Ecademy USA launches
March 1st marked the launch of Ecademy USA, a community for the US audience built on the Ecademy Trusted Network platform. This gives Ecademy USA members access to the entire Ecademy platform if they choose, but they can also use http://us.ecademy.com, which will present a filtered view of the content, showing only the clubs, articles, and weblog posts created by other Ecademy USA members.
This is an important step in Ecademy’s quest for global domination efforts to reach a broader global audience. A frequent complaint from non-UK visitors to Ecademy’s site has been that the site is heavily oriented towards a British audience, and that much of the posted content and potential connections were irrelevant to non-Brits. That all changes with the launch of Ecademy USA.
Founded in 1999, Ecademy is one of only a handful of social networking sites that have demonstrated a sustained ability to execute on a profitable business model, attributable to a combination of a feature-rich platform and a number of proactive mechanisms to facilitate members doing business with other members. You can see an in-depth profile of Ecademy in the preview of our soon-to-be-launched guide to online social networks and business communities.
I have been working with the Ecademy team to prepare for this launch, and I have started the official regional clubs for:
- Houston
- Austin/San Antonio
- Dallas/Ft. Worth
If you live in any of these areas (or anywhere else in Texas), I invite you to come join us and help connect with other professionals in your area.
For those outside of Texas, check to see if there is a local club in your area. If not, contact Gordon Ebanks, Director of Ecademy USA, and see about starting a club in your area.
For more information on the launch, you can read the official press release from Ecademy.
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Welcome to the Church of Thomas Power!
Hope that you enjoy the flat earth views of the “Guru” Be prepared to be asked to pay for access and then promote the club to all you know! I give the site until the fall before it is consigned to the grave yard of F**ked Company.
Comment by Digital Evangelist — 3/4/2004 @ 11:06
I went ahead and ran that comment, because I think it deserves a reply, which is:
a) So what?
b) I doubt it.
a) Pay for access? So what? Of course I expect to pay for access for something that’s providing value. Basic membership is free, but premium membership is for a fee, just as it is (or soon will be) on every other site that wants to make money in the social networking space.
Promote the club to all you know? So what? Isn’t that the whole point of a network? Again, that’s what every other social networking site is doing. Not only does it not bother me, I would think something was wrong if they didn’t.
Church of Thomas Power? So what? I may not agree with all of Thomas’s tactics, but Ecademy is much bigger than Thomas Power. If people are making deals happen (as I know they are—I’ve done them myself and know many others who have, as well), who cares? Anyway, you can’t network with 10,000 people and expect them all to like you forever.
b) Graveyard by fall? I seriously doubt it. They’re cash-flow positive, profitable, experiencing double-digit monthly growth, and have been around since 1999 already. Ecademy does more to actually facilitate deals between members than any other site in the space.
If you’ve got a personal beef with Thomas, fine, but the facts hold up against your unfounded rant.
Comment by ScottAllen — 3/4/2004 @ 11:35
Scott could the fact that you and Thomas promote each other cloud your judgement?
Will you supply imperical evidence that membership of Ecademy benefits those other than the inner circle connected to Thomas Power?
The tools and methods used by Thomas to promote his MLM scheme are counter to what he says. The present business model is just over a year old. A number of individuals who signed up when he introduced fees have declined to renew there membership and have left the community having felt very used by the whole experience. Thus I am sure that you in America will see Ecademy as the snake oil outfit with Micky Mouse management that it is faster than those in the UK.
Enjoy the ride, I am sure that the experience will make for a great update to you book!
Comment by Digital Evangelist — 3/5/2004 @ 12:04
Could the fact that Thomas and I promote each other cloud my judgment?!?
What kind of question is that? That’s what networking is—promoting each other. More to the point, I’d say that your not promoting Thomas/Ecademy is probably why it didn’t work for you. Why on earth would you begrudge him (or anyone else you network with) a single penny? I just don’t understand that whole mentality, and it’s completely self-defeating in a networking context.
The deals I’ve done on Ecademy had nothing to do with any connection I might have with Thomas. They’ve been a result of my hard work participating in the community, establishing my reputation, and making connections.
I sold a business concept and three associated domain names to some people through Ecademy. They lived in England, and I live in Texas.
I became familiar with the Bitland Project in the Faroe Islands, which I assisted in making some connections that led to some substantial funding for their project. I’ve been a sort of informal advisor to them, but expect that to become more formal in the future as the project progresses.
I’ve had an offer from Ecademy Press to publish and distribute our book in the UK and possibly Europe.
