RealSocial.com begins an initial launch in the realtor rich town of Austin,
Texas. RealSocial will be a "social network" where you can expand your
professional network, meet business associates, and meet up strategically with
your peers in the world of real estate. RealSocial also is a solution
provider for other social networking websites such as The Spring.
The Friendster,
Spoke, Orkut, Ryze type social
network website is
coming to the business world, hoping to foster professional relationships,
increase sales -- and maybe even eliminate the need for cold calling.
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Meetup.com,
and other social networking websites for months now, where they can
quickly find and connect with like-minded people. Now, businesses are
getting in on the game. While social networking focuses mainly on
personal relationships (amorous and otherwise), the business version of
this technology aims to foster professional relationships -- and,
hopefully, more sales.
What Is Social Networking Technology?
Basically, social networking is a kind of
search engine for people and relationships, and is based on the theory
that "a friend of my friend is my friend". The concept
revolves around connections: who you know and what you know, and who
knows you.
There are several business-oriented social
networking websites and software packages out there: LinkedIn,
Ryze,
Spoke Software, Orkut, Tribe
Networks, and Monster Networking, just to
name a few. You join the websites (some by invitation only) and add your
list of contacts. Your list then expands to the contacts of your friends
and so on, to an ever-widening circle of possible business contacts. The
idea is to find links between people and create trustworthy paths for
contacting others, all in an effort to increase efficiency in
establishing business contacts and cut down on cold calling.
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How Does It Work?
Each social networking service differs, but in
general you can either just join a site or can join after receiving an
invitation from a member, such as at LinkedIn.com. Once you join, you create a
profile and invite your list of contacts to join. Then, you can search contacts
for a specific type of employee, for instance, and contact that person through
an intermediary or chain of contacts (for instance, if the person you want to
contact is a colleague of someone you already know, the colleague would
intermediate to help you contact the person you're trying to reach). The
intermediary may decide not to forward your contact information, however, or the
person you want to contact simply may not want to be contacted. On Ryze.com, you
set up your own networking homepage, and you can contact other members directly.
At Tribe.net, you can join a public "tribe" or be invited to join a
private "tribe." At Monster Networking, simply fill in a profile with
your job title and personal information and start networking.
Most social networking websites allow you to build
your network of contacts manually, but a few will also mine your information and
that of other members to automatically create networks of people with similar
connections. Spoke, for example, searches other websites for information about
you once you join their service, in an effort to create contact networks with
high relevance, accuracy, and timeliness. Privacy is an immediate concern here,
but most (but not all) social networking websites offer several options to
ensure your level of privacy.
Prospects & Potential Uses
Social networking is proving successful in the
consumer world, but for business the technology is in its infancy. Everyone
seems to agree that it is hot and innovative, with much potential, but many are
still trying to figure out how, exactly, to use it in practical day-to-day
business. Social networking for business could be the best thing to come around
since sliced bread -- or it could be just a fad. Social networking websites can
be an innovative way to expand your pool of clients, future employees, suppliers
and useful contacts in other industries. It can be a money- and time-saver,
since you don't have to drive to a networking event during the day or after
work, and no fees are paid for most social websites. If you are job hunting,
social networking can be useful for getting your foot in the door at a company
or in a new city, find a mentor or explore a new career.
Drawbacks
Once you are linked into a network, you may be
overwhelmed by e-mails from network members -- "snam" instead of spam.
It can also be frustrating if you don't have an invitation to join an exclusive
social network, such as LinkedIn or Itsnotwhatyouknow. And once you're in a
social networking site, taking the time to enter all of your details and
contacts can be a hassle. A couple of sites allow users to upload information
from Outlook and other e-mail address book software, but for the most part
you'll have to take the time to do it manually.
Most important, an instant online relationship is
different from a personal relationship, built up over time, with a supplier or
customer, for instance. Some miss the personal, face-to-face interaction with
people.
Impacts on REALTORS® & the Real Estate Industry
For the technologically adventurous REALTOR®,
using a social networking website to help generate contacts can be a
cutting-edge marketing technique. For now, commercial practitioners might find
social networking most useful; a broker trying to sell a unique property could
search profiles in LinkedIn or another service to target contacts in industries
that might be in the market for just such a property. Association staff, too,
could use social networking websites to acquire contacts in other businesses,
expanding their potential lists of education providers, issue experts, and other
partnerships. Eventually, once social networking becomes more standardized and
its uses have been proven, networking websites could be set up to help generate
referrals betweens buyers, sellers, and real estate professionals. Such a site
might, for example, connect the seller of a Sears kit home with a buyer looking
for one, or help a REALTOR® locate a lender experienced in certain financing
techniques.
MoSoSo sites
ActiveMatch
AirCQ
asphaltgames
awaRE
BEDD
Beliefnet
Mobile
BusyThumbs*
BuZZone
CrowdSurfer
Dodgeball
Encounter
Bubbles
Flickr
Fluidtime
Hocman*
IcyPole
ImaHima
Jabberwocky
JAMDAT
Jukola*
Mamjam
MeetingPoint*
Meetup
MobiLuck
mobster
Mooble
modus
MTONE
nTAG*
PeepsNation
Playtxt.net*
Plink Mobile
Plazes*
Pocketster
Portabible*
proxidating
Proxpro
PurpleAce*
Saw-You
Serendipity
socialight
Socializer
SoundPryer*
Speck
TagText*
Traces
of Fire
tunA
TxtMob*
Urban
Plexus*
Wavemarket
weemee
WhoAt
WiFi.Bedouin.
