viewpointr’s blog

When I tell people about Viewpointr they immediately say "that's very interesting" (most people I talk to, anyway). 

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(The Helping People Series: Part 2) Click here for Part 1

Why its important to help people.

1) Reciprocity

2) Connectors

Reciprocity

Help someone out and they owe you one. It’s an unwritten law. It’s reciprocity.

Put two people you know in touch with each other, and you’re a lifesaver (first) and a connector (second but also important).

Reciprocity isn’t defined by the old adage “you scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours”, but more by way of mutual exchange; when someone has gone out of their way to do something for you, you too will subsequently do the same when called upon, naturally. Without getting too technical its classic psychology/understanding human-behavior stuff!

Ok let’s have it right! By now you’ve grown out of your old self and have acknowledged that there are new rules in the “NOW”. You can either create your own or follow the new community rules (either or, depending on the kind of person you are…?).

To throw down with entrepreneurs, hustlers, go-getters, philanthropists, bosses (and any other inspirational folk I’ve missed) you gotta get out more. Be vocal, contribute to the happenings of the people you encounter everyday (the web lets you reach even further, that’s a major plus!). Play the productive game with your peers to make a name for yourself or don’t! (and be forgotten).

Connectors

Connect your people to your “people”.

Despite us all maintaining a social presence, we’re still so choosy about who we interact with in our “network”, and that’s not the “way” forward. Sure we interact with a handful of people (and literally I mean a handful) on a daily, but we could and should be more involved with the happenings of the timelines and live-feeds of our friends and their friends. We’ve already committed. Preferential treatment is unfair and actually lazy on your part!

I’m not saying get personal with everyone; I’m saying be a connector. Volunteer your support and extend a hand to your contacts (if and when you see a “cry for help”).

Why connect friends?

1)    You know people your friends want to know (and vice versa)

2)    Friends rely on each other for help and support (you included)

3)    Community involvement (to be seen/known as an influential figure)

4)    It doesn’t cost you anything (and there’s no conflict of interest)

5)    It’s expected of us! (HELLO social networking!!!)

Start using Viewpointr today!

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(The Helping People Series: Part 1)

Why its important to help people.

When Andre (CEO) said “dude lets do a blog about helping people?” minus the swear words I was like YES!!!! Then we got over-excited about putting this blog post out here. HOWEVER L as I started to write this post, it hit me, hard! “this is gonna be a loooooooooooooong read”. So I’m giving it to you in a series (how many? Not sure yet haha) of posts centred around “helping people”.

There’s a number of terrific reasons to help people which is why I opted for a series, but we’re kicking it off with “Why its important to help people”.

1)    Karma

2)    Mentality

3)    Collaboration

Karma. What goes around comes around so get involved with society. Be a nicer person, a better person and help those people around you. Set a good example to others and let society do you right!! Putting people on will not only make you feel good about yourself, but it will result in good karma. It doesn’t cost you much at all.

Mentality. As we get older we start looking at things differently. More aware of what’s going on around us, keen to succeed and make sacrifices in order to get ahead, appreciative of the smaller things. We value our friends more, and if you value yours you wouldn’t think twice about helping a friend in need. Most if not all of us are working on something with great potential, trying very hard to get our individual projects off the ground.

Collaboration. Who can we rely on? Who do we trust?? People we know! Working with people we know to achieve a common goal (big or small, fun or professional) is gratifying and frankly easier than finding a complete random to get to know and trust. Collaborate with friends when pursuing dreams, starting ventures and taking on passion projects.

Viewpointr wants to capture you helping others. So that people around you know who to reach out to for help, because often times we just don't know who to approach.

When someone asks for help it puts us on the spot. What does this person want from me? I have my own stuff to deal with and so forth. Actually most of the time we call on our friends when we need something low-hanging (something small): Do you know anyone who wants to buy my car? Can you speak to your mate who does websites and get me a quote? etc. Its literally just to be introduced or put in touch with someone we need to track down. No big deal! Friends help each other out; that’s what we do; its part and parcel of being a good friend.

It doesn’t hurt to be a good person either. Take us at Viewpointr. We’re a lovely bunch of blokes; always on-hand to help people around us. Its gratifying first and foremost that people request our help and value us enough to come to us in the first place. Furthermore if a friend vouches for someone we don’t really know, then we extend our friendship out to our “mutual friend”, because we never know where or how opportunities will present themselves. One thing is for sure though. Networking is the only way to increase your chances of making things happen. Cold-networking (with strangers) is a different ball-game. Networking amongst friends and mutual friends is where its at. We rely on referrals and recommendations to enable us to make our choices and decisions. We trust people we know (and who know us). Yet we don’t really utilize our friendships to network, instead we just browse profiles and hang out with our mates, keeping friends and productivity separate.

