Social Application Review: Jambo Networks

Jambo ("Hello" in Swahili) Networks was created by two entrepreneurs, Jim and Charles in 2004, 10 years after their initial meeting. Jambo is based in Dallas Texas. Jambo Networks has positioned itself with various affinity groups, associations, conferences, and online communities. Its investors/clients include Young Presidents Organization (YPO), Publishing Concept, Inc. (PCI), South By Southwest Festival (SXSW), Macworld Expo, Fuel Cell Seminar, National Outdoor Leadership School (NOLS), and Urban Pages. For those interested in Networking, Jambo is for you! It connects members of a group or community, from any internet-enabled handset, so they never miss a chance to network in person. Jambo provides a Mobile Membership Directory that works like a radar to give any group of people, in the same city and as close as a few blocks away, the ability to detect, search, browse, and connect to each other all from the palm of their hands!

Jambo allows you to network face-to-face by introducing you wirelessly to those who are in walking distance from you. "Jambo seamlessly mobilizes your membership directory or social networking service so that your members can access that content from any internet-enabled handset, anywhere in the world." It's quick and easy to set up. A Jambo representative can have you connected in two days and he/she will manage your service so you don't have to worry about the maintenance. Once you're set-up just fill out a profile of your interests and you're connected to those with similar interests. It easily allows you to filter out people, reveal what your common interests are, send photographs, add tag lines to speed up a search process, and acts as a name and profile reminder. It connects members of groups with each other when within blocks of one another. It also allows members to self-organize by connecting to any network accessible to the individual such as businesses, organizations, or even an online social network such as LinkedIn or My Space. This network allows you to connect to any of your existing accounts, facebook, ebay, blogs, flickr, etc., by adding them into your Jambo service. Jambo connects to Wi-Fi hot spots and to those spaces without a connection through its patent-pending process.

The question asked when dealing with social media tends to be 'will this survive?' Jambo is the only cross-carrier, cross-platform solution that can connect your global membership in person, anywhere in the world. Since your connected through your cell phone, Jambo enables you and your members to stay in touch never missing a chance to connect. Social Networking is a huge market that continues to grow; "over 12.3 million people from the U.S. and Western Europe accessed social networking services from their mobile devices." Jambo's investors and clients have used this network, find it useful and continue to use it on their day-to-day business ventures. Jambo allows these various businesses to proactively build new sales channels that allow them to reach out to local merchants building better relationships. This easy access connection also makes communicating more efficient and effective for all parties connected. With all their business connections, the networks accessibility, and simplicity how can it not survive?

I believe that Jambo would be essential to those in Public Relations because it allows for easy networking leading to opportunities that may not be accessible otherwise. The bottom-line, Jambo's useful for anyone interested in networking. The only catch, you need to pay an annual per member fee and be connected to an internet-enabled handset. Once you are, you become a part of a 'powerful networking experience' and will never miss a chance to connect in person with those you want to meet. So what are you waiting for?!?! Start Jambo-ing!