Social Media Connections Run Amuck
November 19, 2008
She's Connected is in beta right now. She's Connected is a great idea, IMHO...but I'm not sure I'm happy with the execution.
Let's look at this new site and I'll tell you what I like about it and then where I think it misses the mark.
The Good Stuff First:
The site is visually attractive. Green and blue are the "it" colors of this season, maybe of the year. They play together well and give respect to the market the site is hoping to attract. Remember, pink has its place but all over your blog or website is not it.
The concept is good. Having one location to do everything, including my calendar, my friends list, my professional network, and my personal one, is worthy. But...here's the rub,
I think we have too many women's sites today and belonging to them all is impossible. Although the site says, "ShesConnected is the one place where busy women can connect with others to find the tools, tips and resources to simplify everyday life on the go," it only means you can do those things by creating them...yet again...on the site. 
It looks like I can create groups - but they are not importing my exisitng group, they are new to ShesConnected. In other words, just like every other site, you have to start a new group here. You can't add a group you belong to on another site.
The overreaching message is: "One woman, 2 lives, (personal and professional), no problem," which I like a lot. Of course, ladies, we know the "one woman 2 lives" should be "one woman - 2 Dozen lives" because of all the different things we do as Mom, wife, sister, daughter, friend, co-worker, career professional, etc, etc.
So...I like the idea of this site. I like the design. But...here's my big disconnect:
The site overview shows a blonde model - a woman I have trouble relating to. She just doesn't represent my world, where women come in all shapes, sizes, and colors. I believe they need to scrap that blonde model and add some real women's faces. Take Dove's approach... They can keep her, actually, but add others.
And, the site doesn't seem to offer me anything I can't get elsewhere. Have already gotten elsewhere, as a matter of fact. The more I review it, the less interested I am in it. I can do all the things they're touting as "only here" at Women TIES (regional site) or Downtown Women's Club, or at TwitterMoms. And, I know some new sites that will be launching soon that allow me to do much of what ShesConnected says is exclusive to their site.
I am eager to talk about Family Eden which does offer a slew of new ideas, and is very family friendly. (the link here is not the Family Eden link...it's Resourceful Mommy who is blogging the site - I'll do a full review down the road)
Therefore, I ask...do we really NEED another women's networking site? Do we need another place to create a login and registration and profile and email address and upload our photo...etc, etc, etc.
Do we?
I'm serious...do we need ShesConnected? Or, are we vastly overwhelmed with this stuff already? Tell us what you think...share your favorite networking site...I live to be informed.
Yvonne:
I think it's a valiant effort, but I, too, was disinterested upon first seeing the site.
The blonde woman was a total turn off. In this day and age of rotating images in and out, visual diversity is easy peasy. The fact that they didn't do this automatically says to me they could give a crap whether women of color join. And, having a picture of what appears to be an Asian-looking woman in the right-hand "sidebar" while the white, blonde woman is front and center doesn't help.
Secondly, I have absolutely NO desire to mix my personal and professional lives - either online or off.
And, to put my third point even more plainly, "I just ain't joinin' nothin' else."
-Lena
Posted by: Lena L. West | November 24, 2008 at 08:24 AM
Yvonne & Veronika -
You've hit on the big dilemma facing the women's networking market. We continue to fracture it by duplicating efforts. This is not to say that I don't believe there's room for networking sites/organizations to fit particular niches. Niche sites are great - and whether we think we need them or not, they will fill someone's need that isn't being met elsewhere. Some great examples include: www.workitmom.com focusing on working moms. Ladieswholaunch has entrepreneurs. Womenforhire focuses on the job hunt. Blogher is all about blogging. wowowow is for Boomers. Our niche at the Downtown Women's Club is blending in-person with online networking. On a side note - I'm also pleased to say that we have worked/partnered with almost all of these groups over the years and hope to find more ways to partner in the future.
So, I suppose that's my question about the new site -- exactly how do they "tweak" it to fit a niche market? Or, as Yvonne pointed out, how do you attract people who are already getting this information elsewhere. It may be tough to change peoples habits - but I'll be interested to see if they can do it, because it's a really great looking site.
Diane
Posted by: Diane K. Danielson | November 21, 2008 at 11:12 PM
There are a zillion sites out there for networking... I just succeeded in getting most of the women in the MV Business Women's Network (www.mvbwn.org) to post on LinkedIn - and many WomenTIES members are linking on there too. How many places can we be?
I don't have kids so "family" part of site really wouldn't apply to me, and most of my friends are from the two fabulous groups previously mentioned!
I agree with you that if you could import groups this would be much more useful; and there sure are a lot of skinny models in the graphics!
This is timely as I am struggling to keep my blog updated as well as being active on Twitter, LinkedIn and Tribes.com, AND trying to read marketing books and study "The Success Principles" - I think the key is picking a couple things and doing them well!
Also, there are times one need not be the first onboard yet another new networking site - maybe we should see it this one floats.
Those are my suggestions,
V-
Posted by: Veronika Freeman | November 19, 2008 at 10:01 PM