I spend the first 45 minutes of every day reading blogs and forum. It's healthy to read lots of different viewpoints and have a good picture of what's happening around us. But, it's also easy to learn the wrong things from the "experts". Years ago, there seemed to be a consensus that reciprocal links no longer worked.

As a result, we abandoned the practice. The real lesson we should have learned was this -- reciprocal links became less effective, but so what? They were still a valuable tool. In reality, everything has become less effective than it was back in the salad days. So in fact, relative to all the other choices we have, reciprocal linking should have held its relative priority for us in the lineup of marketing tools.

I'm focused, driven, and persistent. I get so focused, I sometimes run out of the house wearing the same color from shoes to cap... I notice but am not easily distracted! Sometimes, I get a haircut a month or more after I need one.  The typical entrepreneur maybe? A friend graciously used the word "passionate". So guess what... all that makes me prone to making mistakes -- particularly under pressure and moving too fast.

When you are trying to make something happen, there is always a certain amount of horsetrading involved. Unfortunately, my natural talents don't include diplomacy -- the right words just don't come naturally to me. In fact, even in the best of times, I rub many people the wrong way. I've lost partners for this reason. I also lost a friend once.  The fact is, I make mistakes.

Today is the day we're announcing JustJobs.com and it's precisely three and a half years after the idea was conceived and planning started. That sounds slightly absurd to me but then again, this is a big complex project. There were delays and missteps of all kinds - fortunately, the ones we know about have been ironed out. We have had time right?

In three and half years, the market could have moved on right past us... that's part of the risk of bootstrapping. We started this project back when the VC market was still hot and I toyed with the idea of raising money... but, health issues forced me to give that idea up and so here we are in the slow lane. 

The 2009 Top 100 US Job Board Niches report lists the 100 most searched for job categories. For each of these employment categories it lists the top ranked job boards according to Google but excludes the following:

This is the 2009 guide to the top 100 US job board niches. For each top employment category it lists the top 3 or 4 niche job sites. This report excludes:

• job sites that lack top Google rankings
• sites with high Google rankings but low credibility, authenticity or integrity.
• sites which require registration or paid membership to be useful

In December, I wrote about the hurricane that would hit the job board industry. Well, the hurricane landed and it's tearing a path of destruction through the recruiting business. When hurricanes land, there is a lot of hyperactivity when everyone is looking for shelter. We get a flood of partnership proposals that only benefit the parties proposing them and a lot of people want to talk to "find synergies". Voicemail from sales reps pick up as well... many seem to think that perhaps the 25th call will be the charm.

More than a year ago, I wrote about the high level (as much as 50%) of deceptive advertising in Google's sponsored search results (AdWords) for the search keyword 'jobs'. I naïvely thought it wouldn't take much prodding for Google to clean up the spam...

And why should I care about this?

At first, I thought Twitter was foolish, then, I tried it and became enamored. About six months later, I lost all respect for Twitter. A few months more, and I can finally see its strengths and weaknesses in balance. 

The strengths are pretty easy - meet and interact with new people that interest you, market yourself, get to know your "friends" better, know what's going on right now and eavesdrop on conversations you'd never be privileged to hear in any other setting.

What's the downside? Here is my five step plan for entrepreneurs to entrap themselves in bad karma with Twitter:

Finally.  Some courageous bloggers are shining a light on the dark side of the job search engine business.  

There is:

• RealityBitesBack with PCMag.com Barks Up Wrong Tree Singing Praises of Hound.com and
• Nick Corcodilos with Droolers, Charles Manson and A. Harrison Barnes
• Toby Dayton with Stay Away From Sites That Charge A Fee For Recycled Job Listings

I've been writing about the free job posting movement as it relates to the job search industry for a long time and waiting for someone else to delve into the paid side of the business.