How FABULOUS is this newest upgrade?

I feel like it is Christmas in November (which is not as fabulous as say Christmas in July). There are so many new bells and whistles and really wonderful new tools to help us network better and faster.

MANY MANY THANKS to all the folks behind the scenes that made this latest upgrade for all of us.

Ok, I have to say (rant a bit) that I do not like the new profile format at all! This is a business networking site, yet if someone wants to read my profile to understand what I do/my company that info is buried and shoved off to the right side and not immediately evident. What is immediately visible is how many people I've invited into the group and introductions I've made and what future events I'll be attending. Why is all this info so prominent (along with several previous Biztalk posts) but my compliments are way at the bottom of the page below all this extraneous and not-so-relevant info and my basic profile info is hidden and requires a secondary link?? The new format seems really illogical and "bass-ackwards" to me for the purposes of a business networking site and profile. I LOVE Biznik but am really disappointed by the new profile layout!

I think its too early to say... We need to give it a week or so before we can fairly judge the update. =]

Christmas update better be bigger [better]!

-Andrey

I came on biztalk to post a thanks for the nice new "delete" non-button. Much nicer. Many thanks!

When I saw Nancy's post I went back to check what else had changed. I am going to totally agree with everything she says!! I feel like this new format is like who is the biggest socialite, not what sort of business we have or how good we are at it.

One of the things I LOVE about Biznik is that (until now) it was set up to work for all sorts of personality types. This format alters that or it will alter our behavior - in possibly less positive ways than you had hoped. The ol' Law of Unintended Consequences.

Personally, for me, having a bunch of my posts listed on my profile will make me post a lot less often. It might even lead me to "gaming the system" to figure out how many you have there (3?) and post 3 "me to" posts just so there is not much there! Besides the fact that the biztalk posts are usually "in context" whereas on our profile they are "out of context" it also just seems like a strange place to put them. I'm curious: What was the reasoning behind that and the goal?

I love that we can add a logo. That is so important for many people's branding.

I will go explore more and I am sure that I will find more that I like and love, but I hope you will seriously rethink the new format for the profiles.

Hi guys, Our thinking behind the sweeping changes to the profile format pretty much boil down to making the profiles fresh. Previously, the profiles were extremely static: Once you posted your info, it pretty much stayed the same for most members. That is very bad: it means once you've seen someone's profile, there's very little reason to return to it (either for people or for search engines).

Also, this is a networking site. And that means we do our best to expose you to people (and events) you might not otherwise meet (or attend) on your own. The new format does exactly this: it uncovers new connections for you via people in your network (you get to see who they are interacting with).

I'm hoping that those of you who don't like the new format will give it a couple days to get comfortable with it - believe it or not, we got plenty of similar comments when we launched Biznik 2.0 on July 1, from people who missed the old format. But we truly believe that the changes are going to really take Biznik to the next level as a community. Hang in there!

Hey Dan, great job. Biznik is moving in right direction...

Dan,

Thanks for the feedback but I have to say I stand behind my comments and concerns. I still feel that the profiles are far too busy with the most relevant info about members and their business extremely hidden and the most irrelevant info far too prominent. As you know, I've been a fairly active member of Biznik (in event attendance, hosting and Biztalk posts) and I agree with Viv Ilo in that this new format causes me to want to post on Biztalk less and refrain from using the features that are so prominently displayed, which I don’t believe are relevant to promoting my company. I really do not see how these new changes benefit my business. Perhaps it benefits the site over all in that the emphasis on fresh content promotes a higher web presence for Biznik, but in the long run I do not feel it is of benefit to individual members and visibility for our companies, which is a big part of the reason people join.

I will go so far as to say that the new format is so disconcerting to me that it's making me reconsider a paid membership. I just see it as highly counterproductive to exposure for members’ actual businesses. Biznik is not about a popularity contest with how many people I've invited in or how chatty I am on Biztalk. It almost has a superficial, My Space feel to me now and that’s not what I’m after in promoting my company. I really feel a bit like this new format has “sold the members out” a bit. I feel like the new format may behoove Biznik the organization (with a better web presence due to an emphasis on “fresh content”) but ultimately does not benefit the individual members, many of which are paying customers to Biznik the organization. I imagine that you might argue that better web presence is better for individual members in the long run, but really I don’t see it when you have to wade through SO MUCH other info to find the basics about my business. Yes, include this info (Bitalk posts and upcoming events and # of people invited in, etc.), but I don't think it should be the most prominent part of my profile. It was far more logical before when that info was available through tabs and secondary links.

Don’t get me wrong, I LOVE Biznik and am very fond of both Dan and Lara and what they have created (yes, even grateful for what they’ve created) but I still think this new format is not beneficial to the members. I loved the 2.0 version that was released a few months ago and I think you “messed with a good thing” with these changes. :(

Nancy

(http:www.hoptosignaroo.com)

Thanks for sharing your feelings Nancy. I'm sorry it's not working for you. I'm afraid we're in a position where we can't please everyone, so we do the best we can and move things in the direction that we believe will be most advantageous for the community. And on that note, I'd like to hear from more members - what do you think of the new profiles?

