In my podcast today I commented on a somewhat unhappy newspaper article from The Independant which stood as a warning for job seekers that their extended web profile could be responsible for their missing out on a job interview. So often, the mainstream media will paint the negative story. They thrive on scaremongering and bad news (if you don’t believe me, take a look at the endless stream of unhappy headlines in this time of economic crisis). So it was a pleasure to read this article from Jens Schroeder which served to demonstrate how beneficial the social web can be.
Despite what ‘the papers’ say, not everyone is hell bent on plastering the internet with drunken photos, obscenities, pictures of themselves in inappropriate costumes or offensive blog posts. There are a lot more people who see the web as the opportunity to do something they love, put it out into a public place and perhaps, just perhaps, get found and make it big.
It isn’t just musicians, with the MySpace phenomenon, who have benefited although they are possibly the most well known. Any person who has a passion for something now has the opportunity to demonstrate that to the world. In the past, if you were a writer, you might be lucky if your writing was selected for a prize in a competition or even given a second glance by an agent. Nowadays, you have the possibility of podcasting your novels, submitting your manuscripts to a site for other readers to read and comment on, or getting involved in author and reader communities to help you forward. There is no minimum requirement for entry – you just need to have a passion to write. The wisdom of the crowds will help you rise to the top if you have the talent, or at the very least, give you an equally as passionate audience.
The amount of talent you can find on the internet is mind boggling. From designers to musicians, artists, writers, photographers or film-makers, all of them have the same opportunity to be something bigger than a person who dabbles in their back room. And if you look back at the original article, surely if a prospective employer was doing a search on your background, and discovered the passion and talent you had which you were happily sharing on the internet, then that would have to go in your favour? Perhaps I am being hopeful, but an online profile can and should be a thing of strength for you in your life, whichever direction it takes you. Whether it be to the next job interview, or it be to the ARIA Awards.
Img: Jellykat
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