The future is alluring – nothing bad has happened yet, you haven’t made any dumb mistakes yet, and anything could happen. In fact, the future is so much fun to write about that I am going to write about it (with my job board industry goggles on, that is).

So, let us finish the following phrase in as many interesting and contentious ways as we can, shall we?

The future of job boards is…

1. Dead. After all, hundreds of bloggers and commentators can’t be wrong can they? (Well, yes, actually, they can – see #2 & #8)
2. Rosy. A rebounding economy, the intrusion of the web into every nook and cranny of everyday life, and a desire to do better will drive growth across the job board industry.
3. Social. Job seekers AND employers want more social features on job boards – so expect to see them.
4. Regulated. Did you think the OFCCP reporting requirements were a pain? Get used to it. I predict more is coming.
5. More revenue. Expansion into career hubs, new social media services, and more niche sites mean more revenue for smart job board companies.
6. Lower margins. Commoditization of job postings, more niche sites, social media, and cheap, easily available job board software will drive overall profitability down.
7. LinkedIn / TheLadders / Craigslist / .jobs / etc…: You get the picture. There will always be competition, and there will always be those who predict that ’something’ will kill job boards. Prove them wrong.
8. You. That’s right. You run them, so you get to write how this story will end.

What did I miss?