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Social Networking & Ekaweeka.com
by Anne Kirby
Online social networking – Are you addicted?
If you're like me and you're a member of one or more online social networks, you most likely spend a lot of time infront of your computer. The average Facebooker spends over three hours a day on Facebook. Now that doesn't take into account those that stay logged in while they do other work, only occasionally checking to see if someone has thrown a sheep or some mashed potatoes at them (if you want to know what I'm talking about you'll have to check it out at Facebook). Regardless of the actual time spent on these sites, the users love them!
But your time may not be wasted, since online social networking also has many advantages. Whether you want to market a product, event or reconnect with old friends it's a great tool if used the right away. Robert Forest, of Indeed.com, said that “having social networking skills is now like being able to use Microsoft Office - it's a basic requirement." Companies across the country are looking for job applicants with online social networking skills.
Why? Because these online networks are a marketers dream. They can market products on these site and reach millions of people in seconds. Big media outlets and newspaper giants are also jumping on the online-networking wagon realizing the advantages.
The best part of social networking online is it's accessible to everyone--all you need to do is join. But l ike anything else it takes time and research, so do your homework, and don't be afraid to try it out. Remember you can always cancel your account. Be warned, you to might become like the rest of us…addicted!
One newer site that is very useful to small business owners is Ekaweeka, a small business online-networking system that combines the utility of myspace, craigslist and ebay all in one. I contacted owner Thomas Hillard to see what his site was all about and to get a little history on Ekaweeka. Here's what he had to say:
“Things are coming along great in Ekaweeka land. Along with seeing some sales, new users, and new traffic, we've been keeping all development in full motion. Our biggest focus as always has been to continue to follow the trends of the users and listen to their comments closely. This alone keeps Ekaweeka locked in with what people find it useful for.
Although we launched on November 28, 2006, getting started has been a long process. I had the idea for Ekaweeka about 4 years ago when I was living in NYC running my dog walking company. I got most of my customers by keeping ads up on craigslist (CL) where I would place a link to my businesses website. But CL quickly got overwhelmed by people like me posting to CL over and over. And most of them still didn't have a website to focus their potential customers and dish out the info that they needed to be providing to convince the clients to call for a meeting.
So Ekaweeka was the combination of seeing a need for a place that small businesses (not 10-100 employee SMB's I'm talking 1-5) could list their business in a directory format. It was also feeding each SMB's need for a website when many still don't have the means to create one. So I started by creating the easy SMB profile application to cover the website part. We're still microscopic in size compared to CL, which diminishes our value as a directory since directories are only as good as the quantity of options you find in them. But our user volume fills up significantly more week to week/month to month with businesses from all over the world and especially in North America so the directory element is quickly becoming a reality. I already get contacted by consumers and other SMB's looking for services in their area frequently so I know it's working.
That is how it started. How it came together was more of a learning experience and still is every day. I had a website made that was very much a CL clone back in 2005. It was mostly serving the directory idea and while businesses were listing themselves in it, there wasn't much action, and I just didn't see how it would ever get momentum. This was also around the time social networking was becoming a popular phenomenon and I realized that with the benefits of search engine optimization and community behavior, SMB's were likely to get much more exposure via search engines and word of mouth if they had a place to interact and develop visible networks. So I killed the first version of Ekaweeka, and began putting the one you see now together.
Going forward it's hard to say where we'll be even six months from now, but I had no idea things would have gone so well in the past 11 months so I only have the most optimistic ideas about the possibilities.”
As Ekaweeka goes forward I'll be watching, interacting and networking - ekaweeka is growing fast and if used to it's full potential it can become yet another wonderful online tool for us small business owners.
Check ekaweeka out online at www.ekaweeka.com if you like what you see sign up and let Thomas know Anne sent you.
New to online networking and you don't know where to begin? Join me on Tuesday February 5 th at 10-11am at the library where I'll be doing a workshop for the Small Business Association on how to effectively market your business or organization through online networks. We'll cover the basics, why you should network online, how to get started, what not to do, and how to make it work for you.
Check out the Small Business Association online at http://www.lancaster.lib.pa.us for more information and registration.
Anne Kirby is owner of HunterKirby Design, a Lancaster-based design firm catering to all your design needs. Online at hunterkirby.com.