What NAPSTER did | What we should do to create a VIRTUAL EMPLOYMENT EXCHANGE
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Created a "File Sharing" technology | We will create GPRS (Global People Resourcing System)
on internet | as a web service.
File-sharing technology gave each | We would try our best to ensure that our website
surfer access to the music that was | subscribers CANNOT exchange their “resume databases”
stored on other computers that happened | amongst themselves directly — bypassing us. How?
onto Napster). | We will encourage them to deposit/credit their own
| private resume databases into 3P’s central database.
At one time, NAPSTER had 70 million | These resumes being deposited will have to be UNIQUE.
completely bypassing NAPSTER. | i) If Company A deposits 500 unique resumes into
| 3P’s database, they get to search & download an
Millions of "songs" did NOT reside | equal amount (no.) of resumes from 3P’s database,
Users were free to contact each other | Works like a DEBIT card — Deposit money into your
directly & strike “deals” on their own. | account before withdrawing. Withdrawals limited to
except permitting use of its technology. |
“In fact, under feature ‘START YOUR OWN BUSINESS’, we are trying to upload some 150,000 text resumes on FileFactory.com (a file-sharing website), from where anyone can download these for free.”
— Even if that one guy said, “no need to build Exchange — resumes are a commodity.”
What NAPSTER did:
Napster became an
"Unlimited library of free music"
What we should do to create a Virtual Employment Exchange:
#1
We are not going to give away resumes "free"! It will be Rs. 10/- for each resume downloaded from 3P's central database.
Exceptions:
▶ Free download up to your CREDIT-BALANCE
▶ Unlimited no. of downloads for unlimited period of time — completely FREE — for your own resumes.
Of course, this will require each “deposited” resume (which are all UNIQUE to begin with) to be “linked” to the particular subscriber who has deposited.
These provisions will encourage subscribers to deposit their own/unwanted resumes into 3P’s database — in order to increase their CREDIT-BALANCE.
(I have everything to gain & nothing to lose!)
What NAPSTER did:
"Unlimited Number" of Songs became available to users (but who would want to download/store 5 million songs on his hard-disk just because these are FREELY available?)
No one/single person would find time to listen to 500 songs DAILY, simply because unlimited numbers are available on his hard-disk!
Then there is neither any “Monetary Gain/Benefit” of downloading/creating your own private database of 5 million songs!
Why should anyone buy from you if he can get these free from any number of places — and whenever he feels like!
What we should do to create a Virtual Employment Exchange:
We are unlikely to have “unlimited” no. of resumes in 3P’s central database because we are NOT going to pay anything to anyone for helping create central database.
No doubt, we are going to pay in KIND (not in cash).
(i.e., free download up to each subscriber’s CREDIT-BALANCE).
Do not mix this up with MONEY CREDIT BALANCE!
I mean “Resume Credit Balance.”
And each subscriber “draws” from this central resume database of 3P
→ what he wants
→ when he wants
(some “free”, some at Rs. 10/-),
without having to worry about “management” of a resume database of 10/20 million jobseekers.
This is BPO at its best!
And at 10 million level, why should any company
→ bother to create/maintain private database?
→ even advertise on job sites/newspapers?
Much easier/cheaper to search 3P’s database!!
What NAPSTER did:
Violated “copyrights” of music companies who created song albums.
Entire business was built upon the illegal pirating of copyright material — without paying anything.
What we should do to create a Virtual Employment Exchange:
▶ Resumes residing on job sites are “Public Domain Knowledge.”
Jobseekers put up/upload their resumes on many/many job sites, hoping/praying that
▶ Jobseekers who send us their resumes (against Project Manhattan / Ego / Cyber / Jaws etc), are giving these to us, of their own free volition & permit us/pray to us to make these available to corporates.
▶ Subscribers of our web service, who decide to “deposit” certain no. of resumes into 3P’s central database, also do it willingly!
So, at no time we are violating copyrights.
Our website clearly states that we may “sell” these resumes!
(See “TERMS” – Let us make these explicit if required).
What NAPSTER did
Shaun Fanning
(teenager who created Napster)
"...he did not know, how he could make money out of it."
"...purposely avoided developing a serious business-plan — partly to avoid reaping profits that could have damaged its defense against legal actions by the record labels whose copyright it was violating."
Its basic intention was to extort money from leading record-labels and then cut a deal from a position of illegally obtained strength!
What we should do to create a VIRTUAL EMPLOYMENT EXCHANGE
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Our Business-plan & Revenue-Model are very clear.
We want to make plenty of money, make it absolutely legally, without stealing/pirating anyone’s content, without violating any copyright, and by providing unparalleled service to our subscribers.
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We are an intermediary / broker / link (between jobseekers & employers/webservice subscribers).
We add value to a subscriber’s recruitment process by:
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improving quality of recruitment-related decisions
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increasing process-productivity
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speeding up selection/appointments of executives
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We provide a platform on which buyers (i.e. employers) & sellers (jobseekers) can meet, but we only charge the buyers for use of our platform.
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Someday we may also charge jobseekers for "job alerts" & "resume-blasting" services.
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Someday, if we manage to build up a resume database of 20 million, newspapers may lose their job-advert-related revenues (because no corporate may advertise) — but we will help them increase their circulation/subscription by offering free job-advert summary (JAWS).
We will never get into content creation on our own.
What we should do to create a VIRTUAL EMPLOYMENT EXCHANGE?
When our web service gets launched — and grows over next few months, it is quite probable that some jobsite or some executive search firm or some newspaper or some software company, may “copy” our model & try to overtake us by leveraging its strengths (e.g. existing corporate subscribers / advertisers / customer base / technology / reach of distribution network / existing resume database etc.).
This should be expected — and we cannot stop this from happening.
We may get some “Early Mover” advantage —
but how can we retain/increase this advantage?
▶ By adding new features/modules every week.
▶ By getting jobseekers & HR Managers to contribute to our Knowledge-Base
(keywords / functions / rules / job-descriptions / org. charts etc.)
on a continuous/ongoing basis.
▶ By turning (perceived) COMPETITORS into our NETWORK-COLLABORATORS or LICENSEES.
Example:
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Jobsites (as Licensees) – Hub & Spoke
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Placement Agencies (as Subscribers)
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Newspapers / Mags (as publishers of JAWS)
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Cybercafes / TV Channels (” ”)
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ISPs / Cellphone Operators (” ” of Job Alerts)
What we should do to create a VIRTUAL EMPLOYMENT EXCHANGE?
When launched, NAPSTER itself had no competitors — but Napster was “destroying” the record industry — who perceived Napster as a “threat”, and it was in Napster’s interest to remove this (threat) “perception”.
When we launch our web service,
→ to whom would we pose a threat?
→ who, if at all, is likely to get “destroyed”?
As far as I can make out, in the first place, these would be jobsites (monsterIndia / naukri / jobsahead / jobstreet etc.)
So, we must get them to join us (co-operate with us) instead of trying to compete with us.
How can we do this?
→ Showing them that they can make much more money, by becoming our “Licensees” — so why fight?
→ By showing them that those of them, who try to “opt out”, will get isolated & lose out!
We must give them a “Good” deal (terms), but it should become crystal clear to them, that they stand no chance — that they are fighting a losing battle!
This can only happen when we accumulate:
We must start by signing-up smaller job-sites or even portals like Rediff (which earned Rs.30 cr & lost Rs.60 cr in last quarter Q2 2002/03!!)
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