Blog

As an IT recruiter, I’m always searching for new technologies and websites to help identify new IT professionals.  A few days ago the New York Times wrote an article about a new social media network that may rival Facebook and Twitter.  It’s called Pip.io.  Pip.io was founded by Leo Shimizu and David Chen and began running this past February and now has around 20,000 users.  IT recruiters can use this site just like Twitter and Facebook – to post additional IT jobs to attract talent for IT recruiting companies.  As seen in an interview done by Robert Scoble on YouTube, it appears that they looked at both Twitter and Facebook and created a new network that encompasses aspects of both websites while adding on features they were lacking.  Their intent, as they say, is to create a UI that is simple enough for even your parents.  We all know, most of our parents probably only go on to check e-mails and then shy away from the internet.  Another factor that plays a big role is privacy.  Users of these networks want to be able to be in control of what they share and not have their information leaked to various locations.

Learning from websites such as Twitter and Facebook, many developers have created their own social media networks and are slowly making them available to technical recruiters and the general public.  Could this mean the end for Facebook? Pip.io has made sure to note that his network should be used as an add-on feature and only made to improve your experience with different networks.  Others aim to become an alternative for Facebook and Twitter.  What does this mean for companies that have invested time into these networks? As for those who are looking for IT jobs, this could be a great opportunity for new IT job openings with these websites and, in turn, increase the use of IT staffing agencies.

Check out the NY Times article here.

Check out the interview Robert Scoble had with the creators of Pip.io.