exposure opportunity

[duncan drennan]

If you are interested in writing an article about business, business tools, or just on being an entrepreneur, and want to get some exposure, have a look at http://biztips.co.za, particularly, this article, http://biztips.co.za/2007/02/12/on-hiatus/

I'll ask Paul to give an idea of readership for his blog here.

Basically you can submit articles for his blog - good way to get your name out there as a business person.

[Dave A]

I understand how he feels. Going through a bit of "forced hiatus" myself.

I had a quick scan on the content - some nice stuff there for small business owners, but in reading it a thought occured on something I'm seeing more and more:

We're really getting good South African business material scattered all over the web and it would all be so much more powerful in a collective. And to keep building the content on a consistent basis as individuals is a struggle - sometimes other things just demand that we have to take a break.

But if enough of us are building a central resource the momentum builds on the site, whilst individuals get latitude to take a break from time to time. Perhaps this is the key difference between a community forum and a blog - the ownership.

This is my thinking behind having this as a forum site and to dispel any doubt, I'll be blunt:
In my eyes I don't own this site - I'm a caretaker / manager for the community that ultimately will own it. Ownership is there for everyone who actively participates and adds value. Maybe we need to formalise that.

We need to be working together - and Paul is a case in point. We've discussed his blogs - he's got value to add, but he's thumping away on the issues as an individual and has never done anything here. There are many more "Pauls" (and Daves and Duncans...add your own) out there. But as individuals we never reach a tipping point if the goal is to really influence our society (as opposed to simply seeking personal gain).

We need that team effort on a central resource....

My view - I'd be interested in yours.

[duncan drennan]

Go TEAM!

I'm with you on that. What I was thinking was to possibly put together something about The Forum SA and its function as a tool and community for business owners in South Africa, then submit it to Paul for publication - part of building this communities momentum. Maybe even just use one of the newsletters....

There are HUGE opportunities for cross pollination between all of us - clients, skills, resources and so on - but there seems to be a lot of distrust (or is it fear?) to share things. Maybe it is a question of how we can effectively draw people in.