Selling a network

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Permalink Reply by Zac Echola on January 22, 2008 at 12:21pm

Here's a video that does a great job explaining the values of social networks.

As for your second question, it depends on your goals. What value does the network you're using offer to the people you're trying to entice? The great thing about Ning, the site used to create this network, is that we can create networks around ideas (in this case Wired Journalism). But getting friends/colleagues/whomever to use both MySpace and Facebook is a bigger stretch.

There have been advertising campaigns that try to get users to join social networks around a product and they've mostly fallen flat. They offer no added value to the user experience. The social networks that survive and flourish are the ones that add value to our lives (through ease of use, connectivity to certain people, etc.) or solve problems through technology ("I want to share videos, thoughts and pictures with my friends in one space").

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Permalink Reply by Digidave on January 22, 2008 at 4:27pm

That is one of THE CENTRAL questions that we are trying to figure out at beatblogging (which you, Matt, already know about - as I posted on your experience so far).

I think Zac brings up a good point: It's about added value - you have to provide some kind of incentive. That incentive could be: Civic (help a journalist report on something better) ego (see your name in print) or social (hang out with your peeps).

Another thing to consider - if you don't need them to be at YOUR social network -- why not join them at theirs? A mantra I keep repeating to anybody who wants to try beatblogging is "go where the people are" - If they are using twitter - so should you. Facebook - go there then.

If it's for people that have no concept of a social network - then I find the best thing to do is grab them at the most base level of their internet use. This is usually email. Start an email newsletter or a google group.

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Permalink Reply by Paul Tosto on January 22, 2008 at 8:20pm

The value-added question is crucial. There are plenty of places in the Twin Cities where people can read about schools and education. But suppose you built something that looked good, that put the stories and the blog in one place, built in a calendar so people could check to see what's coming during the week, a place where the paper and readers could share photos and videos from schools/classrooms, that'd be an easier sell to editors and readers.

It would also need to be a site where the readers really helped drive the coverage. Outreach efforts to readers can seem patronizing (Message: I Care!). You need to prove to readers that it's worth their time. It can't just be about helping me write my story. It has to be readers connected and engaged enough that they'll think, "Hey, Paul really needs to write about this," And they'll be right. And they'll feel even more connected when they see their story ideas in print.

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Permalink Reply by matt king on January 23, 2008 at 6:06am

I've been pushing the better coverage angle and my announcement of blog and network did inspire a handful of good story ideas in just a few days. We'll see if seeing the stories in print and online will turn the ning site into a Skinner box.

And I really do care. Even if I'm not that excited about particular "community" story I see it all as education to help me with the big stories. The more I know about everything in my beat area, the easier it will be for me to connect dots, draw conclusions, divine motivations, etc.

And why does ning's own spell-checker flag ning?

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