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New York Times, 2/16/03
At Ryze.com, a networking group, members get a free profile page where they list their vitals, favorite quotations, hobbies, previous jobs and future career interests. Then they can contact one another by sending private messages or by leaving notes in a guest book area on each page. -- Abby Ellin, writing for The New York Times, Link
NY Newsday, 2/9/03 Vincent Lai carries things a step further than just showing up ahead of the crowd. This former business analyst, who has studied computer programming and is now considering a writing career, attends Pink Slip Parties as well as events sponsored by Ryze.com, a business networking community. But the latter publishes the guest list on its Web site ahead of time, and Lai has been known to start an online conversation with somebody on the list - and suggest they continue face-to-face at the event. -- Patricia Kitchen, writing for NY Newsday, Link
entrepreneurs.about.com, 2/03 SA: So you see both the face-to-face and the online networking as critical to an entrepreneur's success? GC: I'd say that they're different means to the same end. Face-to-face gives you the in-depth personal experience of networking. It's about making a connection with people, which is best done in person. On-line gives you breadth and searchability. For example, I can find people on Ryze that have an interest in ASP (the searchability), from a pool of thousands of people (the depth). Try doing that in a crowded room of people at a networking party! On-line also allows you to cross the time/distance barrier we alluded to earlier. I can now network with people in Australia just as easily as with someone in Astoria (which is just a few miles away from Manhattan). Ultimately, you're trying to find peole with whom you can together provide more value than you might individually. That's one of the future goals of KASE is to expand our network and allow our members to achieve this kind of "flow" and connectedness. SA: I've really been impressed by Ryze. GC: Yes, me, too. It provides an amazing environment for creating those "weak ties" - loose connections that are not as strong as face-to-face relationships, but that could definitely lead to such. SA: I suppose all online communities do that, but with Ryze expressly focused on business networking, you obviously get a whole different quality of members. Actually, those loose ties are more often where business leads and job opportunities come from than the close connections are, oddly enough. GC: Because (1) they're new connections, and (2) they're broader than the close connections you currently have. I think it's in the periphery/edge that a lot of interesting stuff happens. The people who use Ryze tend to be a pre-selected group of people who are motivated to network and work through the kinks and difficulties of the medium. -- Scott Allen, entrepreneurs.about.com, Link
Honolulu Advertiser, 1/28/03 One master networker is Hawai'i expatriate Keith Kamisugi, who is a two-peat in this column. Kamisugi recently turned me on to an online networking tool called Ryze at www.ryze.com. Creation of an account is simple. Once there, you are connected to people in related lines of business and the start of an online network that you can nurture and develop. Ryze is a free service but also has an advanced service to which you can upgrade. It's amazing what you can learn when you broaden your circle of influence. -- Burt Lum, writing for The Honolulu Advertiser, Link
Web Digest for Marketers, 02/03 NETWORKING
Ryze
Are you a master networker? This site is devoted to extending your business network. Think of it as a business-only version of former networking fave Six Degrees, complete with an events calendar, a message board, private messaging facilities, home pages, profiles and a contact manager. It's free to set up, and once you do you will be able to search for lost colleagues, make new connections and find private networks of people who share your business interests. Each week you'll receive a summary of your activities and your home page traffic stats, so you can see for yourself just how good of a networker you really are. -- Larry Chase, writing for the Web Digest for Marketers, Site
The Guardian, 1/9/03 "Ryzers, as they call themselves, are perhaps the most sophisticated of the bunch. Ryze is already up and running and gives a very cosy feeling to the newcomer. As I write this, I have been a member for just over a day, and already have had five messages left for me. Signing up is simple. You answer a few questions - where you are, where you are from, what you like, and so on, and you can then optionally upload a photo. Because every keyword you enter (things like home town, or interests) is linked to others with the same thing in their profile, you'll immediately have people linked to you with connections." -- Ben Hammersley, writing for The Guardian, Link
Oakland Tribune, 12/02/02 "I couldn't find the appropriate person at Wal-Mart by cold calling," she said. "So I thought maybe I should look on Ryze," Lind said. She had heard about the online networking site and had already signed on. Logging on, she found at once a link to the woman quoted in the article after spending six hours trying to unearth the name by other means. "And there she was on Ryze," Lind said. -- Francine Brevetti, writing for the Oakland Tribune, Link
Online Community Report, 12/02 "Ryze catches users' interests by offering many useful search and networking tools not seen elsewhere." -- Jim Cashel writing in the Online Community Report, Link |