A Social Society

Sitting here in the office, I had the pleasure of talking with a PR professional to discuss the multitude of media that is available when promoting yourself, a product, or a business. And to be completely honest, after an intense 40 minutes of back and forth about best practices, we arrived at one conclusion... it's best to just start somewhere.

We all know that there are too many social platforms to count, let alone being able to maintain an awareness of everything that is going on inside all of them at once. That's just an unavoidable reality of the social landscape (or for all you buzz-word types, the Social Graph). I'm more in line with the thinking that we all strive for the camaraderie that comes with being a part of a group. It's human nature and I'm totally cool with it.

Now what? How does a new business tap into markets that seem to be quicker to judge, adapt, or reject an idea quicker than ever before? How does the idea go from being just that (an idea) to something that is used, enjoyed, and gossiped about within a social circle.

I'm not going to sit here and say I have the answer. I'm letting everyone know that Peerviders is alive. The application is live in Facebook. Don't be surprised if you start to hear the buzz.

We're starting somewhere.

Family, Food, and a Facebook App. The Holidays are Here!

The holidays are right around the corner and we've got an early present for you. No, it's not reindeer socks, but good guess.

The Facebook application, Peerviders, is one day away from completion and as a little holiday treat, I'm going to let you in.

For those of you just catching up, here's the deal:

The application will allow you to leverage your network of friends to get honest referrals for service providers that you're looking for. So, rather than going to Yelp or City Search to see what complete strangers have to say about a plumber that you're thinking of hiring, you can log into Peerviders and see who your friends have used and hear what they have to say about them.

It's a straightforward approach to the old word-of-mouth referral system that has been used and trusted for years. We're just making it easily accessible via a social network that everybody already uses to stay in touch with their friends. It's a no-brainer, right?

The most important part of the application moving forward is that you use it. Enter the providers that you've used in the past that you would refer (or even warn your friends about), and invite other friends to use it. The more friends you have that use the application and the more providers they enter, the more helpful the application will become.

We'd love to hear your feedback. We'd love to hear your ideas. We'd love to hear how much you like or hate us. We'd just like to hear from you, so let us know what you have to say - email us at peerviders@gmail.com.

See you around you little turkeys.

What's in a name?

So the application building process is nearing its end; at least we are rapidly approaching the end to the beginning. Thus far, we have spent a good amount of time thinking about how users will react to the application and trying to cater to the need. Well guess what? We're done trying to figure out what you need. We're getting ready to launch and our eyes and ears will be open to all the feedback that you can dish out.

In terms of latest developments, we've had to change the name. Naming, Branding and Trademarks are very tricky things. The choice between "Do I want to explain my app in the name" or "Should I take the Google approach and create my own brand" is a difficult decision to come to. The biggest hurdle though is that once you land on a name, has anyone else beat you to the punch?

That said, we have landed on a name. Our new name is (drum roll please...) Peerviders.

I knew you'd like it ;)

Either way, we're moving forward. We're looking to start testing it internally within a week and depending on how that goes, we'll be ready to release it out to the Facebook crowd.

So you're probably asking yourself, how do I get a piece of the action? How can I be one of the first to use the Peerviders application?

Well for starters, you can comment on this post and let us know that you'd like to get involved. Your feedback will have a fundamental impact on the future of the application. This is an idea that is not going away and we are determined to help users realize the value of leveraging their friend network for referrals. Our focus is more along the lines of making this a very easy app to use - plain and simple.

Re-Inventing Our Wheels

So have you ever come into work on a Monday morning thinking that your plans will be laid out and wrapped up with a nice little bow? And when you are ready to open up your day's agenda, there will be no surprises? Typically when that happens, you are probably nursing the residual effects of the weekend's hangover (Or if you're a Charger fan like me, you're still a little buzzed from a strong effort of trying to drink away the pain of another loss).

Either way, that was the general sentiment I had walking into the office yesterday. I had done a weekend's worth of talking about Gotta Guy, shared the idea with friends, argued with others about the methods of spreading a utilitarian app on Facebook, and still (stupid as it may sound) thought that we were doing the right thing.

I was out of line!

The fact is that when building an application for an environment in a constant state of reinvention, your immediate objectives have to ebb and flow while still keeping the "Big Idea" in your crosshairs. What I'm trying to say is that no plans are concrete and nothing is guaranteed.

