Only a true Buddhist could sit through a re-sizing post-merger with detachment. The non true Buddhists will likely suffer some kind of emotional game-changer as they await to hear if they are a keep or throw back.
The cuts and promotions have started at AOL, following its purchase of HuffingtonPost.com. AOL Media President David Eun announced he's going. He had worked at Google so probably has a deep bench of contacts. Others will not have that kind of choice.
The media landscape is shrinking again as the industry consolidates. Startups will have a harder time surviving long enough to have a shot at anything big. And the small are already telling me that they are searching for a port in the storm.
I don't have high hopes for AOL Jobs, the group I did contract blogging for. HuffingtonPost.com already dominiates the jobs/career area. In fact Arianna Huffington had already published a powerful book on the employment picture in America being analogous to that of a third-world economy.
Also, as I experienced the plays and the players of AOL Jobs for 13 weeks, it seemed to lack the strategic insight of those who wind up, over and over again, to be keeps. There seeemed to be too much focus on just-in-time and not enough on building a brand and loyal fans. The day usually brought frantic requests to do a write-up on the grandmother suing Hooters or the former director of a nonprofit, who carries a large set, suing for harassment. Inside I blushed about being a part of this. Father, forgive me for this sin against violating my own principles of communicaiton.
Also, they were a chummy bunch, much like back from high school. Obviously I wasn't in the in crowd. The photos of a number of the writers with cute little blurbs would be posted on the AOL site. Mine wasn't among them. Speak up? Wasn't worth it. An old soul, I sensed I was on short time. I was going to quit, be canned, or the department was going to be killed.
Lesson learned: In this Darwinian marketplace, only take assignments and jobs in which we can augment our skills and make the right contacts.
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