Social Networking Websites will SURVIVE!!

I don’t think you guys agree with Ms. Molly Wood’s thought that social networking doesn’t work - http://www.cnet.com/4520-6033_1-6240543-1.html, unless you are far from “Facebook”.
She grumbles that “there's nothing to do there, it takes too much time, traffic alone isn't enough, strangers kind of suck (or, put nicely, the social hierarchy is really not that attractive), and we already have the internet”.

If she’s right, would we keep sticking to Facebook like that? As a Facebook beginner, even I have contacted Facebook more than twice a day. Also, “Cyworld”, a Korean social networking website, which I’ve used since 2004, is the easiest and cheapest way to keep in touch with my friends in Korea.

Well, for me, it is partly true that there’s not much to do in Facebook and Cyworld, except checking out my “wall” and “visitors”. Still, they are like the second realm of life to many people, and I don’t think people can live without them, including me.


However, those so-far successful social networking websites should not just be satisfied with status quo. That is to say, they can’t survive if they just let them hang out in their websites without any taking care of or even controlling them.

Therefore, they need to renovate themselves constantly and keep throwing baits to users for them to be obsessed with the websites.

I think that’s why Facebook changed its format a little bit in spite of the users’ complaints. Although the users don’t really like sudden change, if they get used to it “too much”, they get bored of it and try to find something more fun and something that give them more challenge.
Actually, Cyworld adds little things reform minor stuffs frequently and, once or even twice a year, totally “renovate” the whole website. Of course, the users grumble about occasional temporary shutdowns – usually from 2am to 6am – due to reforming, but they feel new challenges, which make them enjoy, and are willing to stick to it.

Furthermore, Cyworld has developed items to decorate the users’ “mini-homepage”, such as font, tile, music, wallpaper, etc., and the users are willing to buy them only with a little money and sometimes ask their friends to buy those items to them as presents. As you may see, since the users have their own “home” they are managing in this website, they are reluctant to leave the website. Also, in business view, this gets the website profits, beyond just offering banner ads.

VIDEO RESUME

I believe all of you guys have written your resume at least once.
How was your resume writing? How do you think your resume is?
Was it interesting enough for yourself to read yours?

Well… I wouldn’t say job recruiters would love to read tons of resumes, which are not even different from each other.

Due to this problem, some people have brought up a brilliantly creative idea…
It was making a VIDEO RESUME!!

I guess most of you guys have seen some of those resumes on YouTube, My Space, or things like them. I, too, could take a look at several video resumes. Although some of them looked dumb, they were interesting enough to get my attention.

So… I want to talk about “Pros/Cons” of video resumes. I’d love to get your additional opinion on this as your comments.

"PROS"
1. Get much more attention of recruiters than paper resume
2. Make recruiters feel “I want to talk to him in person”
3. At least, demonstrate the ability to make video.

"CONS"
1. Difficult to make it well
2. Could make recruiters waste more time than when they just read resumes
3. Plant unpleasant impression into recruiters regardless of original intention

Of course, you guys can think of them much more than this. So, just let me know…

By the way, while watching video resumes, it just came to my mind that if we don’t have capability to make “video” resume, how about "POWER POINT" resume, in order to make a little difference?
Since the weakest point of paper one is boring, it would be good idea make it as a “Slide Show”. And. to make it better, it should be good to add our canned voice to our resume and let watchers to follow it with our voice.

Wait, it just struck me that if video resume is generalized or even required sometime later, what would be the next form of resume after video one???
It seems to get harder and harder to satisfy recruiter. Haha…


Anyway…
I’ve attached 3 video resumes URL, which have different characteristics from each other.
Have fun with them, and if any of you guys have made something like this, let me check it out!! =D


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6ZqgXrlSEA8
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YL1mUuYAPkI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1rAKA7enbwY

Customers' "Self-Customer Service"

As you may know, there are many electronic product-geeks in Korea, which is, unfortunately, far from my character. Thanks to these geeks, I don’t have to go to customer service center – either the actual store or the website – of manufacturers when I want to buy a laptop computer or digital camera, or there is a problem with my camera. Instead, I go to “DC inside” (www.dcincide.com) and “NB inside” (www.nbinside.com).

DC of the “DC inside” is Digital Camera, and NB of the “NB inside” indicates NoteBook computer – we usually call laptop computer notebook computer in Korea.


Initiated in 1999, DC inside has, literally, everything about digital camera. Product information, including every brand, is nothing to mention, there being product reviews and problem solutions written by other consumers and collective purchase which allows people to buy products much cheaper. Furthermore, visitors do not only get information but enjoy surfing the website. They make their online community and post various interesting pictures as well. DC inside provides this kind of entertaining space, while managing it systemically. Actually, some pictures and interesting writings have become new coined words or words in fashion mainly used by young netizen.

NB inside, run by DC inside as well, has pretty much similar form to DC inside. Yet, since things that the website deals with are more expensive and need more complicated knowledge, it seems to have more informative factors, while sharing entertaining stuffs with DC inside.


Then, what should actual manufacturers do? All they can do is just to sell their products, and then not to offer after service? Or, making better website or service center, which seems almost impossible because there is no reason for consumers to go to the website displaying only one brand instead of the websites above?

Well...
Many manufacturers have tried to cooperate with these websites. They try to give product information as much as they can to the websites, and apply for launching their products as collectively purchased ones.


One thing seemed special is “Quality Tester”. Some manufacturers offer certain number of products to the websites for free, which invite people to try them for a certain period. Through this program, manufacturers can advertise their products, while consumers try them before actual purchase without any economic pressure.


Like I mentioned above, manufacturers are trying to take advantage of the websites as much as possible. Of course, this attempt benefits consumers as well as the websites.

My Profile picture!!

How to make coworkers adjust to new collaboration tools

Having tried a few collaboration tool websites throughout our class and reading the articles assigned this week, I found there are so many useful stuffs that I didn’t even know and sometimes I think to myself I wish I had known them when I was in the newspaper organization.

However, I’m not quite sure my organization would have used them effectively, even if we had been aware of them. Recalling experiences in the organization, even small attempts to change, which I had regarded as nothing, wasn’t easy for the coworkers to adjust to at all. There was resist against change and the coworkers didn’t get familiar with the change easily.


After all,
the thing was how collaboratively and effectively people use them as intended, no matter how powerful collaboration tools are.


In this regard, the following tips Robert D. Hof suggested in the Business week article are very simple but very essential.

Indeed, my adventure into Web collaboration suggests a number of lessons about how organizations can get people to try this stuff: 1) Keep it simple. 2) No, even simpler. 3) No matter how good the collaboration tool, you may have to knock some heads to force people out of old habits. 4) Leave room for what still works: Sometimes, nothing beats a phone call, a face-to-face meeting, or even (gasp) e-mail.

I’d like to listen to your experiences about the difficulties to adjust new tools and your own secrets to solve the problem.