Visible Networking

Social Networking & Blogging in the Banking Industry

In March 2007, I created a new blog on Banking & Web 2.0: www.Visible-Banking.com.
I cover topics such as social networking, blogging, RSS feeds applied to online banking and mobile banking.

Please find below recent social networking & blogging initiatives in the banking industry.

BLOGGING
* Wordpress grows beyond 1 million blogs - 24 May 2007
* New CU Blogs: Midwest Financial, Old Hickory, and Secure One Credit Unions - 21 May 2007
* First Look: Verity CU's New Blog - 18 May 2007
* Here's a Financial Institution Blogger that Does it Right - 07 May 2007
* 7 Online Banking Success Stories - 06 May 2007
* Blogs Bring Negative Publicity to Overdraft Charges - 30 April 2007
* New Blog: Comala Connection from Comala Credit Union - 25 April 2007
* iKobo and Nationwide Insurance Use Website Videos, with Very Different Results - 24 April 2007
* Blog sighting: Member Connect from Piedmont Credit Union - 24 April 2007

SOCIAL NETWORKING
* Facebook | will people share their pictures, thoughts and information with commercial interests? - 26 May 2007
* Social Networking to infinity and beyond - 25 May 2007
* Could FaceBook risk becoming another AOL? - 25 May 2007
* Social Network ad spending predicted to grow (eMarketer) - 24 May 2007
* Community ROI - a sensible view - 24 May 2007
* A sense of community - 23 May 2007
* Germany's Wirecard Bank opens in Second Life - 18 May 2007
* Money Games / Trends Virtual Currencies - May 2007
* WoW Visa Card introduced - 10 May 2007
* The power of social networks and banking is only now becoming clear - 01 May 2007
* Launch Day at Our Virtual Holland! (ING Bank) - 30 April 2007
* Schwab Does Social Networking, Sponsors Gather.com - 25 April 2007
* Europeans most active in Second Life - 05 May 2007

HR - 1/5 jobs is landed through blogs and networking

Some figures which confirm that it is not what you know, but a) who you know and b) how visible you are!

"One of Every Five Jobs in Europe is Landed Through 'blogs' and Professional Contact Networks on the Internet." (full article)
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Technorati: jobs, work, careers, blogging, visibility

BLG - Sarkozi & "DSK" seek guidance from Loic Le Meur

Article published in Challenges n°35 (11 - 17 May 2006) 
I spent the week-end in France to attend one of my best friend's stag do, and to meet some contacts and clients for work.
Every time I come back to Paris, I make sure to read a couple of French magazines such as Management, Capital and Challenges.

My blog is all about visibility and networking. One of the most visible non-politician person in France is surely the successful and famous French entrepreneur Loic Le Meur.

In one of the latest issues of Challenges, I found an interesting article about Nicolas Sarkozy and Dominique Strauss-Kahn (DSK): several potential candidates to the French presidency contacted Loic to seek some guidance and use the power of blogging to their advantage. For instance, for the last 2 years Loic have been helping DSK with his Blogdsk.net which counts now more than 20,000 comments... Bravo Loic! ;)

BLG - Blogs on the rise

Weblogs have reached an all-time high: there are more than 50million blogs on the Internet, with the blogging community expanding by around 65,000 a day.

If you fancy having your own blog, have a look at www.typepad.com!

Technorati tags: Blog, Blogging, Internet, Typepad

NET - wiwih: a vertical networking site for the Hospitality industry

My friend Guillaume (I recommend to visit his blog on the hospitality industry) made me aware of that networking site.

Whereas sites like Linkedin or openBC are generalists, wiwih is "vertical" and specialized in the Hospitality industry.

General vs Specialized
It leads to the very same topic of general vs specialized. What do you think?
Usually, the business models of social&business Networking websites are focused on the number of registered members: volume of contacts/members is very important.

In that case, Hsyndicate is specialized in the Hospitality industry.

I plan to register and test the interface soon.

NET - Linkedin: an excellent new interface (18/03/06)

Linkedin have launched another interface, and today I am going to insist on the member homepage which has changed a lot.
As an experienced networker, every Linkedin new release is a real pleasure!

The new interface: a better support to Linkedin's business model
Linkedin Executives are clever. Indeed, the new interface gives more value to its members (improved access to useful new information), and it "promotes" their premium services better.
Linkedin business model is based on premium services, job services and avertising.
   
Thanks to the new interface I am confident they will further increase their member database, and they will make more members aware of these extra features.
    
Network updates
I have been waiting for those info for so long, and it is one of the best improvements of the new interface!
Now, you know how active your contacts (Linkedin members) are, and you know when one of your personal contact has registered on Linkedin.

You can broadcast some news to part of/all your contacts and notify them your got a new job for instance. Of course, when you choose one of the available entries, first you see an intermediate page which promotes Linkedin features and premium services.

New members
Nothing really new here: you are aware of a new member in one of your companies, groups, and among your contacts not-yet Linkedin members (providing you have uploaded your outlook contacts)
Nevertheless, the display has been improved and now you see the job title and the company of the new joiners.

Network data
They have added new stats, and they have improved their display (look of the icons and bars).

NET - Linkedin: reconnect with you old classmates

A couple of weeks ago, Linkedin launched a new feature: now it is easy to reconnect with your old classmates.
   
The list of contacts displayed is based on the name of the institution and the dates you entered in your profile.

NET - Passado: Europe's biggest social networking site?

I registered a couple of months ago, but I must admit I am not using Passado.

I have received an email earlier today, and they claim to be Europe's biggest social networking website with 4.5m members.

Members: registered vs active
One more time, I would be curious to find out how many of those members are active users. How many profiles are accurate?

Remarks
* I did not have enough time to properly test the interface: I would say that it is Very Slow... to update your profile or upload pictures.
* There are loads of bugs
* They claim to provide "now a totally FREE service": I will find out what their business model is!

NET - High Potential Network

The High Potential Network
I have been aware of that website for some time now. I would like to share it with you.
It is a website about networking: it provides useful resources such as a directory of the best online networks a calendar of events...
The website is available in English and in German.

Moreover, on regular basis, they release a good newsletter called networking.impulse.

The high potential of networking blasts all limits.
The HIGH POTENTIAL NETWORK is an international online media, focusing on the high potential of networking. It reports on the"best of" networking, and therefore offers the best information for networking people.

NET - March 2006: Linkedin becomes profitable

Congratulations to Linkedin's senior executives!
They build a business model based on 3 main sources of revenues: premium services, job services, and advertising. Their strategy has paid and Linkedin will start being profitable in March 2006.

Full news on CNet.com