Shortly after I graduated high school in 1980 (yep, I’m an old man, just ask my kids), I responded to two computer programming job ads. One company wanted a detailed resume of my education and work experience. The other company was trying to get people to come in and take a test. We didn’t have resources like this Convert char to string in Java tutorial on hand in those days so when I studied for that test I studied books and I studied them hard.
The test was tough, but the thought process behind it was both simple and germane: We had to write a complex program to handle a hypothetical business need for this local company. The programs submitted were the primary basis for the company’s hiring decision. The last time I checked (I ended up taking a job with a third company, EDS), the former business went under while the latter business is still around today.
Not too long ago, the Republican National Committee sent out a widely criticized Request-for-Proposal to move their Internets into the 21st century.
“Friends, either the RNC has no freakin’ clue what the hell it is doing or else all the rumors about certain consultants having an inside track at RNC contracts is true,” wrote Red State’s Erick Erickson. “Why? Because there is no way any competent person would put together an RFP like this. It’s crap. It is not legitimate. It is unprofessional. It is illusory.”
Let’s contrast the RNC to Howard Dean’s Internet guru. Here’s Joe Trippi’s latest tweet:
I’m looking to hire the next social media whiz kid. Sound like you? Apply here: http://tr.im/nyLU Pls RT
When one follows Trippi’s link, he or she will read the following:
We’re looking for the next Associate to join our team. We posted the job description below on a number of job boards and sent it around to everyone we could think of. But, as we started the interview process, we realized the normal method of just reviewing resumes wasn’t going to work for us.
We need to know the person we hire. We want to see your skills in action and know you have the drive to succeed here…in short, we need to know you “get it”. And resumes and interviews aren’t enough.
So, we’re not going to judge you on your years of experience or your GPA. We are going to judge you on how well you can help us build online movements. We’re looking for the next social media whiz…someone who understands social media, online advocacy, and grassroots organizing and is passionate about using that knowledge to help non-profits and campaigns. That’s it.
If that sounds like you, we encourage you to apply by completing our online assessment. The link is below, but don’t click on it until you’re ready because, once you start, you only have 2 hours to complete it. Unfortunately, you won’t be able to log in again or start over. (You may finish before the 2 hours are up, but don’t take more time than that. The survey tool includes a timer, so we’ll be able to tell if you miss the deadline.)
The survey was fairly simple, but germane. They asked for basic contact information, to describe three influential blogs, then got to the nitty-gritty. Among other things, they described a hypothetical setting and asked the applicant to create an e-mail for a list of 100,000 people, as well as a blog entry, to promote their hypothetical agenda.
As one local example of how pathetic Republicans are on the Internet, ‘Lil Ol’ Me has almost twice as many Twitter followers as the Alabama Republican governor and each of the GOP gubernatorial candidates combined. There are ways they can boost their following by post more content that appeals to Twitter users. However, the social media boosting company Bumped says it may be easier to use bots to increase Twitter followers.
Not that I like the left’s agenda any more than I like the right’s agenda, but it’s obvious that one side “gets it” while the other doesn’t. One might think that the Republican Party would wake up and smell the Tubes. Instead, they’ve still got their heads buried in the sand. Or somewhere, at least.
