This has been really interesting for me... trying to manoeuvre my blog from Recruitingblogs.com to blogger.com. Only because I was looking for something a little more mainstream, I think it could be time for me to really start to get my voice tuned up.. I will continue to double post if you will as I cannot get enough of the RBC community. It has opened my mind introducing me to so many new tools and techniques, giving me more insight than most training courses I have ever attended.

Web2.0 as it is called now, man I love labels, has opened up a whole new world, connecting with people all over the world, sharing ideas, giving and receiving feedback from people I've never ever met, but are willing to help nonetheless.

I just read a blog from the fine people at Fistful of Talent around Social Media and how it will do us all out of a job. It was a great perspective, and gave me some room to think. Will Social media do me out of a job? It reminded me of a conversation I had recently an old boss of mine. He'd recently learned about this page called Linkedin.com and something else called Facebook.com, he took a weekend to explore these sites and was amazed at their power. "This will make you job so much easier he said, you will be able to cut out the agencies and job boards. All you will need is just a subscription and you'll be able to find anyone." Imagine my reaction to that.

In the most diplomatic way I explained that Social Media will and has enhanced our roles. Does it make it easier.. yes and no.. it adds another level to it... Recruitment is all about finding people, or should I say finding the right people, with the right skills at the right time. Will any of these tools do that for you? Not really. Will it give you great reach for people and access to names you may have had to struggle to find previously? Damn straight. Will it foster those relationships, or work those relationships to ensure that when you reach out, people will respond? Not likely.. people do that not tools or internet sites.

I may be old fashioned, however, whilst a sucker for this medium, I find it hard to believe that Social Networking could replace or improve face to face networking, or personal discussions over a coffee. I find it hard to fathom that relationships will be that strong, or that someone would try to help if there is no emotional buy in. Whilst this is doable via social Networking, it takes time, effort and real work to cultivate that.

Has email eliminated the phone call? Does a questionnaire get rid of the need for an interview? Has the Internet killed the newspapers? Did video really kill the radio star?

That said, my parent bought a Beta video player and were proud of it, defending their choice even after years of picking from the same 5 videos in the video shop. It apparently is widely known that Beta was the better product, however VHS was the biggest seller (Gen Y's please google the terms Beta and VHS :) ).

The moral....? nothing will ever replace hard work, quality does count, however you do need to move with the times, catch the occasional wave to ensure you stay relevant and be flexible you never know where you will end up.