A learning commity for small business

Attended ProfitNet's pilot launch in South Africa and while the name ProfitNet sounds like another "Network Marketing Opportunity", their intentions (to provide mutual support for people who are in small business) are quite noble.


How Profitnet works
ProfitNet (as I see it) takes a different tack on developing small businesses. Instead of offering instruction to business - they create small groups, pop in a trained facilitator and then trust the process that comes out of the small group to guide the learning.

• Exciting - there is the probability of dialogue, interaction, and collaboration between participants.
• Scary - the lack of central control and predictability could cause the busy small business owners frustration.
  

New - not really
After listening to the promotional chit chat, I commented to a fellow audience member that the modus operandi seemed quite similar to House Churches. Could business use such an approach? I'll be attending a small group every month and keep you up to date. Yes - a criteria for participation is confidentiality, and I'll respect that. My reflections will only be on my reactions to the process I've engaged in. These posts are simply a collection of my preconceptions here - and then reconfigure them later on, once I've met with the group.

Not our turn at eFlat marketing

We’ve signed a sale agreement on our beautiful flat, and my little experiment in online property marketing has come to an end.

We tried to market the flat in three ways
1) Self Promotion
Via e-mails to our network of friends. This e-mail contained the URL www.parkmansions.co.za and contained pictures and copy about the apartment (19 March –31 March)
2) Sole Mandate
Via an agent under a Sole Mandate
3) Open Mandate
Through five estate agencies on an Open Mandate who were supplied with the same web site URL


Google Analytics’s tracking time line turns the data into a mountains peak on either end of a flat plateau. I’ve divided this time line into the above-mentioned phases.
Phase 1 – Self Promotion (19- 31 March ) Price: R525 000
The most interest in the site was generated by our mass e-mails to friends on our address books. Unfortunately, I managed to mess things up, and tracked the site indirectly, from the 19-28 March. But a conservative reading of the stats would indicate that the site had more than 60 unique visitors, each spending over 3 minutes on the four pages. Out of this interest we had seven people contact us and four people look around the flat.
Phase 2 – Sole Agent (1 April – 14 May) Price R525 000
After failing to find a buyer, we handed the flat over to our agent, who in the four weeks of his mandate brought four or five prospective buyers around. Interest in the site waned dramatically; we only had 22 visitors over six weeks.
Phase 3 – Open Mandate 15 May - 23 May
The sale of the flat fell through, because the buyer did not qualify for a loan, and so we invited 5 estate agencies to put us on their books. I also invited the agencies to feature the web site in their promotions. In that week 14 unique visits and at the end of the process - a sale.

Although the web site received numerous compliments, it did not sell the flat. The site certainly got lots of attention, but an agent was required to turn the attention into sales. If we’d had someone pursuing the leads generated earlier on, the flat could have been sold far quicker. Cost of putting the web site together is simply the cost of registering a domain name with co.za (R50), and a days worth of development time. Was it worth it. Yes and No. We didn’t sell the flat, Robyn from Pam Golding did the deed but putting it together reminded Jean and I just why we love our little apartment.

Web Video killed the Television Star

Video on the Web

I’ve wasted/invested many an evening viewing web video. Nightly I follow the eclectic daily report from Rocketboom (http://www.rocketboom.com/vlog/), occasionally I watch the open source lectures on MIT's Open Course Ware, (http://ocw.mit.edu/OcwWeb/index.htm) and sometimes I play MTV video jockey (http://www.youtube.com/results?search_query=u2 ).

The following six questions on video and the web are for those who don't have the patience/equipment/time to explore this little fad.

1. What is Video on the Web?
2. What makes web video different from traditional video?
3. How could I incorporate web video into my programme?
4. How would student benefit from web video?
5. Where do I find examples of useful and good web video?
6. How would I start using web video?

1 What is Video on the Web?
Video on the web is video that has been optimised for delivery via the internet. Video (in this format) can either be watched as it is being downloaded (streaming video), or saved onto your computer and then viewed.

2 What makes web video different from traditional video?
Traditional video has always been a one-way conversation between the broadcaster and the viewers. Web video allows for greater feedback between video makers and the video viewers. Web video sites can basically be divided into three categories

a) Web video libraries
b) Web video aggregators
c) Web video editing suites

a) Web Video Libraries
Video libraries are a collection of videos, usually published by an institution or organisation that wants to distribute their resources or opinions amongst a larger audience. The Frontline Documentaries ( http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/view/ ) produced by PBS are an excellent collection of programmes that have been optimized for the web.

b) Web Video Aggregators
Web video aggregators extend the library idea. An aggregator allows all users to upload their own videos onto a website. These aggregators act as an outlet to people’s video recordings and offer feedback from viewers as the site compiles responses from viewers to those posted videos. YouTube (http://www.youtube.com) and Google Video (http://video.google.com/)are two of the more famous Web video aggregators.

c) Web Video Editing Suites
Web video editing suites take the aggregator idea further. These online suites allow you to create, edit and modify your own movie. So after uploading your clip, or collecting clips from other video sites, you can mashed them together and create your own re-mixed web video, or add a st of subtitles. Sites such as JumpCut ( http://www.jumpcut.com/ )allow you to create a movie, right from your browser. Sites such as Mojiti allow you to subtitle existing videos.( http://mojiti.com/) Warning though, these type of sites require bandwidth or the patience of a saint.

3) How could I incorporate web video into my programme?
Web video allows the teacher to shift video watching from a passive learning experience into an active one. Online video and accessible video tools allow learners to become directors and editors as well as viewers.

4) How would student benefit from web video?
If students were able to successfully direct, edit, select, comment, discuss and view a film, they would have to master and demonstrate a wide range of skills. From the simple technical skills involved in editing a video right to problem solving, evaluation and collaboration are other skills that might be required as students evaluate and reflect on what would include in their video.

5) Where do I find examples of useful and good web video
If you go straight to YouTube, you’ll probably have to trawl through a lot of rubbish in order to discover the gems. I’ve found good video through other folk (who share similar interests) and have posted them onto their blogs or their vlogs (web video logs)

6) How would I start using web video?
The options for using web video depend on your vision. You could try create your own Channel. Teachers' TV (http://www.teachers.tv) is a British channel for those who want to see how good teachers are bringing the curriculum to life and improving schools. Copyright restrictions limit our ability to view the content, but the Guardian and Teacher TV have put together a series of programmes that could inspire you (http://education.guardian.co.uk/teacherstv/0,,1753413,00.html). You might however, set your sights abit lower and simply create your own little Video blog. Steve Garfield is a friendly guy who has put together a neat set of seven videos about Video Blogging. About Video blogging ( http://video.google.com/videoplay?docid=7521069282158097201) is the first. In both cases I recommend that you press pause and wait till the video is loaded before you watch it.

(Originally written for the School of Education )