There’s a big fat “duh” waiting for anyone who says that Facebook, Linked-In and other social media sites have totally changed the face of networking for businesses.
And, for those of you who have tried it, there’s another big fat “duh” about… does it really work? There’s been a lot of controversy over this last point, especially people who point out that Facebook was really created for college students to gossip with each other, not for business people to connect. Scott Karp at Publishing 2.0 specifically wrote about how Facebook is not for business.
I know that I had been confused forever about how Linked-In could actually be useful to my business. In both Facebook and Linked-In I dutifully accepted requests to connect, and watched my network grow, but had no idea how to really use it for my business- especially since I don’t market to corporations, and am mostly selling products and classes.
Luckily, the whole social media phenomenon has given rise to a number of smaller fry who fit the bill exactly. One which I particularly enamoured with lately is Biznik: Business networking that doesn’t suck.
What’s difference about Biznik?
Unlike the other social media applications, this one has been designed specifically for indie business owners: people like me, and like you. Consultants, freelancers, retail shop owners, small business owners of all stripes. People who are mostly disengaged from the corporate world. Very refreshing.
And it’s not just online networking- there’s an incredible flexible, intuitive way Biznik has set up for in-person meetings: they let the members create and host events without any set schedule.
But if it’s online, how does that work? Well, they’ve borrowed from Craigslist (unconsciously or consciously) the concept of having different communities- so you belong to both the larger community, but you are also connected to your local geographic area, so local events and members close to you pop up easily and visibly.
Unlike typical networking groups like BNI who require you to show up at some horribly early hour for mediocre breakfast at the same time and place every week, to see the same faces, with Biznik you just decide, hey, I’m going to host a meet-and-greet, or a small workshop, or networking event at my favorite cafe/venue. People local to you see the event, and show up.
And because founders Dan and Laura have done such a knock-up job of creating community, people are friendly and helpful and engaged.
There’s a bunch of other features, including Google search engine optimization for you, the ability to post articles and otherwise share your expertise, and others. But, why don’t you just come on over and join? The basic membership is free.
16 Responses
As usual, you’re “right on the Mark”-sorry:) it just slipped out! I joined Biznik a couple of weeks ago and I’m delighted with what I’ve seen there.There are so many opportunities to contribute and receive- a reciprocity that I believe should be at the core of any network.And it clearly attracts amazing people!
Sue Burness
Mark, Biznik sounds interesting and I will check it out, but the gist of my comment is about BNI. My experience in BNI has been positive both personally and for my business. The “Givers Gain” philosophy attracts the kind of people I want to network with, and meeting every week allows members to build deeper relationships than some other networking patterns. As a life coach, I have to develop trust in relationships before people will self-refer or refer others, and the BNI model supports that.
Marta Anders
@Sue- I’m glad you also resonate with Biznik- I’ve been enjoying the heck out of it. And yes, the health of the community is exceptional. I’ll see you there.
@Marta- I’m so glad you’ve been having a good experience with BNI- I certainly hope that many people are having a good experience, because so many people belong, I’d hate to think of all those people wasting their time.
I’ve never been to BNI myself, but I’ve heard a lot of people complain about it, simply because it doesn’t match what they want, in terms of format, or setup. That’s one of the reasons I’ve enjoyed Biznik so much- because it really matches the flow of my life in an organic way. I think if I took on another regular meeting commitment at this point, I’d implode! 🙂
Thanks for letting me know that BNI does really work well for some people.
Biznik is quite wonderful at its current size; I wonder, when it gets to be a “monster”like Facebook, will it continue to be so effective? For now, it’s small enough to make neamingful connections, not only with people in the community, but with the owners who actually communicate with the members; what a novel idea! 🙂
@Carol- that’s a great point- when anything gets large, it can lose a lot of what made it attractive in the first place.
In my opinion something Dan, Lara, and the community needs to keep an eye on is:
– continuing to support individual geographic communities creating a sense of their own identity within biznik, so that it keeps the warmth and closeness.
– related to that, developing local leaders who can help to facilitate the communities and keep that personal touch in place.
What do you think? Any other ideas on how they can maintain connection and still grow?
Hi Mark ~
I read your article on “biznik” & am wondering what an “indie business owner” is ?
Thanks,
Linda
@Linda- They are using “indie” as short for “independent.” It applies to people like you and me- small and micro business owners- usually self-employed, and includes, I’m guessing, up to small partnerships, independent retail stores, and other very small companies.
I just checked the site out. While it appears interesting, it got put off a bit because despite the fact that I set my location to Sydney, Australia, and got a local map displayed on my profile – Overall the service displays mainly American content. E.g. as “other cities” only American cities are displayed… that’s on the site end of the globe, that’s ridiculous. It would be more relevant with either Australian cities, or a selection of if global cities a range of major global hubs not exclusively American cities.
(My apologies for typos above, seems I can’t edit it?)
@Anne- It’s true, it has a very Amercan-centric focus, at the moment, because it was startup that began organically in Seattle, Washington, USA, and has rapidly spread through the pacific northwest here, and then further across the US.
It seems it will take a handful of people in another city in Europe or Australia to help make the jump. And when it does, I think it can be very successful outside the US as well.
Mark,
I would definitely check out YourNight!. You will get up to 5 profiles, friends, family, professional (similar to the paid Linkedin), a Twitter/Blogger style profile and a dating profile (similar to Match.com). Plus up to 20% off online purchases with 1000 merchants and counting, even at Walmart. And there is a very unique rewards program in place for you when you invite new members. You can find out all of this by signing up for FREE! It only takes five minutes and your privacy is GUARANTEED. YourNight wants to address all of the privacy issues that are a concern to us. YourNight will be the social/business/entertainment network of choice very soon!
And YourNight has a CONSCIENCE! Returning 55% of all revenues to members and donating 5% to charity. For a summary of the “vision” please read the founder RJ’s post Sky City: http://www.yournight.com/razor/SkyCity
Click the “sign up” link or use this link to join:
http://join.yournight.com/razor
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