Mark Hull is a community builder at yahoo.com, but he also spent a stretch at Mercury Center, where he worked on all sorts of cool stuff, including the center's online jobs site.		11 September 1998
1	What's the primary caveat you'd give to people hoping to use the Web to find a job?	Back to the 7Q index
	The Web is a great tool, but that's all it is. At the end of the day, the best jobs probably aren't listed online, but are passed around internally. The best way to make an impression isn't necessarily limited to electronic communication. Just because a company has a slick Web site, doesn't mean it's a slick place to work. In other words, the essentials still matter: networking, face-to-face contact and research.
2	I see you're working with message boards and developing online communities. Where's the profit motive in this line of Yahoo's business?
	I think if you follow the model, it's not difficult to see the revenue opportunities. I'm building community tools that give people with shared interests the ability to congregate and communicate. My primary responsibility is Yahoo! Clubs, a product that allows people to create their personal space on Yahoo. We give them tools to communicate and build their clubs. In return, they invite all of their friends, families and co-workers to join. What does Yahoo get? More return users. More page views. More new registrations. We also get the powerful ability to drive very targeted advertising since clubs are focused on topics or relationships, and that's exactly what advertisers want.
3	How is the workplace culture of Yahoo different from the Merc?
	The better question is how is the workplace culture of this new media company different than those of old media companies. Yahoo acts quickly, decisively and courageously. We're willing to take a chance on good ideas, and we're willing to cut them off if they fail. We don't need a committee to approve our good ideas, nor do we need to wade through a deep bureaucracy to make those ideas a reality. That simple philosophy helps keep employees happy and excited about their work. There are two mantras I've seen around here: 1) Work hard, and 2) Have fun. If you're not doing either, you do what it takes to get back on track.
4	Name a Web site you find yourself constantly returning to & tell why it keeps you coming back.
	I spend my entire day online, so when I need to re-focus and re-charge, I usually head over to ...www.theonion.com I've been a fan of their staff for a few years. They consistently put out funny, creative stuff that seems to be more insightful than a lot of the noise out there on the Web. You can't go wrong with hard-hitting journalism found in stories such as, "Shopoholism May Have Killed The Shoposauruses" and "ACLU Defends Nazis' Right To Burn Down ACLU Headquarters"
5	Just about everyone with a homepage has a story of how the Web became a conduit between themselves and fascinating people in farflung locales. What's yours?
	I don't have any dramatic stories, but the network I've created for journalism alums at my alma mater, lovingly called the "Trailer Park," has attracted an international audience. The site has contact info for alums, a news area, a resume area, a bookstore, a monthly newsletter and other services. Every month, the traffic reports grow, and they're often from people in faraway places such as Italy, South Korea, Malaysia, Norway, South Africa, and the New York State Department of Labor. I've attracted a large audience. Now, I'm trying to tap into that audience by building community tools that will allow them to communicate with each other. It's a good side project
6	What do people need to know before realizing their lifetime dream of driving the Zamboni?
	That despite your dreams, after riding the Zamboni for about 4 minutes, you feel like a real idiot just sitting on this ice machine while it zooms all over the rink.
7	If/when you have kids, would you encourage any of them to go into journalism, & why/why not?
	Sadly, I'd probably lean against it at this point, unless my kids were content to work within the system and its problems. I've found the journalism institution generally cramps innovation and is unresponsive to change. During my short tenure, I saw too many veteran journalists burned out because they weren't treated with the respect they deserved, and they weren't given enough freedom to pursue their ideas and goals. I also saw too many instances where good journalism was tainted by outside influence, and where the values I thought journalists were supposed to uphold fell by the wayside of deadlines, headlines and other pressure. It's a place where it's hard for an individual to make a difference when it goes against the status quo. All the bad things aside, journalism still does amazing things, and it can be a powerful catalyst for meaningful change. Maybe my kids will get bitten by the journalism bug. If they do, I hope they'll not only have the ability to make a difference, but that they'll be in a place that encourages change and innovation.
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