Surround yourself with positive people. Network amongst those who can pull a few strings and help you out, but be prepared to do the same. There’s a word for that: RECIPROCATION. The only way to succeed in this day and age.

Start off by making a request. Invite some friends to help you on your way. Friends should (and will!) be able to help you by way of pointing you in the right direction and getting you traction; positive feedback whatever your request may be.

Whether you know us or not, helping people is the REAL meaning behind “POINTING REQUESTS” and ultimately the vision of Viewpointr, heck we’ve built a business around being approachable and helpful. We live to inspire people, to encourage them to believe in the things they do, to never give up and always go for glory! Some people may call us dreamers, but our users, you guys are the living proof that we are indeed living the dream!

Now go help some friends out!

JW (community g-man)

http://viewpointr.com | http://facebook.com/viewpointr

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We saw off a terrific 2009, in some respects we're sad to leave it behind, but you know how it goes right... Forward motion.

2010 is the now, we're living it so -not much to say apart from wicked sweet festive times, now back to work ready willing and able to handle what this year has to dish out, but overly excited about what we can do for 2010, what we can do for us and team Viewpointr and most importantly what we can and will do for our users.

Good times ahead guys! Stay tuned for more info on featured updates, releases, community driven initiatives and MORE. It's definitely gonna be a 2010 explosion and I mean that in a good way. 

Success and nothin less. Happy New Year all.

The Viewpointr chaps.

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Have you ever asked a question that you wanted a particular type of person to provide you with their opinion?

Many of the questions we ask on a daily basis require a specific person to answer, otherwise, it's less meaningful to us. This is where Viewpointr comes in -- it helps you get specific viewpoints from people outside of your network by going through your trusted friends.

We ask you to structure your question like this:

WHAT do you wanna know?
Subject:
Question:

WHO do you wanna hear from?

***

Here are some example questions that you could use Viewpointr for:

Get advice regarding personal issues
Subject: Marriage expectations
Q: "I'm getting married soon, and I don't have any friends who are married yet. Anything that I should expect?"
I wanna hear from: just married folks, young people who are married, married for a few months now

Get answers from people in a particular profession / industry regarding work related questions
Subject: Investing in Media / Entertainment
Q: "What is your opinion on the current investing climate of the media and entertainment space in emerging markets such as Africa?"
I wanna hear from: media and entertainment professionals, money managers

Get recommendations for products you need
Subject: Website Demo Reel
Q: "I need a demo reel for my website. Does anyone have a good referral?"
I wanna hear from: someone who just got a demo reel done for their website, tech guys

Find people in careers you aspire to be in
Subject: VC Career Path
Q: "I'm applying to business schools in 2010 and I'm interested in pursuing a career in venture capital. I'm struggling with the non-linear career path to becoming a VC. What is the path to becoming a VC?"
I wanna hear from: VCs, people who took non-traditional paths to becoming a VC, business school students

Network to get a job
Subject: Architectural Internship
Q: "I am looking for an internship at an architectural firm in San Francisco. Any ideas?"
I wanna hear from: people in the design industry, someone who has had an internship at a design company, recent graduate

Get recommendations for places you're traveling to
Subject: Traveling to San Francisco
Q: "I'm going to San Francisco next week and have never been. What are the must see places that I should check out?"
I wanna hear from: people who recently traveled to SF, people who are native San Franciscans, people who currently reside in SF

Compare viewpoints from a wide range of people on a specific topic
Subject: Hedge Funds
Q: "Future of Hedge Funds?"
I wanna hear from: someone who is invested in a hedge fund, bankers, money managers, traders, people in government

Recruit candidates for positions you're trying to fill
Subject: Job Opening
Q: "My company is building an ambitious new offering in the online food space and is currently seeking a Lead Developer."
I wanna hear from: ruby programmers, worked in a startup before, boston-based, tech savvy, computer science

Make personal decisions
Subject: Professional Designation
Q: "MBA vs. CFA or both?"
I wanna hear from: MBAs from Canada and US, CFAs from Canada and US, and people who have both

Get feedback on other people's personal experiences
Subject: Private school
Q: "We're thinking of sending our kids to private school, however, we don't know anyone who has gone and we would like to get some insight into the private school system."
I wanna hear from: folks who attended private school in the US and Canada, parents who didn't go to private school, but sent their kids to one

Get advice on a first time experience that you will undertake
Subject: Writing a book
Q: "Writing a book for the first time? Need some help thinking through the number of ideal drafts and maybe some tricks to organize thoughts and structure of layout, as well as shed some light on the process post transcript and publishing."
I wanna hear from: someone who successfully written and published a book, amazon best seller authors

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Many of our early private users have asked us -- "Why would I use Viewpointr over email to send questions to my friends?"

