Job searches for slackers and twin technological titans were fit to be featured this past week. Let's take a closer look.
Hiring slackers
In what may be the first step in the Fox News-ification of today's youth, News Corp. (NYSE:NWS) acquired a financial stake in job-hunting site Simply Hired. Ever since Rupert Murdoch went on a teen-fueled acquisition spree, gobbling up the parent companies behind sites like social-networking giant MySpace and video-game hub IGN, market-watchers have been wondering what Murdoch's master plan for all these young Web surfers would be.
Well, if Simply Hired is any indication, News Corp. wants to get those slackers lining up some job interviews. After all, they'll need the disposable income to spend on the various goods advertised throughout Murdoch's media empire.
Naturally, pitching a job-listings aggregator like Simply Hired to the "too vain to explain" MySpace crowd will be no easy task. HotJobs.com works well for Yahoo! (NASDAQ:YHOO) because it attracts various corporate accounts in other parts of its portal through business services and a stellar brand reputation. MySpace may have cultivated a monstrously massive audience, but it's no Monster.com (NASDAQ:MNST) when it comes to serious business.
To help the MySpace faithful along, I present five tips to land that dream job through Simply Hired's collection of listings.
- Don't list your number of MySpace "Friends" on your resume.
- When a prospective employer contacts you for an interview, the appropriate response is not "Thanks for the add!"
- Don't use MySpace's co-founder Tom as a personal reference. He will only trash you.
- Hot pink and black with a green skull-and-crossbones pattern may look great on a My Space user template, but it won't translate well to a resume.
- Lying about your age to open a MySpace account works a lot better than doing likewise on a job application. Most employers can double-check via your Social Security number, cupcake.
One world, two companies
I can't be the only person who believes that in a decade or two, two companies will transact all global commerce. I think it'll come down to Google (NASDAQ:GOOG) and Apple Computer (NASDAQ:AAPL), frankly, and this past week only cemented that notion.
First, you had Google rolling out its new calendar function. As Tim Beyers points out, Google has become a major copycat, but you have to tip your hat when its carbon copy is slicker than the original. Google Calendar is sleek, simple, and efficient. I've even gone in and marked a date for Google Global Domination: April 22, 2016.
As for Apple, well, what more can you say? The company came through with another market-thumping quarter. I think even iPods themselves are hopping over to consumer-electronics superstores and buying other iPods. It's crazy stuff.
I say we'll soon be living in a world where one is either a Googlemaniac or an Appleton. Start picking sides now, my friend. Until next week, I remain,
Longtime Fool contributor Rick Munarriz loves to look back, even if it means he falls on his face going forward. He does now own shares in any of the companies in this story. The Foo l's disclosure policy has 20/20 hindsight. Rick is also part of the Rule Breakers newsletter research team, seeking out tomorrow's ultimate growth stocks a day early.