Hey Dan!

I LOVE the new format. I agree with Rachel (sorry Nancy and Viv). When I took my first look I saw more about who Mary and My Concierge is and what I'm up to. It also helps me gauge where I'm at in this community. I want to get the most out of it as I can, so that means I need to put in as much.

Thank you Dan for the growth. No one said it wasn't going to be painful for some :>) Change is good. It keep us from molding :>)

hi all -

just thought i'd chime in with some more of our reasoning for why we changed the format up.

the first, over-arching goal that we set ourselves to was to give you all more opportunities to promote your business. to this end, we've given members a place to post their business's logo (a much requested feature), a new place to list associations and endorsements that they have in real life, and a new promotions tool that lets you advertise your services, both to the Biznik community and to the world at large. we've also added the ability for you to add more links to your external sites. we think all of these things will only help members to get businesses out there.

after that, our second major goal was to facilitate networking between members. we have gotten a lot of comments from people who are looking to hire someone and found a number of people on Biznik that provide the services that they may be looking for, but have then wondered, "but how do i know if this person's any good?" Answering that dilemma was the rational behind making the posts visible, bringing the network and the "members you have in common" onto the profile page, and creating the "meet this member at" section. Hopefully now, if a member is thinking of hiring, say, a graphic designer, they can get a feel for whether they think a given member is any good by reading their posts; they can see who the designer knows, and who they both know, in order to ask for an opinion or even an introduction; and then they can go to an event that the designer is attending and meet them face to face.

the third thing that we wanted to do was to give members an easier way to keep tabs on the members in their network, their bookmarks, and anyone else they may have their eyes on. to echo rachel's point, the "recent activity" log is designed expressly for that. now when i go to dan's profile, i can get an instant idea of what he's up to lately. also, when i go onto the main Biznik homepage, i can see what everyone in my network has been doing, too. This goes along with an ancillary goal, which was to bolster the meaning of "your network" throughout the site.

nancy, i definitely see what you're saying, and it's possible that we've erred too far in the direction of increasing members' "networkability". but hopefully this will clear up the rationale behind the new features - we certainly aren't trying to just bolster Biznik as a site, or to engender any kind of rote popularity contest amongst our members. rather, our goal is, and has always been, to facilitate both the member's ability to promote themselves and to foster a sense of trust between people who may not know each other outside of this virtual world. and rest assured, we will continue to tweak things according to all of the feedback that we receive from you guys.

thanks a lot,

john

Dan and John,

Thanks for being open to my concerns and feedback. :) Nancy

(http://www.hoptosignaroo.com)

According to the email announcement that just went out, "Many of the new features are available only to paying members, so there are now more reasons than ever to upgrade your account and start making the most of Biznik." While the over-arching goal is to offer Biznikers "more opportunities to promote your business", the under-arching goal is to generate revenue. There's absolutely nothing wrong with that...Biznik is a business after all.

Overall, the new features are great. Love the photo wall of network members that's below one's photo. However, I find the display of recent activities of everyone in your network front-and-center on the New Welcome Page distracting and adds little value for such a prime location on the page. I would put that content somewhere else...maybe towards the middle or bottom of the New Welcome page.

Disclaimer: I'm a non-paying member. :-)

Well I have to agree a bit with Nancy & Viv in that I would rather have more business related info in those positions on the page, but I'm also open to trying it out and see how well it works or doesn't work. I tend to focus my business networking efforts more on sites like LinkedIn than here, but that's more due to the type of potential clients for my business don't frequent here, and they do over there. I do like the new Logo feature....can I get it to link to my business website? Also, all those 'Edit' links make it hard for me to see what other people see...can we get a "View how other people see your info" link??

Thanks Dan for working to keep Biznik new & interesting :)

I agree with some of the points and disagree with others. I love the fact that I can see what people in my network are doing. The purpose of networking is to bring the benefits of our collective efforts to the network. Seeing what people in my network are up to gives me the opportunity to help them better.

Oh, oh, oh! Thanks for bringing back the Promotions Section!!! Is there a way that I will be able to see the collective promotions on the site in a highly accessible and visible way? Having to find the promotions in a person's profile seems like a lot of work to find what I am looking for...

I also agree that the profile is starting to look like the greatest hits of MySpace and LinkedIn. Nothing wrong with either site but I want people who come to my profile to be looking at me and my offerings, not my network and whether or not I am part of the local Rotary Club.

Neither of my concerns is enough for me to stop using Biznik. It may simply be a matter of getting used to it.

Wow, good hard conversation here guys. I think the points raised on both sides are very valid. I have a possible solution (one simple and one complex).

Simple Solution: Offer paid members the option of having the detailed "About Leif" section being expandable on a person's profile. Those who feel this will serve THEIR business better can then chose this option.

Complex Solution: Make many or ALL of the profile sections customizable --other ajax type profile social sites are moving in this direction. Each profile section in this case becomes a 'widget' that you can choose to display or not display. Yet since Biznik controls the widgets, it still looks pretty and not like myspace hell.

