Kiva.org is a microloan website that allows you to loan money for entrepreneurs in developing countries.  According to the New York Times, Kiva is occasionally too popular and runs out of people that need loans.  The process of finding people and approving them to receive loans takes a lot of time.  As soon as Kiva was featured on Oprah, the site received a ton of traffic and actually ran out of entrepreneurs that needed money.  Other reasons such as Christmas gift certificates and television shows have added to the popularity of the website.  Some repeat donors are feeling guilty that they are donating money and others do not have the opportunity to give.

Tim Leberecht from CNet quotes James Surowiecki , saying that Kiva is too limited in who they accept for people receiving loans.  He says that “Businesses that can generate jobs for others are the best hope of any country trying to put a serious dent in its poverty rate.“  Kiva only approves people who are in poverty and personally need the help.  Leberecht feels that more donating options would help get rid of poverty in developing nations.  I personally agree with Leberecht and Surowiecki, and I feel that more donating options would help with Kiva’s problem of too many donors.

Globalpitch.com is a free way to get your resume online.  It has recognized a need that LinkedIn does not fill.  Globalpitch.com allows its users to upload videos to improve your resume.

Globalpitch.com provides a well designed, easy to use application for giving you an online resume.  It tries to help give you an edge in the job marketplace by having a more interactive resume and attracting more employers.  They try to help you along the process so you won’t receive spam offers and so you can manage your resume.

Sirona Consulting recognizes that GlobalPitch is different, but it may not be different enough from other popular online resume sites such as LinkedIn.  The Houston Angel Network believes that GlobalPitch will have the ability to become profitable in the future.

Currently, there are a limitted number of LinkedIn applications, some of which include a reading list by Amazon, blog linking applications, file/document collaborating applications, slideshow applications, as well as a couple others.  There may be a benefit to using these applications, but how would you use them to make your LinkedIn profile more appealing.

There are many reasons that LinkedIn applications have not made a buzz in the online world.  First of all, LinkedIn was one of the last popular social media website to adobt an application development program.  Second, the applications have to be approved by LinkedIn and have too demonstrate a “clearly compelling value.”  Some people may have a great idea for an application that niche markets may be able to use.  Judging from the list of available applications, LinkedIn will not approve applications that fill a niche market…it will only approve those capable to add value to all users.

MoreLinkedIn applications may bring in more users with different needs, but how can we use the current applications to improve our profiles?  Jason Alba suggests a brilliant idea of using a slideshow application.  He suggests that we create a slideshow focused just on you.  Make the slideshow to compliment your profile and attract viewers to your page.

Business professionals are starting to turn to LinkedIn for networking and other business needs.  But how did LinkedIn start, and what were some of the goals of founder Reid Hoffman?

According to an interview conducted by Nathan C. Kaiser, Hoffman had previously started a company called SocialNet, which was a dating, professional networking, activity, and roommate search website.  Over time, Hoffman realized why the professional aspect of SocialNet did not succeed and he decided to start a new company.

The original idea behind LinkedIn was to link people who had jobs and money with the people that lacked jobs and money.  Having both types of people join the site was key to the success of LinkedIn.

LinkedIn.com says that it was founded in Reid Hoffman’s living room in fall 2002, along with co-founders Allen Blue, Jean-Luc Vaillant, Eric Ly, and Konstantin Guericke.  Hoffman metaphorically describes the differences between social networks by saying that LinkedIn is the social media’s office, while Facebook is a barbeque, and MySpace is a bar.

To get a better picture of Reid Hoffman, watch the video below.

To sum up Hoffman’s personality, he seems like a CEO that understands how businesses work.  He is completely down to Earth and has a witty, sarcastic humor.  He knows his product and has clearly defined long and short-term goals.   His idea of connecting the two types of business people has worked very well through the creation of LinkedIn.

Many students are currently looking for jobs in tough times.  I have started a compilation of job search websites.  There are a lot of general job search providers that nearly everyone has heard about.  Some people may not know that job search directories may exist for individual industries. Since I am a computer science major, I have listed search engines that deal directly with information technology.

• General
  • http://www.indeed.com
  • http://www.monster.com
  • http://www.careerbuilder.com
  • http://hotjobs.yahoo.com
  • http://www.simplyhired.com
  • http://www.collegerecruiter.com
  • http://www.jobcentral.com
  • http://www.truecareers.com
  • http://www.career.com
  • http://www.job.com
  • http://www.alljobsearch.com
  • http://www.craigslist.org

• Technology
  • http://www.tech-centric.net
  • http://www.dice.com
  • http://www.odinjobs.com
  • http://www.jobs4it.com
  • http://www.itjobs.net
  • http://jobs.slashdot.org
  • http://www.computerwork.com
  • http://www.techcareers.com
  • http://www.meditjobs.com

• Government
  • http://www.usajobs.gov

Feel free to post your favorite job search engines, especially job search engines in your field.  It will only take 5-10 minutes, and the list may be helpful to someone reading our blog.