myJournal Public Preview Journal

Spring, thankfully, is just about here, and after a long cold winter there’s nothing better than crawling out of hibernation and back into the swing of things. At least, that’s what I feel like after too many months of darkness and bad weather. And with the warmer months of the year – at least for those of us in the Northern hemisphere! – stretching out ahead, this is the time to start thinking about barbecues, cold beers with friends, leisurely walks in pleasant surroundings, and trips to the beach.

But the fun doesn’t have to be confined to your home life – your hours at work can be just as sociable. In fact, there are massive advantages to being a “business party-animal”. As the saying goes, in business it’s not what you know, but who you know that matters. Well, most of the time! So, this is the perfect opportunity to start talking to people – both fact-to-face and of course online.

Here at myJournal we’re big believers in business networking. It’s the reason for this entire site, just as it is the key to business relationships. Thanks to the Internet we can get in touch and foster business connections with people all over the world. Humans are sociable beasts (did you know more people use online social networking than email?), and every person you speak to about your business gets you not just one more contact, but potentially hundreds. After all, if your business is doing something remarkable (i.e., worthy of being remarked upon) then your new contact will tell their contacts, and so on. This word of mouth marketing is one of the ways that the Internet has disrupted the status quo in business.

Industries

On myJournal we have two systems for handling business contacts. Firstly there’s the industries. We have a long list of industries which you can put your company (and indeed yourself) into. Why separate yourself from your company? Well, many of our wonderful members have their fingers in many pies – allowing you to set the industries you work in both personally, and for each company you have in myJournal gives a lot of flexibility – not to mention spreading your name around more!

Each industry has it’s own page, where you can see the list of people and companies in that industry. You can also see the latest products and journal posts from everyone in the industry so you can easily see what’s happening. For example, the Photography industry has the latest images from the photographers in myJournal.

Networks

Secondly we have a comprehensive system of networks. Networks are groups of people who are interested in the same things. What kinds of things? Anything! For example, the Coffee Republic Bournemouth network has become a place for general lovers of coffee. I’m in that network despite living nowhere near Bournemouth. But I know that the next time I’m there I’ll be heading straight for Coffee Republic to sample some of their fine beans!

Interested in traveling? No problem, the Travelogue network is open for anyone who enjoys travel to join. There are even networks for geeks like me. When creating a network the sky is the limit, and all networks come with a discussion forum so network members can chat to each other. And if you’d like to create private networks – or ones that people can only join if they’ve been invited – that we handle that, too.

So, rather than give you a detailed how-to on using the myJournal networks and industries systems, here’s a few ideas for how you could use them to enhance the online profile of your business:

• In a specialist industry? Start a network so you can discuss burning issues with your fellow experts – and advertise your company.
• How about you start a network for your customer – both existing and potential – to join, like Coffee Republic has. Creating somewhere that they can talk with each other, and most importantly you, will give them another reason to keep their business with you.
• Perhaps you have franchises, or several locations for your business. Start a private network so your collegues in different places can centralise information – and have peace of mind that your information in secure.
• Got a hobby? Even if it’s a little … unique, there will undubtedly be other people who share your interests. Start a network to make contact with like-minded souls!

We’re hard at work making the networks and industries systems even easier to use, but as ever we’re more than happy to receive feedback and suggestions regarding these, and any other parts of myJournal.