The I in an Industry of Ideas

It all started when I was forced to use GumTree in London in 2002 to survive in a world where it is all about knowing what people has to offer. Then I joined MySpace and fell in love with pretty graphics & followed with Facebook where all my friends decided to go, and soon thereafter started my own network on Ning, only to find myself a new best friend in Joomla. This was when I realized – I am in love with social networks. My first big product I worked on was noknok, a mobile social network for MTN users. My first real boyfriend started a local Cape Town social network – www.capetownalive.co.za & my first real business plan I developed was based on a local Fasion & Shopping Social Network – http://www.stylesquare.co.za

So basically, I found myself in a world surrounded by social networks. I have tried to figure out what it is that draws me to it, because it is definitely not the mass communication element. Currently my Facebook is filled with pretty much everything except what is really relevant to me. This brings me back to a previous post of mine a little while ago about ad relevancy online, but lets talk business a little bit later – for now all you need to know is that I am looking for the perfect social network – and not one that looks like this –

My Facebook Homepage

But, I haven’t managed to find one where I connect on a physical, mental, intellectual, spiritual & emotional level. So does Mr Right exist, or do I have to create my ideal myself?

StyleSquare, StyleCode, StyleSpotted, StyleSpot – with four 22year old girls trying to start their own business a name tragedy is bound to happen – but my first attempt at starting my own social network was not all wrong.

•    It looked really pretty – see below

StyleCode Homepage

Soon I realized that creating Mr Right, is just as hard as finding him.

•    The concept was there – but not refined enough – the trying to be everything was too much – like yahoo vs google
•    We hardly connected -maybe a little physical connection sparked off initial interest  & consumer need – but nothing close to dating material
•    There was hardly any communication and a lack of experience did not produce the right level of interest
•    Limited knowledge of, access to and trust in each other further alienated us from each other
Basically, StyleCode was just not Mr Right, even thought I created it myself.
So I had to get out there and make myself available. After 6 months of research I was able to put Mr Right in one sentence. Which will soon be the headline of my new, shorter, factual and far more sensible business plan.

Mr Right may be out there, but in the social network realm, it is all about being here and now – Local, Useful, Relevant, Easy and Long Term.

Hopefully sometime soon I will invite you to my wedding:)