Posted by Clarence Wooten
Wed, 22 Aug 2007 12:13:00 GMT
The entire CollectiveX team would like to thank the blogging community for their coverage of yesterday’s launch of CollectiveX 2.0—Introducing
Groupsites.
There were many great reviews by popular Web 2.0 blogs and media ranging from TechCrunch to CNET. Each blog review provided a unique perspective into the features, benefits, and general thoughts regarding the CollectiveX platform for Groupsites.
Some of the blog posts included colorful comments from some readers balanced by first hand endorsements from CollectiveX Champions.
The reviews:
Mike Arrington of TechCrunch kicked off our launch coverage with his post. He starts by providing a rundown of CollectiveX’s evolution since our beta test launch in February of last year. Mike explained how the initial focus of CollectiveX was for business-oriented groups such as boards and non-profits that needed private intranets for their members. He then covered our business model and commended us for doing a great deal with a small team and a minimal amount of funding
(especially by Silicon Valley standards ;-)—Thanks Mike.
Kristen Nicole of Mashable followed up with her post which placed primary emphasis on how Groupsites enable members to combine
their professional and social profiles on a single (CollectiveX) platform. The post mentioned the privacy issues that result in “merging these sides of life” but didn’t share how CollectiveX addresses these privacy issues with Groupsites. Perhaps a future post from Mashable will explore CollectiveX in greater depth.
Richard MacManus from Read/WriteWeb wrote a very insightful post that referred to Groupsites as Groupware 2.0 or “Social Groupware.” Although the term “Social Groupware” is new to me, I think his statement has a lot of validity. I can see how CollectiveX fits that mold for the many business users that currently use Groupsites. He further notes that he likes where CollectiveX is
headed with our broader focus that balances consumer and enterprise but thinks it will be interesting to see if Groupsites can successfully
be branded as both. I think we’re off to a good start so far, but time will tell. We’re excited about the ride ahead.
Rafe Needleman of CNET’s Webware blog took time out to interview me, evaluate CollectiveX and post about the launch of Groupsites on Webware. He starts off by saying that the CollectiveX is quite good and that “he would have no problem recommending Groupsites to someone who wants to build a professional or social site.” He mentions that CollectiveX won’t bite or frustrate its users – we are certainly happy to hear that… we work very hard at usability. He goes on to say that the analogy that I gave him when I referred to CollectiveX as a “build your own Facebook” is more aspirational than accurate. He won’t here me disagree with that ;-) CollectiveX is millions of users away from their scale and, unlike Facebook, we are totally group-centric.
Steven Fisher of Startup Spark
started a multi-part post that will cover our launch throughout the week. His posts will be centered around his interview with me regarding my experiences as an entrepreneur. I personally know that Steve is not too shabby of an entrepreneur himself. I look forward to his follow-up posts on our launch. I am also hopeful that others will gain some insight on how crazy one must be to do this (I referring to being an entrepreneur of course ;-).
Last but not least, we’d like to thank Dave Sabol for writing a great post on his Associated Knowledge blog about his experience as a user since he discovered CollectiveX. Dave covers in eloquent detail how he came upon
CollectiveX after having looked at pretty much every major group-oriented product. It is users like Dave and Gareth, who wrote a similar post a few months back, that make the hard work put forth by the entire CollectiveX team rewarding.
We thank you all for helping to make the official media launch of Groupsites a success. I speak for the entire CollectiveX team when I say we value
your feedback and patronage of our service and look forward to having you take this ride with us as we continue to build and improve as a company.
Sincerely,
Clarence Wooten
and the CollectiveX Team
Posted in Praise & Props, Business Chatter, News & Updates
Posted by Clarence Wooten
Tue, 21 Aug 2007 22:08:00 GMT
With the release of version 2.0 its platform, CollectiveX transforms the Web experience for professional and social groups
Columbia, MD (PRWEB) August 21, 2007—CollectiveX, an Internet technology company based in Columbia, MD, today, with the official launch of version 2.0 of its platform, introduces Groupsites to the Internet.
