Ideological Discourses in the Making of Internet Career Sites

This paper examines the ideological discourses evident in related categories of commercial World Wide Web sites during the last year of the dot-com bubble (1995-2001). It analyzes two collections of employment-related Web pages: third-party Internet career sites (such as Monster.com) and the employee recruitment sections of corporate Web sites (such as General Electric). After reviewing the historical development of Internet use for job search purposes and the effect on labor market dynamics, I estimate the extent to which discourses of community permeate these sites by using methodologies that focus on the content of Web sites and the messages conveyed by advertisements. The conclusions highlight the importance of considering ideological constructions in grasping the meaning of “discursive domains” among commercial sites on the Web.

Marschall, Daniel. JCMC (2002). Articles>Web Design