Posted by Nathaniel Fleming on Tuesday, February 22, 2011 · Leave a Comment
The magazine Fast Company is running a series on the ways Facebook is emerging as a prominent player in the professional world. The magazine is specifically covering companies that are using social media as an integral and valued aspect of their business plan. On Friday, Fast Company covered a Facebook app called BranchOut. The app basically acts like LinkdIn but can be used directly through Facebook instead of on a separate platform. The app has quickly become very popular and it looks like BranchOut could emerge as the new go to tool for virtual job seekers.
The idea behind LinkdIn is really cool and all the hype surrounding the site has given it strong membership numbers as LinkdIn has over 90 million users. But it seems that while many people create LinkdIn accounts with starry eyed visions of networking their way to CEO, not that many people actually use the site regularly. It’s like that fantasy basketball team you sign up for but after about a week you quickly start to forget to sit Shaq when he’s playing two days straight.
So CEO Rick Marini stepped in where LinkdIn left off in the online professional networking game. He created an app that largely mimics LinkdIn but uses the Facebook platform. And frankly, I’m surprised it took this long for someone to think of this. I mean Facebook has about 500 million users and it’s safe to say that most of them are pretty active. Like checking Facebook 5 times a day active. What’s more is that when people check Facebook it’s not like email where you see the new message from your mom and then quickly logout. No, people surf Facebook for hours. They communicate with each other; they play games; they use apps like BranchOut. And it’s safe to say that BranchOut is making a splash on Facebook today. The app had 10,000 users in December, now they’re up to 250,000.
BranchOut really does do primarily the stuff that LinkdIn does. You can network with professionals in your field; maintain an online resume; and find connections to people you know within other companies. And BranchOut also makes sure to keep professional and personal separate. Your Facebook page doesn’t have to paint you a saint but your BranchOut can even if they’re on the same platform.
BranchOut is also trying not to discriminate where LinkdIn does. Marini wants anyone who wants to BranchOut to be on BranchOut. They want college students, blue collar workers, anyone who can network can join. Marini predicts that if you care about your career and you’re on Facebook then eventually you will be on BranchOut too.
And setting up a BranchOut site is really easy. It takes about 3 minutes. I just did it. Like after I wrote that last paragraph and before I wrote this one. You sign up for BranchOut like any other app and if you have LinkdIn you can import all your info with just one click. Otherwise, you fill out a few pages of info on job history etcetera and before you know it BranchOut is telling you who your most influential friends are. It’s asking you which friends you would rather work with. And it’s offering you internship application opportunities across the country. So check out BranchOut and in two months when everyone is hailing it as the new LinkdIn, you my friend will be ahead of the curve.
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