What I really don't get is why business and industry are paying people to maintain a trivial method of distribution that is less robust than an RSS feed.
I assume that someone made a persuasive case for "all the kids are doing it and that's the audience we need now. The parents will come on board as the technology spreads so we need to get on the bandwagon now!".
I spent a good bit of time in airports yesterday so I bought a stack of magazines and newspapers to read. Nearly every one of them had at least one article on getting a job. I was amused and saddened to read how many of those articles suggested subscribing to Twitter feeds for the desired companies, perusing their Facebook page, commenting on companies' blogs, and initiating other trivial electronic interactions to "raise your visibility with potential employers".
I was also amused about the marketing suggestions in the business magazines about how the electronic interactions were the new standard so that failure to adopt implied a strong likelihood of business failure in the next year. On the other hand, some of the same articles included statements like "And after a distinguished career in X, I completely retooled by self to get a new job in a different field. It was hard starting over at age 27 as a novice in the new field, but now at 30..." that appeared to be without irony or any awareness that a field that can be mastered in three years of OJT with no education required is not something that should be bragged about.
For comparison, most trades require an apprenticeship of 4 to 6 years, then a few more years as a journeyman. Masters become so after 10 to 15 years of OJT.
