Twitter is a great example of simplicity. A straightforward concept with a clean user interface. It may almost be too simple because I don’t fully “get it” sometimes. That could be that I’m still searching for my purpose on Twitter. As you might guess I have a hard time keeping anything beyond a URL under 140 characters.

On the flip side, Facebook is a growing example of the ultimate end-all be-all social network experience, packed with functionality–plenty of buttons to click and things to do. Thus, the dilemma when embarking on a social network concept. Aim for simplicity, or mash Facebook, MySpace, YouTube and eHarmony into one website and hope that it ultimately outgrows and outshines them all?

The more features you build into your network, the more time it will take and the more expensive your development fees will be. That represents your investment as well as the opportunity costs of launching months or potentially years after you feasibly could. As a builder of social networking websites, you might think that I would push for more features to sell bigger projects, but more often than not I will vote for the simple concept or the scaled down “Phase 1″ feature list. My philosophy is that you can always roll out more features down the road. It’s never too late to do this, but it can be too early in some cases.

I honestly find myself much more excited to work on the simpler websites that come through our doors. With the overall mission or goal of the site being simplified, it provides an opportunity to really optimize a few screens with a handful of key functions. Find the most intuitive experience to engage your users immediately and have them coming back for more without needing to think too hard or search too far. Once they like what they see and can do, that I feel is the time to surprise and reward your user base with new fun features to try out!

Looking at the potential features to build into a network is like being a kid in a candy store… for some. So how do you scale down your concept to achieve a simple but successful concept?

• Find your target audience. Don’t say “everybody.” Think about the specific type of users you want participating on the site. Then think about what they would want to see and do most. This feature should ideally be what fundamentally sets you apart from competing sites. Build off that one group and that key user experience to flesh out the most imperative features for your beta launch.
• In the struggle to identify these key features, don’t feel as if you are relinquishing other features that you really do want. Draft a running Phase 2 list. Once you launch your beta and start growing your initial user base, you’ll be able to periodically add in new features from this list, as well as feedback on desired features that you’ll likely receive from your users. Remember that what you think is critical may not necessarily be what keeps your users coming back. Your community will let you know through their activity and website feedback what they want to see to improve their experience. Even better, collect a focus group and survey what features they would find most helpful!

• Functionality aside, less can be more when it comes to design as well. Web 2.0, shiny, crisp and clean are all terms that our designers like to hear most of the time. It’s a style of design that is minimalist and uses subtle design elements to guide the user experience without overwhelming them with loud or overly intense graphics. This is not always the case of course, as sometimes a site theme calls for a bold color palette or rich, textured graphics. But over the years I have grown to appreciate the many shades of gray that can make up a very elegant design.
• Look to the social network giants as examples of what to do and not to do. While Facebook has an abundance of features, they still have a classic user interface, unlike it’s former rival MySpace which quickly became synonymous with sparkly graphics and cluttered pages. This out of control user experience may have been a key factor in its decline in popularity, especially in certain demographics.

In our consumer-driven society, it’s increasingly difficult to “keep it simple.” There are so many choices, so many possibilities. We rarely get to the store getting only what we set out to buy, we often walk away with much more, some of which we don’t really need or ultimately use. Don’t let your development project turn into a wasteful impulse buy. Drill down to achieve a sensible development plan and remember that simplicity can make all the difference.

When I first discovered the term “mommypreneur” I took to it pretty quickly. I still celebrate being a mother and a business owner, and the challenges that those dual roles play in my life, at home and at work. I recently learned that as a female C.E.O. of a high-tech firm, I represent less than 1% of the total private companies founded in a year. I knew I was an oddball, but I don’t think I quite realized to what extent. With so few others, it’s obviously difficult to find peers or even mentors. In fact, searches to connect with other pioneering mothers or successful young women are often met with a bunch of spam.

For example, on Twitter, to build a following you often “follow” other users with the same interest based on some keyword searches. Following multiple accounts who identify as working moms or mommypreneurs yields a barrage of spammy Direct Messages. Some of them lead you to scam websites that promise profitable work-from-home opportunities, or only marginally better opportunities to network with thousands of other professional woman–for a price! Why is a window into this very small world fraught with scams and closed doors that only open with hefty membership fees? It truly saddens me that this community has been targeted as vulnerable for exploitation, when I imagine what women starting out in the business world are met with on their initial search for insight and resources.

That said, in my ongoing search to find like-minded others, I have found a few valuable online meeting places for professional women and mothers. Unlike the majority of sites that target the same demographic, these sites are focused on important professional topics and have the ultimate goal of elevating women professionally, not just lining their pocket books. (more…)

I happen to think there’s about a million good reasons to start a social network, but that naturally is because I live and breathe this industry, and I have an amazing team at my fingertips who happen to be skilled in all levels of social network geekery. Outside of my mania however, there are numerous sound and legitimate reasons to start your own online community. Below I have highlighted a few, and I hope to build onto this list in the future…

Fill an Untapped Niche in the Social Networking World. If you’re anything like me, you have periodic revelations about something that you’re certain hasn’t been done yet. And if you are me, you immediately think about how you can fill the void through a social network of some sort. Like Twitter but only for sports fans! A community for Twilight-obsessed moms! A network to connect tattoo enthusiasts with tattoo artists! While social networks have really become commonplace in our lives the past few years, there is still plenty of opportunity to fill a void. I will say that the chances are low that any run-of-the-mill idea can compete with social networks giants like Facebook, Twitter or LinkedIn. These networks target a very general and broad audience. Websites that target specific niche communities, serving the needs of that particular group, I feel have a fighting chance of gaining momentum. If successful, they could have a chance of achieving more broad appeal. Facebook, for example, was originally built for college and university students. MySpace was primarily for musicians. Both evolved from serving a specific niche community to serving literally millions of users from all over the globe, including numerous corporate giants who now use these networks as must-have microsites for their brands.

My advice? Take your idea, identify potential target audiences as specifically as you can, research competing sites and find out how you can best serve that group with the most useful tools. What if there are other tattoo networks, for example? Don’t be discouraged. If there are others competing in this market, it’s typically a good sign. It means that there actually is a market. You just need to find out how to make your concept better: more unique, more useful, more visually-appealing and valuable enough to attract the lion’s share of the market. (more…)