Print, TV, You're Out. The Internet is Taking Over.
The Washington Post reports that TMZ founder Harvey Levin has advised TV and print media channels that their models are broken and they had better adapt or die.
While Levin’s journalistic credibility is …. questionable, at best, his comments got me thinking about how communication has changed and wondering whether we’re doing ourselves a disservice by relying so heavily on online communication, particularly for relationship management and when on the job hunt.
I’ve heard a lot about this issue lately, especially as it relates to Millennial law students — they are losing touch with traditional forms of communication. They’re hesitant to pick up the phone to speak to someone at a courthouse or law firm and they’d prefer to exchange text messages rather than have a face-to-face conversation with a mentor.
Social media has changed how we discover new information and how we can connect with people with similar interests. However, social media makes it too easy to connect with other people and can cheapen the value of online interactions and in turn, weaken your relationships.
And with job hunters doing the majority of their job search online — searching career sites like PSLawNet, linking employers to their Linkedin profiles, using Twitter to find job opportunities, and even adding prospective employers as friends on Facebook or Google+. — it’s important to step away from the computer.
For real results, bring your online networking into the real world!
Meeting up with someone in person and chatting over coffee about your job search, cannot and will not be replaced with a tweet (Got that, Levin?). The real (and critical) value of social media is the offline relationship you can create and maintain by utilizing online networks.
Let’s bring traditional back — leave some of your traditional networking/communication success stories below!