“The phenomenal growth of social networks has lead many groups to attempt to communicate and connect with their members through existing social networking sites, in the process, learning that the experience does little for the group. With today’s launch of Groupsites, groups are now able to share, communicate and network without losing control of their brand, privacy or members,” said Clarence Wooten, founder and CEO of CollectiveX.
Introducing Groupsites
CollectiveX-powered Groupsites combine the best features of discussion forums, email lists, calendars and social networks. They tailor and integrate these features in a way that addresses the differing communication and privacy needs of groups small and large. Additionally, members are provided with a single login and dual profile personas (social and professional) for use across multiple Groupsites.
Sonja Williams, Chief Marketing Officer of CollectiveX stated, “Many individuals are growing frustrated with having to create multiple profiles and login credentials across multiple social networking sites. CollectiveX-powered Groupsites enable them to control their professional and social networking experience within any Groupsite that they create or join.”
Clarence Wooten, a noted serial entrepreneur, introduced ’’ready-made websites to go’’ to the Internet in 1999 with ImageCafe.com, which was acquired 7 months after it launched for more then $20 million that same year by Network Solutions/VeriSign, envisions Groupsites as the Web 2.0 equivalent of websites.
“Websites provided a one-way communication experience. Groupsites provide far more,” said Wooten. “Going beyond, photos, videos and comments Groupsites enable groups to interact in a way that maintains their identity and purpose,” he explains.
Regardless of the type of group: social or professional, or whether the group seeks to connect privately, or publicly for others to join, Groupsites maximize the group experience. Groupsites also provide further context to your connections through the use of endorsements and kudos—understanding that everyone’s not your “friend.”
Free to setup and extremely easy to use: individuals, membership organizations, and companies have already created close to 7,000 CollectiveX-powered Groupsites.
Companies are using Groupsites to connect within departments, intranets and workgroups. Membership organizations and clubs are using Groupsites to replace email lists and empower member-to-member networking. Groupsites are also being used to build community around interests, products, publications and families.
To bring increased exposure to public CollectiveX-powered Groupsites, today CollectiveX is also announcing its launch of the Groupsites Directory, located at http://www.groupsites.com
The Business Model:
CollectiveX offers three options for Groupsites. Anyone can set up a free Groupsite which includes everything groups need to share, network and communicate, while giving groups the ability to upgrade “a la carte” to premium options when and if they need them. Premium features include: removal and control advertisements, enhanced security and permission controls, increased storage capacity, and self-serve branding options.
For organizations seeking to organize and manage multiple full-featured Groupsites under a single account, or provide enhanced support for large Groupsites with substantial members, CollectiveX Enterprise Edition provides these groups with enhanced support, a dedicated account representative, simplified billing, and expanded file storage.
In addition to the thousands of small social and informal groups, Groupsites are being used by large enterprise groups including: Accenture BeLux (corporate alumni), The Nature Conservancy (internal volunteer and workgroups), Baltimore County Public Schools (internal workgoups), the American Chemical Society, and more.
What Users Are Saying:
“CollectiveX Groupsites fall somewhere between Yahoo Groups and a white-label Facebook.” – Farhan Rehman
“Groupsites are like Microsoft Sharepoint, but are much cooler and far more user-friendly.” – Jeff Mason, VP Marketing, Social Solutions
About CollectiveX:
Founded in late 2005 and launched in May 2006 by serial technology entrepreneur, Clarence Wooten, CollectiveX is a hosted platform for the creation of Groupsites. CollectiveX is funded by Wooten, a small group of angel investors, and the State of Maryland DBED. CollectiveX is on a run rate to become cash flow positive by the 4th quarter and anticipates rising its Series A financing in the near future.
For more information or to set up your own Groupsite, visit: http://www.CollectiveX.com To locate and join public Groupsites that interest you, visit http://www.Groupsites.com the official online directory of public Groupsites.
