Comments on: Mike "Zappy" Zapolin on where social media is evolving next

By: Dave

Dave — Thu, 17 Mar 2011 00:38:05 +0000

What happened to Mike "Zappy" Zapolin?
I joined his Internet Warrior Program, paid the membership and then he disappeared. I tracked him down on LinkedIn and Facebook yet, he has yet to respond to me regarding his disappearance after taking my money.
Today….the website based on his book entitled "Internet Warrior" with Alys R. Yablon no longer exists as far as I can tell. I just tried typing in the http://www.internetwarrior.com URL today and got a "server not found error.

Apparently, he is a very smart marketer but, folks should be wary before handing over any money to this man.

By: Free report: PR at war, explosions @ social media summit | Public relations and managing reputation

Wed, 14 Jul 2010 09:57:22 +0000

[...] it in the context of micro magazines. And Mike ‘Zappy’ Zapolin said it at a recent conference: niche is winning the war. Broadcast, big reach media networks are [...]

By: Are niches the next big thing? « FCEdge Powerful Marketing Communications

Are niches the next big thing? « FCEdge Powerful Marketing Communications — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 12:33:56 +0000

[...] Are niches the next big thing? Niche networks are the future of the social Web, says “Internet Warrior” author Mike “Zappy” Zapolin. Broad-based sites such as Facebook won’t go away, Zapolin argues, but they’ll be supplemented by more specialized social tools and services. “If you’re in social network for a business or social media for a certain age group or a certain niche or geographic area, that I think could be the real breakout,” he adds. SmartBrief/SmartBlog on Social Media [...]

By: Pat Hartman

Pat Hartman — Tue, 18 May 2010 20:25:35 +0000

There's nothing new under the sun! The name of the game is targeting and has been since the 1970s.

By: @connectme

@connectme — Wed, 12 May 2010 19:28:33 +0000

To find the 'next' successful social network concept – you need to either (a) create your own unique genre, which is hard, or (b) look at already-successful concepts, and identify red-hot niches that are not getting properly served, which is MUCH easier.

By: Sharon

Sharon — Wed, 12 May 2010 15:34:02 +0000

Excellent point! I think the word we're looking for here is "narrowcasting". Even Food Network is a niche channel, and now they've launched The Cooking Channel for grassroots foodies–a niche of a niche!

By: Emily Molitor

Emily Molitor — Wed, 12 May 2010 14:00:10 +0000

Hi Scott, thanks for your comment. I agree, niche does and will continue to play an important role in social media. Do you have any examples of current niche networks to share? As more and more pop up, they will be great models to look at. Thanks!

By: Scott Gould

Scott Gould — Wed, 12 May 2010 09:33:07 +0000

What a stupid blog title! Niche has always been where it is at. Come on guys, up your game. My recent post Let Attendees Be Participants

By: David Prior

David Prior — Wed, 12 May 2010 05:16:03 +0000

Having picked up on this idea back in NOV09, I agree with Scott and, in the same vein, have worked to put together exactly this type of platform for use across industry verticals, global multis, etc.

Picking up on the nuances of @connectme's comment: I use an open source engine to get the core of the community platform up and running, then augment that with modules/widgets that meet the community workflows. It makes the result functional, reliable, and – best of all – cheap in comparison to either (a) in-house development or (b) buying a 'commercial' platform in.

For me, this opportunity – and the approach I have taken to it – gives great scalability and massive reuse: the platform is skinnable through standard CSS techniques; reuses a lot of the techniques that users are already familiar with from Facebook, LinkedIn, Twitter, et al, and can be deployed inside or outside any firewall that may be in place.

It is a fantastic way to bring disparate members of a community together – whether within an organisation or across a community of interest – and to actively promote the information sharing and other collaborations that give Reed's Law value benefits back to the active community.

There's a two pager on the platform I use at:http://bit.ly/bNYAih

If you want to know more – including how it was built and how you can make your own – I'm happy to chat about it.

Have fun!

By: Scott Fox

Scott Fox — Tue, 11 May 2010 21:59:10 +0000

Right. This is why I'm running 3 businesses on Ning right now and recommend to all my readers and coaching clients to start their own communities, too. Every community in the "real world" deserves its own social network online, too. This offers massive opportunity to entrepreneurs smart enough to identify profitable niches and take action today. Scott Fox http://www.ClickMillionaires.com My recent post Unemployed Scholarship Winners