I was reminded of what a useful reference that book is when I happened on Social Media Saturday: Who Are The HR Bloggers? posted by Laurie Ruettimann on her blog,  The Cylindrical Girl.

Social Media Saturday: Who Are The HR Bloggers? features an infographic that visualizes a survey of HR bloggers, presumably those listed in the day’s prior post  Ultimate HR/Career Blog List for 2011: V3.0.

Credit goes to Ms. Ruettimann’s lucky intern, comrades in marketing at Starr Tincup, for an otherwise delightfully decorative piece. And full props to Ms. Ruettimann for filing both posts under General Nonsense, even if it is, as seems to be the case, her popular site’s default category.

At issue here are four things…

• The use of contrived statistics to artfully confuse semblance with substance
• Perpetuation of a trend to present trivia as meaningful data and it’s subsequent regurgitation as “content”
• The promotion of pseudoscience as a legitimate basis on which to rank otherwise remarkably average bloggers
• Shameless linkbaiting  in the pursuit of lopsided sycophancy and the unending recycling of half-baked crap.

I propose a simple test to use with these types of “analyses” and glad handing posts. To determine if  the stats have any use other than promoting the publisher at the expense our lemming gullibility, simply ask yourself the question, “So what?”

By way of example, first a sampling from the grandly titled–if not exaggerated–The Ultimate List of HR/Career Blogs...

Gender-bender
52 per cent of the sample are male; 48 per cent are [surprise, surprise!] female. So what? Isn’t that the same distribution of the sexes as in Papua New Guinea, and just about as interesting?

Pretty pictures, bar-none
Not so much a “So what?” as a “WTF?” Under “Blog Category” can anyone tell me what categories correspond with which columns, and what do the values on the bar chart actually relate to? The biggest number 29 represents what exactly? And what’s with all the two’s?

A Global Village
The regional map shows in the legend 1 per cent of the sample bloggers are in India and the same percentage in the Netherlands. So what? If my calculations are correct that would be one and one-half a blogger in each location. And, if Eastern Europe–wherever that is these days–has three times the number percentage-wise, how many bloggers is that…exactly?

Total crap
And now for the shocker! 100 per cent of those surveyed–that means everyone, folks–said they are “Likely” or “Very Likely” to share content with their network. STOP THE PRESSES! Everybody, quick! Re-tweet, re-post and blog it in a list, yo!

Ho-hum…

Turning our attention to the Ultimate HR/Career Blog List for 2011: V3 list I couldn’t help but wonder why not call it a blogroll if that’s what it amounts to? Rather than validate the selection, I think the inclusion of Klout scores simply serves to confirm the industry default  that supposes if you don’t know how a particular metric is calculated you’d better keep your trap shut for fear of being labeled an HR primitive.  Allow me to enlighten you: Statistically speaking, Klout scores are entirely meaningless…46 per cent of the time.

Nothing but the BS, so help you blog
Included with each listed blogger’s name is their Twitter handle and Klout score. “So what?”

“So what,” indeed. Rather, I think this list with it’s Starr Tincup inspired blog-bling is a not-so-subtle attempt to engineer page rank.  Like the  infographics, the parade of pipers is a sweetening of the pot for the hive-minded and buzz-beguiled, and more self-serving than meets the eye.

In closing, and on a positive note, I have compiled Ms. Ruettimann’s blogroll into a search engine so that one might extract some value from the assembled list and its content.  And as Ms. Ruettiman’s closes her post, so shall I:

“Copy the code and paste it right onto your blog, yo.”

 

No doubt, the organizers of the Society of Human Resources [SHRM] 63rd Annual Conference will tell you that their shindigs take a lot of advance planning. One assumes that includes their choice of venue, this year in Las Vegas.

Unable to substantiate my suspicions that the decision to congregate in the Mecca of smoke and mirrors had something to do with “What happens in Vegas, stays in Vegas,” I shall refrain from speculating that, if not that, perhaps some polyester PR plonker persuaded SHRM’s leadership that there is no better place to engage the dissenting voices going ga-ga for transparency than on the Vegas Strip. Where better to make a show of it!

In the weeks leading up to this year’s swarm I became quite bored with the unfolding drama surrounding the Machiavellian goings-on at SHRM. I’m sure I am not alone among the uncertifiable HR wannabes who now find themselves turned off by SHRM’s reported bully-boy tactics.

If it ever crossed my mind to give my eye-teeth to cover the cost of a few years membership, re-certification dues and and whatever else it takes to get me a GPHR, suffice it to say I’ve started flossing again. Now, if I could only get that interminable “Anything you can do ICANN do better,” tune out of my head, I might find something to celebrate in SHRM’s nearing retirement age.

Small comfort then that the only thing I have is to sit at my computer and wonder as the SHRM conference streams in, captured live in 140 character soundbites.

As I anticipate each new #SHRM11 tagged tweet it occurs to me, maybe SHRM’s politburo are behaving like any establishment icon does when faced with the inevitable flattening of hierarchy that Things 2.0 herald. Words with newly minted meaning come to mind: democratization, crowds, transparency, conversation, collaboration, and trust. The very things it appears SHRM’s leadership are missing. And so it seems they are out of sync with the rank and file, disconnected from the so-called “community” they are charged to represent.

