Tweet this – Charlotte startup capitalizing on Twitter rage to launch job board

Posted March 4, 2009

Tweet this – Charlotte startup capitalizing on Twitter rage to launch job board

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By RICK SMITH, LTW Editor

CHARLOTTE, N.C. —

A Charlotte entrepreneur is hoping to capitalize on the “tweet” messaging rage with a service targeting job seekers and companies prowling for new workers.

TweetMyJobs went live this week after a brief beta test. It’s the brainchild of Gary Zukowski, who also runs a consulting firm. Designed as an application, or “app” to run on the increasingly popular Tweeter service, the service already has attracted more than 1,000 users, including some companies who are hiring despite the global economic deepfreeze.

“Last fall, I was toying with some ideas for a social media application, and came up with the concept,” Zukowski told Local Tech Wire. “I also own and operate an IT consulting firm, so the business of searching for qualified talent is something we do every day.

“It was a natural fit.”

Zukowski is self-financing the startup and has two employees. While the business could be a money maker at some point, it also is providing Zukowski an opportunity to push the limits of Twitter.

“I had been a member of Twitter since early 2008, but wasn’t really an active user,” he said. “I studied how it was evolving, and knew that there was an opportunity for some real business applications. It was just a matter of figuring out what it would look like.”

Tweets are short text messages most often sent from cell phones. The service has become so popular that PBS talk show host Charlie Rose and TV comedian Jon Stewart have featured it on recent programs.

Zukowski, who has worked in the tech sector for 21 years at companies such as GE and currently runs EasySoft Solutions, wants to match companies and potential employees through tweets.

In a Q&A with LTW, Zukowski discussed Twitter and his new business.

Why is Twitter such a rage?

It allows users to stay as close as possible to the “pulse” of their social space, anytime, anywhere. People don’t have time to check e-mail or IM [instant messages] anymore, there’s no time. Twitter is all about keeping in touch and making the world smaller, 140 characters at a time. It’s efficient communication, and it’s “organic”, which makes it exciting.

How do you make money in this venture – by charging businesses?

We’re looking at many different options for revenue. The beauty of starting a business using a new media platform like Twitter is that there are some revenue ideas that probably have never been tried yet. We want to stay flexible and be creative on this front.

How is your venture financed?

So far, all self-funded. Coming from a business and technology background, I was able to wear a lot of hats during the business planning, development and design of the system. As we grow, we’ll have to expand the technical and support staff.

I noted you wrapped up beta in Feb – when did you launch the beta, and how long did you explore the idea before launching?

The beta took around a week from start to finish in February. We already had a pretty good sense of what we needed to do for this service, so there were not many tweaks needed.

Anyone else help you launch/partner with you?

I’ve collaborated with my network of colleagues in the technology and business space to help shape this idea into a viable product. At this point, we’re exploring strategic partnerships with companies to help them extend their reach into the Twittersphere. Being able to effectively post jobs on Twitter is a whole new paradigm, so it’s a win-win-win.

Are you affiliated with Twitter?

Not at this time. Twitter has opened their service to third party developers, so we simply hooked our system up to theirs. So far, it’s working as planned.

What’s your advice on how people can become familiar with and then use Twitter?

Easy, just point and click. Twitter has a very simple web interface, so signing up is a breeze. On their homepage there’s a 2 minute video that explains in very simple terms what Twitter is all about. Then it’s just a matter of inviting your friends to be part of your “followers” network, and you’re ready to go.

What are your goals for the new business?

Initially, we hope to become the largest job board on Twitter. We’re already covering all the major job types, from Information Technology to Healthcare to General Labor and have an international presence as well. We’ve already started working on a resume posting feature, and there are other enhancements that we have planned. Twitter opens up a whole new landscape for communicating, so there will probably be more twists that come to light down the road.

After that, maybe I’ll get some sleep.