Firstly, Viewpointr facilitates communication with your friends-of-friends, not your friends. Your friends point questions to their friends who can best answer your questions.

The other reasons why you would use Viewpointr vs email are:

1. Unlike the back and forth with email, you can directly ask your question to people you want viewpoints from.
   For example, if you're looking to get in touch with a "designer" and you reach out to a few friends who you think can put you in touch with them; you would have to write an initial email to your friend (or friends), wait for a reply, and then, your friend(s) would either have to do an email introduction or provide you with the designer's contact info. All of this takes time and involves a bit of back and forth.
2. Host your conversations in one place.
   For example, if you're looking to get multiple viewpoints from a several different types of people such as "designers, architects, and engineers" regarding the same topic / question, it makes sense to have that conversation in one place where it's easily tracked, stored and retrieved when needed.
3. To capture you and your friend's influence.
   The beauty of Viewpointr is having the ability to capture the various types of people and information that your friends have access to. Our online profiles like Facebook, LinkedIn, Blogs, and Twitter are often static and don't share the full story with regards to the types of people your friends can point you to. Viewpointr captures your questions, the questions you point, and the questions you answer seamlessly without you doing anything else but pointing or answering them.

Ask a question that you're looking for multiple viewpoints and invite at least 3 friends to point it. Have a conversation with them and see how your profile grows.
 
***

As a brief sneak preview to what we're working on -- users will soon be able to benefit from all of Viewpointr's features by simply using their own email. Think posterous meets yahoo answers! Very exciting. Stay tuned via Twitter and Facebook.

Cheers,
Andre

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Dear users of ProspectLinker,

As I’ve mentioned a few months ago, we have decided to take the company in a new direction that will better facilitate our vision — helping you get insight from people outside of your network.

We are now a couple of weeks away from releasing a preview of Viewpointr, and you will be the first to get invites.

What is Viewpointr?

Viewpointr is a service that helps you get insight from friends of friends. With Viewpointr, you can capture the true influence and knowledge of your friends.

Why are we changing ProspectLinker?

What we learned from ProspectLinker was that most of the answers to questions were provided by friends of friends, which seemed to be the underlying incentive to answering questions. So, we decided to amplify this behavior and make it the sole feature of Viewpointr.

What’s the problem?

When we need insight from people outside of our network, we tend to go to our friends to help put us in touch with right people or information, however, often times, we don’t know which friends can help. Viewpointr solves this problem.

What’s the solution?

Viewpointr helps you connect with the right people outside of your network by knowing which friends you should go through.

We’re very excited to having you all try out the service in the next couple of weeks.

In the interim, follow us on Twitter and become a fan on Facebook so you can keep track of our progress.

Thanks,

Andre Charoo
Visionary

–
Subscribe to our Blog || blog.viewpointr.com
Follow us on Twitter || twitter.com/viewpointr
Become a Fan on Facebook || facebook.com/viewpointr
Join our LinkedIn Group || J.mp/Linkedin/Viewpointr
Website || viewpointr.com

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Got the Viewpointr blog going, hooray! To be fair, we always had a blog, but we’ve now removed the clunky .wordpress and legitimised it to blog.viewpointr.com. AG baby (all good!).

It’s a wicked time for the Viewpointr team right now, going from strength-to-strength. We’ve been in stealth mode for a while, working hard to deliver an absolute screamer for the people. Today and going forward we rise to the surface and shout from the roof-tops that we’re here, we’re alive, and we’ve got a hit!

There’s a chance people are gonna ask themselves, what’s the story behind Viewpointr, who are these guys and how did they just appear on the social-search-startup radar. The truth is we’ve been doing this startup for a good couple of years. We tried and failed twice and each time we got back on our feet and kept moving forward. The important thing to note is we were in this social-search space way back in 2006 when we had nkdGuru (a service where students could tap people for guidance or a mentor), when we evolved into ProspectLinker (a similar service that actually evolved into a community where people get insight from professionals outside of their network), and now with Viewpointr ( a service that helps you get insight from friend-of-friends). The point here is that we know what we’re talking about, we know this space second to none, and we’re gonna champion it like no other!

The vision has always been to leverage the web (and the power of a network) to enable people to build better relationships, complete work faster, find resources more easily, and reach the right people at the right time. In no particular order. That’s us. We don’t want to spill the beans in one sitting, we’re here, you know where to find us, and we’ll publish information once a week to bring you latest goings-on at Viewpointr.

For now, I wanted to get rid of the cheesey “hello world” default post we had, and replace it with a bit of life. You can actually go to our homepage and read more about us there.  Stay tuned, subscribe to our post, share our messages, become at one with us.

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