Madison Who’s Who Blog

Whether you’re shopping for a new iPhone, or just getting your holiday list together, you can count on a Silicon Valley startup to make it all easier.  Two Silicon Valley entrepreneurs have created a new tool to help you find what you’re looking for on the Internet. It’s called recommendr.com, a website that combines online shopping and peer to peer networking.

If you have questions, recommendr.com has answers because it knows that shopping is social. We sometimes go out and buy things on our own, but many times the process before that is very social. You might ask your friends or even your co-workers about a product before buying it. No matter what you’re looking to buy, you can find it at recommendr.com. From hair products to digital cameras to your next washer and dryer, it’s all there. Recommendr’s founders, currently working out of the CEO’s condo, give you a chance to tell and be told, how to find the best deal, and avoid lemons. It’s not just about simply shopping, it’s about making the shopping process richer and decreasing buyers remorse and helping people to get a lot better products,” said Goh. Online or offline, the way you shop is about to get a little more selective and a little more social. It’s clear that peer to peer networking will soon be intertwined with every aspect of everyday life.

Online peer to peer networking heavyweights such as MySpace and Facebook have added mobile features, and start-ups are scrambling to allow people to share every moment with their network of online friends through voice, text, pictures, and video – all done via mobile phone.

Today’s world anymore is basically a mobile, social experience, at least to most people. However, for those of us who are digitally dependent riding a crowded bus can be more isolating than sitting in a room alone with a computer. However, this is about to change with new advances in mobile phone technology.
Now the mobile phone screen threatens to fill the loneliness that devotees of peer to peer networking sites experience when they are away from their PC.

Peer to peer networking has been a popular thing with teens and young adults, and is now being utilized by business as well. With MySpace and Facebook hitting at a time when mobile phone usage is soaring, networking with peers and businesses alike is always at your fingertips.
Although only 3.5 percent of US mobile subscribers report logging onto a mobile social network site or blog even once a month from a mobile device, according to M:Metrics Inc., a mobile media research firm, investors and entrepreneurs see the cellphone world, with more than 200 million subscribers in the United States alone, as a market with massive potential.

The key to successful peer to peer networks and online networks in particular is that they require an object to connect them. For example people are linked in Flickr by photos, in del.icio.us by bookmarks and in the real world by the school they went to, their job or their hobbies. This is why, in “pure” social networking sites like Orkut and Friendster, Myspace and Facebook communities form. Business are now learning to tap into the power of these communities to market their products, and drive traffic to their websites.  This is only one example of the power of peer to peer networks.

A professional peer to peer network committed to the growth of it’s individual members and the expansion of their shared vision will re-invent itself many times as it expands and modifies it’s configuration in service to that vision. When we speak of peer to peer networking on this website we are describing the social networking and business networking so essential to succeeding in today’s business world.  Having a vital and productive peer to peer network in business is, like a computer network, dependent on the power and energy that the participants in that network bring to the table.  A peer to peer network of lethargic and complacent people will never empower a career or promote a business.

A professional peer to peer network committed to the growth of it’s individual members and the expansion of their shared vision will re-invent itself many times as it expands and modifies it’s configuration in service to that vision. When we speak of peer to peer networking on this website we are describing the social networking and business networking so essential to succeeding in today’s business world.  Having a vital and productive peer to peer network in business is, like a computer network, dependent on the power and energy that the participants in that network bring to the table.  A peer to peer network of lethargic and complacent people will never empower a career or promote a business.
The key to successful peer to peer networks and online networks in particular is that they require an object to connect them. For example people are linked in Flickr by photos, in del.icio.us by bookmarks and in the real world by the school they went to, their job or their hobbies. This is why, in “pure” social networking sites like Orkut and Friendster, Myspace and Facebook communities form. Business are now learning to tap into the power of these communities to market their products, and drive traffic to their websites.  This is only one example of the power of peer to peer networks.

I was thinking back to a few months ago when I finally signed up for Facebook.  I started inviting many of the people I knew to join me and check out my profile.  I remember being amazed at the reach and how quickly my friend’s network grew.  My friends had friends, those friends wanted to be in my friends list.  My friend list continued to grow exponentially.  This is the power of peer to peer networks.  So, as a business, why should you care about these social networking sites?  It’s about meeting people, expanding your reach, and growing your customer base.   Even though the substance of posts on peer to peer networking sites will be focused on marketing, never forget that social networks are about meeting people – some of which are tremendously talented and can lead to solid personal or professional relationships, let alone great friendships.