Special niche social networks
Activism:
Care2,
TakingITGlobal
Art & Design:
Amateur Illustrator,
Stuart,
Teapotters
Auctions:
biddingBuddies
Books:
LibraryThing,
Shelfari,
Tagabook
Cars: CarDomain,
CarSpace,
Carster,
Motortopia
Clubbing:
AfterTheClub,
DontStayIn
Comics: BitStrip,
ComicSpace,
Hypercomics
Cooking:
BakeSpace,
Group Recipes,
Open
Source Food
Cycling:
BikeSpace.net,
velospace
DIY: Curbly
Ethnicity:
BlackPlanet,
Koolanoo,
Quespasa,
WorldLounge
Fashion:
ShareYourLook,
Shoutfit,
Trendmill
Fitness: ontri,
PlayLocal,
Traineo,
We Endure
Film: Flixster,
Yamji
Football (soccer):
Joga
Gambling: Gaambol,
Gottabet
Health:
DailyStrength,
OrganizedWisdom,
RealMentalHealth
Hunting:
TheHuntZone.com
Intelligence:
intellectConnect
Motherhood:
ConnectingMoms,
MommyBuzz,
MothersClick
Music: Hip-Hop.net,
IndieMV,
Linked
Musicians,
MakeOutClub,
MusicHawk
Neighborhood:
((echo))MyPlace,
My
Neighbourhoods
Outdoor activities:
MyOutdoors.net,
Outdoorzy.com,
thoos
Parenting:
GotKidsNetwork,
Minti
Pets: Animal
Buds,
Catster,
Dogster,
Fuzzster,
HAMSTERster,
Petster
Photography:
The Black Stripe
Politics:
essembly,
HOTSOUP.com,
My.BarackObama.com
Religion:
MuslimSpace,
MyChurch,
OakTreeIdea,
ShoutLife,
Xianz
Rugby:
RuggerSpace.com
Smoking:
Smoking Passions
Sports: FanPage,
FanNation,
FanSpot,
Takkle,
SportsMates,
Ultrafan
Trainers:
CriticalSole,
Sneakerplay
Travel: Couchsurfing,
TravBuddy,
Travellerspoint,
TripConnect,
TripUp,
WAYN
Video games:
Gamervision,
The Great
Games Experiment
Wine:
Bottletalk,
Cork'd,
Vinorati
Video Content:
Casey Mckinnon, Veronica Belmont, Leah Culver rock SXSW 2008
Bonnie Pierzina on drums, Leah Culver (pownce.com) on bass, Veronica Belmont on guitar, and Casey Mckinnon
(Galacticast) belting out vocals at SXSW 2008. Technical difficulties couldn't stop tech's hottest video bloggers from
rocking at the Cedar Door on Fourth Street in Austin, Texas
Yahoo,
MySpace, Metacafe,
Google, Revver,
DailyMotion, Blip.tv,
Veoh, Crackle,
Stupid
Videos,
Sclipo and
Viddler
Casey McKinnon interviewed by austincast.com/blog/
Casey Mckinnon, actress, videoblogger, producer talks about the next chapter in her career at SXSW 2008. Paul Walhus of
http://austincast.com/blog/ interviews her as part of an onging series of over 100 interviews at SXSW.
Yahoo,
MySpace, Metacafe,
Google, Revver,
DailyMotion, Blip.tv,
Veoh, Crackle,
Stupid
Videos,
Sclipo and
Viddler
Lindsay Campbell - moblogic.tv - SXSW interview
Lindsay Campbell of moblogic.tv is interviewed by Paul Terry Walhus of
http://austincast.com/blog/ at SXSW 2008. Lindsay
took
a daring leap from a successful show, Wallstrip, to launch a new show based on politics and news. And it's working!
YouTube, Yahoo, Metacafe,
Google, Revver,
DailyMotion, Blip.tv,
Veoh, Crackle,
Stupid
Videos,
Sclipo and Viddler
See Brian Rodgers (part 1 of 2) talk about his
"Stop Domain Subsidies" campaign
for
Austin, Texas.
YouTube,
MySpace, Metacafe,
Google,
AOL Video, Blip.tv,
Veoh,
Stupid Videos,
Sclipo and
Howcast
See Paul Terry Walhus interview Phil Campbell at SXSW
YouTube, Yahoo,
MySpace, Metacafe,
Google, Revver,
AOL Video, DailyMotion,
Blip.tv, Veoh,
Stupid Videos,
Sclipo,
Viddler and
Howcast
Paul Terry Walhus interviews Aaron Marcus at SXSW
Blip.tv,
Veoh and
Viddler
face-to-face meeting facilitation sites
8minuteDating
Evite
First
Tuesday
Food and Friends*
GeekDinner
HurryDate
The
Lunch Club NYC
Lunch
Partners
MeetUp
MixerMixer
Netparty
new-in-town
Social Circles
WhizSpark
Bokardo
Buzznetworker
Centernetworks
ChrisBrogan.com
Collective Thoughts
Dosh Dosh
Ignite Social Media
Marketing Minute
Marketing Voices
Mashable
My Test Box
ProBlogger Blog Tips
ReadWriteWeb
Relationship-Economy
Scobleizer
Six Pixels of Separation
Social Media Explorer
Social Media Marketing
Social Media Today
Somewhat Frank
Sphinn: Hot Topics
Techipedia
Tom Rafferty Social Media
Trendspotting Blog
Web Strategy by
Jeremiah
