hey everyone
haven't posted in a while, but been quite busy, which I'm hoping you'll be able to understand soon. The long and short of it is, I've been retooling what the site does around a different paradigm which I think will be more useful than everyone's typical Classifieds type of site, and a direction I think the future of social networking is moving.
We'll let you know soon!
-a
Monday, January 21, 2008
Thursday, January 10, 2008
secrets of successful entrepreneurs
http://www.rd.com/content/secrets-of-successful-entrepreneurs/
This article covers most of the things that we would all think to do as business owners. But as in all things - tis not the idea that comes hard, but the execution.
I think everyone wants to be a success in life, no one sits around all day to figure out how to reduce progress in their life. It's just the matter of doing, not just reading or thinking about things that keeps me locked up.
This article covers most of the things that we would all think to do as business owners. But as in all things - tis not the idea that comes hard, but the execution.
I think everyone wants to be a success in life, no one sits around all day to figure out how to reduce progress in their life. It's just the matter of doing, not just reading or thinking about things that keeps me locked up.
Wednesday, January 2, 2008
Social Networks, Web 2.0 and Small Business
The words are honking around like geese during the fall - every day you hear Web 2.0 buzzwords like Network Graph, Mashup, or Social Advertising. But in the end most of these buzzwords fall to the wayside when it comes to actual business, they aren't helping people live lives of richer experience or greater opportunity.
That's because most social networks today revolve around 3 steps:
1) Get big, fast
Get as many users as you can as fast as you can. With valuations like Facebook's, each user becomes enormously (over?)valued in terms of the ad revenue they project to bring in and potential sales they could have through the network. Sign people up, spam their friends, find ways to force them to bring their friends to the table so you can reach particular numbers that your financial backing satisfactory.
2) Lock in, lock out
Once you've got users in, lock them in - force them to manually delete every post they've ever made, make sure your system doesn't play well with others, much like your cel phone provider or your semi-best-friend's-new-year's parties - make it horrendously difficult for you to break away from them, or at least give them some sort of guilt trip for leaving. As for those who want to use your info, lock them out - only let people in that you know will bring you money.
3) Advertise, advertise, advertise!
Once you've got tons of people, sell the adspace to large companies - Coca Cola, Sprint, GM. Advertise to the companies that your model allows for specific targetting, allowing them to make the most effective granular marketing pitches. Advertise to non-users that they're hot or not, especially not if they're not posting pictures of them at the last office party on your site. Then advertise your IPO.
But all this leaves out the other guys - companies who don't have devoted marketing teams or no need to know exactly when some GenYer's friends recently bought tickets on Fandango and are looking for the opportunity to upsell. Businesses that deal with the original "social network", the one that shares information over dinners, on the phone, in church, through handshakes, smiles, high fives, and a job well done. They're left out in this grand scheme - "Get Big Fast" doesn't work in the world of quality relationships.
But that's what we're building here - a place where people can meet people, make friends, and help one another out. We're a tool to better the lives of our users and those around them. We want everyone to know directly or indirectly who they're dealing with. We want to help people fulfill their needs, as well as find fulfilling for themselves. And if people happen to have fun in the process, then so be it.
I'm a firm believer in Adam Smith's Invisible Hand, the idea that we're indirectly guided to better society by an "invisible hand" which causes us to pursue our own best interests in a free market. I also believe that it's truly a gift that anyone can enjoy the fruits of their labors. I believe in the power of friends helping friends, and I do think that together we can make our own spaces better places.
-alex
That's because most social networks today revolve around 3 steps:
1) Get big, fast
Get as many users as you can as fast as you can. With valuations like Facebook's, each user becomes enormously (over?)valued in terms of the ad revenue they project to bring in and potential sales they could have through the network. Sign people up, spam their friends, find ways to force them to bring their friends to the table so you can reach particular numbers that your financial backing satisfactory.
2) Lock in, lock out
Once you've got users in, lock them in - force them to manually delete every post they've ever made, make sure your system doesn't play well with others, much like your cel phone provider or your semi-best-friend's-new-year's parties - make it horrendously difficult for you to break away from them, or at least give them some sort of guilt trip for leaving. As for those who want to use your info, lock them out - only let people in that you know will bring you money.
3) Advertise, advertise, advertise!
Once you've got tons of people, sell the adspace to large companies - Coca Cola, Sprint, GM. Advertise to the companies that your model allows for specific targetting, allowing them to make the most effective granular marketing pitches. Advertise to non-users that they're hot or not, especially not if they're not posting pictures of them at the last office party on your site. Then advertise your IPO.
But all this leaves out the other guys - companies who don't have devoted marketing teams or no need to know exactly when some GenYer's friends recently bought tickets on Fandango and are looking for the opportunity to upsell. Businesses that deal with the original "social network", the one that shares information over dinners, on the phone, in church, through handshakes, smiles, high fives, and a job well done. They're left out in this grand scheme - "Get Big Fast" doesn't work in the world of quality relationships.
But that's what we're building here - a place where people can meet people, make friends, and help one another out. We're a tool to better the lives of our users and those around them. We want everyone to know directly or indirectly who they're dealing with. We want to help people fulfill their needs, as well as find fulfilling for themselves. And if people happen to have fun in the process, then so be it.
I'm a firm believer in Adam Smith's Invisible Hand, the idea that we're indirectly guided to better society by an "invisible hand" which causes us to pursue our own best interests in a free market. I also believe that it's truly a gift that anyone can enjoy the fruits of their labors. I believe in the power of friends helping friends, and I do think that together we can make our own spaces better places.
-alex
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