Recruiting Fly

Workopolis, Canada’s largest job board – or at least it’s best known – has partnered with Rogers Wireless, which provides wireless voice and data communications services across Canada to more than 7.9 million customers under both the Rogers Wireless and Fido brands.

“We understand that job seekers can’t always be at their computers and that’s why Workopolis was the first job site in Canada to go mobile last November,” said Max Tremblay, Vice President of Marketing, Workopolis. “We wanted to provide job seekers the opportunity to access our job postings when, where and how they want to. Helping to connect Canadians to their next career will be that much easier with Rogers Wireless on board as our partner.”

Checkout the mobile review by MobileSyrup:

“As Canada’s largest wireless provider, Rogers Wireless is committed to continuing to bring Canadians innovative services and products that add value to their lives,” said John Boynton, Senior Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer, Rogers Wireless. “The wireless device can be an indispensable tool to the increasing number of Canadians who are seeking work. Not only can they be available for calls from potential employers, they can now browse jobs from Workopolis directly on their handsets, for free until May 31, when they’re out and about.”

Access to the site is free thru May 31. No specific news on a cost afterwards, but it will likely be individual mobile minutes.

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New data from comScore, Inc, a leader in measuring the digital world, shows that the number of people using their mobile device to access news and information on the Internet more than doubled from January 2008 to January 2009. Among the audience of 63.2 million people who accessed news and information on their mobile devices in January 2009, 22.4 million (35 percent) did so daily; more than double the size of the audience last year.

Observed Mark Donovan, senior vice president, mobile, at comScore:

Over the course of the past year, we have seen use of mobile Internet evolve from an occasional activity to being a daily part of people’s lives. This underscores the growing importance of the mobile medium as consumers become more reliant on their mobile devices to access time-sensitive and utilitarian information.

Social networking and blogging have emerged as very popular daily uses of the mobile Web and these activities are growing at a torrid pace. We also note that much of the growth in news and information usage is driven by the increased popularity of downloaded applications, such as those offered for the iPhone, and by text-based searches. While smartphones and high-end feature phones, like the Samsung Instinct and LG Dare comprise the Top 10 devices used for news and information access, 70 percent of those accessing mobile Internet content are using feature phones.

In January, 22.3 million people accessed news and information via a downloaded application. Maps are the most popular downloaded application with 8.2 million users, while search was the overwhelmingly favored use for SMS-based news and information access, with 14.1 million users. Overall, 32.4 million people used SMS to access news and information in January.

Young males are the most avid users of mobile news and information, with half of 18 to 34-year-old males engaging in the activity. The mobile Internet is also quite popular among females in the 18 to 24-year-old demographic, with 40 percent accessing it at least once in January.

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Internet search giant Google continues its foray into telecommunications (see Android) by launching a free phone service, Google Voice, some 16 months after acquiring GrandCentral Communications and rebuilding the platform.

The basic idea behind Google Voice is that customers are able to have “one number for life.” An incoming call to a Google Voice number can be forwarded to any landline, mobile phone, email, or text message. Voice mail can be transcribed into email. Calls can be recorded and stored online. Phones ring based on who’s calling. Rates throughout the US are free, and international calls are said to be cheaper than using Skype.

According to Wired:

Google Voice clearly aims to steal some of Skype’s 400 million online callers. But it’s trying less to be a Skype replacement than a complete revolution in how you communicate — and with Google Voice, no matter who makes your phone, or sells you minutes or bills your land line, Google will always be involved.

Google Voice will be free as it continues to roll out in the coming weeks. Currently, only GrandCentral customers are able to access the communications hub.

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