ziizoo blog

In the traditional tutoring business, you have scheduled appointments. And while that can also translate into the online space, it has been my experience that you tend to get more on-the-spot tutoring requests, whether stand-alone or a precursor to a longer relationship. It should not surprise you that this first contact (often generated from promotional free minutes) may actually be your one audition to demonstrate your capacities as a tutor and gain the trust of the student. Whether or not that proves true, one thing is for certain: you never really know when you’ll get “pinged” for that first contact. And if you’re really in it to win it (as the saying goes), then you’ll want to maximize the opportunity students have to seek you out.All marketplaces operate by bringing buyers and sellers together, so even as consumer demand (from students) mounts with the growing awareness of Ziizoo, nothing goes if the sellers (tutors) aren’t around (think about the collapse of the market for subprime mortgage-backed securities where there are virtually no takers). There is always a hesitation to be in the marketplace without knowing whether the other side will meet you there; students wonder whether they should bother with this site if tutors are rarely available, and tutors wonder whether they should be available without really knowing if students are around. But at least online, the cost of participating in the marketplace is really negligible. For tutors, it’s a matter of leaving a Ziizoo window open (even in the background, although not in an embedded Firefox tab) while you do what you normally do online. For students, it’s a cursory perusal through the site, among many others, in the search for school-related assistance. And if you do happen to make contact, the rewards can be promising for both parties–for the tutor, a new customer, and for the student, a new resource.

With the incipient launch of a brand new Ziizoo tutoring interface tool (that will be properly introduced soon), this site is pacing to go the distance. Are you ready to join in on the ride?

Note: In my own (extensive?) experience on Ziizoo, I find the best times to be available as a tutor on Ziizoo are Mondays through Thursdays from 4pm-1am, Fridays from 8pm-11pm, Saturdays from noon-10pm, and Sundays from noon-1am.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 8th, 2008 at 8:20 am and is filed under Faculty Lounge. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.