An interview with Peter Cunningham, UK & Ireland Director of Viadeo
Social Media Portal (SMP): What made you start Viadeo?Peter Cunningham (PC): The origins of Viadeo lie in the decision of a group of serial entrepreneurs to create an offline business club in France in 2000. The entrepreneurs realised their businesses would benefit if they met and shared ideas and solutions to problems and facilitated introductions to their contacts.
When the club reached 200 companies an online solution was required. This was later opened as a public network in 2004 and reached a million members by the end of 2006. In January 2007, Viadeo internationalised with 5 European offices and the interface in seven languages. The Viadeo Group now includes Tianji, the leading business network in China.
SMP: What was the most challenging part of building the service?PC: One of the biggest challenges was putting the website into seven languages (English, French, German, Italian, Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch). Everything has to be translated and often in a short time frame. However, the effort is worth it as Viadeo is the only business network that lets you have multi-language profiles.
SMP: Who are your target audience and why?
PC: Viadeo is a lifetime career and business management portal. Anyone can join but only those who are in business, whether as an employee or owner/founder of a business, or who intend to have a career in business will really benefit from the network.
Viadeo?s members range from students and graduates to employees in large and small businesses to recruitment consultants, business angels and investors. The typical members are middle and senior managers or founders/owners of companies, but often the most active members are business developers, recruiters, headhunters and small business owners.
SMP: How did you initially attract users to your site, and how do you do it now?PC: The very first users came from the members of the offline business club and their contacts. The first members outside France came from the contacts of our existing French members, but we have also invested in online marketing, public relations and some offline events. Most members come from ?virality?, that is being invited by existing members. Important sources of members are also partnerships (where we give a partner their own free Viadeo) and spontaneous members driven by PR.
SMP: What are your best and low moments of what you have been doing so far?PC: The best moments are always when we meet members unexpectedly at events and they come up and say ?I joined your network and it is great?. The worst is always hearing that there is yet another network being launched every day which leaves you wondering whether the World will soon get fed up with all these social networks.
SMP: Now that you are established, what do you see as your biggest challenges and opportunities?
PC: I would mention Google?s OpenSocial, Facebook getting Microsoft?s cash, and the potential listing of several of the largest social networks as being key. OpenSocial is both a challenge and an opportunity and may greatly change the social networking landscape ? it is too early to tell. With the Subprime credit crunch and $100 barrel petrol in the background the ultimate winners may be the networks that get to market before the IPO door shuts on their rivals!
SMP: What are the next moves for Viadeo?PC: Viadeo will continue its expansion in its key markets in Europe and will look to develop in Asia. This may involve partnerships with the leaders in local markets.
SMP: What?s the next big step for social media and networks?
PC: The future will see the small networks with no critical mass and business model struggling and going out of business. There will be many more niche communities but these will be as subsets of larger communities such as Community Groups on Viadeo or on white label networks like Ning.
SMP: What going to be direction and what?s going to be hot throughout 2008in your space and in social media (networks)?
PC: OpenSocial will be huge ? it will be a great opportunity for widget and gadget developers. There will also be increased interaction between brands and members of communities as the latent potential of networks is developed and monetised.
At some point in the future the mashable profile will probably come into being ? the Jabber of social networks! Maybe not in 2008 though!
SMP: How does this fit into plans at Viadeo?PC: Viadeo is fully committed to OpenSocial and was the only European network among the Official Launch Partners in Mountain View when Google launched OpenSocial.
SMP: If you weren?t running Viadeo what would you be doing?
PC: Probably running a start up ? in technology or Internet or mediacomms ? and definitely still drinking too much coffee! Hopefully finding more time for sports and family and friends!
Now some questions for fun
SMP: What did you have for breakfast / lunch?PC: Breakfast: Harvest Crunch. Lunch: Bagel, soup and fruit juice
SMP: What?s the last good thing that you did for someone?PC: I often try and introduce two people who would benefit from knowing one another ? and when the introduction leads to something positive that is always nice.
You didn?t expect me to say I saved someone?s life on the way into work this morning now did you!!!
SMP: How many hours to you work a week?PC: Too many! 60-70!
SMP: When and where did you go on your last holiday?PC: Syracuse, Sicily.
SMP: What?s the first thing you do when you get into the office of a morning?PC: Get a coffee and check the Viadeo member stats!
SMP: If you had a superpower what would it be and why?PC: As a kid I always loved the Avengers (the US comic with the Famous Four and three others) and the ability to go invisible or see through objects would be great!
NB: Peter Cunningham has now left Viadeo
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