Social Networking

There's now (as of about four days ago) a new social networking site for businesses. It is attracting people in droves because it also attaches itself to a forced matrix income opportunity. I haven't seen anything take off quite this quickly in some time.

It looked very well put together, it seemed to make sense to me, so I joined. Yes, I'm an affiliate (link in sig). However, as biased as I may be, I can honestly say that it HAS brought me new business and I have already seen returns on the program side of it as well. For me, the income opportunity is a bonus for something I would be doing anyway.

Best Regards,

John

Is anyone using facebook or myspace for business-to-business networking? I think I'll research "LinkedIn" as someone mentioned.

No offense meant John, but Wowzza looks like nothing more than a pyramid scheme. The only way in is through someone's affiliate link and it's hard to see why anyone would join other than they're hoping to get others to sign up behind them.

Of the ones mentioned, I have been able to use LinkedIn, Myspace and Facebook most effectively for networking. LinkedIn seems to be the best for small/local businesses, in my opinion. Merchant Circle, MeetUp, Fast Pitch Networking and even YouTube are also very effective for networking. Not to mention, having profiles with these sites tend to help with search engine exposure and ranking. These that I listed tend to have a more serious, professional crowd than, say, Direct Matches.

As a side note, I'm also a member of Wowzza. However, because it's so new I'd rather thoroughly explore it and see what it has to offer before I start "promoting" it all willy-nilly across the Internet. When you have a professional reputation to maintain, it's important to consider whether what you're promoting truly does offer something that can be helpful to those you're referring, aside from just being able to make money with it. I would like to see what my business can benefit from on an end-user level, that does not involve recruiting or sponsoring others. If I find there are tools that really can help businesses, I'll post some of those tools & benefits here so that small business owners can discuss them, compare them to others and then decide for themselves.

-PA27

May I ask what's actually on the other side of the login. Are you socializing with people when you're on the site. From my perspective this really just looks like the latest pyramid scheme or mlm. A few people who are in early will make some money at the expense of everyone who joins after.

Here's an article I found about Wowzza. It's called Wowzza is mlm crap and everyone knows it. I guess you can tell the attitude the article takes given the title.

I'd be happy if you prove me wrong and show everyone that Wowzza is a good social network and if it is I apologize for casting it in a negative light. But again I have hard time seeing how this is anything other than a scam.

My intention when joining Wowzza was not to promote it. I wanted to see how this social network would or could be different from all of the others. Here is what I've gathered from my research. On the surface, it is simply a social networking site with a business opportunity attached. It brings up the question, "what is someone paying for when they join?" Well, the answer I've been able to find from all of my materials is access to the social network and its features. When a person joins and upgrades, they are purchasing monthly access to the social networking features. These are pretty much the same features as other social networks: blogs, uploading video & photos, joining groups, leaving comments, customizing profiles etc.

So why pay for it when you can do the same things on hundreds of other sites for free? Well, I feel two ways about this. Their claim to fame is to "get paid to do what you've been doing for free" online. It does offer a nice little affiliate set-up. You join the network, and if you enjoy using it, refer others. If they join, you earn a percentage of the sale, and you can earn several levels deep. So essentially yes, it is structured as a pyramid (a forced Matrix is what they call it). This is where my second feeling comes in. Just because something is an MLM or structured as a pyramid does not make it a scam. Many home businesses get a bad rep because of this notion. I hate to be cliche, but our entire work force in this country is set up as a pyramid. General employees do not earn, nor will they ever have the potential to earn, as much as those at the top (CEOs, presidents, board members etc.). While it may be unfair, it is not illegal. However, MLM and home business opportunities have a feature which our work force does not. Just because someone comes into the opportunity later than others and is on the "bottom" does not always mean they earn less than those above them. In many cases, your earnings are directly related to the amount of work you put in or amount of product you sell. If you happen to put in more work or sell more product than those above you, you earn more than them. This is how I justify the MLM structure. With a job, I'll never be able to earn more than the wage that is set for me. With a home business, my earning potential is only limited if I slack off, and do not put in the suggested (or more) amount of effort.

