http://www.nytimes.com/2009/08/30/magazine/30FOB-medium-t.html?emc=eta1
It would appear that those of us who are looking to avoid the Internet at all costs will not have to buy a hunting lodge in the mountains of Colorado...yes, the NY Times has come thru for us (article attached) by giving us the facts on Facebook burnout. I know that business recruiters who like to scour Facebook sites to see if anything is their to embarrass their "candidates" will be sorely disappointed. Does this mean that people will actually be encouraged to resume face to face contact? OMG!
My recent experience with Facebook required me to get on it in order to retrieve wedding pictures that a close friend of the family had "posted". Having done that, that same person now chastises me for not putting more of my education on my "profile". What "profile"? I never put anything on my profile. Facebook now asks me if I'm looking for "friends". No. I'm happy.
Fortunately for me, it would appear that the Facebook phenomenon will be like "The Day the Earth Stood Still" where we can watch (along with Tom Cruise) as the monsters from outer space succumb to the tiny "microbes" that help sustain our earth's ecosystem. It would appear that 87 million people is about as many as Facebook could grow to and that very size is beginning to cause "slippage".
But, then, who am I to say? I can barely do email and the computers that I use don't like me no matter how hard I try to get along. And now I do a "blog"? I just hope that Facebook Nation doesn't try to "friend" my blog as it looks to acquire new things while it slowly oozes back to the giant computer swamp from which it came.
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Can I be your friend? :)
ReplyDeleteSeriously, I think that facebook is a great way to keep in touch with old friends, but it is not as useful for professional things. I think this is why so many people have both f.b. and Linkedin, which is created for your professional life. Now if only your students could convince you to tweet....
I do not like Facebook.
ReplyDeleteQuite a few publications have been voicing some dissent too.
Probably the best way to use Facebook is find people with similar goals and characteristics. Then, try to meet up with them to pursue aspirations unilaterally. Eventually, build a community by doing this many times that create information agility to maximize the opportunities for the community.
However, people do not see Facebook in this way. They mainly just mess around with "friends" through trivial posts. Security concerns have made Facebook users even more skeptical of people wanting to be there friend.
Do not get me started on Twittering. Mark Cuban loves that stuff. Bless Cuban and other fans of Twitter, but I just think its all a waste. Such services do not really do much, can become excessively annoying, and invite a host of security problems.
The next generation of "Facebook" per se are internet browsers that facilitate communication with others. Think of a browser with Facebook functionality.
We should just think of Facebook as another wave of technology. For all you entrepreneurs out there, you will be really excited to know this is all just the beginning of a line of innovations that will change the world forever. I would love to chat with anyone interested in this field!
I've run across a lot of old friends on Facebook, and keep in touch with current ones that way. I know, when it comes time to job search, it'll be a useful (if not invaluable) resource.
ReplyDeleteTwitter has always struck me as tremendously pointless, but hey, to each their own. hehe
Wow, this will sure open up a can of worms! I love that you're bringing up social media. Like it or not, it's here to stay. It's up to each of us as to how we use them.
ReplyDeleteRemember, peer networks have existed for centuries, social media just gives you a much more visible outlet to these networks.
2 years ago social media was all for fun, but today C-level execs everywhere are asking how companies can leverage these tools to interact with their customers. The trendy saying is "People are talking about your brand, you can choose whether or not to participate."
From the perspective of a college student, soon to graduate, it is absolutely an invaluable resource. I have spoken with multiple recruiters in my company all the way up to the VP of HR, as well as multiple hiring managers. Every single one of them is going to screen their candidates through the internet, whether that be Google, Facebook, LinkedIn, etc. When your name is typed into Google, what comes up? We can each leverage these free tools to control that, especially if you have a unique name. Just like for the last century, companies have spend millions of dollars to create a brand for themselves, today the internet allows anyone to create their personal brand.
From the perspective of someone that wants to be well networked within my industry, each of these tools has their own value:
Facebook - Although it's seen as the sexy end-all, be-all of social networking, it can be said that it's more for connecting with people that you already know and keeping in touch.
Twitter - I used to have the same mindset of "Who cares about what you're doing right now?" However, I realized that Twitter is for discovering people with interesting content to share. I'll unfollow anyone who tweets about the mundane occurrences of their day to day life - the people that I love to read are the ones that share amazing content that I can read on my phone while I walk to class or a meeting at work.
At it's core, Twitter is a micro-blogging service. It's an easy way to share insightful things. I also know of multiple instances where my boss has connected with industry leaders, which has led to corporate partnerships.
LinkedIn - My jaw hit the ground when I asked @ the MHP Orientation if the career center gives LinkedIn advice. To put it simply - the resume (and the blind resume drop) is basically dead. Some companies have move to only recruiting people through LinkedIn. I was even speaking with a VP @ my company who is incredibly well networked, and she told me she gets screening messages from companies that want to interview people BEFORE they even contact that person.
Social media is here to stay, and anyone who wants to work in a marketing related field shouldn't ignore it. The key is to use social media in innovative ways to help grow both your personal brand and your company's brand.
Also, I will continue my efforts to get Professor Hazzard on Twitter :)
Just as a followup, here an article about a job seeker who found a job through Twitter, and how she effectively utilized it for job hunting:
ReplyDeletehttp://money.cnn.com/2009/09/03/news/economy/hired_twitter/index.htm?section=money_topstories
If LinkedIn's reputation continues to grow, other mediums might eventually vanish.
ReplyDeleteYeah. I was surprised at how extensively companies use LinkedIn too.
Marcelo: Twitter is likely a more compatible medium for a PR person to find a job than a finance professional. I think creating a successful blog is the ultimate marketing tool for newbies like us. If you can create content significant enough to create a following, you will likely attract recruiters too. However, this is all just speculation on my part.
Came across this:
ReplyDeletehttp://www.marketingpilgrim.com/2009/09/job-seekers-and-social-media-not-so-perfect-together.html