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Building strong networks and developing meaningful relationships are cornerstones to business success. Although it may be a cliche, "who you know" can be incredibly important for startups. With the growth of social networking sites, it seems easier than ever to develop a sizable network of connections: Facebook friends, Twitter followers, your Google social circle, your LinkedIn connections. But having a large social media network means little if you do not maintain these connections. It is important continue to meet new people, cultivate existing relationships and to emphasize the quantity rather than the quality of your connections. Sponsor Last week, in a post on the blog Journalistics, Jeremy Porter wrote, "Too many people think networking is about collecting business cards - whether actual or virtual - in an effort to demonstrate how many people they 'know'." Porter listed tips on how to strengthen your network. Here are some things, based on some of his suggestions, to consider as you expand your network: Establish goals: What are the types of people you want to build relationships with? For example, do you need to meet journalists or venture capitalists? Set goals and deadlines for reaching out to make some of these connections. Keep score: If you set goals, track your progress. If you aren't meeting the people you want and/or building your network how you want, revise your strategy. Make the most of face-to-face opportunities: Some events, such as conferences, are geared towards networking. Make an effort not only to attend these sorts of events but to maximize the networking opportunities there. Have a good opener: As we noted with our tips for crafting your elevator pitch, you need a hook. When you introduce yourself, you should be able to answer the "What do you do?" question consistently and memorably. Here's my card: It might seem obvious or even outdated, but do not undervalue the importance of the business card - whether electronic or paper. While social networking does make it easy to locate people, having a business card is an invitation for a follow-up. Follow up: It's easy to toss business cards in a drawer where they're never to be seen again. Follow up a first meeting with an email or phone call within 48 hours. If you skip this step, you might as well toss the cards. Stay in touch: Don't let your relationships die off. Keep in touch with people. Porter writes, "Some job hunters I met back in the late 90s are now directors at big brands. When you keep in touch with contacts over the long haul, you'll be surprised how many interesting connections you'll have down the road. You'll quickly become one of those people that knows somebody that 'does that' or "works there." Of course, you want to stay in touch with people so they'll remember you too. People forget who you are and what you do - you have to remind them regularly if you want to get value from your network." Share: Give value to your participation in a network and make it so that people value your connection. If you come across interesting information, share it. If somebody asks for help, offer it. Porter says, "Don't miss the opportunity to pay it forward, you'll feel great and will find people often reciprocate." Look in the mirror: Regular self-assessment is good. Ask yourself if you are both gaining from and contributing to your network. Reciprocity is important. Build relationships when you don't need them: It's a mistake to only network when you need something (such as financing, a new job, a new team member). Be an active part of your network before you make your pitch to it. Start with one new connection today: Meeting new people and building your network might be one of the most important investments - personally and professionally - you can make. Discuss
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Tips for Networking (Beyond Just "Social Networking")
