Are you bored with RBC?

I too have been bored! Not just here, but everywhere online. Too much noise, nonsense and dumbification. There has been a severe suckage situation for quite some time now across multiple venues. Maybe I'm a fool for saying that (more than handful of times) here, over there, or anywhere. Or, perhaps...?

As a regular contributor and commenter within the HR and recruiting blogging community, I was thrilled to be invited to join RecruitingBlogs’ 2014 Editorial Advisory Board. Yeah, I really am that much of a geek that HR and recruiting content actually floats my boat as if I have no other hobbies (hint: I don't).

I’ll share my valley girl translation (as a Southern California native) of this recent development: I’m all, OMG that’s so bitchen… and then I’m like, this is so RAD… and then I go, for realz, like totally count me in and everything… I can’t freaking wait, it’s gonna be so gnarly dude!

But then again, some of you peeps, (you know who you are) think I should convey a more subdued and mature reaction to this occasion. Fine. Teeny-bopper tone aside, as semi-professional industry practitioner, here is where I see this going:

What a treat to have an opportunity to collaborate with an eclectic mix of outspoken, opinionated and multi-talented industry pros, a few of whom I’ve only admired from afar. I am excited to get to know those that I haven’t officially met (virtually or otherwise) and build closer relationships with those that I have interacted with previously.

The unique vibe of RBC has always included challengers of conventional thinking poised to shake up the status quo and call out crap that deserves to be called out. Whether you prefer to lean up against the back wall to listen and learn or pop up to the podium to put forth your own thought-provoking philosophical ponderings, the RBC team is ready to roll with even edgier, wittier and wiser content. Let’s do this!

RBC is where audacious writers and open minded audience members come together to debate, dissect and drive deep discussion to drown out the drab drivel found everywhere else. Not your typical generators of generic generalities or generalizations, this a clever crowd that demands quantifiable quality balanced with quirky quips.

If cultivating conversation, slashing stereotypes and banishing buzzwords is what you are in to, bring it on. Speak up, stand out and tell it like it is in the real world. This is the place for you.

Don’t just sit there scrolling through this site as if you’re wearing swimmies in the shallow end, reading yet another influencer, thought-leader, guru, genius, expert, big data, engagement, culture, branding post. This is the high dive. Put yourself out there. Make your point, then back it up or back away.

Who’s on board with me?

Comment by Matt Charney on January 31, 2014 at 4:24pm: Animal: I've been meaning to call you all week but Steve Levy and Nicole Greenberg won't let me off the phone long enough, but I want to talk collaboration with you, so glad you weighed in. I listened to your show this week with Mr. Nehez, who is also on the board, and that conversation is exactly what we're trying to accomplish: like real, roll up your sleeves recruiting shop talk. Even when you're yelling your loudest, which is kind of annoying, you can still sense that you're actually excited about this stuff and frustrated by douche bags like me who talk in buzzwords, theories and purple prose. The first week I was at Monster, after getting Radian6's report that said you were the most influential voice in the recruiting industry (this site was like the #1 property back when both our brands were new), I listened to you chastise the Job Board Doctor for :15 minutes about his hyphenated last name. "What are you, a divorced woman?" I was like, who the hell is this guy? I still ask that, but the truth is, you've kind of been the glue that's held this weird little community together, even if we're not necessarily playing on the same platform.

So while I'm on the phone and would play recruiter if I could, figured since you weighed in it made sense to ask you here if you'd like to collaborate. By that, I mean say snarky, smart stuff to your hearts content, tell us what we're getting wrong or if you think something is stupid - this comment included - and help us get it right. I've got plenty of ideas about how you can put your evil powers to good use. Next Diet Coke's on me.

Comment by Will Thomson on January 31, 2014 at 4:26pm: Love the responses and love the great minds that you brought together Matt. Obviously there is interest in keeping RBC alive and well. "Putting the Old back into the New" sounds like a great task. Less marketing, more conversation and lets bring back the people who make the conversation great. Great post Kelly.