However, It seems to me that if we dig a little deeper than the detestable tabloid commentary that sensationalizes the otherwise mundane, what we might observe is far from ho-hum after all.

I see something of great significance going on. Not so much a changing of the guard among the SHRM powers-that-be but a redefining of who the powers-that-be are, including those who are outside of SHRM’s membership. A hard pill for a once proud champion to swallow.

The transformation of an organization that is by it’s very nature cautious, conservative, elitist and power-centric is never easy when it is being forced by modernity to change its ways. And when the reasoned arguments of the body it claims to represent call for change too internal strife is sure to follow.

Yes, take a closer look.The fascinating stuff happens, not in the headlines of industry screeds but in between the lines of carefully orchestrated propaganda. For example, when the language changes from talk of advocacy [acting on what the membership thinks] to a an Orwellian mantra of “thought leadership” [this is what the membership should be doing] it’s a tell-tale sign of something going on. I’m just not sure what. Do you?

Alternatively, maybe the decision to whoop-it up in Vegas was a test of sorts to see how members react to a behemoth’s emergence into today’s changed world. How much more authentic could you get than having your leadership’s outlook on life reflected in the glitz and glamor of flying first class, living the high-life, and playing games where the odds always favor the house. It’s disarmingly honest reminding me of something I read on SHRM’s site once:

“The first step in creating a culture is the behavior of the leaders…Culture is expressed through behavioral norms, rituals, and symbols that have meaning to those in an organization.”

So could it be, the choice of Vegas for this year’s conflab is another way of saying, “C’mon fellas, get on[the]board?” Who knows? I’m told that some people who get too smitten by Vegas eventuallly end up on skid row with nothing to eat but dog food. Perhaps that’s it.

Don’t get me wrong, I know millions of delegates from all walks of life pass through Nevada’s convention centers, casinos, and nicely appointed brothels every year. And I concede the possibility that SHRM’s choice of Vegas could have been as an innocuous as the rolling of the dice, an easy way to decide between two shortlisted cities, a Mormon Tabernacle Choir / Cirque du Soleil tiebreaker if you will.

Either way, in the final analysis, the choice of venue is a reflection on SHRM’s leadership, like it or not.

What a contrast from earlier years, the choice of venue and message too. For example, in Washington D.C. members were given an esteemed Secretary of State for leadership insight. Fitting I’d say for the industry’s advocate body, expected to navigate the cloistered corridors of power, making friends in high places, and finding themselves a seat at somebody else’s table. 

But in Vegas, what were SHRM’s delegates treated to? A knight with a Virgin. Need I say more than…fitting?

So, the big tent is coming down and the delegates are returning to the familiar comforts of home. All that remains now is for us to observe if the long-term effects of the membership’s exposure to the brilliance of choosing Vegas for this years conference has any lasting effect. If history is to be our guide, it could be years before we know.

Next year, we’ll be hip-hopping in Atlanta. Well, that should be a rap!

I am afraid that the bad news today emanates from me, yours truly. But please, don’t shoot the messenger.

Like a lottery winner who chooses anonymity to avoid the onslaught of distant cousins, meth-addicted ex-common-law-wives, and long-aggrieved landlords I asked that the announcement today of my own top-ranking not be turned into a media circus. Besides, I for one know they don’t have the Oscars on the same night as the Emmy’s for good reason.

However, for the record and so as to not disappoint Mother who, I might add, would turn in her grave if she thought that I could ever be ranked among a computer-generated list of “influential people” — “Bah, new money,” she would say — a modest announcement of my own: Recruitomatic has been ranked top on the Marquee of SADE List of Online Recruiters.

Of course, many of you will know that the Marquee organization is a “big tent” of sorts, and the SADE acronym stands for: “Self-Appointed Digital Experts.” Suffice it to say, my being nominated and subsequent elevation to alpha-blogger came as no surprise to industry insiders such as…myself.

For those who imagine that my recognition for this prestigious award was a forgone conclusion, think again. Recruitomatic faced a field of strong competition including some worthy contenders hot on my heels:

• First Runner-up: BROWN BAG RECRUITER
• Second Runner-up: Blogversity Blog
• Third Runner-up:  The G-Recruiters Blogspot

Yes, indeed…Mother would be pleased. Congratulations to all.

In a wildly dangerous post entitled 22 Tutorials and Insight Posts on #Recruiting with #Linkedin sourcing specialist Ryan Leary highlights the problem. He links to a potpourri of posts that may have been useful at the time of their publication but are, as they age, a depreciating asset and thus, a waste of any self-respecting researchers’ time. Worse, for the untutored recruiter they pose a serious threat. The assumption is, validated by the expert’s pen and more that 25 tweets for endorsement, this stuff must be good for consumption — wrong!

Now, before anyone gets their loincloth in a twist, I admit it: I’ve compiled a list or two where inevitably the links did rot and the content may have putrefied a bit. And no, I don’t always update them before sharing them even now but I have never knowingly lead a would-be hack up the garden path with things like Threat 7001: “If the Swami said it, you can take it to the bank.” No, Baba, not me.

