2008 The Year That Was…

With the close of 2008 in our midst, I can’t help but think of Michael Jackson.  You’re wondering about the link, I know.  I’m not pondering Jackson’s music, rest assured.  Yeah, I s’pose  I could draw some corny comparison here between some of his song titles, and my views on certain players in the online recruitment market (“Beat It”, for dodgy job boards like Groovy Jobs and Oral Jobs, for instance).

But I’m above these kinds of shenanigans.  What you’re about to read is, (take it from me) much more highbrow.

There wouldn’t be too many GenXers out there who wouldn’t have held MJ in pretty high esteem.  Didn’t we all marvel at the Thriller video?  Weren’t we all saving for a sparkly single glove (so achievable from an economic perspective, so much cheaper than a pair).  And don’t some of us still practise our moonwalk when all the kids are in bed, and the wife is transfixed by Sex And The City, and it’s a hot night, too hot for writing a blog…or sleeping?  Anyways, Jackson did things in music that no one else had done.  And we all had such high hopes for him; before his fall…

And I guess that’s my point.  2008 was the year that’ll be remembered as the turning point for the online world.  Finally, print has bowed to the dominance of online’s capacity for disseminating information (ferk knows, you wouldn’t be reading this right now if the print reigned) – pretty much in the same way that music video producers went out and bought themselves a bunch of new equipment after watching “Thriller”.

Activity in the market was rife, indicative of a market that’s moving up and readjusting to its new status.  Here are some of the highlights:

- Start-up NotchUp offers payment for interviews

- Seek takes the lead on adding video to its job ads

- JobX and Recruitment Academy launch RecruitMeNow

- Social networking is on fire

- MyCareer does deal with Jobfox and launches Headhunter

- Nowhiring sells to Counting Jobs

- MyCareer starts A/B testing a new search box

- CareerOne powers eBay jobs JobX powers everyone else

- New job sites launch. Capital Jobs, Jobspeed, Jobreel and OralJobs.

- Seek buys two leading employment websites in Brazil and one in Asia.

- Next generation job sites, Hoojano and 2Vouch launch

- Jobs aggregator Simplyhired launches in Australia

- CareerOne and Monster announce partnership.

- MyCareer’s Melbourne layoffs.

Cripes.  I’m tired just looking at it (or perhaps I’ve just overdosed on Christmas carbs).

Unfortunately, despite inroads that have been generated this year, like Michael Jackson’s career, we’re only going to remember degradation.  Let’s face it, that whole Machauley Culkin thing was freakin’ disturbing, and so is this: even the unflappable market leader Seek’s share price closed at $2.85 on Friday – down from a 52-week high of $8.77.

Blame whatever you want – but don’t blame it on the boogy (sorry, couldn’t help that one).