What is Web 2.0 and how does it apply to recruitment?

Web 2.0 is a complex subject and it has many interpretations. Blogging, video sharing, RSS feeds and the incredible amount of social media available today in the Internet are just examples of the types of interactions that can take place in the World of Web 2.0.

Web 2.0 deals with the following concepts:

1. The Web becoming easily accessible by people without a strong technical background.
2. Applications served over the Internet becoming mission critical for many industries.
3. Technology cost getting lower and lower.
4. Web applications have become truly global.

Web 2.0 certainly means different things to different people. For some people it is about interaction, for others it is about social content. According to Jafeth Rodriguez, Chief Innovations Officer at RECRUITadvantage, ìWeb 2.0 is about the level of interaction we have been able to achieve between people, across language and geographical barriers. It is about the business value generated out of the active user base centred on a particular application in a particular industry. The difference between Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 therefore could be associated with the level of engagement, with the fact that communication is 2-ways or n-way as opposed to the 1-way communication paradigm we got used to in the early stages of the Internet. It also deals with the fact that the technology is being used in ways that havenít been seen before and it is constantly evolving. It is also about authenticity, about real-time free information sharing between content creators, collaborators, critics and observers.î

New terms have been born around the Web 2.0 concept. Some examples of these terms are:

ï Wikis. A wiki is an online environment, which allows anyone who accesses it to contribute or modify content. Wikis are often used to create collaborative websites and to power community websites. The collaborative encyclopedia Wikipediais perhaps the best-known wiki, but not the only example. Wiki technology is used for knowledge management, customer support databases, intranets, etc.

ï Folksonomy. This is a humongous word which simply deals with the practice of collaboratively creating and managing tags to describe and categorise content. It differs from traditional indexing in that the tagging is done not only by content creator but also by content consumers.

ï Blogging. A blogis an extension of the bulletin board technology found in the Web in its formation stages. It consists of a Web site, usually maintained by an individual or a company representative, with regular public entries, opinions, and content, in the form of text, graphics or video.

Recruitment, as a service business, must engage on these types of interactions, as possible means to find talent, find clients and add value in the process. As people embed themselves more and more in the Web 2.0 World, they become increasingly connected to particular topics, themes, and industry discussions, professional and personal networks. Web 2.0 is becoming part of normal communication; just another dimension to it.

Without realising it, recruiters have been active supporters of the Web 2.0 movement for some time. The Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) model, inherent to applicant tracking systems (ATS) such as turboRECRUIT, is a good expression of the Web 2.0 paradigm. There is much more to learn and changes to take place in these kinds of systems, and the model are in constant evolution. The foundation for value adds is already in place and it will get better. To get engaged in other facets of the Web 2.0 world, try doing a search on the Web about a topic of your interest, find some blogging sites and blog until you drop! Develop a feeling about the technology and what is possible and think about the possible applications of this technology into your day-to-day business activities. You will be surprised to see and experience how many people and businesses are already engaged in the powerful world of Web 2.0.

We may discuss particular examples of Web 2.0 applications relevant to the recruitment World.