Making Virtual Connections: Friends, Dating, Love and Business Online

Spring may be wedding season, but with Valentine’s Day, February is the month for love. And love is big business, especially online (and I’m not talking about porn – which is whole other online industry with huge profits).

Online Dating

40 million Americans use online dating services; that's about 40 percent of our entire U.S. single-people pool. You’ve probably seen the TV commercials for online dating services like Match.com and eHarmony. Just type “online dating” into Google and you’ll get 284 million results. “Christian dating” alone brings in 121 million results with sites like ChristianSingles.com, SinglesofFaith.com, and ChristianLoveNetwork.com. Whatever your passion, you're likely to find a singles group for it.

Breakin' Up is Hard to Do

What do Britney Spears and the Prime Minister of Finland have in common? According to the tabloids, they both broke up with their significant others electronically—via text message. Technology has brought wedding bells to many people’s lives, but technology also has had an impact on one of our most agonizing rites of passage: The break up (aka “e-dumping”). An estimated 48 percent of online daters report that their breakups have happened over email.

But if email or text messages are too direct, there’s a guy who advertises on Craig’s List that he’ll break up with your psychotic girlfriend for you for as little as “$50 and a 6-pack.” If you happen to live in Berlin, and have a romance you'd like to end, Bernd Dressler founded the Separation Agency to inform dumpees that their relationship is over. By the way, he’s interested in franchising to other countries.

Teen Communities

PewInternet.org reports that more than half (55%) of all online American youths ages 12-17 use online social networking sites like MySpace, Friendster, or FaceBook. A social networking site is an online place where a user can create a profile and build a personal network that connects him or her to other users. In the past five years, such sites have rocketed from a niche activity into a phenomenon that engages tens of millions of Internet users.

These online community sites aren't just for teens. Just look at the explosion of YouTube over the past 2 years, the interest in renewing lost connections through Classmates.com, and the desire to share and compare photos at Flickr.

SNS for Profits and Nots

Social networking sites have moved into the business world with sites like LinkedIn, and Ryze. There is growing evidence to support claims that some social networking services (SNS for short) can be powerful professional allies to businesses — in particular, independent entrepreneurs and smaller companies, for whom each new personal connection is a significant business building block. Now you can start a social network on your own web site with help from services like KickApps.com and CommunityServer.org.

After more than 12 years, actor Kevin Bacon has finally submitted to the popular college game “Six Degrees of Kevin Bacon” to create a new charitable social network, SixDegrees.org. You can join stars like Robert Duvall and Bette Midler in promoting your favorite charity or donate to one of theirs.

Albert Escalarte has put together a meta-list of social networking sites at the Social Software Weblog, where you're sure to find one that fits your interest. If not, why not start one and get listed?

For Love of Blogging

If you’re looking for a blog about love and relationships, just go to technorati and search for “love” in the blog directory and you’ll have over 140,000 to choose from; “love relationships” delivers over 1.3 million blog posts. They offer commentary on marriage, dating, family, children, hearbreak, being single, loving your job, how to love yourself, and nearly anything else you can think of to love. Today, over a million posts are referencing Valentine’s Day.

As you can see, virtual communities and cyber dating have evolved from guestbooks, email and forums to much more dynamic villages where people are introduced, get to know one another, and develop real relationships.

The Internet is a powerful force for connecting. How will you leverage that power to build your business? Whole Brain Technologies can help.

Whole Brain Technologies: Smarter solutions for business on the Web.

Guerrilla marketing goes national

Cartoon Network: the next logical step? Click here or on the image to read the article.

Thanks Nedra Weinreich and her Social Marketing Blog for this.

Brainstorm! - Love is in the Air and on the Web

Love is in the Air and on the Web

That's the theme for the February issue of Brainstorm! - Whole Brain Technologies' monthly e-newsletter. It has a new look, to go along with the new design of the web site, and lots of new information:

1. Making Virtual Connections: Friends, Dating, LOVE and Business Online - and article about the explosion of online social networks like MySpace, LinkedIn, and Match.com.
2. The Business of Love: 9 Best Practices for Improving the Bottom Line of Your Relationship - a great book by Dr. John Curtis about applying business concepts to your marriage.
3. 10 +1 Things to make me LOVE your business email - a blog post by Liz Strauss at SOB (Successful and Outstanding Blog(gers)).
4. Plus other news and announcements going on at the WBT Headquarters.

