I'll show you some extractions, the best quotes from my point of view. See the original article of Jenny Rise here.
One of Ecademy's founders, Penny Power, believes the key to building a successful social network is building emotional connections and a real sense of community. A website that just wows you with flashy tools will lose its appeal fast.
- "Tools are just fads; communities and friendships evolve. Social networks have to become communities, and in order to do that they require a culture and values," Power says.
- "What people want is intimacy and friendship, not just contacts. Being a name on a contact list is no different from being a business card in a rolodex.
- "Knowing who you can learn from is what matters and what social networks should be about."
and there is something else very important
Predictions for the future
Jumping in: Tool-based sites such as LinkedIN and Xing will move towards building online communities with the introduction of facilities such as blogging.
Getting in on the act: The appeal of social networks will become so irresistible that most major business will try and buy into it in some way. Brands from all sectors will want to integrate into a pool of primed customers. Television companies are already encouraging viewers to post comments on plotlines in soap opera (ITV’s Emmerdale) and Kleenex has just launched a campaign with TV adverts encouraging online interaction from customers.
Choosing a platform: Social networks will become a sought-after method of tapping into niche markets. Companies will want to buy into them either for selling to, or recruiting its users. Facebook already has channels seeking staff for Microsoft and Ernst and Young, while Ecademy has just made links with Zubka.
Small groups mean big business: ‘Small groups’ and ‘clubs’ will be the web buzzwords of 2007. A chance to be part of a big network, but within the intimacy of a club or chat room, will drive web users to return to the same site more often by building an emotional connection.
Users will form strong allegiances to these clubs, just as they do with football clubs. More websites will offer users a chance to form clubs, as a way of building intimacy. Ecademy has operated a free club-building function for four years.
Grown up networking: The social networking Web 2.0 revolution has been led so far by the kids, but 2007 will see the over 35s getting on board. The BBC is rumoured to be introducing social networking sites for its most popular brands, such as Top Gear, Radio Times and BBC Good Food.
bla-bla-bla...
A note from myself:
Guys, Girls, MilanIN Members and those not (yet) Members: what's the first thought that comes to your mind after you have read the article (or at least those my extractions)?!
Yes, you're rrrrrrriiiigggghhhhttttt !
IT'S ALL ABOUT MILAN IN !
Please let me explain why it's all about MilanIN:
- We are THE CLUB, we are THE COMMUNITY. And we've been the community when we had not yet a Web Platform (but only the old static web site of Pier Carlo);
- We have THE TEAM behind the Club. Not just "some/good people that get some/good salary" for their working hours spent at the office :).
- Have you ever seen another Social (Business) Network where normal Members also take part of the Org-Team? As Commitee Managers, as key resp. figures of the Club? Me not, it happens only here! :=)
- We are the INNOVATORS in Social Business Networking;
- Our Web Platform is an Open-Source solution, it's FREE also for the other Small Groups/Communities (!), and of course the partecipation in MilanIN eGroupWare project is opened to all competent humans! Therefore:
- Soon or later this Project will become popular, and, I believe, lots of strong IT professionals will contribute to it! I will then have to buy lots of beer to my friend Michael (Michael Tabolsky), since it all happens also thanks to his great belief in this crazy idea!
- Well, the idea is to propose for free our on-line platform for Social Business Networking to the others, to let them not to be dependent on the commercial platforms for Networking: Social Networking should be FREE? It belongs to communities? :) Of course if then one wants to earn some money on the good PREMIUM services- it's just the great idea! But the base Networking MUST be FREE and available to any group that wants to launch an own social networking (for closed-group or open) and would need an on-line platform to support it.
Of course we know we're not (yet) perfect. We know we should improve MilanIN from all its sides. And we know how to do it :) It's concerning all Project areas- from real-life Events Organization to Knowledge Sharing on our Web Platform. And we're improving day-by-day!
Probably (hmmm,exactly!) MilanIN IT Team still needs some work-forces to finish all that we have begun. If you're MilanIN Member- just check the Forum of IT Team or our internal task/bug tracking system to understand we already have some clear plans for several human-months of development and really lots of things currently in-progress!
Anyone non-IT and/or not (yet?:lol:)-MilanIN Member, still may help us, by donating to MilanIN, so we'll do our FREE Social Business Networking Platform even better. For MilanIN and the other Clubs/ Groups who need an on-line home for Social Networking.
Thank you for having read this article!
To contact author- andrey AT milanin.com
Keywords: , 2.0, Andrea Falzin, Andrey Golub, BBC, Blogging, Business 2.0, Business Networking, Business Networking Club, Community 2.0, Ecademy, Ernst and Young, Facebook, Italy, LinkedIN, Linkedin, Michael Tabolsky, Microsoft, Milan, Milan IN, Penny Power, Pier Carlo Pozzati, Social Networking, Social Networking 2.0, Social Networks, The Future of Social Networks, Web 2.0, Xing, community, contacts, friendship, milan-in, web 2.0
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