When the Dust Settles...

The growth of social networking has been interesting to watch. The first generation of social networks had its challenges, but in the recent months it has become clear who will survive and what they have to offer the web community.

For my purpose I am not going to talk about Social communities (Facebook, MySpace, Ning) or Social Utilities (Flikr, Twitter) or Social Content (Blogger, Digg, etc). I am going to start with looking at Business Networking side of social networking.

Even in this subset of Social Networking there are differences, which makes it more interesting to discuss then other services (which just seem to be cookie-cutter offerings). The interesting thing about the business networking services is they offer a broader base of functionality and value - and ultimately have much more scalability in their service because of the nature of business.

Here are the top business networking services on the web:

• LinkedIn


• Fast Pitch!


• Xing


• eCademy

When looking at these services, you can see many similarities - but as you dig deeper into their offerings it becomes very clear that they are much more different than they appear.

First lets discuss the obvious differences:

1. Geography - LinkedIn and Fast Pitch! are the largest social networks in the U.S. They are both U.S. based. Xing is primarily in Germany. eCademy is primarily in U.K.

2. Size - LinkedIn and Xing have the most users - primarily due to their funding (LinkedIn has spent hundreds of millions of dollars to get users, and Xing is a public company that has also spent a ton of money to recruit users.) Fast Pitch and eCademy have a smaller number of users, but have grown 100% thru word-of-mouth and classic networking - so the user base tends to be more of quality and are engaged in the service wanting to network.

Now lets look at what "services" these networks really offer?

LinkedIn:

When you first look at LinkedIn, you think it is a social network, but in reality it is more of a Job database. Although it has the ability to connect to people (it is really only useful in recruiting or getting recommendations). And the profile itself is like a cold resume, and not "full or life" profile that is typical of a Social Network. In face, LinkedIn prides itself on limiting the functions of its profile (not allowing users to upload photos, social content, etc). With millions of users, LinkedIn has become less of a "community" and more of a database of professionals.

Fast Pitch!:

Fast Pitch is the only service that has truly embraced the ideals of web 2.0 social networking and applied it to business. It allows users to integrate with other web 2.0 services (including LinkedIn, Facebook, Twitter, etc). It also has more features than any other social network to enhance the users profile, but it still comes across very organized and professional like a LinkedIn. Althought it has about 10% of the users a LinkedIn has, it has a much more engaged audience looking to buy, sell and network.

XING!:

Xing provides a nice basic social networking website. The features are limited, but the layout and function of the site serves the purpose of connecting people. The profiles (like LinkedIn) are more resume-like and do not allow its users to really show their personality. Due to its dominance in Germany, it has less users than Fast Pitch! and LinkedIn in the US.

eCademy:

eCademy is a very solid social networking site which offers more features than Xing, but not as many (or advanced) as Fast Pitch!. The community is engaged and active and the profiles are more personal. The overall layout of the website is very difficult to follow which makes it hard to find some of its features.

Overall, I think many professionals are seeing the differences and leveraging each network differently. It is "ok" to have more than one profile.

Now that we see who the leaders are after Round 1 of the business networking trend, we are anxious to see how these companies continue to innovate and compete in the future.

Professional Networks

Fast Pitch has launched a really cool new feature for Professional Networks

http://www.fastpitchnetworking.com/search_network.cfm

It allows you to view all the professional networks, associations, chambers and find profiles

Professional Networks

Here are some of the big ones

ABA (American Bar Association)
AMA (American Marketing Association)
BNI (Business Network International)
CEO Space
DMA (Direct Marketing Association)
Ecademy
eWomen Network
LinkedIn
NAFE (National Association of Female Executives)
NAMB (National Association of Mortgage Brokers)
NAR (National Association of Realtors)
NAWBO (National Association of Women Business Owners)
NFIB (National Federation of Independent Businesses)
NSA (National Speakers Association)
PRSA (Public Relations Society of America)
Rotary International
SHRM (Society for Human Resource Management)
Toastmasters International
Xing

Fast Pitch becomes number one Social Network in USA

Fast Pitch has surpassed Ryze as the number one social network in the USA.

