In October we get socially responsible with David Rostan and SocialYell.  Join us for a discussion about usability, and monetization of socially conscious communities, and community building around the social impact of businesses. 

SocialYell.com

OVERVIEW

SocialYell is a social media community that connects individuals and companies in a forum to discuss, discover and promote socially responsible businesses and organizations.  Users raise their voices through conversations, reviews, voting and rating.  This dialogue makes businesses accountable and rewards social and environmental responsibility.

• On the consumer side: SocialYell is an active community discussing and promoting the social-responsibility impact of businesses and organizations
• On the business side: For our Corporate Members, SocialYell is a pathway to consumers, bloggers and traditional press for corporate social responsibility news, actions and events

DISCUSSION POINTS

+ Focus - There are many ways a user can interact with SocialYell: 1) Find and evaluate a particular business 2) Find the most responsible business for a purchase you know you need 3) Compare 2 businesses, 4) Expose a business’s good or bad social responsibility behavior or actions, 5) Browse businesses to keep updated on what some are doing to be responsible.  How do I narrow in on the one way to tell people to use the site?  Do I need to do so?  How best to represent that on the UI?

+ Balance - We make revenue thru corporate accounts.  Businesses pay to enhance their profile and distribute news/content on SocialYell (but never have any editorial control).  How do we balance user development/recruitment with customer (business) development and sales?

+ Content - We rely on user content.  What are the most effective (and cost effective) ways to improve that?  Is it ads to get more people?  Is it making registration/commenting easier?  We can measure our conversion funnel, but it isn’t mature, yet and we’d love an experienced preview.

BIO

David is the founder of SocialYell, an online community for discussing and promoting the social-responsibility impact of businesses and organizations.  He spent most of his career before SocialYell in corporate marketing and strategy roles and wonders why he didn’t move to the startup world sooner.  David earned his MBA from the Kellogg School of Management and a BA in rhetoric from UNC-Chapel Hill.

Hosted by New Work City - @nwc 

This event is hosted by New Work City, a community coworking space in Manhattan. New Work City is a gathering spot for a community of like-minded individuals who need somewhere to work that’s both creative and social, and professional and conducive to working. Members use the workspace when they need it, and pay based on usage. That means you could just show up for a day and get to work!

Monday, October 26, 2009. 7PM - 9PM