Melcrum launches social networking site for communicators

Typical. You wait ages for a bus and then two come along at once...

I'm talking of course about social networking sites (think Facebook or LinkedIn) for communicators. Last week, Ragan Communications launched the beta version of MyRagan.com using a white-label community-building tool called Me.com. Well worth a look.

And this week, Melcrum are pleased to announce their partnership with Small World Labs to launch a business-grade professional networking community called The Communicators' Network in June. It's already in advanced stages of development, but we're ironing out the kinks behind closed doors for now. We have been quietly researching what communicators from around the world want and are building something a little bit different.

Not only does The Communicators' Network have all the social networking functionality you'd expect, namely groups, blogs, photo uploads, custom RSS feeds and discussion forums, it also has some really interesting ratings and review features for user-generated content.

This means that you can tell the world about a great book you read, write a review and other people can rate it, not dissimilar to Amazon's award-winning features. We think that by encouraging communicators to pool their resources, we can create a continuously-updated directory of industry knowledge available for free to all.

Melcrum is also positioning the site as a way for existing off-line networks to become more efficient by using the tools. We are not looking to replace existing communities we are looking to improve and enhance them and add some value through bolt-on features such as directory of knowledge and resources to help save time and facilitate better business decisions. The site should help bring Melcrum's globally dispersed customer-base of more than 25,000 communication practitioners a little bit closer together.

So Melcrum is asking for volunteers to run groups for special-interests, industry sectors and local regions, as well as to contribute and review useful resources, such as books, blogs, publications, research, conferences etc. We are also looking for industry partners to support the site's growth and development.

If you're interested in getting involved, please contact me as soon as possible.

You can read the full press release at melcrum.com

Robin Crumby.

Comments

[mark ragan]

Robin,

Congrats on the new social media site. I am certain it will be outstanding--as with everything you guys do.

And thanks for the plug for ours. See, we can work together afterall.

Come join our site. We welcome you and the rest of the Melcrum staff.

Mark Ragan
www.myragan.com