DISCLAIMER ON
I don’t pretend to be a pro writer, tester, or reviewer. Nor do I play one on tv. I’m just a Big Turkey that has been in quite a few moccasins both in, out, and on the slippery slope into and out of transition. I have a real job (currently) and this just represents a fast roll thru the features.
DISCLAIMER OFF
Jibber Jobber (http://www.jibberjobber.com) notes:
(01) It’s not free. So already I don’t like it. I’m an Open Source kinda guy where you pay for support or extra services. As a general rule, because seekers are easily taken advantage of, I tell my baby turkeys NEVER to pay for anything. At least, until they are very sure of the value.
(02) It uses paypal which I don’t like, don’t trust, and am leery of.
(03) It’s bait and switch in that it gives you the full service and then downgrades you.
I don’t mean “bait n switch” like a used car dealer. I mean baitnswitch like when stuff reverts after a free trial. I really don’t like that type of marketing. Unless the time frame is long enough to get an accurate feel for the service. 14 days is probably too short. Services are like old shoes. They have to get broken in before one can decide they are if they are right for you. GOTOMYPC is my example of a good timeframes; XDRIVE is one of my bad ones. Putting in all your data represents a substantive effort in time and attention. I’d want to be REAL sure it wasn’t wasted.
And that’s in the first five minutes.
(04) Import contact not as robust as Outlook. No integration with Outlook.
(05) Didn’t pick up email on first try. Got it on the second.
(06) No integration to email like ACT or GoldMine.
(07) Isolation from other users. Unlike LinkedIn. Doesn’t link you automagically with people you know. If I join and you have my email, it should suggest a “vulcan mind meld”.
(08) Both Articles and Links is thin. Probably too soon to yell about that.
(09) No FAQ
(10) No ez feed back, like wordpress
(11) “Rat out friends to get free weeks” but no link to invite.
(12) No search to find JibberJobber-ees who are already registered. Link LinkedIn search.
(13) It’s web based, but does seem to allow you to extract your data. And, import it. I didn’t push it my 10k of alumni file to see if it gorked. (I’m a sport.)
(14) I like software that has thin and fat attributes. My favorite example of the model is WORDPRESS blog and BLOGDESK. (I have some picky points) But as an example of fat – thin or thin – fat client server software where you can work off line or on line or from a browser, it’s my favorite example of how I like my interoperability — yes! (Wonder if MSFT is listening?)
(15) No RSS type features a la what FACEBOOK was excoriated for doing. (I though it was good idea.)
(16) No recognition / integration of Social Networking sites (i.e., LinkedIn, MySpace).
(17) No recognition / integration of VOIP (i.e., Skype, Gizmo, YIMwVoice).
(18) No recognition / integration of IMs (i.e., YIM, MSM, ICQ, AOLIM).
(19) It implements a non-customizable sales funnel. Which is better than no funnel, like Outlook. But, not as good as the equivalent Act and others of that ilk.
(99) I did like the free offer to vets. My nephew-in-law works for the VA and probably will introduce a bunch of “freeloaders” to them. He was in Iraq#1 and I am VietNam era vet. We both have a very parochial feelings for the grunts coming back. (Why can’t we send politicians instead? We seem to have an oversupply of them.)
All in all I’m positively hopeful for the first entry in a new genre of software … the job pim.
P.S.: I still want a resume XML engine that can do “input” for me.
Reinke Faces Life 
Hi John, I appreciate the thorough review. Whether things are right or wrong it is definitely how you percieve it and I have lots of work to do (piled on the work I already had to do). Here is my reply (numbers correspond to your points):
1. The “free account” is free. It is no different than what many other web-based programs do – allow you to have access to the regular features and then upgrade to more if you want. Further, depending on your status (active, passive, not looking) you can bounce back between “regular” (free) and “premium” (nominal fee) without losing data.
2. I don’t really care for PayPal either but it is what I could put up when I needed it. I have since implemented accepting American Express cards for a select group of users and will most likely move away from PayPal soon. But this is definitely a personal bias, and I’ll keep PayPal as an option because many many (tens of millions) ARE comfortable with it.
3. I take issue with this “bait n switch” comment, as you know ;) Even if you are in a serious job search you can use the free, regular version quite efficiently, and it is much better than an Excel spreadsheet. You get this for the rest of your life (and even then, I won’t delete it if you die (*chuckle chuckle*) – and like I mentioned, can bump up to premium if you need to. I’m trying to figure out what to do on my end to make this more clear, and have been since I got this original feedback.
4. You can import/export with Outlook. Of course it is not as robust, I’m not worth $60B either (like Billy Gates)… there is a functional import/export though. And this function works with PalmDesktop, LinkedIn, CardScanner, etc.
6. This is a funny issue. I’ve used Goldmine’s e-mail integration and it was a nightmare for me, the user (I’m not a computer dummy). Also, I have been an e-mail admin and know of some of the intracacies battling spam, so I opted to not have an e-mail interface for a few reasons: (a) I personally hate sending e-mail from various places and then trying to remember where I sent it from, (b) JibberJobber is not meant to be your e-mail server, (c) I DO NOT want tons of support calls asking me why the e-mail didn’t go through… etc. However, I’ll review the environment and see if things are any better, and perhaps we’ll have the ability to send an e-mail (which would then go in the logs).
7. Going in that direction, … there is a “share my users with others” at the bottom of the Network page, in the list panel. But I’m not trying to be like LinkedIn, and I don’t really care for their lack of privacy. When this is implemented it will respect the privacy of the users in a clever way.
8. I don’t want to have 1,000 MORE articles on how to interview. The intent of the Library is to let USERS say what they’ve found valuable, and share with one another, not for me to copycat the trillions of other job search articles. The point of JibberJobber is to give you functionality, not more tired information (which is super accessible, especially with Chimby on there now).
9. There is FAQ found in the bottom links. Old, but they are there ;)
10. You mean the ability to comment to the JibberJobber team? You used the Contact Us form last night… not sure what you mean here.
11. There was a link in a place that didn’t make sense and it didn’t quite make it back in the new design… but when you add a new network contact you can invite a friend. “Rat out” isn’t really the phrase I favor – the friend gets one e-mail invite and that’s it – I don’t spam them.
12. – see #7. However, note that if you KNOW that a friend is using JibberJobber you will be able to do a “quick connect” which will give you the ability to have their most-updated info when they update it.
13. Thanks for not trying to “gork” my program. I’ve honestly not tested with a 10k file but will have that done :) Yes, there is import and export, or premium, and that is one of the MAIN reasons I allow the 14 day free premium – to go import your contacts right away – could you imagine typing each of them in individually? :-S
14. I agree… after Wednesday’s release I’m going to post a very very weak example of how you can do something offline and then interface to online. Very weak, but something quite useful. What you are talking about would come after lots of the web stuff is ironed out… and will be super-awesome for those that want to work on this when on a plane, or something like that.
15. I read about the facebook thing – why would I want to excoriate myself?? Waiting for things to settle down to see the best way to do this.
16.17.18. when you add a network contact at the very bottom there is a link to add info like this… it can be for Skype, LinkedIn, MSN, etc.
19. Premium users can change the “job process” on the log when adding or editing a job. Regular users get the default – informational interview, first interview, sent resume, thank you letters, etc.
99. thank you :)
John, would love to chat further about this… honestly I’d prefer to do it in private because the competition is listening ;) and I want to get your feedback before they do…!
Again, thanks for the comprehensive analysis.
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