Take the case of Gotta Guy. The idea is that we'll have an application that will be filled with user-generated content that will be very user-friendly. We have architected a complex database to handle and search all of the information that we plan on storing. We have designed the application to make any kind of information accessible within a couple of clicks. For the voyeurs, browsing amongst friends would be simple.

Like I said before, the plans were in place and we just wanted to get it live which would work to teach us what we should have been considering all along in the planning. What happens to the first 200 people who install the app? Will they just stall out? Do they have any information to browse? Do they have ANYTHING to do? And the unfortunate answer that I had to come to terms with was 'probably not.'

Back to the drawing board, right?

No.

Re-Invent?

Yes.

Look at the Rolls Royce, a dime-piece of a car. It really is. It has all the bells and whistles that you could possibly want on 4 wheels. That was our application. But that's not what Facebook users are buying. Facebook users are looking for the Honda Accords of applications. I say an Accord because that was my first car when I was 16 and it did everything that I wanted out of a car. It went when I hit the gas, it stopped when I hit the brake, and generally speaking (while stealing Facebook’s own words), helped me "connect and share with the people in [my] life."

So, all clever juxtaposition aside, we're stripping it down. We're planning on giving users what they need with little focus on what we think they may want. Plus, would you rather us listen to you when you tell us what you want rather than come up with it ourselves?

Stay tuned...

Well I'm pleased to announce to everyone that we are going to be headed to our first networking event tonight to mingle amongst the social networking crowd. That's right, what a better way to get to know the Social Networking landscape than to network...socially. Ha!

Tonight's event "Drinks and Apps" is an event organized by one of the Godfathers of social media, Michael Burke. Although we will save the story of how our paths crossed for a later date (it involves a bar crawl and Santa costumes), I will say that Michael is the co-founder of a company called AppsSavvy (www.appssavvy.com). The company is a direct sales team for leading applications and developers in the social media space. His experience in the industry is extensive and invaluble to us in our stage of development.

We're very excited to go out and meet some of the other players in the social media space. Developers, marketers, big brands, small brands, and everyone in between will be amongst those cheering this new budding industry. Just as the Googleers of the mid-ninties jumped in head first to Online Search, I'll be tipping a few back with like-minded folks looking to get a better understanding of the world known to many as Social Media.

See you on the other side...

Here we go!

It's coming down to the wire. Plans are in place. We're fine tuning the design. And we're really excited to have this idea take off.

The application is named Gotta Guy. No it's not a dating site, but you can check out other user's profiles. It's not a matching service, but you can find yourself something you need. We're creating a Facebook application that will allow users to store, share, and recommend service providers to their friends.

Now, I'm sure you go to Google or Yelp or CitySearch when you're looking for a plumber, a dentist, or a pediatrician. Yes, all those listed above have information that you may be looking for. You can call the office, but you'll probably get the same response from everyone: "We are the best." You can read the reviews, but who knows if the person writing the review is even trustworthy?

Gotta Guy will allow you to enter the information of the service providers that you use. So now you will have all the information about the service providers that you use in one place. You will also be able to search among your social networks to find out who other people use - other people that you know and trust.

In the past I've searched for mechanics and eye doctors on Google. I've searched for florists on CitySearch. I've searched for a cleaning service on Yelp. In all honesty, the providers I end up using are the providers that are recommended by friends. And this is the case for everyone I've talked to. Why wait for the friend to call you back when you can just log into you Facebook account?

We all do it. We are all voyeurs. In fact, a word that gets tossed around my group of friends when referring to Facebook is "creepy." You can creep around, looking at peoples pictures, check out what they've been up to, revisit with old friends (minus the actual 'visit' part), and now you'll be able to see who they use as a hair stylist or a locksmith. You can read their reviews and determine if it's someone that you want to use. It's that easy, and if your saying to yourself that this guy doesn't know what he's talking about, then ask yourself: how often do you log into Facebook just to see what's going on with your friends? How often do you browse through your friends' profiles to see where they're working now or who they're dating? How often do you friend request a new collegue or co-worker and try to get to know them through their profile prior to getting to know them in person?

Me...I'm guilty.

I also want to make sure that we take the transparent approach to building an application. I want to create something that people not only want to use, but that they need. I can't give you what you want unless you tell me about it; I can only assume so much. Consider this a forum to bitch, moan, complain, compliment, give suggestions, give a pat on the ass, whatever you feel - put it into words.

Thanks!