Social business networks are those that are intended to serve a dual purpose, helping businesspeople and professionals to form mutually beneficial business relationships.
Business networks are designed to help professionals connect with other professionals, business managers with other managers, and for entrepreneurs to advance their business interests through online business relationships. Businesses use business networks, like LinkedIn, to find potential employees, while job hunters may use the network to find employment, and business professionals use it to keep track of what others in the same industry are doing. Networking can also be a way of staying in touch with former co-workers.
For businesses, networking is a way of leveraging personal and business connections in order to further business interests, to form new business relationships, and to generate opportunities. In a sense online social business networking is the logical extension of industry trade shows and loyalty programs.
LinkedIn is a social network, like many others, but its focus is on business, designed specifically for serious job seekers, business networkers, and sales professionals, and offers free and premium memberships. Because of its function, user profiles on LinkedIn serve as resumes and, as such, knowledgeable users are more careful about the information they choose to include within the network than they are likely to be on other social networks, such as Facebook. Even those who are not currently seeking a job are nevertheless engaged in business networking, which suggests a more professional approach.
Rather than ranting about politics of social issues, members of a social business network are engaged in cultivating personal relationships with prospective employers, employees, and people working in the same industries.
Businesses may also use networking to establish brand identity and to build relationships with current and prospective customers. Some businesses use networking as a major factor in their marketing plans.
LinkedIn may be the largest social business network, at this point in time, but there are others. Most businesses and businesspeople who use LinkedIn also use Facebook for similar purposes, although Facebook isn't known specifically as a business network. Others include AngelList, Networking, Ning, Opportunity, Ryze, SlideShare, and Xing.
These and other social networks that were developed or function primarily as business networks are appropriate for this category.
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AngelList is a business network with a focus on bringing investors together with startups, as well as job seekers looking for employment with startup companies. New users may sign up with Facebook or Twitter, or they can register with an email address. Members may open an account as an Entrepreneur, looking for advice and an introduction to potential investors, as an Investor, who must complete a questionnaire, or as a Job Seeker, who completes an online profile.
https://angel.co/
Offering social media software solutions for government, public sector, and private enterprise clients, Bang the Table provides a stakeholder engagement platform that can be used for two-way communication with clients, customers, and constituents. Its EngagementHW stakeholder engagement platform is intended to enhance the quality of public debate and the level of community involvement in public life and to provide a venue for communications.
https://www.bangthetable.com/
Bytes is a social media community for developers and IT professionals, who publish and discuss topics that include software development, web development, database development and optimization, database administration, system administration, network administration, and several other topics related to information technology and software development. Members may ask and answer questions, as well as comments on the answers of others. Advertising opportunities are included.
https://bytes.com/
With roots in Javalobby, an online community for Java developers founded in 1997, DZone represents an expanded network of developers that began in 2005. The social network of developers share information, code, and conversation on topics such as Agile, AI, Big Data, the Cloud, databases, DevOps, integration, IoT, Java, micro services, and Open Source. General information about the community and its programs, becoming a contributor, or a writer, are provided.
https://dzone.com/
Founded in 1998 as a public site where game developers could freely exchange information and make industry connections, GameDev is funded by advertising, affiliate programs, and paid memberships. The social network of game developers includes several community forums, chat, a project sections, project showcases, a calendar of events, career postings, blogs, and informational articles published by members.
https://www.gamedev.net/
Maintained by Gee Whiz Labs, Keep&Share has been online since 2004. The cloud-based service features an online calendar that is used by businesses, non-profit organizations, and individuals to publish information for their employee teams and public audiences. Offering a free single-user plan, a one-user premium plan, and multi-user team plans, the service allows for sharable calendars, to-do lists, files, photographs, address books, and discussions.
https://www.keepandshare.com/
A subsidiary of Microsoft, LinkedIn is a social networking business that has a focus on business and employment concerns and is used chiefly for professional networking. Offering free and premium membership plans, the service allows members to create profiles and connections to one another in an online social network. Members may add employers and connections, build their network, and personalize their feeds, as well as send and receive notifications and messages.
https://www.linkedin.com/
Seeking to bring professionals together for mutual benefit, NFP is headquartered in New York City, and has branches in Atlanta, Boston, Chicago, Dallas, Fort Lauderdale, Houston, Long Island, Los Angeles, Manhattan, Miami, Philadelphia, Phoenix, and San Antonio, as well as its online networking site, where members can create profiles, search for new contacts, send email to members, and sign up for networking events. Membership options and benefits are detailed.
https://networkingforprofessionals.com/
Launched in 2005, Ning is an Internet platform for organizations and individuals to create custom social networks, with no coding experience required. Its features include integration with Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, and others, as well as custom designs, and options for analytics, groups, blogs, photos, videos, forums, and others, as well as a monetization option. Three pricing options are compared side-by-side, and its features are discussed in detail.
https://www.ning.com/
Offering a free and premium plan, both of which are compared side-by-side, the Opportunity business network is also compared alongside LinkedIn, and its lead generation services, job seeker and recruiter connections, global relationships, communication options, and artificial intelligence algorithms are discussed, client testimonials are given, and partnership and employment opportunities are included, along with video tutorials, a blog, and a knowledge base.
https://leads.myopportunity.com/
Founded in 2001, Ryze was one of the first of a new generation of social networking sites with a focus on business professionals, including entrepreneurs, offering free and paid memberships. Boasting more than a million members in more than two hundred countries, and over a thousand sub-networks on the site. Very little is available on the site for those who are not signed into a registered account. Press quotes, member testimonials, and a company profile are included.
https://www.ryze.com/
Founded in 2006, SlideShare became part of LinkedIn in 2012. It is a hosting service for professional content, such as presentations, infographics, documents, and videos, allowing users to upload files privately or publicly in PowerPoint, Word, PDF, or OpenDocument format, which may then be viewed on the site, through various hand-held devices, or embedded into other sites. Available in English, Spanish, Portuguese, French, and German, public files may be found alphabetically.
https://www.slideshare.net/
Based in Germany, Xing is a career-oriented social network that is available in Dutch, English, French, German, Italian, Polish, Portuguese, Russian, Spanish, Turkish, and Simplified Chinese. With free and premium memberships, Xing offers member profiles, groups, discussion forums, and event coordination, with other features available for premium members. Its products and solutions are highlighted, along with a member directory and career information.
https://www.xing.com/en
