Battle of Talents

If you're feeling confident or if you want to take your idea out of the class room and into the real world, then you should enter your team in the Battle of Talents. The concept is similar to our classes, but we just don't have €25,000 waiting for the winning team. the online help in drafting a good business plan is surely helpful for our speeddate and pitch sessions, so take the plunge and get some ROI on the work you're putting in anyway!

Facebook founder on making money through SNS

Make your site more social!! A How-to guide

Sometimes a title says it all: check out the inspiring advice of Vadim Lavrusik on Mashable and get inspired (= apply his ideas) and may be even go one beyond.

And then the bad news...

Business models for social network sites. Something we are all pondering, including Toon Lowette, who is downright pessimistic about the profitability of such a setup. He mentions low CPM fees for ads at around 20 euro cents. Read more about his criticism and consider ways of mending the problem areas.

No love lost between SNS and Generation Y?

Generation Y, considered to be the natural target audience for any social network site, claim to value texting and emails over SNSs. When asked what they couldn't miss for a week, only 9% of Gen Yers mentioned surfing to social network sites. Email and texting are considered more important, both at 26%. (Source)

Describing Social Network Sites

Any effective study goes beyond the anecdotal and aims to distinguish relevant parameters, analyse them and synthetise the salient elements. The research paper by Fabernovel Consulting attempts to do just that: in a 79-slidecast, they outline various features of SNS and using these describe the SNS landscape. As can be expected, managerial implications are highlighted, be it limited: consultants may like to indicate their expertise, they can't share all their knowhow for free.

No tweets for Brangelina

Hollywood stars twitter galore; much to the dislike of the Hollywood moguls. In the tweets, movie stars sometimes mention details about films that the producers do not want to make public yet. The talk of Tinsel Town is now about Twitter-banning clauses in contracts. This new trend could be bad news for journalists of glossies, who increasingly rely on Twitter and Facebook posts from celebs to fill their columns.

How much does an employee cost exactly?

If your brainstorming on setting up a new business got you wondering about the costs of it all:

How much does an employee cost? Info from SDworx can help you on your way.

What about my legal status? Securex guides you through all the options that are open to you.

Is it an option to benefit from foreign legal frameworks? Mind the small print though and check for pitfalls.

Losing Face?

Logging onto Facebook via their cell phones, several users found themselves on somebody else's profile page and were able to change settings, add friends and post updates. Facebook downplays the breach of privacy and reports it as isolated events linked to a single Belgian operator. It is rumoured that Mobistar clients were faced with this problem, but so far the company has not responded. Is Facebook now also YourSpace?

SNS knowhow in our alma mater

SNSs are one of the research topics of the UGent MICT. One of their researchers, Peter Mechant, presented some general research findings in an interesting online presentation. It features a history of SNSs but adds an analytical framework for defining SNSs and a number of tips for increasing participation. A must-read.

Does it exist yet?

So you've found your billion dollar idea. Great! But are you sure nobody beat you to it? A first place to look would be the list of social network sites on wikipedia. You'll find details on the number of registered users, Alexa rankings and of course a link to the site. A similar site is Traffikd. Maybe you get lucky and you're the first with a winning idea. If not, you'll find inspiration gallore.

Market analysts say...

...that your average social network user is a prime advertising target for companies active in clothing, entertainment and retail electronics. Research by comScore has revealed that 95% of heavy SNS visitors also surf to sites from apparel companies, entertainment sites (books, video, games, films) and user-electronics. Compared to the 80% average of general internet users, the group of SNS surfers has become a prime ad target.

Googled it

Use Google Trends to find out if a certain topic is/was hot as a search string on, euhm, Google. This information can give you more insight into potential visitors to your site and geographical areas that are more or less attractive for your site. The graph details hits for the query 'social network sites'

Alexa knows all

Alexa call themselves 'The Web Information Company' and that kind of sums it up. For those of you that want the details: "Alexa is useful resource [sic] for people to discover information about websites. You can use Alexa to discover how popular a site is, to find new sites, to learn who owns a site and a lot more. Whether you are a web professional trying to size up your online competition or you're just trying to find the best website to buy a new TV, Alexa is for you."

Did anyone say niche?

Bokardo do interface design and consulting for your social web apps. Some free advice on their blog can set us on our way in brainstorming a good SNS idea: Go niche (pronounce: Go, Nietzsche!).

An example from a patient SNS shows us that by addressing an existing need with a novel approach or application, we can go a long way.

Reinvent the wheel?

Oh, yes: your idea is the best thing since bread comes sliced. But you don't know your Javas from your PHPs. Then maybe it wouldn't hurt to go to a software vendor to see how much they charge for ready-to-use SNS software. You may want to scrutinize the various features offered and all the interesting extras, such as webhosting for your site, buying domain names and SLL certificates. Being smart, you compare companies and it could be the beginning of a beautiful friendship. Some places to start are PG Social networking, Social Engine and a full list of PHP-based scripts.

Start an SNS-lite

Immediately investing heavily in an expensive site while you're not sure if it's going to be the next Facebook: it takes some nerve. For those of us who are less sure and want to set up a light version as a way of surveying the market, co-blogger Monkey Fool has some valuable advice: start as a special group on an existing SNS to see if users join in great numbers. If they do: go all out on that fancy site.

Tips on promoting your site

Here are some basic tips for making sure that people get to see your fantastic site in the first place. You even get some extra tips on selecting existing software for your site in the mix.

No adds? 18 alternative strategies!

Some say that advertising and SNSs don't mix. The upside is that this doesn't mean that you cannot turn your network site into a money-generating machine. David Silver details 18 ways to generate value in the aptly called The Social Network Business Plan: 18 Strategies That Will Create Great Wealth

Mitch says so: SNS and ads don't mix?

Mitch Joel is a keen blogger that specializes in online marketing. When he posts on SNS and advertising, we listen.

Essentially, Mitch muses on a Facebook's Marc Zuckerberg's appearance on 60 Minutes and a Business Week's analysis of the SNS market. His conclusion: ads will work if they can add value.

Wise words.

How much is an SNS really worth?

TechCrunch once again delivers: to find out what SNS are really worth, they quote valuation models to review the current market.

By looking into the principles underlying the model and looking at the major players and their evolution over time, this post is a good way to get a feel for the market.

Netlog teams up with Yahoo! to capture ad dollars

This article (a clear press release adaptation) shows how social network sites are considered a prime advertising medium. Yahoo! partners up with Netlog to let its advertisers reach the European market.

The article/press release mentions a number of reasons why SNSs are a good ad medium and highlights Netlog's USP of being a localized player with a strong userbase in Europe and a strong contender in the 15-24 age bracket.

Moreover, the article offers some projection data which may be useful to quote to convince potential investors.