Leading executives, managers, and experts from SMBs and large enterprises share their insights and perspectives with bMighty on a host of IT issues, challenges, and opportunities that small and midsize businesses face.
Social networking offers a new path to connect with people, and those people can be friends, business partners, and customers. Though Facebook and MySpace dominate the social networking space and some businesses are making money on both, neither is a true business tool. However, other social networks do have a business application. For instance, LinkedIn and Ryze focus on building professional networks for individuals to advance their careers, Biznik concentrates on localized business networks, and Sales Spider is dedicated to small and midsize businesses. Recently, bMighty chatted with Russell Rothstein, CEO and founder of Sales Spider, and learned his perspective on the future of social networking and the opportunities he sees for smaller businesses.
bMighty: What's the difference between MySpace or Facebook and social networks specifically for businesses, such as Sales Spider?
Rothstein: The difference is in user expectations. Our recent member survey found that 83% of our users joined a social network for business or career development, not for friendships. That's a key difference between business and other social networks. When you're trying to connect with friends, it's about who you already know; the six degrees concept is a referral model. With a business social network, you're trying to discover new opportunities and meet new people -- potential customers and partners -- it's a discovery and lead generation model.
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