resume on-line. You should think about who you’re going to be talking to and create a resume that suits the need. Maybe you’ll have a different resume for each field you’re qualified in.

VisualCV Create a resume and upload portfolio items, PPT slide sets, Audio or Video to enhance the presentation. Layout is modifiable and the user can download as a PDF to print or email.

Razume helps you build your resume and then you can get crowd-source reviews from other users in the community. Fine tuning with this kind of input from your peers can really make a difference. The site also offers job search right on the site.

ResumeSocial is a social resume community similar to Razume, but it’s got the added benefit of user reviews of your cover letters, follow ups job search and a career center with useful tips and info.

Networks
Some networks will be more useful than others depending on what your needs are. You may want to look at some forums or blogs where people in your industry hang out. If your business is corporate, you may want to connect on the professional networks like Xing and Linkedin.

Linkedin
One of the best possible tools for networking with fellow business people. Set up your profile before you do anything else. Get a picture and your resume up to date. If you have a visual CV, link to it. Use the tools available on Linkedin to show off your Power point slides through Slideshare. Import your blog rss feed or your twitter stream.

Now go through your contact databases and start connecting with people. Once connected, take the time to look for the real gems you’ve worked with and give them a recommendation on the site. Do not expect they will automatically recommend you back–but if it’s appropriate–ask for a recommendation. If a former employer or co-worker turns up, connect first, ask for a recommendation second. Not everybody responds to requests like this quickly. It can take a week or more to hear back from some, so be patient. If you’re in a hurry and you have their contact info email them directly and tell them you’re on the market, what kind of job you’re looking for and ask them to post a recommendation. Don’t be shy.

Linkedin Answers are another way to get out there. Answer questions in your field with thoughtful and helpful answers. Ask provocative questions that show you’re at the top of your field. Scan both questions and answers for people you want to connect with and message them through inmail or the QA system. Think your responses out carefully. Fact check and check for typos before it goes live. Don’t be obviously self promotional. This is the age of “give before you get” and you need to be giving, useful and helpful at all times.

Linkedin Groups can be hugely helpful for networking, establishing your authority and getting seen. Find networks in your field and join. Read them for a few days before you start talking to get the lay of the land and understand the ecosystem of the group. Every group will be different depending on who is involved.

It’s OK to let people know you’re looking for work, but be careful how you say it. Be up-beat and positive and tell people what you’re looking for. Limit how much of this you do to within reason. People will eventually ignore you if you “spam” them with requests for help. Look for groups for entrepreneurs and investors too. Who better to know who will be hiring soon? There are also groups specifically for job seekers.

Last thing about Linkedin groups. Once you join a group and participate you can connect to the groups users through Linkedin. If you are an active and valued participant in the group they are more likely to accept the connection.

Xing
Xing has many of the same benefits as Linkedin, so I’m only going to add the ones that are special to Xing. Xings forums are an excellent place to look for jobs and there are some specific to job hunting. Their freelancer forum is particularly useful.

Slideshare
Slideshare allows you to upload presentations and share them with others. Maybe your presentations at your company were private, but these don’t have to be presentations you actually gave. Create a presentation about your area of interest that teaches something. Make the slides tell the whole story. You can add audio tracks if you want to, or just let people go through the slides to get the gist of it. Slides on SlideShare often get downloaded and used in presentations which helps you spread the word. Share your slideshare presentations with your networks and put them up on Linkedin.

Video
Are you able to do a video demonstrating a process or your skill set? How about a video presentation about how you see your market changing or opportunities? You could even do a video resume and post it on YouTube, Seesmic or Vimeo. If it’s appropriate do a series on 12seconds.tv with industry tips and tricks then post a widget full of them on your blog.

Searches and introductions
It’s quite common on Linkedin to leverage your network to meet new people. Are you looking to work with a certain company? Do a search in Linkedin and see if there are representatives of the company registered. If they are within the reach of your network you can ask a friend to put you in touch with that person. If not, you can often send them an invitation to connect or an inmail and reach them that way. Look to see if they have posted any questions and answer them, or send them an email asking for clarification or commenting on the question. Don’t stalk them, but be helpful.

