Business networking is inextricably tied to both knowledge networking and social networking – wherever one is occurring, the other two usually are, as well. SmallBusiness.com is a site for small business owners and related experts to come together and share their expertise and experiences.
Membership is free – the site is advertiser-supported, but the ads are minimal and unobtrusive. Members can set up profiles which are not highly structured, but are easily searchable. The search feature helps out by allowing the user to narrow his selection by business category. It also gives equal opportunity to everyone by displaying the results alphabetically, but randomly going to a different point in the alphabet on each search (I got the W’s on my first search).
Rather than the traditional discussion forum or mailing list format, the primary form of communication consists of members either posing questions or volunteering short tips and advice, and then other members responding with their comments. This form of communication tends to reduce the off-topic “static” and insignificant chatter that frequently plagues discussion boards. On the other hand, it doesn’t lend itself to dialogue and conversation. Of course, that can always be continued off-site.
Topics of advice include onlines business, accounting & taxes, starting a business, marketing & sales, and a variety of product recommendations. All advice is open for ratings by other members, so you can tell the helpful advice from the not-so-helpful before you spend time reading it. You can also bookmark your favorite people to add them to your network for easy future reference.
One unique and especially intriguing feature is their use of collaborative filtering. Similar to the technology used to recommend books on Amazon.com, SmallBusiness.com tracks your selections of topics and experts to recommend particular advice or people to you based on comparing your past behaviors with other members and showing you the top people and topics they have found helpful. This is a pretty intriguing feature that is sure to help you make new and interesting connections.
