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Blog Predictions for 2007 – Blogs as Resume
In what appears to be a spin-off from the “5 things you didn’t know about me” meme that has been floating around the blog-o-sphere (and which I so far have managed to avoid), Andrew Wee has made some predictions on blogging for this new year, and invited others to participate. Here is my take:
Blogging will begin to play a much larger role in this year’s hyper-social internet communities. Digg, del.icio.us, YouTube, and especially discussions taking place in blog’s comments – the social drive encourages to build up an online profile, representation of self, for others. In part this is why MySpace took off into the popularity that it got to enjoy, though I can only hope that people will realize that flashy glitter profiles are not the best for being taken seriously.
This idea was originally sparked by Keith Ferrazzi and his book – “Never Eat Alone”:
“In the future … blogs will become as ubiquitous as resumes.”
I think that 2007 will be that future. Blogs will make their way into the corporate environment. There are some companies with services for corporate blogging, and I already print this blog’s URL on my resume, right under the contact information. And yes, I have been asked about it in a couple of interviews.
This is why I also hope for a distinction between blogs that are treated as personal journals for friends, family and self, from blogs that are a publishing platform between the author and the world. It is time to move away from Technorati’s tagline of “55 million blogs… some of them have to be good.” to 9rules‘ “Explore the best content on the web.” I want to see that difference.
Have an opinion? Leave a comment, or write your own post!
In the suggested manner of tagging the next 5 bloggers, I’d love to hear an update from Keith Ferrazzi himself, as well as some predictions from Keith Casey, Ilya Grigorik, Jonathan Snook and Aidan Henry.
Update: Keith Casey’s trackbackless response has been posted. It’s quite insightful.
“Blogs offer both a look at the person generally and the topic specifically. Any employer not dropping a candidate’s name into Google at this point is missing one of the biggest and best tools for research.”
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[...] In response to a post by Tony over at the CompSci.ca Blog, I am going to make some specific predictions about the blogosphere for 2007. [...]
Hi Tony,
hmm, good call.
blogging used to be blogger-centered, although there seems to be more participation via blog comments, and we’re starting to see more fullblown conversations erupting in the comments section.
blogs becoming more ‘interactive’?
hmm…an interesting thought.
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[...] Tony’s weighed in with Blog Predictions for 2007 – Blogs as Resume [...]
Blogs as a resume is an interesting notion. I think that we’ll see more HR or hiring professionals turning to google prospective employees or clients. I think this will delve into the blogosphere. If a hiring manager can find a potential employee’s blog… they can really get some insight into who they are hiring. So, the bloggers intention may not be to offer up a resume, but it wouldn’t surprise me to find that happening.
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Andrew – blog’s ‘interaction’ is partly a technological function.. throw in AJAX and pretty gradients for bonus comments 2.0
Sometimes I see some “comments” and think – “you two have each other’s IM already, it’s more appropriate”
Rashenbo gets it – a noticable group of employers already turn to online research before hiring.
I’ll take a related quote from Jonathan Snook’s post for his meme credit:
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Blogs as resumes? Perhaps. There is a lot you can tell about a man/woman from reading their blog. Site personality and mannerisms could work in your favor but they could also work against you.
I wouldn’t mind doing this personally but I don’t think companies even want to hear the word blog for the time being.
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Hi Tony, interaction is a function of both the tech and the human element i think.
if we want to think of a blogging 1.0, defined as a personal publishing/journal platform, then blogging 2.0, will have a stronger interaction and perhaps transaction face to it.
ps: i revamped my permalink structure, do you think you could change the link to the post to:
http://www.whoisandrewwee.com/blogging/blogging-2007-meme/trackback/
tks!
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Michael – yes, showcasing yourself with a blog could work both for and against you. This reality needs to be realized with accountability for the posts made.
Andrew – I’ve updated your link.
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Blogs as resume supplements? Interesting idea. It could certainly save some time during an interview. Regular readers of blogs often begin to feel like they “know” the bloggers they’re subscribed to. A company could certainly learn quite a bit about someone’s suitability for a given job. However, it’s also a reminder to think twice (perhaps thrice) before posting.
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