Twitter
Twitter is an amazing networking tool and allows you unprecedented access to C level execs as well as recruiters and co-workers. Before you start connecting though, make sure you’ve got a well constructed profile. Build your profile out and link to your blog, a landing page with more info about yor, or your VisualCV or resume so people can learn more about you. Remember that everything you write on Twitter is archived in just a few minutes by the search engines. You can’t delete it from the search engines. Again, this is a huge opportunity to demonstrate your knowledge of your business and that you have your finger on the pulse. Share links to newsworthy items. Connect with friends who can help you. I’ll get to some search tools for this in a minute, but use search.twitter.com to find people talking about your area of expertise and dive into the conversation. A new Hashtag just showed up on Twitter this week called #Hirethisgrad users post their skill set along with the Hashtag and a link to their CV’s and people looking for those skills can easily scan the Hashtag for the skills they need. Follow @Twithire to hear about jobs as they hit Twitter.

Already established on Twitter? It may be as simple as letting your loyal followers know you need a job. Be specific about what you want in a job and ask for help.

Got a blog?
Start blogging about your field of interest. Demonstrate your authority. If it’s appropriate in your industry make your blog personal too. People will want to get to know you. Share your job hunting secrets or talk about changes in the industry that affect jobs. Again, keep it clean, don’t be negative. Feed your blog into your twitter stream if you have one. If your blog is established but not about your area of work interest. Start another blog. You can do a free one on WordPress in a few minutes and be on your way to creating a resource blog for your niche.

While we are talking about blogs, look for the ones that post job listings and subscribe. Jeremiah Owyang posts web strategy jobs on his site. The Social Media Club posts social media jobs.

Search
Listening is the number one skill you need to find a job using social media. Set up listening tools for the companies you’re interested in, the jobs descriptions or fields you’d like to be in etc. Share that info with your networks and suddenly you’re a resource people rely on for information in that space. Then when a job comes up in your search you’re informed and ready to go.

Don’t forget to search for yourself too. It’s not about ego. You want to know what people are saying about you so you can either put out the fire or join in the conversation.

·         Set up some Google Alerts.

·         Twilert will send you a daily, weekly or monthly email with the keywords or user names you want to track.

·         SM2 from Techrigy can give you a pretty in-depth look into conversations with tracking and statistics for free.

·         WhosTalkin can give you a way to quickly search a variety of networks to see who is talking about the space, company or person you’re interested in.

·         SocialMention looks for mentions of keywords in social media sites ranging from Twitter and blogs to forms and video.

Search for companies or individuals you want to connect with and then connect through the network or directly. Learn about the corporate culture ant a company or find out more about the personalities of the people you want to work with.

Links to Job posting sites

·      GigaOm

·      Big4 Alumni

·      Guy Kawasaki

·      Blogger Jobs

·      37 Signals

·      Elance

For a list of over 100 hiring sites, check out Mashable’s Career Toolbox.

Nanjing University is offering 30 grants (up to $1,000 per award) are now available to participants in CIEE’s Intensive Chinese Language + Culture Spring 2014 program from the Chinese Scholarship Council (CSC). These awards can be combined with any of the other generous scholarship programs offered by CIEE. Deadline for application is October 10, 2013, UMBC's Study Abroad application deadline. 

Network models famously fail to capture the dynamics of many real-world marketing campaigns. Now computer scientists say they’ve solved the problem.

Network models famously fail to capture the dynamics of many real-world marketing campaigns. Now computer scientists say they’ve solved the problem.

CSEE research professor Karuna Joshi received a $100K grant to develop an advanced prototype for a cloud service broker from the Maryland Technology Development Corporation (TEDCO). The software system will help companies and organizations negotiate for, select and procure cloud computing services based on a description of their needs and preferences.

TEDCO was created by the Maryland State Legislature to facilitate the transfer and commercialization of technology from Maryland’s research universities and federal labs into the marketplace and to assist in the creation and growth of technology-based businesses in Maryland.

Dr. Joshi’s project will build on a novel framework she developed as part of her PhD dissertation for automating the process lifecycle of cloud services. She designed technology that allowed users to compare different cloud services and determine which were best suited for their needs. Her initial prototype demonstrated a system that could negotiate for and procure storaage services from a provider like Amazon Web Services.

As part of the TEDCO funded project, Dr. Joshi will develop an commercially viable enhanced cloud broker engine that can be extended to include other services, as well as do more complex matchmaking based on functional and compliance requirements.