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I have mentioned LinkedIn and Plaxo (and the fact that they should merge) and have stayed away from comments on Facebook and Myspace but I am a big proponent of social networking. When done right a social network can offer a high level of user engagement and at the same time be genuine. What is evolving is a there huge number of social networks on sites like Ning.com (check it out) that offer micro-communities for those with shared interests even if the topic is narrow.
I have an associate who runs a company in Connecticut called Environmental Data Resources (www.edrnet.com). They offer data records on the history of environmental conditions primarly for commercial properties. What the company decided to do was start a social network www.commonground.edrnet.com where members (costs nothing to join) can ask questions related to environmental issues - WHETHER THEY ARE AN EDR CUSTOMER OR EVEN A COMPETITOR! I love this idea and its forthright approach. Competitive contributors feel compelled to offer relevant content so they can be recognized as a resource by the community as a whole and anybody can say pretty much whatever they want (profanity excluded of course) within the network community. Yes there are blogs, discussions, podcasts and events. It truly exists as a resource for what might be considered a narrow worldwide community.
Are they making any money? Well it does not appear so to me at moment and that only further is evidence if the genuine nature of this social network. Maybe they will be able to find ways to charge for premium content but what makes Commonground special is its trust in the contributing members and the hands off-approach on letting it exist in true organic form. This has many extensions across a broad range of industries. All it takes is committment to updated content and a willingness to trust those in the community to self-monitor. This is where we are headed folks.
Friday, September 5, 2008
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1 comment:
As the community manager of commonground, I want to thank you for your perspective and kind words. It's true we established our online community to be the resource for a very niche community -- but one that is sizeable on a worldwide scale.
Nine months since we launched, we've focused on and had success in building a strong membership that is genuinely interested in our subject matter. The result is that the discussions and exchanges are rich in content and the membership has taken to policing themselves.
Even more true to your point, we are not setup to generate revenue in any way. However, plans are in development to introduce key features that will change that. We'll see what happens. I know I'm optimistic.
Meanwhile, the core community will remain a free resource for industry folks worldwide to connect and share infomation and, ultimately, do business with one another.
You couldn't be more correct that starting a social network requires a commitment to content and a trust in it's members to self-monitor, but even more importantly it takes FOCUS -- focus in reaching your targeted audience and ensuring you're providing RELEVANT information to them when they arrive - because if it's not, they're not coming back.
Very glad I stumbled across your blog. Happy New Year.
Barbara Hannan
commonground Community Manager
commonground.edrnet.com
http://twitter.com/edrcommonground
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