The Power of Internet Groups

The Power of Plaxo:

I've been investigating ways to promote group concepts through the Internet. One of these drivers is my desire to build and promote better collaboration software.

This has led me to other business and social networks, too. There are many ways to sort data and build collaborative networks. The two services I'm most excited about, right now, are Plaxo (PULSE) and TWINE, by Radar Networks. I still haven't got a chance to USE Twine, as they have me on their beta list, but I've seen some demos. For the latest on Radar's Twine, go here. But, for this post, I want to focus on the value of GROUPS.

Now, for Plaxo, which is more widely released (in beta) and EXPLODING as we speak, check out this clip, which gives a thorough (yes, you may fast-forward if you get bored) review of the features, bells, and whistles:



Now, this is the first power of Plaxo. People first thought of Plaxo as an online contact manager. That was nice, but not compelling enough to make me want to use it. It was only when I started receiving invitations to join other people, two who I didn't know and one who I did know, that I decided to discover what this was all about.

Plaxo has been described as the new "Switzerland" on social networks and answered the call of what I've been asking for: one social network to rule them all. I'm really not thrilled with maintaining a Facebook, Myspace, Reddit, Digg, Stumble, Technorati, HubPages, del.icio.us, oh... I'm out of breath... I think you get the idea. It's just overwhelming. Not to mention LinkedIn, Ryze, and others. Plaxo finally combined the things I like about LinkedIn and Ryze (networking, groups) and added the value of Facebook, Myspace through FEEDS from those sites into Plaxo. LinkedIn may be the most powerful business networking social network; however, Plaxo is FASTER and QUICKER and MORE OPEN. And, it COSTS LESS. Those are all features that got my attention.

But, Plaxo is also a contact organizer on steroids. It's not a GREAT contact organizer, like ACT, or Goldmine. But it is a GOOD organizer, with a promise to be a lot more as it expands. The thing I like best about Plaxo is that everyone who signs up in my business network now gets access to my blog feed (thank you) and that means dozens more adding daily.

I'm evaluating Plaxo as a contact manager, task list, calendar, and group manager. I'm also using it to push my blog feed to people who otherwise might not be exposed to this. As a group manager, I have a passive-aggressive strategy to promote my two newest programs, Profitable Business Blogging, through my Blogging For Business Group, and Semantic Collaboration, through my Advanced Collaboration Group.

I'm also in a sales group, where I'll be mentioning my newest program, Cold To Gold: Prospecting Methods To Overcome Fear of Cold Calling And Build Long-Lasting Business Relationships. Pretty much anyone seeking to grow their sales could benefit from this, so my goal is to share and hopefully a percentage of people in related groups will sign-up through my group affiliation. I'll report back on my success in a month or so. As far as the power of Internet Groups? Well, I see the best way to use this power is as an opportunity to SHARE IDEAS. What I've found is that when we share ideas, and our ideas are good, people are drawn to us and want to connect. I've already had dozens of people connect with me because they liked my post comments within the groups.

And that is the early power of Plaxo's new platform. It continues to get tweaked daily, so they're only going to make it better.

See if the power of groups, through plaxo, doesn't improve your own business network.
__________________________________

Post by Scott Andrews, CEO of ARRiiVE Business Solutions.

ARRiiVE Business Solutions helps executives improve sales, launch products and services, and build dynamic, cross-functional collaborative teams. For more information, contact info (at)ARRiiVE (dot) com or call us at 1 (805) 459-6939.

Copyright © 2007 by ARRiiVE Business Solutions. All Rights Reserved. You may republish this article only if you publish in WHOLE with the COPYRIGHT and ALL ACTIVE LINKS intact.

More hip than a round afro: SUBSCRIBE to our feed to stay "in the know" with articles like this.