In fairness to Ryan he does clearly indicate the broken links in his post by striking them through.  I have to question why they would be included in the first place. Is this an historical record or what? Perhaps it has something to do with bloat, I don’t know. However, their presence would suggest that the other links are all good but they’re not — they pose hidden  threats!

Oh, Swami, what are you doing?

Ryan points to a Shally Steckerl classic,  Becoming A Promiscuous Linker on LinkedIn, [Oops, my bad!...Daggit!]. Hypothetical questions like “Yeah OK Shally, BIG DEAL… why should I care?” aside, the underlying premise of the post has long-passed its expiration date. It seems to me the time and effort required to sleep with every recruiter in Seattle serves very little purpose today [as if it ever did] given search results are no longer proportionate to the size of your member, network that is. Things change, including the Swami.

Contrasting the hopelessly out-of-date stuff we have other threats lurking within the contemporaneous posts. Among them a Glen Cathey piece, LinkedIn X-Ray Search Results Change: Update Your Strings.

Not that I would question Guru Glenn’s syntax but the extent to which advanced operators are so liberally used [for example: site:linkedin.com (inurl:pub OR inurl:in) -intitle:directory "Charlotte, North Carolina Area" "current * controller"] it won’t be long, with repeated use, that Google sees you as threat and slams on the brakes with a CAPTCHA page [or two]. Threat 4487: “The Internet changes faster than you can update your technique/posts, refresh your links or catch your breath” comes to mind, doesn’t it?

So, somewhere between the dynamic nature of the internet and its ever-complex web of links, and Threat 2092: “Online, one things leads to another but it’s rarely a real lead” notwithstanding, there are potential hazards that every digital traveler should be aware of.

I hope Ryan will take the time to revise his list and reorder the entries by threat level. That would be a useful. For me, I will look forward to hearing how these issues are resolved at decidedly chaste gatherings like SourceCon, continuing my own search online.

1. Token blacks, Hispanic women and cross-dressing vicars hardly make the case for diversity in the workplace, not in the Supreme Court of the United States anyway. I think the appointment of a an every-man or two would suffice, provided they are Calvinists of course.
2. I always wondered who the real Kris Dunn was.  Will the real Kris Dunn please stand up? Thank you!
   
3. Laurie Ruettimann thinks about power and influence on a “regular basis”  seemingly unaware of the nasty side affects of over-exposure to testosterone. [For the uninitiated, power is to the right, influence is to the left. Yeah, I'm an elitist jerk too]

1. One would hope that tutoring in the Stanislavski method could improve the chances of every job seeker…fake it ’til you make it, buddy!
2. The firing will continue until morale improves…makes perfect sense to me.
3. “Some are born to be waiters on Broadway and others have waiting in the wings thrust upon them…” Chad Sowash waxes lyrical, seeks drama award…what can I tell you?

1. Who said: “A wise person should have money in their head, but not in their heart” - John Sullivan, John Sumser or Jonathan Swift? Such studious fellows all…Rub-a-Dub-Dub
2. Erecting the new recruiting edifyce…Bob the Builder meets Smiling Bob
3. “When we win, we all win.” So, what happens when we’re counting the rations?…Man overboard!

1. John Sumser under the influence?…Shocking but true
   
2. Has Glen Cathey gone native? OMG, we’ve lost him…Dancing with wolves
   
3. This blogger gets the pink Caddie for raising the bar…Lisa Kaye, we salute you!
   
4. To SEO or not to SEO? That is the question.

While Jobster still has employees on the payroll it would serve their brand — not to mention Recruitopians and the community at large – if someone took a moment to monitor who is submitting what on Recruiting.com. Today, Filipino Hot Babes, tomorrow what – incest, donkey-love?

Anyone who has a blog knows that there is some horrible stuff that seaps through the sewage pipes. Suppressing the spammers is a tiresome job but it comes with the territory. Sure, it starts with something innocuous but quickly spirals down from exotic teapots to erotic sex-pots, and from chai in Calcutta to tarts in Thailand.

Who is monitoring Recruiting.com’s content, Jobster’s brand?

For what it’s worth, my advice to the now faceless Recruiting.com suits: Keep it clean. Remember, no brand was served well by treating its audience with contempt any more than the cause of Web 2.0 and the values on which Jobster was supposedly built is served by turning over the space to new levels of wrecklessness.

At this point I have to ask: “Who cares?” John’s throw-away remark at the end of the Recruiting Animals’ Morning After Show referencing his exit suggests he may feel the same way. Who knows? For sure, for those who look within the Recruitosphere’s publishing clique for amusement it will be amusing in the coming weeks, no doubt.

To my own pathethic contribution…hmmm. Recruiting.com has been an interesting place for me to experiment with a number of ideas some of which fizzled out, some of which sputtered along and some of which remain open-ended.

Moving forward, I shall simply plug my Bunsen into the new mixture of gas and hot air on RecruitingBlogs.com, the combustible bloggy-ning thing where I now spend my early mornings. Like you perhaps?

Ah, Recruitopia…doesn’t it just make you sick?