Simon is looking for…well…someone to give him a kick in the ass.
I’d say that mySimon has been taking a nap for a couple years, but I’m fairly confident that CNET is once again taking this comparison shopping property seriously. MySimon is a combination of CNET Shopper listings (think tech) and Shopping.com listings (think everything outside of tech).
This sounds like a great position!
Job Description:
Director, mySimon
CNET is looking for an experienced leader in new media and transactional
web environments to direct mySimon.com. The ideal candidate is a
self-starter who will be able to create, articulate, implement, and
optimize a compelling, differentiated strategy for this pioneering
comparison shopping web site.
The Director will take a strong, methodical approach to improving and
optimizing site performance. The Director will leverage web 2.0 tactics
(open source technologies, small nimble teams, iterative development,
XML and data aggregation, social networking/building community) to
improve user experience, and be able to address and balance the needs of
both site users and marketing partners.
Work scope:
- Manage day-to-day operations of the mySimon product
- Own and drive brand positioning
- Set a clear vision for both long-term and short-term product
development
- Manage the product team
- Develop and implement strategic plans
- Launch new products and services
- Work closely with the engineering team on site improvements
- Determine and oversee the direction of online content
- Manage production cycles and evaluate new content ideas
- Develop positive relationships with valuable external partners and
customers
Requirements:
The ideal candidate has 5 years of experience in product management and
in leading and managing product teams. This includes:
-Experience in establishing priorities, communicating technical and
product visions, and driving on-time product delivery
- Hands-on management skills
- Contagious can-do attitude and self-sufficient work style
- Ability to work as a team player
- Strong marketing experience a plus
- Proven ability to work in cross-functional teams including sales,
marketing, business management, and customer support
- Ability to interact comfortably with internal and external senior
executives
Technical expertise ideally will include:
- In-depth understanding of building applications using web services
- Experience with web technologies such as JSP, PHP, mySQL, PERL, and
search collections
- Experience with search engine marketing and search engine optimization
- Experience with graphical user interface design
This position reports to Jason Fischel, VP CNET Networks.
Apply Here (make sure to tell them who sent you).
What a joke! CNET effectively killed mySimon years ago, by slashing its staff and switching its tech infrastructure. As a result, the site now returns fewer products for each query than it did five years ago.
In 2000, mySimon offered the most comprehensive product search available. Yes, better than Dealtime (Shopping.com), BizRate (Shopzilla), Pricegrabber, and NexTag– check out the most recent valuations of these competitors. Now, it’s a joke.
If the CNET bureaucracy were really “taking this comparison shopping property seriously”, they would hire a Sr. VP and a dedicated staff. A director is not a powerful manager in the organization.
And Brian, this part is downright funny: “MySimon is a combination of CNET Shopper listings (think tech) and Shopping.com listings (think everything outside of tech). This sounds like a great position!”
To me, this reads as “mySimon has no technology of its own. Its search results are powered by other companies. This sounds awesome!”
Interesting theory….but I think you’re missing the point. Most comparison shopping sites are too focused on merchants and prices and are not focused enough on users. What does CNET do – they help people make educated decisions about what products to buy. Through a combination of professional editorial, user opinions, and data aggregation – CNET has the largest audience in the tech space.
mySimon is now positioned to leverage CNET’s positive assets (think editorial content, user opinions, and infrastructure) and has more dedicated resources than it’s had in many years. mySimon actually has quite a bit of technology to leverage including some exciting products that have not launched.
As Brian stated, this is a really great opportunity for the right person.
I do believe that they have the right combination of brand (Cnet especially) and content (expert reviews, product databases) to make some noise in the space. Don’t forget that they have a HUGE product database and they actually opened a separate division – Cnet Channel – which is now selling and licensing their content to major engines.