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Our number one post this week was that Twitter's archives will soon be housed in the hallowed halls of the Library of Congress. There's got to be joke about librarians shushing tweets in there somewhere. We also continued our exploration of the significant Internet trends of 2010. We wrote about Internet of Things threads you'll be wearing soon, a real-time trip into Twitter's past, and that augmented reality is going to the fishes on the Discovery Channel. Read on for more. Sponsor Story of the Week: Twitter in the Library of Congress Twitter's Entire Archive Headed to the Library of Congress Apple Announces iPhone OS 4 with Support for Multitasking 10 Smart Clothes You'll Be Wearing Soon Goodbye, Gears - Google Docs Boots Plugin for HTML5 on May 3rd Top 10 YouTube Videos About Facebook New Google Docs Features: Added Co-Editing Capabilities, Similar To Google Wave More coverage and analysis from ReadWriteWeb ReadWriteWeb Mobile Summit Join us for the ReadWriteWeb Mobile Summit on May 7 in Mountain View, California as we explore the latest mobile development trends, both the technology and the emerging business applications. Be a part of the discussion on geo-location services , augmented reality , native app vs. browser-based , commerce and marketing , mobile social networking and the Internet of Things. Sponsorship enquiries: sales@readwriteweb.com . Mobile Web Where Does Android Register on Google's "Evil" Meter? Opera Takes a Back Seat to Safari on the iPhone Microsoft's New Phone Gets the Social/App Balance Wrong More Mobile Web coverage Augmented Reality Discovery Channel Puts AR In Front of Millions of Eyeballs More Augmented Reality coverage Augmented Reality for Marketers and Developers: Our Newest Research Report We're pleased to announce ReadWriteWeb's latest premium report, Augmented Reality for Marketers and Developers: Analysis of the Leaders, the Challenges and the Future . This report will help you develop a sophisticated understanding of Augmented Reality (AR), the mobile and Web technology that places data on top of a user's view of the physical world. The research included will help you decrease your AR development time to market by learning from the first wave of early adopters. AR offers a new marketing and product paradigm for a high impact, high value customer experience. More than 1,000 AR campaigns were kicked-off last year and we expect to see many more in 2010. In this report, we profile key AR development companies, their campaigns as well as development lessons learned. For more information or to buy the report, visit here . Internet of Things 10 Smart Clothes You'll Be Wearing Soon DASH7: Bringing Sensor Networking to Smartphones More Internet of Things coverage Real-Time Web Google's Twitter Timeline Lets You Explore the Past Microblogging vs. Blogging: 5 Ways to Create an Open Twitter Alternative More Real-Time Web coverage . Don't miss the next wave of opportunity on the Web supported by real-time technology! Get ReadWriteWeb's report, The Real-Time Web and its Future . Check Out The ReadWriteWeb iPhone App We recently launched the official ReadWriteWeb iPhone app . As well as enabling you to read ReadWriteWeb while on the go or lying on the couch, we've made it easy to share ReadWriteWeb posts directly from your iPhone, on Twitter and Facebook. You can also follow the RWW team on Twitter, directly from the app. We invite you to download it now from iTunes . ReadWriteStart Our channel ReadWriteStart , sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark , is dedicated to profiling startups and entrepreneurs. Entrepreneurs Under 30: Advice From Your Peers Mary Meeker's Internet Trends: The Future is Mobile Apple's Game Center: More Opportunities for Social Games Developers ReadWriteEnterprise Our channel ReadWriteEnterprise is devoted to 'enterprise 2.0' and using social software inside organizations. New Google Docs Features: Added Co-Editing Capabilities, Similar To Google Wave Social Media Analysis: SAS Makes Its Play ReadWriteCloud Our channel ReadWriteCloud , sponsored by VMware and Intel, is dedicated to Virtualization and Cloud Computing. Weekly Poll: What does Virtualization as a Service Really Mean? Drupal Founder Takes on Jive Software Another Cloud Computing Acronym To Drive You Bonkers Enjoy your weekend everyone. Discuss
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Weekly Wrap-up: Twitter in the Library, iPhone Gets Multitasking, Goodbye Google Gears, And More...
