VentureBlog talks up Social Networks 3.0. The key point is that people are now figuring out that social networks in and of themselves are not that useful or entertaining, but they are very valuable when they help us perform other useful activities.
Social networks inform the conversations that take place among friends on LiveJournal. Social networks enable the discovery of new music on MySpace. Social networks enhance the multi-player gaming experience at Xfire. Social networks now empower recruiting on LinkedIn. And dozens of new social networks are emerging to enable specific, valuable consumer experiences that are enhanced by the underpinnings of the network.
Exactly. There is a ton of opportunity in bringing the strengths of social networking into other areas. For example, how about a social networking application that allows you to find a good doctor, dentist, or place to get your haircut?
Every time someone I know moves into a new city, these are common questions they need to answer. Who do they ask? Their co-workers and friends, the pillars of a social network.
Our community, Phone Buddies at http://www.phone-buddies.com, is a paid membership community that facilitates the exchange of peer counseling sessions among members. We added 40 new members in our first month with no advertising budget and no corporate sponsors, just word of mouth.
I definitely think it is a growing opportunity to provide real value to people in sorting through the overhwhelming amount of information out there and finding connecting like minded people. In our case you would think we couldn’t compete with all the free phone-based counseling services being provided by non-profits across the country, but our members prefer to associate with people like themselves and don’t see themselves as in need of social services support. They just want someone they can speak to about their problems confidentially and are willing to pay a little each month for that opportunity.
Still, we are realizing we will grow a lot faster with a corporate sponsor so we are looking for one now. Any suggestions are definitely welcome.