Comment by Kelly Blokdijk on January 31, 2014 at 4:39pm: @Animal - you bring up valid points. I agree collaborate is becoming borderline annoying to see/hear. And, maybe it's not even the most accurate term to describe how any of this online activity plays out. Just checking out all of the cool FB topics and comments is a great way for some of us to learn from others and interact with people we would never know existed otherwise. Personally, I enjoy when posts are challenged and critiqued, so I hope there will be MUCH MORE of that going on from now on... Thanks for sharing your #PearlsOfWisdom ~KB @TalentTalks

Comment by Amy Ala Miller on January 31, 2014 at 6:29pm: Ooooh I think Charney should be a guest on the Animal Show. We can talk about the newly revamped RBC. Come on Matt... I'll be there to either back you up or kick you while you're down. ;)

Comment by Keith D. Halperin on January 31, 2014 at 7:48pm: @Amy: "kick you while you're down".

Oh Amy, I thought you gave up that "side business" years ago. If you're back, some of my hiring managers would be OH SO GRATEFUL AND OBLIGING for an appointment....

;)

Happy Friday!

YOWZA!

Comment by Amy Ala Miller on January 31, 2014 at 7:50pm: LOL old habits die hard my friend! :)

Comment by Keith D. Halperin on January 31, 2014 at 8:01pm: :)

Glad you weren't offended...

Comment by Kelly Blokdijk on January 31, 2014 at 8:07pm: And, if you get stumped (Matt) *** ROLE PLAY ***

It's a crowd pleaser w/ live tweeting #AnimalCrew #PuppetGallery

Hoping this RBC Advisory Board deal gives me a bit more street cred :0 -- worth a try, right?

Comment by Amy Ala Miller on February 1, 2014 at 2:25pm: Role Play!!! Seriously I think this is a great topic for Animal's show

Comment by Sandra McCartt on February 3, 2014 at 1:33am: I have been thinking about whether it's worth my time to jump on this attempt to bring recruiters back to Recruiting Blogs for two days. My invitation to join the editorial board was obviously lost in the mail but then I'm a recruiter so sitting on my classy ass waiting to be invited to say something would have ended my recruiting career the year I started.

I always enjoy KB's "cut the crap" posts. Sometimes she calls me out of my nocturnal, ice cave to take a look at something so outrageous that she knows yours truly will launch a " queen of evil" challenge or spend half a day in verbal fisticuffs with some tight ass HRtype or beat a baby marketer/ baby recruiter until they shut up. Disclaimer...kb did not solicit this response.

All that being said, you bet your moldy biscuits I got bored with RBC. ( side bar comment to Ryan..freaking take "awesome" out of your vocabulary and it won't hurt to drop amazing, there is nothing amazing or awesome about a post on a website..or you need to gt out more).

I sincerely hope this attempt to bring recruiters back to Recruiting blogs works. If you think for one minute that is going to happen if the parade of reasonably well written, puff piece marketing blog roll ,ridiculous bullshit written by cute kids with a marketing degree talking about something they don't know jack shit about is not stopped immediately, this is more mental masturbation.

Consider this. What do you think would happen if a bunch of recruiters descended on a website for petroleum engineers, doctors, horse trainers or plumbers and were allowed to clutter up their landscape telling them how to drill a well, diagnose mental retardation, train a horse to jump 3'6" or install commercial HVAC systems so we could sell our services or tell our boss we got our name on a site. Either we would be gone or they would.

As the silliness grew on RBC, rather than take issue with every kid marketer writing about where we needed to recruit and how (remember the the silly kid who discovered how mny truck drivers there were on Facebook). A lot of us quit reading, clicked on the profile and "oh crap, another marketing kid with a vendor spewing out nonsense, adios". It was Romper Room Recruiting.

Pay close attention, editorial board members. The recruiting sites, all of them have become a sewer of ignorant, inexperienced marketing crap with a turd or two of wisdom floating along in there. None of us have the time or inclination to go bobbing for turds even if they are wise. If this noble experiment is to work, and I hope it does, I had a Bully pulpit on RBC before it became fashionable to advocate that a bully pulpit was beating up on babies and lunatics,and we needed something for everyone. It not being my railroad and being of the opinion that the guy who owns the railroad can blow the whistle anyway he wants. I and most of the "greatest generation" of real recruiters moved on.

If it's a vendor charge it and put the post under a tab called vendors and/ or promotions or if you want a site for recruiting vendor marketers to do their internship so be it but for god's sake Ryan quit encouraging ignorant misinformation by calling it "awesome".

Real recruiters can review a resume or judge a person in about five minutes. It takes less time to look at a website and think, nope, nothing to see here. We don't have time to argue with silly, inexperienced marketing kids or see another bunch of crap to sell us something.