Social networks are the way business gets done.
Everyone knows that a really great event is one in which you make a number of new contacts as well as reconnect with people you have lost touch with. It is, afterall, the network of contacts both within a company and between companies that enables organizations to get things done. The problem for most of us while attending an event is identifying these people given the limited amount of time available to network. In fact, usually the only people that we know much about before the event are the speakers and it is usually just chance that leads us to connect with others in the audience that may lead to succesful collaborations. Even if luck is on our side, misplaced business cards, change of title in the company or shifting organizational priorities may make those initial contacts less valuable in a very short period of time.
Since 2000, we have experimented with various online means for keeping people in contact pre and post event. What we have found is that successful online networking depends on developing trust in the system as well as providing an ongoing resource of information that is useful. Through our partnership with Biovista we have used these principles as foundation and built on top of them a sophisticated system for matching your interests to those people who have either attended similar events in the past or will be attending the one you are in the future. The scheduled launch date for this online network is June 1, 2007. If you would like to be notified of the launch and obtain a free membership please contact us.