Don't miss out. Read it now.

The $avvy Giver

If you'd like to spend your money and do something good at the same time, The $avvy Giver is definately a blog you have to visit time and time again. Joe Waters gives information on a string of great charities that offer ways to spend money on things you'd probably buy anyway - like an iPod, cell phone, coffee, chocolate or Home Depot gift cards - while supporting a worthy cause.

And while you're at it, stop by Joe's campanion site - Selfish Giving - for information on cause-related marketing (CRM). Did you know that a recent IEG study finds that cause marketing spending totaled $1.34 billion in 2006 -- an increase of 7.5% -- and is expected to reach $1.44 billion this year? It's true. This is one of the hottest ways to partner for-profits with nonprofits in a win-win relationship. And be sure to check out the blogroll for more info on CRM.

Unicycles & banjos online

Let go by IBM and deeply in debt, a family man turned his childhood passion for unicycles into a thriving online start-up. Then he added a banjo business.

MSNBC/Newsweek: How I became a Big Wheel

The 120 Day Wonder: How to Evangelize a Blog

I've been wanting to post this for awhile now, but just didn't have the time. Other more pressing issues have come up, like Tami Gosnell's American Idol progress on my Pedicab Blog.

Guy Kawasaki has some great tips on how to get the word out about your blog. I think one of the biggest and most difficult things is to write lots of content on your blog even before you start telling people about it. Blogging can be tough when you think you're just writing for yourself and no one's paying attention. But it's important that people see your content and style so they can decide to add your blog to their feedreader.

How to Change the World: The 120 Day Wonder: How to Evangelize a Blog

We don't need no stinking bylaws

A group of us are starting a 501(c)6 not-for-profit association for Denver pedicabs. I just need to say, "I hate writing bylaws!" Anytime you start a new business, the paperwork is always the worst part. I know, that's what you pay an attorney and an accountant for. They seem to like headaches like this. But no matter what - bylaws, business plans, financials - some of it you just have to do yourself.

Blegch! I feel better now. Just had to get that out of my system.

Lessons from Bill Cosby

Last week we were up late watching The Tonight Show. Jay Leno's first guest of the evening was Bill Cosby, a man I'd grown up with - I Spy, Fat Albert, The Bill Cosby Show, Cosby, etc. I hadn't seen him in awhile, but knew I'd be entertained by his wit and charm as always.

I was amazed by his storytelling as he talked about his first time in a really hot car (Selene Mustang). You probably know that Leno is a car fanatic.

I knew that if I tried to tell the same story it would take me less than 60 seconds - and anyone who knows me knows I can talk. But Cosby talked for at least 4 or 5 minutes with all the great facial expressions and sound effects that are hallmarks of the Cosby style. Laughing so hard, we were nearly rolling on the floor along with Jay Leno.

So here's the lesson: We all need to be great storytellers. People relate to stories. People respond emotionally to stories. People are more interested in what you can do for them than how wonderful you are and stories are a great way to tell them.

You know the story of your business and the stories of your clients better than anyone. How can you tell those stories so people will listen? What opportunities do you have to tell your story?

If you're looking for a new 30-second commercial to use at networking events, why not think about a story you can tell? If you just tell the beginning of the story, they'll be intrigued to ask for more. For example, when someone asks what I do or what my business is, I might say something like, "I got a phone call the other day from a woman who had spent a lot of money on her web site but she was really frustrated because nobody is showing up? In my business I find solutions for problems like that. Do you know anyone like that?"

What stories can you come up with about your business that would encourage people to ask for more? What problems have you solved? What is interesting or unique about what you do?

Do you share your stories on your web site? In articles or on your blog? In brochures? In classes or presentations?

I don't really know if Bill Cosby's story is true or not, but I'd like to believe it is. Somehow now I feel like I've been included in his life - at least vicariously. And if I ever get in a Selene Mustang, or any other really loud, really fast car, I'll remember that story -- and smile.