Furthermore, a scam is defined either as receiving nothing in exchange for an investment of some type (either time, money or both), or receiving nothing of perceived value in exchange for an investment of some type. That would really put things in the eye of the beholder. When you pay for a Wowzza membership, you are getting something in return, which is access to their social networking features. Free members do not have access to any social networking features, just to clarify. Now, whether we each as individuals feel that the investment is worth it, is entirely dependent on us. However, because one or several people do not see value in paying for a social network, doesn't mean that everyone will feel the same, nor does it make the program a scam.

I can only take from the companies intentions what they state, but it seems to me like the reason for charging at all is because they are trying to build a better social network for entrepreneurs. Serious entrepreneurs will pay for something they see value in, and the actual social network is only made up of paid members, so the theory would be that they've created a better, more serious network of entrepreneurs by separating those serious enough about networking to pay, from those not serious. This makes the business contacts and potential business partners one can gain from the program more "qualified" contacts. They will be more likely to enter into partnerships or opportunities than someone who is allowed to join for free (free members tend to spend most of their time on "the fence"). I understand the concept, I just still haven't worked out whether or not that concept is worth the money to me.

I guess I'll compare it to LinkedIn. Free members of LinkedIn can get a certain level/amount of access to some of the features of the network. However, a member must upgrade to one of the paid levels (which can be far more expensive than the $33 of a Wowzza membership, the highest membership being $200 a month) in order to receive full benefits and access all features. This portion of the concept is no different from Wowzza. For that matter, there are other social networking sites which also have a paid version of their membership, such as Fast Pitch Networking.

The only thing that raises an eyebrow with Wowzza is the fact that there is an affiliate program attached; there is nothing illegal about that. The only reason one must join through an affiliate link is because the community is set up to help members of the affiliate program earn. It would be no different than if LinkedIn decided to create an affiliate program. But just because it's more well known and has been around longer to prove itself, people would likely not raise an eyebrow in the same way as is being done with Wowzza. I can't defend Wowzza beyond what I described above because I am a free member, and have not actually seen or experienced the social networking side of the program, or the caliber of its members for myself. This is just my understanding of the concept behind the site. However, I will say that until something has been proven a "scam," we shouldn't throw the term around so loosely. Every business opportunity, affiliate program or MLM system is not a scam. Many offer great value to those who choose to become involved. I think we simply deem things as scams when we do not fully understand them, and when they are perceived as unconventional. So lets try to understand more about the program first before giving it such a label.

-PA27

thanks for that explaination PA27. I'm looking at Fast Pitch right now, I hadn't heard of that one until now. Is it similar to LinkedIn(which I belong to)?

Fast Pitch Networking is not quite like LinkedIn. With Fast Pitch, members are able to create and syndicate press releases, syndicate their blogs, take part in Podcast Interviews, upload video to their profiles and submit ads and websites to search engines.

Fast Pitch is a great tool to assist in SEO efforts, as their syndication allows press releases, blogs and member profiles to be easily indexed and rank highly. Fast pitch also takes the website the you submit, with the keywords you choose, and submits your site to the major search engines once a week. Then of course it also has similar tools to other networks, like creating full profiles and connecting with other members, joining groups, participating in the forums etc. They even have live, monthly webinars on various aspects of business, usually on prospecting and marketing.

How well your blog posts, press releases or media rank within the community is determined by what level membership you are. The higher memberships get more exposure, like with most paid social networking sites. You can also purchase exposure individually. Each $10 you spend gives you one star, and the more stars your media or content has, the more exposure/higher the ranking within community searches.

Hope that gives a better idea!

-PA27

Yes it does thankyou

Originally Posted by vangogh

Here's an article I found about Wowzza. It's called Wowzza is mlm crap and everyone knows it. I guess you can tell the attitude the article takes given the title.

I read this article, and I confess myself disappointed. The author is apparently very experienced in home business, so you'd think he'd understand not to judge a book by its cover. While I do agree with some things (that most of the members have jumped in and immediately started to spam others about the opportunity and that's super annoying), I don't feel that someone who has not had experience with the program has I right to label it as a scam. It would be the equivalent of me saying in a consumer survey or giving a customer review which says that Hoovers are bad vacuums when I've never even owned one. I feel that those who can provide the most truthful reviews are those who have actually purchased or been involved with the program.

I still hold to what I've said before, that until we've had a chance to look into the program and use the features and tools, we should reserve judgment. That just makes sense to me.

-PA27