Recent Study compares Business Social Networks

A recent study compares online business social networks, and takes a look at new features specifically around "social content", and the ability for users to create, share and promote their content on the social network.

The survey clearly shows some of the sites lacking in critical features necessary to build a successful social network.

Here is a snapshot. (Click image to enlarge)

Why Social Bookmarking and Networking will lead to the next Google

If you are like me, you look at websites like Digg, delicious and Furl - and wonder why these sites are so popular? Don't get me wrong - I "get it". The idea of finding some cool websites, and sharing them with other users with shared interests makes sense. After all, this is what the Internet is all about - but if you step back and look at the bigger picture - you have to wonder ... what's next?

Well, I think I have a theory. The Internet is complex. The first wave of search engines organized the web in directories and keyword search engines - but as we all know - the Internet quickly made these search engines useless due to the vast amount of content, and the inability for an end user to easily find what they want in less than 2 seconds. Then came along Google - which presented a better way to "prioritize" content - based on links, to some degree content, and the credibility of the publisher. So is this the pinnacle of search - not even close.

The next wave of search is right in front of our eyes, but it is cloaked in "commodity and widgets". Social Bookmarking may be the first step in building the next great search engine. Let me explain.

First, the key element in social bookmarking is handing the "reigns" over to the end-user (you and me). It's not some algorithm a bunch of PhDs are building in a lab somewhere studying chaos theory - it is driven by society. Basically the web becomes self-reliant.... in essence it becomes an self-sustaining organism.

Is social bookmarking enough to unseat the king of search - Google. No. But its a good start. By creating a community of users that consistently rank web pages based on social interest and shared confirmation of the quality of content. Websites like Digg (http://www.digg.com/) let users vote on content, and websites like Delicious (http://de.licio.us/) let users bookmark websites, tag them with keywords and then match profiles of users to find other websites of similar interest and content. All of these models are a good start, but they do lack some ingredients to really build a Google 2.0.

For example - one ingredient is transparency. Some of these tools are a little clunky, and require one too many steps for a user to "bookmark" and tag a site. Ideally, this process can be simplified, and behind the scenes. Some sites have included a toolbar on the browser to make it easier, but I still find myself wanting more simplification.

Another ingredient is the profile. Its great that I have a "user profile", and my bookmarks are attached to my profile, and over time my "online personality" is formed through the websites I like and dislike, but my profile doesn't provide any color on who I am beyond what I surf. To really add dimension to my profile, these websites need to know more about me. Enter Social Networking. Social Networking sites are the masters of the profile. They collect a wide variety of information about each user, and leverage it to build and connect their communities. Combining robust user profiles of Social Networking sites and the behavior tracking of Social Bookmarking sites could add a dimension to search that brings true social conscience to the web.

For example, if I search "Football" on Google - the results are as expected - ESPN, Sports Illustrated, Football.com, etc. To some degree very academic, and to be honest boring. But, imagine if you added two more elements to the search engine - my behavior and my profile. For example, what if it returned websites I visited or bookmarked in the past, as well as looked at my profile and knew that I went to college at the University of Florida, and returned popular results for my alma matters football team. Now that is powerful. Personalized Search - novel idea.

Social Networking - Community versus Audience

Over the past few years, we have seen a lot of "social networks" enter the scene and although there seems to be hundreds of interesting networks, concepts, widgets and resources - I think most of these sites lack the key element to social networking - the community.

I think at some point, we just started lumping everyone into this bucket of social networking - without really qualifying what exactly makes these sites tick.

Is it a community? Or is it really just an Audience?

Here is my first example. MySpace. Community or Audience? I say Audience. Driven primarily by people's love for music in the beginning, and now a very large database of mini-websites with no clear organization - I think the site is more of a one-to-many conversation. I just don't see this site as a community. To some degree, the sheer size of the network (millions of users) proves my point. Communities aren't measured in the millions - but rather in hundreds (or even tens). Community is an intimite network of people who know each other - that share common interests, and communicate one-to-one.