I truly believe social networks are going to be the platform of the future for getting word out about a product or service. At currently, many businesses use search engine marketing to find those people who seek their products or services.  However in the near future we will be turning to the Facebooks, MySpaces, and the Twitters of the world to make those business connections.

The aim of peer to peer networking is to put people in touch with others who have faced similar situations and life experiences.   This enables people to share experiences, along with anecdotes and solutions to life’s problems. Most of the social networking sites out there today use modern web technology to allow secure, private peer to peer chatting.

Sharing experiences and building friends aren’t the only reason the “we” generation is turning to peer to peer networking.  Networking is also a valuable way to get career advice, and even locate a job.  Chances are that someone in your peer network knows someone who is looking to hire someone with your skills.  Members of the “we” generation are capitalizing on the powers of peer marketing to make friends as well as secure their futures.

Peer Networking Tip:  Peer to peer networking is great for building a network of people who have similar interests as you.  Imagine this:  If you are networked with 100 people, who are also networked with 100 people, all of the sudden you have 10,000 people in your extended peer network.  What a great way to market your ideas, gain exposure, or get career advice and opportunities.

Today’s world anymore is basically a mobile, social experience, at least to most people. However, for those of us who are digitally dependent riding a crowded bus can be more isolating than sitting in a room alone with a computer. However, this is about to change with new advances in mobile phone technology.

Now the mobile phone screen threatens to fill the loneliness that devotees of peer to peer networking sites experience when they are away from their PC.

Online peer to peer networking heavyweights such as MySpace and Facebook have added mobile features, and start-ups are scrambling to allow people to share every moment with their network of online friends through voice, text, pictures, and video – all done via mobile phone.

Peer to peer networking has been a popular thing with teens and young adults, and is now being utilized by business as well. With MySpace and Facebook hitting at a time when mobile phone usage is soaring, networking with peers and businesses alike is always at your fingertips.

Although only 3.5 percent of US mobile subscribers report logging onto a mobile social network site or blog even once a month from a mobile device, according to M:Metrics Inc., a mobile media research firm, investors and entrepreneurs see the cellphone world, with more than 200 million subscribers in the United States alone, as a market with massive potential.

The University  of Ohio reported that before this academic year they had about 45 requests which have been directly attributed to information that somebody saw on the Facebook site.  This is a the largest of roommate change requests they have ever seen before school even starts. Thanks Facebook, oh, and who ever said parents aren’t internet savvy?
Social and peer to peer network sites such as Facebook and MySpace are causing headaches for some college administrators. The University of Ohio has been flooded with calls from parents requesting room mate, or dorm room changes for their children.  Apparently, parents are using social networking sites to check up on their children’s room mates, as well as their living quarters

The key to successful peer to peer networks and online networks in particular is that they require an object to connect them. For example people are linked in Flickr by photos, in del.icio.us by bookmarks and in the real world by the school they went to, their job or their hobbies. This is why, in “pure” social networking sites like Orkut and Friendster, Myspace and Facebook communities form. Business are now learning to tap into the power of these communities to market their products, and drive traffic to their websites.  This is only one example of the power of peer to peer networks.

A professional peer to peer network committed to the growth of it’s individual members and the expansion of their shared vision will re-invent itself many times as it expands and modifies it’s configuration in service to that vision. When we speak of peer to peer networking on this website we are describing the social networking and business networking so essential to succeeding in today’s business world.  Having a vital and productive peer to peer network in business is, like a computer network, dependent on the power and energy that the participants in that network bring to the table.  A peer to peer network of lethargic and complacent people will never empower a career or promote a business.

If you’ve heard of the term “peer to peer network” you probably associate it with a network of computers that share information. However, the term peer networking, or peer to peer network is also becoming synonymous with a social networking or virtual communities.

A virtual community, e-community, or online community is a group of people that primarily interact via some form of mechanism such as letters, telephone, email or other social networking site rather than face to face. If the mechanism is a computer network, it is called an online community. Virtual and online communities have also become a supplemental form of communication between people who know each other primarily in real life. A computer-mediated community uses social software to regulate the activities of participants. Significant socio-technical change has resulted from the proliferation of Internet-based social networks.

In fact, social peer to peer networks are so important to business that many marketing experts agree that businesses that ignore this new form of social marketing do so at their own peril.