Years ago, I got very excited about networking and we filed for a patent that described a 'brilliant' way of integrating social networking into a job board. But when we started implementing the idea it
went nowhere and I became disillusioned. Recently new software platforms have
proven that the networking idea was not at fault, rather it was our
implementation that was to blame.
As little as six months ago I thought that social networking was a bubble about to pop... now I think it is more like an earthquake for the recruiting world. One of the websites that convinced me is Chris Russell's Jobboarders.com.
And yet, it will still take years for a lot of really viable niche sites to emerge. Yes, these sites can grow very quickly, however, a social networking site needs much higher traffic than a job board does to become a valuable recruiting tool.
There is still a bubbly element to social networking - I believe that a lot of recruiters will experiment with it and fail to make the hires they expect. A lot of social networking sites will go out of business.
I will keep a list of social networking job boards to keep an eye on here. Their fortunes will tell the story:
- beaker.com
- jobsinsocialmedia.com
- linkedin.com
- medicalmingle.com
- newmediahire.com
- recruitingblogs.com
- wirelessjobs.com
It is still not obvious to me that social networking works well for job boards especially when you consider large niches. Where social networking really shines is in the realm of peoples hobbies and passions, for example rc gliders, coffee, art, organic living, music etc.
What's your favorite Ning website?
