WhoGlue has always been about leveraging the power of human networks, but we’ve had a different philosophy.  From day one, it’s been our belief that individuals need to retain the right to control access to their own information; no exceptions.  I don’t know anyone who brings their Rolodex to a conference and hands it to anyone who asks, nor can I imagine that most people would share pictures (and the names) of their kids with total strangers.  It’s actually quite simple; online behavior must be able to mimic physical social interaction, or it will cease to be useful over the long term.  Our philosophy wasn’t too popular early on…conventional wisdom (and venture capital dollars) said to get as big as possible as quickly as possible, and capture as many eyeballs as you could along the way (hey, we’ll figure out how to make money eventually).  We took the long view and concentrated on supporting organizations that had a legitimate and credible affinity among their members.  It’s our goal to be the technology enabler behind the scenes for member-based organizations; not to compete by becoming a separate destination for their members. 

Recently, the big social networking sites have begun to realize that it’s not just about making it easy to share information…it’s also about making it easy to control access to that information.  We figured that out a long time ago; as a matter of fact, we filed for a patent called “Distributed personal relationship information management system and methods” (remember, this was before “social networking” came into vogue) way back in 2001.  In the simplest of terms, individuals must be able to choose who can see what.  It’s not about sharing with the world…it’s about appropriately sharing based on a level of trust and an existing relationship.  Shouldn’t you decide if a co-worker or a high-school classmate can see pictures from the family vacation, or if business competitors can see your contact list?  It seems so obvious now, but the big social networks have only recently started to figure it out. 

By the way, that patent was granted in July 2007…

I was very happy to be able to re-connect with long-term clients like Ohio State and Michigan, as well as getting to know one of our newest clients, LSU. It reaffirms what I love about WhoGlue’s business model; to provide a long-term technology solution that helps our clients with everything they need to manage membership and donor data, support business processes and events, and provide their members with benefits like a searchable directory and lifetime email forwarding. We don’t sell a shrink-wrapped box and cash the check; we enter long-term relationships with our clients with the goal of providing affordable technology that grows and evolves to meet new requirements over time. The best thing about this is that our clients have become some of my best friends.

What a great (and tiring) week! I’m looking forward to attending the 2010 NLWC next June in Notre Dame. If you’d like to learn more about the NLWA, check out the website at www.nlwa.org.

In honor of this special day, I decided that we needed a new website. Rather than a static site that reads like a brochure, we want something that lets us have a conversation with our clients, prospects, and the occasional insomniac. We’ll share our ideas, beliefs, opinions, and maybe a joke or two. We’ll tell you about what we’ve learned and what we’re still trying to figure out, and I hope you find it interesting enough to come back and visit every now and then.

Wholigans rule!