Gizmodo is reporting that Google is finally – after a botched Google Buzz launch and a stalled Google Wave launch (is it even launched yet?) – hiring for a head of social media.
GigaOM acquired a recruiting letter from Google:
This is a new and very strategic position, as Google knows it is late on this front and is appropriately humble about it. In Google’s view, conceptually, there are two ways to tackle social, each impacting who may be successful in this senior post: 1) building an innovating offering specifically in this area; or 2) developing the capability and integrating social into Google’s existing portfolio.
If you’re a regular reader of my blog, you’ve probably seen my initial thoughts and problems with Google Buzz (aside from the whole privacy sinkholes – those were pretty obvious from the get-go). Would the director of social media have the authority to change anything about the products, or would s(he) only have the ability to promote and guide product launches? Clearly, there are a lot of unanswered questions one would have to consider before applying/taking the position.
So, your homework assignment for today: Would you tackle the position at Google? Why or why not? What advice would you give to Google’s new head of social media?
