New Recruiting Opportunities Emerge From Web 2.0

New Recruiting Opportunities Emerge From Web 2.0

First of all, Web 2.0 is a pretty misleading term when it comes to describing a phenomenon that actually relies less on technology and more on old fashioned content creation and distribution. As MySpace.com, Facebook.com, YouTube.com, and numerous other social networking and bookmarking sites lead the current “revolution” in the digital economy, it raises some interesting questions and presents intriguing opportunities about what types of new jobs may be created. The whole social networking phenomenon is being driven by technology that’s been around almost since the inception of the Internet. I think people were drawn back to the simplicity and personalized approach of sharing information and ideas after years of being inundated with irrelevant advertising, spam, and other annoyances that were unavoidable everytime you visited the Internet. The backlash from the misguided “bombardment” mentality of the first generation of Internet users has been a return to the original intent of Internet technology — to communicate and share information more effectively.

As a result, people who can communicate effectively and perhaps more importantly, generate engaging and continuous content, are now very valuable commodities for many types of companies. The new Flash Web Designer position may now be less important than your full-time corporate blogger or social bookmarker. Companies are already hiring for these positions and their could be a scramble for the top “talent” in the marketplace. Interesting when you consider that almost anyone with an Internet connection is capable of generating content.

The idea that new industries could be emerging based on age-old skill sets could present an interesting situation for employers and recruiters alike. If social networking has any real traction as a monetizable phenomenon, there could be a radical shift in how IT recruiting is viewed. Instead of companies wanting to have a “leading edge web presence that leverages the synergies of emerging technologies”, they may realize that a “really well-written blog” is worth far more to them. I’m not entirely sold that this will ever be the case, but I think it will be interesting to watch the evolution of social networking and Web 2.0 and what, if any, new positions arise from it.