myBiz: Sri Lanka’s First Online Social Network for Customers and the Business Community
12-Jan-2010
Where do we go when we want to find friends? Facebook, of course. Ubiquitous and easy to use, tracking down a long-lost acquaintance is only a matter of minutes. If only it were as simple to find other things – businesses, products, services. But it can be, with the launch of an innovative new website – myBiz.lk (http://www.mybiz.lk)
myBiz is more than a conventional business directory – it is Sri Lanka’s first online business community and social network and is completely free. Creating a profile - whether as a business or customer - is straightforward. Indeed, myBiz is a site that is extremely accessible and easy to navigate. It allows businesses to feature their products and services whilst expanding their audience. The site also allows customers the freedom of speedily browsing through a variety of products and services to find what they need. myBiz aims to revolutionize the local business world, bringing customers and businesses closer together and creating connections all via the medium of the internet.
Brainchild of myBiz Praveena Sarathchandra
The brainchild of Praveena Sarathchandra, myBiz was entirely conceptualized and developed by this talented young individual. A past pupil of Dharmaraja College in Kandy, Praveena is currently following a B.Sc degree in Software Engineering at the Asia Pacific Institute of Information Technology (APIIT) in Sri Lanka. Inspired by the rapid growth of Facebook, Praveena realised the ramifications of social networking. He designed a site structured around the same concept, but aimed at the Sri Lankan business community -thus, myBiz was born. The young virtuoso outlines his target for his new site: “My hope is that all businesses in Sri Lanka – from the smallest to the largest – have a presence on myBiz. I want to see thousands of business profiles, connections being made, partners found, customers spoilt for choice. myBiz can be the business network that caters to all – it can create a revolution not only within business, but also within IT.”
Businesses who register on the site have the added advantage of being able to create their own websites for free. Furthermore, technical know-how is not essential – the myBiz page creator allows any business – even a corner-shop - to create unlimited pages with ease. And for companies with their own sites, myBiz can be used as a portal to direct traffic to their websites. There is no limit to the number of products and/or services businesses can feature on myBiz – the more information and images they add, the more interested customers are likely to be. myBiz is the perfect medium by which local businesses can connect to customers and other similar businesses, increase their exposure and ideally, garner more business for themselves.
Customers who visit the site can browse a range of products and services. Users may search through the directory using categories or tags. The addition of tags also makes it easier to refine searches, allowing customers to find more specific information if they so wish. Clients who register with the site can create their own profile, via which they can review businesses, products and services, providing ratings which will appear on the pages of the relevant items reviewed. Users may also facilitate their network by creating lists of favourite businesses and products and subscribing to alerts from chosen businesses. Not only does myBiz provide customers with choice and the opportunity to voice their opinions on products/services, but also provides them with the chance to connect on a deeper level with the favourite businesses and be recognized as a loyal customer.
myBiz creator Praveena has high hopes for the site. “I want myBiz to go mobile – so that even those with no internet access can benefit from it.” In the mobile version he envisions, users will be able to browse the entire directory – for places to shop, eat – while on the go, wherever and whenever on their mobile phones. Additionally, businesses would be able to send SMS alerts to subscribed customers about news, special offers, sales and so forth. This ambitious move requires sponsors, who Praveena is eagerly keeping an eye out for. “I strongly believe that myBiz will perform a great role in the day-to-day lives of Sri Lankans, serving millions of users. This is my dream.”