The internet has come into its own such that virtually everyone uses the internet . With that being said, would that continue to be the case if the internet transformed from open to a huge information highway with toll charges everywhere? Just the idea of toll gates [in the form of access fees for premium websites] should be troubling to everyone --- especially job seekers. If such a thing were to come to pass, which seems to worry Google's Sergey Brin, you can rest assured that online job search will change too. Job hunters have become accustomed to finding a job online without being gouged with fees; that will change. The big boards will start assessing fees to make up for the fees passed on to them for consuming massive amounts of bandwidth. On the flip side, a fee structure placed on big boards could help jobseekers since it would likely encourage those sites to clamp down on wasting bandwidth i.e. overburdening ads, excessive external content links, photos, videos, etc. Right now, no one is certain the extent of a toll based internet but one thing is sure; someone will be paying more and that cost will passed on down the chain. Believe it.

The suspense is over; the iPad2 is scheduled to hit AT&T stores come March 11, 2011. Now it’s a nice gizmo and all, but will the iPad2 help you with finding a job? That may be a bit of a stretch but the iPad2 does have lots of nice snazzy features like HDMI and FaceTime enhancements to work with the iPhone 4 and all but job search…not sure about that one. Now here’s a twist, though, the the iPad2 might very well help during your job hunt. Have you ever considered or been invited to a virtual video interview? Well, if you are an Apple follower, you already know that Apple has been touting video conferencing as a big feature for the iPad since day one. That hasn’t changed with the release of the iPad2. In fact, with the iPad2, Apple is putting even more emphasis on the video conferencing feature given the FaceTime compatibility with iPhone4 and iPod Touch.

So for those on the job hunt, it’s certainly plausible that the iPad2 could help with your job search. Do you interact with recruiters? Now with the iPad2 video conferencing feature you could set up initial meetings and screening via video conferencing as opposed to having to do face to face visit for every single recruiter you may come across. Thus keeping your job search costs low and maximizing your time. What about employers? This video conferencing concept is nothing new as some of your Fortune 500 employers tend to use video conferencing for interviewing candidates, especially non-local candidates. A lot of times it’s simply more practical to schedule a virtual interview via video conferencing rather than fly a candidate in and absorb the costs -- simply for a prospect. Leave it to iPad2 to start a new trend with job searching and interviewing. All-hail Jobs (Steve Jobs that is). So, will the iPad2 help you with finding a job? It certainly can. Perhaps, it’s like anything else…it depends on how you use it – in this case how you use the iPad2.

The value of a job recommendation has always been a little questionable but nowadays with job search gone social, risky recommendations are becoming more common, or are they? What’s wrong with recommending a friend for a job? Well traditionally, nothing, assuming the friend is qualified since your name is generally on the line if the recommendation doesn’t work out. Like say if the newbie turns out to be a bum. What about with social media job search, are the risks really greater? That depends, of course, on the players so to speak.

If the players are credible then job recommendations via social media job search are no different than traditional friend of a friend recommendations. What does credible mean? Credible means -- do you simply recommend someone because they asked? Do you recommend someone because of monetary interests i.e. how much cash goes in your pocket? Do you recommend someone because they are qualified, hungry and need an opportunity? If the latter is the case, than you might very well be a credible source for a job recommendation. So what does social media job search have to do with this then? Since job search via social media tends to break down the barriers of “who you know”, it’s a little more likely to come in contact with an unknown person which increases the risk of a merit-less job recommendation.

Undoubtedly, social media job search is the current best thing since sliced bread. So if we want to keep it that way, the challenge is to provide an environment where those hungry for opportunity can expand their base of “who you know”, while at the same time ensuring the social media job search forum maintains credibility. So with job search gone social, it’s more important than ever to keep a watchful eye on risky job recommendations. Then again, aren’t all job recommendations risky? You never really know how the candidate is going to work out but you get the heat if it doesn’t work out. The things we do for friends, right…

So you like social media right? You know Facebook, Twitter, Reddit, Mashable and so on. The question is whether these sites are all talk and no jobs. Better stated, do any of these sites provide and value in terms of job search? Well the trend to social media is a fairly new one, so maybe the verdict is still pending but from a jury standpoint point the long verdict tends to signal good news for social media job search. If you look at how many more new social media sites continue to pop up, it further suggests that the game is changing for better or worse to social media.

What do you get out of social media? More importantly from a job hunt perspective, what exactly is social media job search? As you know, those are rather lengthy topics which I trust you can explore further through reading the article mentiioned above. For the summary folks out there, here’s my take on social media job search. First off, social media itself is about people – people connecting and sharing. People like to be connected to other people and share everything from pictures to career goals. Now that’s where social media job search comes in to play. What social media does from a career standpoint is provide a forum of warm contacts where you get center stage to voice your concerns, needs, wants and aspirations as far as career and job search goes. In short, social media is about being “open” like the “open web” concept or much like the “open source code” movement.

Of course “open” is good right? Well it can be if used in the most advantageous way. For example, why would you use Facebook or Twitter or social whatever and limit your circle to people you already know? That doesn’t expand your reach much and doesn’t really give social media a real chance to prove its value. Smart people seek opportunities to expand their social and business networks every chance they get. Why not let social media become the default platform for doing so? Otherwise, social media is undoubtedly destined to end up scraped like the new Christmas toy that finds its way to the pile after a short period of time. So ultimately the question of whether social media is all talk and no jobs really depends on you. You have people and information in the same place at the same time – hint hint.