Where there is a community there is a job board – part 1

250,00 0 registered users, 15,000 daily visits and thousands upon thousands of conversation threads are just some of the big numbers chalked up by  the Whirlpool (not the white goods manufacturer) forum. The forum is probably one of the largest Australian online communities where people (mostly IT professionals) congregate and passionately talk about technology on a regular basis.

Where there is a thriving community, job advertisements usually follows (Mainstream job boards take the reverse route of listing jobs first and try and build a community, some do both at the same time).  As Kevin Kelley points out   “wherever attentions flows, money will follow”

Already, hundred of jobs are advertised on the forum. A job posting is free for employers and forum participants (professional recruiters are not allowed to participate), but it is easy to see that commercialisation is the next logical step for Whirlpool.

As social animals we all participate in one or another community. The Internet just makes it a lot more easier to foster connections, amplifies interaction among like minded individuals and allows for communities to be created quickly.  The proliferation of online communities means the definition of a ‘job board’ will be redefined.