Take another site - Facebook. Community or Audience? I say Community. The building blocks of this social network is based on real relationships expanded to the web. Friends communicate with Friends, and network to meet new Friends. Although there are millions of users on FaceBook, they are secluded into groups (your college, your town, etc).

Lets move to a business example - LinkedIn. Community or Audience? I say Audience (although I believe it started off as a community, but their model shifted when they started focusing on job placement, expert forums and references). A business person doesn't go to LinkedIn to grow their network, meet new people and connect through similar interests - they go to LinkedIn to search a database of profiles for job candidates, do reference checks or find a contact at a potential client. Are there elements of community? Sure, when it launched it leveraged "who you know" - but in my opinion the structure of the site, functionality doesn't foster relationships beyond who you already know.

At the other end of the spectrum, Fast Pitch! is a community. Not only does its structure connect people based on similar interests, work experience and industry - but it fosters the communities through social media (incorporating rich media, blogs and other content). Sure, both LinkedIn and Fast Pitch has profiles. Both have the ability for people to connect and create networks - but there is a distinct difference in the behavior of the user, and how the "ecosystem" of the community grows and how a user builds value and contributes to the value of the network. I measure the value of a network not by the quantity of users - but by the quality of content and relationships. Compare it to a busy city, where noone stops to say hello, and very few people really know each other - versus - a small mid-west town where there is much more solidarity and familiarity when walking the streets.

Why Social (Business) Networking is the Future

I am always skeptical when I here people talk about how much companies like FaceBook, mySpace, LinkedIn (and other social networking websites) are worth. Usually, they talk in the "billions" which puts them in the best class of real estate on the web. Why do they feel so confident in their worth?? I think I have a theory.....

First, I believe the Internet is transitioning back to its root of being a "personal network". For some reason in the late nineties, everything went "corporate" - with brands dominating the experience. Now, we have come full circle, and blogging, videos and even websites are becoming the dominating experience of the web - and the power and influence is shifting back into the hands of the people. Thus, social networking is taking center stage.

Despite this shift of power and presence, I still questioned why so much value was being placed on these sites - and it dawned on me, that we are not only seeing a transition of content (going from corporate-driven to user-driven) - but more importantly we are seeing the anonymous-nature of the web fade away on both sides. For the first time we are seeing inside the four-walls of corporations on the web (via blogs, video, forums, etc) and for the first time the user is exposed as well. We are no longer an IP address. Now that we are registering on these websites, and letting the site know who we are - they can understand what we like and don't like, track our behaviour, and more importantly dictate what content we should see (including ads).

So, my (aha) moment - which may not be revolutionary, but I think its worth writing down - is social (business) networking sites have "personalized the web" - and thus for the first time can offer value to both sides of the table (buyer and seller) - to create a true platform for eCommerce. Take a simple example - the banner ad. Before social networking, banner ads could be sent out to the "generic user" based on geography, and sometimes based on their behavior - but now, with "registered users" - banner ads can be targeted to users based on their personal profile, college they attended, or the music they just posted a comment on in their blog. True personalization. This is not only a major shift on the web - but more so - a major shift for advertising.

For years - advertising has been "brand" focused. Build a brand, dominate the air waves with a simple message - and everyone sees it. Now, advertising can be "personal" and be sent directly to people who's profile matches the product. This is not only more effective for the advertiser, but the user will be more engaged because it actually might be a product they want to buy.

And - the icing on the cake - the advertiser can actually know who clicked on their ad. Depending on the website, they may even get the users name, email and basic profile information.

So, we are moving from "untargeted brand ad - that hits the masses - and the advertiser doesn't know who saw it" - to - "targeted personalized ad that hits people who fit a profile, and the advertiser knows who clicked on it"

This is powerful. And this is why these social (business) networking sites are worth billions.