This must be how Philip Morris feels.
OK, unlike smokers, no one’s literally dying. But when you write for a particular niche, say, Internet recruiting, a mass exodus of people from the profession means a few less readers. Or a lot fewer readers if this economy keeps sprinting toward the depths of Hell.
Even Google’s laying off recruiters.
Case in point: Of the 40-or-so people I worked with at JobOptions in the ’90s, I can name about three who are still in the industry. The rest went on to other things. We didn’t have bloggers as we know them today, but you can bet those former coworkers would have stopped reading them now. The same will happen as grenade after grenade falls on recruiter after recruiter and the vendors who serve them.
Unlike a popular tech blog that keeps a wide variety of readers engaged from a macro level, however, the micro-nichers must feel like a gerbil on a treadmill, always having to replace former readers with new ones. Not a particularly appealing prospect. And there are likely a a few niche communities and Ning signposts seeing similar challenges.
The recent bucket of chum being thrown into the water in the form of industry layoffs and site redesigns has been good for bringing in the sharks to feed, but one wonders how long it will last.
Popularity: 7% [?]
January 16th, 2009 at 1:06 pm
Another way of thinking about it is that if you’ve clearly not reached a critical mass of readers yet, then regardless of economic or employment trends, you still have an untapped market of readers ahead. You might fight harder to find them–or maybe not as they now sit at home in their PJs wondering how to get work. Think oddtodd.com, or PUD/F’d Company, both byproducts of the last bust/recession and now established bazillionaires.
January 16th, 2009 at 8:50 pm
It would be a real bummer if spewing your crappy opinions no longer provided you a source of income. Although, Im sure that you could always find another industry where payola is the norm
January 17th, 2009 at 6:05 pm
A friend who’s a recruiter is doing well because she got a spot in a company for her type of niche recruiting. I agree – for everyone else it’s an incredible challenge.
January 18th, 2009 at 9:21 pm
Another thought about your traffic being up is because of the state of the recruiting industry. When people are freaking out, getting laid off, and generally trying to figure out what is going on in the market… they turn to industry experts! That’s you! :)
January 19th, 2009 at 2:19 pm
Wow, “…sprinting towards the depths of Hell”.
I believe those who truly provide a great value will find a way to survive and win, while those who do not had better quickly.
These are the times that will test, moreover unveil greatness. The question is who will pass the test?