I really think this could work. I know enough basic code to know that the simple solution shouldn't be too tough. And, after all, each of us has different needs and reasons for using biznik, so making one's profile configurable just seems to make good sense. (To me at least!) (:

Love ya'll -Leif

Added thought: In general, it could be that as you advance in membership levels, the more profile customization you get (not just added features and visibility), and with that a shift from content that primarily facilitates biznik activity to a focus on one's own business...

Sean just made an interesting parallel between the new 'facelift' here and facebook ...and suggested a facebook app in this discussion

To respond to specific member's questions in this thread:

John - to view your profile as others see it, simply log out of Biznik, but clicking on the "log out" link in the top right corner of the page. Then refresh the page.

To log back in, on the spot, simply click on the "log in" link in the same location, and a window will appear without taking you away from the page you're viewing.

William/Bill - yes there is a centralized Promotions page that shows an entire list of promotions. The link can be found inside the MEMBERS page: (http://biznik.com/members/promotions)

Thanks for the great feedback, guys. Keep it coming!

The new, shorter snippet of "About" is perfect for me. Those three lines of description of a member is about all I am going to attend to initially. It's like the "elevator speech"--and if they capture my attention, I will explore their website, and click through the tab were the elaborated profile exists.

The next section which shows me what events that member plans to attend--yum. Straight away I can take a mental note of where/when I might be able to meet them face-to-face.

And looking at activity and posts--gives me a real flavor of who that person is.

All that, for me, is the meat of how I will make decisions about to whom I give my business. I mean, I can explore more about "what" someone does, but really, I want to know about "how" they approach life and things. That's revealed more truly in what is said in "conversation" and such, than in our polished and scripted self-descriptions.

I do hope that sharing this perspective gives another spin on things for those who are feeling their business is getting less promotion in this new format; for this consumer, your business is getting better, truer promotion this new way.

Hi all,

I actually agree with Nancy and Viv.

In this new format, my profile doesn't have the real estate it needs to shine. My experience is seriously what counts and pays my bills, and while showing my recent activity and posts is great, I feel that the way these items have been treated detracts from my most valuable assets—my experience and expertise—which don't get the room they need to shine in this new format. I would rather that "recent activity and events" had less emphasis and the profile more emphasis.

I know you can't please everyone, and I know you worked hard on this, but I have to say I don't feel this new format, as it currently stands, plays up our expertise as business people.

Case in point: If you look at my profile, you'll see my recent posts are about home builder issues I am having. If a person randomly found my profile from Google, and read my profile to potentially hire me for work, they'd read my post about my builder issues, and assume I'm having too many personal problems to take on work. Which is not the case. As such, I will be much more careful of what I post from now on.

Anyway, I am still very grateful for Biznik. I just worry this latest rev may end up hurting people rather than helping.

More feedback:

The testimonials are now partly hidden and shoved off to the bottom. I would consider this my second most important asset, and now, it's given almost no play.

The truth is, someone landing on my profile randomly from Google may not care whether I go to any happy hours or whatever (though it might be a good way for to them to meet me, agreed), but they do care if clients and coworkers find me responsible and trustworthy. Testimonials can make or break landing that $10,000 gig. And now they seem like an afterthought.

Again, let me stress that I LOVE Biznik, but I feel this new rev may be doing us all a disservice.

John, Dan, and Lara,

The new site is great! It is digging deeper into the actions of networking and less about the LinkedIn style of writing about yourself for others to read with little opportunity for interaction.

The old profile format lead to a dead end. I read someone's profile and then there is not much else to do as I am usually not ready to add to network, send a message, introduce to friend, give a referral, or send a compliment yet. I would like to know more about the person by interacting before moving to any of those next actions.

The new profile format allows a passage through what once was a dead end. Now I can read their posts and maybe signup for an event to meet them (not as relevant currently for San Francisco). I feel like the site much more navigatable (not a real word I know) and I have a reason to visit someone's profile over and over again to see what they are up to. Previously, I felt like I wasted my time when I revisited someone profile because I had forgotten I had already done so. Now, every profile is new everyday as long as the person is actively participating.

These changes really show how you guys spent time understanding site flow, process flow, and user needs. I would imagine that you probably poured over server logs to see how people were navigating the site. Huge kudos to the three musketeers!

Thanks Dan & John for explaining. Now that I understand the reasoning behind the changes I really do like all of them except that I still do have some concerns about the posts being shown on the first page of our profile.

Is it possible that you mainly thought of the posts from the direction of us sounding knowledgeable about our area of expertise? One of the wonderful things about Biztalk is its value as a venue where members can ask for help and receive it.

For instance, let's use someone skilled in their knowledge area but totally new to starting a business. That person wants to appear competent and knowledgeable to a potential client. If they are new to consulting and wanted to ask about fees, they probably would not like to have potential clients see that on the cover page of their profile or any of the other myriad of things they might like to ask about.

Would there be any possibility of us being able to hide certain posts or choose which ones to display?

Okay! I just saw that you did make the posts much, much smaller which makes a world of difference. So maybe the concern is not as great because people can just get sharper about how they start out their posts since that is going to be the main thing showing.

Please know that over all I am completely wowed by the changes and continue to be an enthusiastic proponent of Biznik!!