One of things I did for Business of Software 2008 was to set up a social networking site for the conference. I was skeptical about the value of doing this – I don’t really get much out of Facebook or LinkedIn – but this proved to be a great idea (thanks Jeff). I wasn’t alone in spotting the value: some 80% of conference attendees signed up, and there was a real buzz in the week before the conference.
Now that the conference is over, I’d like to encourage people to connect between now and next year’s conference. I thought about using Facebook or LinkedIn, but these are more like badges – shared symbols of belonging – than coherent groups. So I’ve set up a Business of Software social network on Ning. I’ve even paid a subscription fee so you won’t get hassled by adverts.
Rather than limiting it to conference attendees, I’d like to open it up to anybody who’s interested in building long term, sustainable, profitable software businesses. This is the niche I think I fit into best. The web 2.0, build-it-and-flip-it-to-Google, we’ll-figure-out-some-way-to-monetise-it-in-the-future crowd have got plenty of other places to hang out.
So, check it out, sign up and upload your photo at network.businessofsoftware.org