In December 2008 we launched the Layoff Talent website. The aim of the project was to enable talented individuals from within the tech and creative media industries who've been affected by recent corporate layoffs, to list themselves on the site in the hope that new employers would find them.

In early January 2009 we took the site down. About 20 people added themselves to the site, half of whom were suitable. We had around 1,400 visitors in total.

We were a bit disappointed by the numbers and had expected the site to take off quickly. Feedback from some of those people highlighted potential reasons behind its lukewarm reception:

• The name "Layoff Talent" was distatesful to some who thought it sounded like a suggestion to lay people off
• Not everyone who has been laid off is keen to advertise that fact
• Many people get new jobs through friends or directly approaching employers, rather than advertising themselves as available

There were other factors as well. One is the chicken and egg problem: people don't like to add themselves if there aren't other people already there. Until the site has a reasonable number of people on it, it's harder to get others to add themselves.

You gave up too quickly

Perhaps. However, we felt it was a case of "do it well, or don't do it at all". We chose to focus on our other projects and not waste any time. We did learn a lot by launching the site, so we're happy we did it. Some of the technology we used will find its way in to our other projects.

Thanks to those people who did try the site. We wish you all the best.

Thanks for asking. We're working on our hosted web apps including our flagship easy job boards product.