Comments on: I’m Bitter About Twitter

By: Twitter User. Is That An Oxymoron? : ERE.net

Twitter User. Is That An Oxymoron? : ERE.net — Wed, 08 Jul 2009 00:39:02 +0000

[...] it be Scott Weaver was on to something when he blogged, “I’m Bitter About Twitter?” The Nielsen people might think so. They say that 60 percent of all Twitter users [...]

By: Clayton Cook

Clayton Cook — Fri, 03 Jul 2009 07:07:18 +0000

As a 35 year old that has been interested in IT and gadgets since about 8years of age. including owning my own IT business for 5 years and still developing web sites, etc in spare time I like to consider I’m up-to-date. I am always interested in efficiency. Twitter seems a waste of time to me. I think it will be a fad. I could be wrong.
Basically as a business owner (recruitment) I look at return on investment in terms of time, etc. Most Social Media is a waste of time. The only ones I have used to limited success is LinkedIN and Facebook. With LinkedIN leading by far in potential.
I have spoken to many other savvy people in our game and people spending a HUGE amount of time trying to use these tools – they give the same feedback.
After 15 years in Recruitment I have come to the conclusion that the traditional methods still win. These tools can assist, but if I spent more than 30mins a day using them I would question my sanity.

By: Bob Waldo

Bob Waldo — Fri, 26 Jun 2009 14:16:59 +0000

Amen, brother! I’m on Twitter, and for the life of me can not figure out what all the commotion is about. It’s NOT the be-all and end-all in sourcing tools that people claim it to be. For branding and marketing yourself, or for candidate tracking and interactions, it’s effective. Think about it this way… don’t you have to find the person (or them find you) in order to follow them or have them follow you on Twitter? That means….you’ve already sourced them, right?!?! ;-) The rest is just candidate management. Put them in a manilla file, put them in your ATS, add them to your LI network, or add them on Twitter. It’s all the same.

By: Gregory Pankow

Gregory Pankow — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 18:45:42 +0000

Amen,

I am extremely technically competent on google search strings, linkedin searches (even using boolean searches to find people out of network), etc… I am also young and hip.

That being said, I agree with you 100% in my day to day efforts, I find the phone to be a far far more effective tool for name generation and development than all of the social media resources put together.

The problem as I see it is threefold:
1) It’s easier to get rejected via email. For this reason I think most recruiters like the social media spin. It takes a thicker skin to pick up the phone and actually reach out to someone in person that you have never spoken to before.
2) It’s popular. People do things because they are popular. I probably get 20 emails a day for “web 2.0″ sourcing technique seminars, training videos, etc…
3) It sounds good to management. Most of the tools are free and you can talk about your company being on the cutting edge of recruiting.

I still use social media to set up a recruiting project, but this is mainly to orient myself. When it comes down to the nitty gritty, the phone is my primary tool for finding and approaching potential candidates.

By: Jennifer Green

Jennifer Green — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 18:16:26 +0000

Can’t help you with Cameran Diaz, I’m following LEED certified Engineer’s.,,

By: Julia Bouzan

Julia Bouzan — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:45:20 +0000

I actually think the need to “twitter” is for everyone to get their 15 minutes of fame. Frankly the posts of those I follow are not that interesting nor is the fact that I am drinking a chai soy tea latte at the Starbucks on the corner of – well you get the drift. Perhaps I simply need a more interesting life but I agree with Scott many of the niche/professionals will not have time to be on twitter.

Got to go manage Facebook, Linkedin, Plaxo, Execunet, etc by mid-morning I am exhausted.

Thanks for the simulating discussion – I am going to look for you on twitter :).

By: David Fortune

David Fortune — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 16:43:14 +0000

Thank you Scott.

Finally someone has noticed that the Emperor has no clothes. For those of us who are over 23 years old, it is amazing that we were able to conduct business, build huge buildings, go to the moon, and a few other minor accomplishments without Social Networking.

It is amazing that we were able to do it at all. Must have been just good luck. Funny though, we were able to build monuments that have lasted for thousands of years without 3-G cell phones, web sites, or even electricity.

Maybe there is a principle here? Nah, must just be the rantings of someone who is not young, not hip, and no one likes him anyhow.

Well, got to get back to my Social Networking, so I can do some real work and accomplish something lasting.

By: David Templeman

David Templeman — Thu, 25 Jun 2009 15:54:17 +0000

Who else found it ironic there was a link to follow ERE on Twitter at the bottom of this post? But I do agree with you to some extent. Social Media is not a panacea of talent acquision. Much like when Monster & other pay boards hit the internet, it’s simply another tool that allows us visibility to candidates. I’ve found Twitter to be a little too “high touch” in terms of talent acquision – I think it’s a better knowledge base than talent hub.

By: Amy Umar

Amy Umar — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 22:40:18 +0000

Amen brother. Insightful and poignant.

By: Sarah Welstead

Sarah Welstead — Wed, 24 Jun 2009 19:04:41 +0000

I hear you! I spent yesterday fretting because I didn’t tweet enough and knew I’d lose followers. whatEVER. And some days I just don’t have any amusing thoughts.

This is a very small, self-referential world we (those of us who are all over social media) live in. It’s important to remember that there are plenty of people – leading productive, high-net-worth lives – out there who don’t think about social media from one day to the next. Doesn’t make them idiots. Doesn’t make us geniuses.