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In an email to staff yesterday, new Ning CEO Jason Rosenthal wrote that "When I became CEO 30 days ago, I told you I would take a hard look at our business. This process has brought real clarity to what's working, what's not, and what we need to do now to make Ning a big success." With that, he announced Ning would be abandoning its longstanding business model and discontinuing non-paying sites on its network. In light of this, is it time to reevaluate and reign in some of the excitement about the freemium model for startups? Sponsor Offering free services for a product alongside premium fees for advanced or special features - the freemium - has been touted as a promising business model for startups for several years now: "Give your service away for free, possibly ad supported but maybe not, acquire a lot of customers very efficiently through word of mouth, referral networks, organic search marketing, etc, then offer premium priced value added services or an enhanced version of your service to your customer base." The Freemium Summit in San Francisco last month featured many companies who've been able to leverage the freemium model to great success, including Evernote , Pandora , and Dropbox . A recent New York Times article predicts Pandora could reach $100 million in revenue this year. Finding the balance between what to offer for free and what to charge for is not easy. The trick is to put enough in the free version to get traffic and usage, but not so much that there is no incentive to upgrade. Companies who use the freemium model need to integrate their free service or product into someone's routine so fully (either by making sure it's accessible on their computer and on their mobile phone, for example) that users reach the point where they feel they simply must pay. In yesterday's press release , Ning noted that 75% of its users do pay for some sort of premium service. It may well be then that Ning's announcements are less a reflection on the freemium model than on the company itself. Despite over $120 million in VC funding, Ning has been unable to develop a sustainable business. Yesterday's announcement about the end to free Nings was accompanied with news that 40% of their staff would lose their jobs - an indication perhaps that the company's overhead was simply too high. Nevertheless, the news may serve as a cautionary tale for those startups who think the freemium model guarantees success. As David Heinemeier Hansson wrote in a post on 37signals , "Eyeballs Still Don't Pay the Bills." It remains to be seen if Ning can pull through this reorganization and turn a profit, or if they will also serve as a lesson on what happens when a business that's used the freemium model dumps all those "freeloaders." Discuss
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Is the Freemium Model (Still) Viable for Startups?
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While most of our top stories this week were about the iPad, our number one post was about how Google Street View is now, no joke, available in 3D. Go get your glasses and check it out. We also continued our exploration of the significant Internet trends of 2010: Verizon, AT&T and Cisco are talking up the Internet of Things , Gowalla added real-time feeds, and augmented reality cartoons are going to save our kids. Read on for more. Sponsor Story of the Week: Google Street View in 3D Google Street View in 3D: More Than Just an April Fool's Joke You Are Not a Gadget: The Continuing Case Against Web 2.0 E-Books on the iPad: iBooks vs. Kindle for iPad iPad Problems Begin to Surface Digg Plans to Kill the DiggBar & Unban all Domains iPad: The First Real Family Computer More coverage and analysis from ReadWriteWeb ReadWriteWeb Mobile Summit Join us for the ReadWriteWeb Mobile Summit on May 7 in Mountain View, California as we explore the latest mobile development trends, both the technology and the emerging business applications. Be a part of the discussion on geo-location services , augmented reality , native app vs. browser-based , commerce and marketing , mobile social networking and the Internet of Things. Sponsorship enquiries: sales@readwriteweb.com . Mobile Web Why iAds Could be Bigger Than iPads Apple Announces iPhone OS 4 with Support for Multitasking? Farewell, Keyboard - Generation I Will Grow Up on Touchscreens More Mobile Web coverage Augmented Reality "Do Crew" Augmented Reality Cartoons Help Get Kids Off the Couch More Augmented Reality coverage Augmented Reality for Marketers and Developers: Our Newest Research Report We're pleased to announce ReadWriteWeb's latest premium report, Augmented Reality for Marketers and Developers: Analysis of the Leaders, the Challenges and the Future . This report will help you develop a sophisticated understanding of Augmented Reality (AR), the mobile and Web technology that places data on top of a user's view of the physical world. The research included will help you decrease your AR development time to market by learning from the first wave of early adopters. AR offers a new marketing and product paradigm for a high impact, high value customer experience. More than 1,000 AR campaigns were kicked-off last year and we expect to see many more in 2010. In this