Comments on: PartnerPedia Social Network: Launching In July http://www.mspmentor.net/2008/06/27/partnerpedia-social-network-launching-in-july/ Managed Services & Cloud Services Blog for VARs & MSPs Tue, 14 Feb 2012 18:25:29 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.1 By: Joe Panettieri http://www.mspmentor.net/2008/06/27/partnerpedia-social-network-launching-in-july/comment-page-1/#comment-19664 Joe Panettieri Mon, 30 Jun 2008 12:54:41 +0000 http://www.mspmentor.net/2008/06/27/partnerpedia-social-network-launching-in-july/#comment-19664 Mike: No need to thank me. Thank you for proving my point: A good blog, updated frequently, leads to search engine optimization (SEO) and business leads. Mike: No need to thank me. Thank you for proving my point: A good blog, updated frequently, leads to search engine optimization (SEO) and business leads.

]]> By: mcooch http://www.mspmentor.net/2008/06/27/partnerpedia-social-network-launching-in-july/comment-page-1/#comment-19614 mcooch Mon, 30 Jun 2008 03:08:13 +0000 http://www.mspmentor.net/2008/06/27/partnerpedia-social-network-launching-in-july/#comment-19614 Hey thanks...we try! It is a lot of work to keep active, but we always find that we get tremendous benefits from doing so. I had three great conversations with CEOs of MSPs last week because of our blog - I love it. I'll be interested to see if this site catches on. I think Jason hit the nail on the head in regards to some of the challenges. Mike www.everonit.com www.smbitpros.com Hey thanks…we try! It is a lot of work to keep active, but we always find that we get tremendous benefits from doing so. I had three great conversations with CEOs of MSPs last week because of our blog – I love it.

I’ll be interested to see if this site catches on. I think Jason hit the nail on the head in regards to some of the challenges.

Mike
http://www.everonit.com
http://www.smbitpros.com

]]> By: Joe Panettieri http://www.mspmentor.net/2008/06/27/partnerpedia-social-network-launching-in-july/comment-page-1/#comment-19229 Joe Panettieri Fri, 27 Jun 2008 14:54:26 +0000 http://www.mspmentor.net/2008/06/27/partnerpedia-social-network-launching-in-july/#comment-19229 Jason: Thanks very much for those key points. You are dead-on when you say it's all about the maintenance. Whether it's a sophisticated approach like the Ingram Micro Services Network or a simple approach like this blog, if you're not constantly maintaining and innovating, you'll die. Here's a simple example: A few months ago, I mentioned a few of the MSP industry's most promising blogs. Without naming names, many of those blogs have become ghost towns because they're never updated. There's no activity, no interaction. But then you have other sites run by MSPs (such as www.smbitpros.com from the folks at www.everonit.com), where there's good activity and discussion -- because of constant updates and maintenance. People underestimate how difficult it is to (A) launch a community and (B) maintain/build that community. Think of it this way: If you really had to, could you go on the Tonight Show every night and do Jay's monologue -- writing it all by yourself -- while keeping your day job? The blog example is a simple one. The Ingram Micro Services Network is a far more complex example, with key points like the non-solicitation agreement ensuring that members can have peace of mind as they interact with peers. I think the world has been waiting for PartnerPedia -- a site where any type of VAR, MSP or solution provider can join and network on business engagements. But that doesn't mean PartnerPedia replaces more targeted sites efforts like IMSN, MSPAlliance, OnForce, etc. Will PartnerPedia succeed? Too difficult to say. The biggest challenge I see is people simply don't have time for "yet another" social network. PartnerPedia will need to gain critical mass fast with one or two killer features. Jason: Thanks very much for those key points. You are dead-on when you say it’s all about the maintenance.

Whether it’s a sophisticated approach like the Ingram Micro Services Network or a simple approach like this blog, if you’re not constantly maintaining and innovating, you’ll die.

Here’s a simple example: A few months ago, I mentioned a few of the MSP industry’s most promising blogs. Without naming names, many of those blogs have become ghost towns because they’re never updated. There’s no activity, no interaction.

But then you have other sites run by MSPs (such as http://www.smbitpros.com from the folks at http://www.everonit.com), where there’s good activity and discussion — because of constant updates and maintenance.

People underestimate how difficult it is to (A) launch a community and (B) maintain/build that community. Think of it this way: If you really had to, could you go on the Tonight Show every night and do Jay’s monologue — writing it all by yourself — while keeping your day job?

The blog example is a simple one. The Ingram Micro Services Network is a far more complex example, with key points like the non-solicitation agreement ensuring that members can have peace of mind as they interact with peers.

I think the world has been waiting for PartnerPedia — a site where any type of VAR, MSP or solution provider can join and network on business engagements. But that doesn’t mean PartnerPedia replaces more targeted sites efforts like IMSN, MSPAlliance, OnForce, etc.

Will PartnerPedia succeed? Too difficult to say. The biggest challenge I see is people simply don’t have time for “yet another” social network. PartnerPedia will need to gain critical mass fast with one or two killer features.

]]> By: Jason Beal http://www.mspmentor.net/2008/06/27/partnerpedia-social-network-launching-in-july/comment-page-1/#comment-19228 Jason Beal Fri, 27 Jun 2008 14:38:04 +0000 http://www.mspmentor.net/2008/06/27/partnerpedia-social-network-launching-in-july/#comment-19228 Joe, Having managed the Ingram Micro Services Network (IMSN) for a number of years, I've had the benefit of watching new service or partner networks rise and fall over the last few years. I've come to see that running a service network is a lot like parenting: it's not the creation that counts, it's the maintenance. The sweet science isn't developing a portal or application and cobbling together a bunch of members. Rather what makes partner network work is the on-going NDA/non-solication protection enforcement, the quality control, the member compliance management, the project managemnet capabilities, and the available of live "human" support 24X7. IMSN has been around for 15 years now, with over 10,000 technicians (employees of VARs rather than independent contractors) from over 850 solution providers. I encourage solution providers to look at the safe harbor and the business-class network we've built with IMSN before engaging with other on-line or start up service networks. --Jason Beal, Director of Services Sales, Ingram Micro Joe,
Having managed the Ingram Micro Services Network (IMSN) for a number of years, I’ve had the benefit of watching new service or partner networks rise and fall over the last few years. I’ve come to see that running a service network is a lot like parenting: it’s not the creation that counts, it’s the maintenance. The sweet science isn’t developing a portal or application and cobbling together a bunch of members. Rather what makes partner network work is the on-going NDA/non-solication protection enforcement, the quality control, the member compliance management, the project managemnet capabilities, and the available of live “human” support 24X7. IMSN has been around for 15 years now, with over 10,000 technicians (employees of VARs rather than independent contractors) from over 850 solution providers. I encourage solution providers to look at the safe harbor and the business-class network we’ve built with IMSN before engaging with other on-line or start up service networks.
–Jason Beal, Director of Services Sales, Ingram Micro

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