I’ve started a collaboration with some other Ecademy members that I can’t disclose right now.
We’ve sold many copies of our e-book to Ecademy members, and we receive no special promotion of it there—no more than any other Ecademy member who’s written a relevant book.
I’ve certainly increased my readership to both this site and my About.com site through my participation there. I see my referrer logs—I know.
And, of course, I’m taking advantage of the opportunity to grow some of the clubs in my area here in the U.S. If that benefits Ecademy and Thomas Power, then it benefits me, as well. That’s what networking is all about.
Empirical evidence? You seem to want some independently audited numbers of the total revenue that Ecademy members not immediately connected to Thomas Power have done through deals with other Ecademy members. Those numbers don’t exist, any more than they do for any other online social network. You can’t use that as a basis for the decision.
All I know is, it works for me, and it works for people I know. If it doesn’t work for you, I’m inclined to believe that has more to do with how you chose to relate to Ecademy than with Ecademy itself. If it doesn’t work for you, don’t participate. That doesn’t mean you have to become a detractor.
Comment by ScottAllen — 3/5/2004 @ 13:24
There is a tendency for many to believe that personal networking should somehow be connected to a network or group of networks, this is in my opinion is wrong! You personal network should be your email address book or your telephone contacts list and not some website. Ecademy’s business angle / model is to try and convince people that somehow having all you contacts on their system is somehow better and more convenient.
The relationship between Ecademy’s perceived business model and MLM is interesting as it’s more the philosophy of MLM that seems to underpin Ecademy more than any physical / electronic system. The vast majority of members at Ecademy will not make any money and probably make no real business contacts. Of course the committed Ecad networker, just as in MLM, will make some kind of profit. If you can network while trying to sell a book that’s even better and Scott you seem to have added this to your game plan. By the way you mention that many people on Ecademy have bought your e-book, I personally doubt it.
Networking has always existed as have networks but be sure to make any network your own and not somebody else’s as someone will always try and make money out of you and your network! Such contrived networks as Ecademy are indeed modern day cults.
Comment by Patrick Brown — 2/24/2005 @ 07:44
Hi Scott and all.
Ecademy does not work for everyone, I think this is the main point, regardless of how Ecademy relate to some.
Even becoming a detractor in the eyes of some should not mean that you are not allowed to participate by being banned from Ecademy either.
This is where the main challenges lie. They ban Owners of Ecademy Clubs or Sub Communities from their own business siezing the assets.
I just hope nobody from the US Ecademy gets banned after investing.
Here’s my recent article on the subject of E-networking which also touches on the subject of ownership-
http://www.expertsonline.tv/content/article.php?interview_id=157&start_value=0&page=&keyword=§or=Articles
Detraction for the benefit of those who may end up losing out may not be such a bad thing.
Also see here – http://ecademywatch.tribe.net
Meantime I wish Gordon, Yourself and the rest of the US Ecademists good luck.
Regards Charles McGill
Founder/Chairman
http://www.netaid.co.uk
Comment by Charles McGill — 2/27/2005 @ 11:47
Patrick:
I don’t use these networks to manage my contacts — you’re right, your own contact manager works better for that. I think of them as more like a “farm club” for relationships. It’s a place to cultivate weak ties that may eventually move into my inner circle.
Regarding sales of our e-book to Ecademy members, I have no idea on the total, but I know that I’ve received over a dozen messages from people saying, “I bought your e-book and was reading it…” Presumably, the total number is larger than the number who actually contacted me.
Bottom line, I don’t really understand why you’re so bitter about Ecademy et al. The reality is that a whole lot of people are really happy with it and feel like it’s working for them. The number of applicants for BlackStar is a pretty solid indicator of this.
You guys are talking in an echo chamber — you’re sitting there on Ecademy Watch, etc., talking with the handful of people who are bitter about leaving Ecademy. I, on the other hand, am in there seeking out success stories and finding them by the truckload.
One has a tendency to find whatever it is you’re looking for, so if you’re looking for people to validate your negative view, you’ll find them. If you look for people who are being successful with it and are happy with it, they’re pretty easy to find too. The latter are a whole lot more uplifting to hang around with.
Charles does make a very valid point, though — it simply doesn’t work for everybody. It would be ludicrous to expect it to. What we hope to accomplish with the book is to help make it (online networking generally, not necessarily Ecademy specifically) work for a whole lot more people. And you do that by studying, analyzing and emulating the people it’s working for, not the people who it isn’t.
Comment by Scott Allen — 3/25/2005 @ 11:18