report, we profile key AR development companies, their campaigns as well as development lessons learned. For more information or to buy the report, visit here . Internet of Things Verizon, AT&T & Cisco Talk Up Internet of Things Our Network is Alive More Internet of Things coverage Real-Time Web Gowalla Adds Real-time Feeds and Activity Streams For Maximum Mashup Action Twitter's Translation Problem More Real-Time Web coverage . Don't miss the next wave of opportunity on the Web supported by real-time technology! Get ReadWriteWeb's report, The Real-Time Web and its Future . Check Out The ReadWriteWeb iPhone App We recently launched the official ReadWriteWeb iPhone app . As well as enabling you to read ReadWriteWeb while on the go or lying on the couch, we've made it easy to share ReadWriteWeb posts directly from your iPhone, on Twitter and Facebook. You can also follow the RWW team on Twitter, directly from the app. We invite you to download it now from iTunes . ReadWriteStart Our channel ReadWriteStart , sponsored by Microsoft BizSpark , is dedicated to profiling startups and entrepreneurs. Internet of Things: Opportunities For Entrepreneurs Why You Need to Be Developing for the iPad Right Now NYC Startup Job Fair: How Graduates Can Get a Great Job at a Startup ReadWriteEnterprise Our channel ReadWriteEnterprise is devoted to 'enterprise 2.0' and using social software inside organizations. Is the iPhone Now as Enterprise Ready as the Android? Google Executive Says Google Buzz Coming Soon to the Enterprise ReadWriteCloud Our channel ReadWriteCloud , sponsored by VMware and Intel, is dedicated to Virtualization and Cloud Computing. How Cloud Computing Can Help A Small Business Get Out of the Recession Does the iPad App Give Rackspace An Advantage? This Tweet is Priority 1: SalesForce.com's Chatter is Transactional Social Media That's a wrap for another week! Enjoy your weekend everyone. Discuss
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Weekly Wrap-up: 3D Street View, the Case Against Web 2.0, iPad Problems, And More...
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The Freemium Summit , an event focused on discussing the ever popular business model and how new companies can best take advantage of it, was held last Friday in San Francisco, and since then, interesting stats and bits of information have been popping up on blogs and news sites . New business models have been a hot topic of discussion lately as we've debated both the benefits of freemium and it's possible replacement model, subscriptions . For any company taking its first steps into the freemium model, it takes careful consideration when deciding how to structure a freemium model, from how much to charge, to which services to charge for. Sponsor ZDNet writer Tom Foremski recently published an article on his blog " IMHO " about some lessons he learned during a discussion with a handful of freemium startup executives that could be useful to a startup looking to adopt the popular business model. The execs, all from companies in Emergence Capital's portfolio, were from Yammer, YouSendIt, SurveyMonkey, InsideView and Echosign, and provided some key tips for getting into freemium. Foremski provides us with ten points he gathered from the discussion, and at the top of the list is a wise suggestion: "Don't try and guess how your users interact with your service, and which features to offer, perform multiple tests of usability, features, and pricing. Intuition is the starting point but test it out against multiple variants." This lesson points to the fact that no matter how you plan your site, or how you intend people to use it, they will undoubtedly find alternative uses and features for the site that you either hadn't thought of or hadn't though were as important as other parts. If your company is launching out of the gate with a freemium model in place, be sure to carefully review feedback and statistics from your users and don't be afraid to mix up the model if things aren't working right. Others might choose to launch without the model in place to see which features are more popular, or to see what customers want that the site doesn't yet offer. Either way, it may be best to beta test the model before releasing it in order to gauge your customers' reaction. Also remember that customer reactions to changes tend to be a little extreme at first, so take them with a grain of salt, but engage them and find out what their feelings are. Another thought to consider that Foremski points out is that most companies offering a freemium service can often find themselves profitable even if only a few percent of their users are premium subscribers. Pandora CTO Tom Conrad recently revealed that less than 2% of the service's users are paid subscribers, but that they are expected to bring in 15% of the company's revenues this year. Foremski says to look at the glass as half empty (or mostly empty) waiting to be filled with new customers. "For some businesses as few as 4 per cent of premium users can create a profitable business, you then have 96 per cent of upside -- users that you can potentially convert," he says. Discuss
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Freemium: Everyone's Doing It, But How?
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