There are now some 3,300 individuals in Southern Ontario who are members of various Entrepreneurs groups on Linkedin. Examples are the Kitchener-Waterloo Entrepreneurs, Guelph Entrepreneurs, London Entrepreneurs, Toronto Entrepreneurs, Welland Entrepreneurs, Orangeville Entrepreneurs, etc. . It all began with Charles Borras' group on Linkedin: Kitchener-Waterloo Entrepreneurs and radiated from there.
Chances are if you type in your Ontario town name in Linkedin and the word "Entrepreneurs" you'll find a group. In the case of Kitchener-Waterloo, when you type in the word "Kitchener" in the Linkedin search function the first and largest group to appear is K-W Entrepreneurs with some 1600 members and growing. It's the new town square.
About 5 new members join the network of groups every day and the rate of joining appears to be growing slightly. What accounts for the popularity of these groups? I'm developing a theory. The town or city centre where people used to gather to find out, at a glance, what was going on in the town and its marketplace disappeared as town and city cores were hollowed out as people and businesses migrated to the suburbs. These Entrepreneurs groups on Linkedin appear to be filling that gap. The groups are also free and quick and easy to go to get an idea of what is happening in town and to ask for information when needed. Lists of members are searchable by keyword and permits users to build their personal contacts to help them achieve their objectives.
It will be interesting to see how the family of Entrepreneurship groups develop in the future. A recent and experimental group in Honolulu, Hawaii, Honolulu Entrepreneurs, has 5 members.
People value quick and easy communication in a world where they are bombarded with commitments and the overload of messages from marketers online and through traditional media. These groups seem to cut through the clutter and reconnect users to the old town square which continues, but online.
I'd be interested in learning what other users find useful about the groups and will continue to grapple with the reasons why they seem to be growing. My findings may provide material for further blog postings.
