You probably know someone who’s always connecting people. They have an amazing knack for introducing friends to their next business partner, tennis partner, or romantic partner. Few of us are such social prodigies, but software has the potential to turn anyone into a networking savant.
Great networkers can find trustworthy recommendations for the kinds of problems Google and Amazon reviews can’t answer:
When search engines fail us we turn to smaller circles of friends we trust more, but at the cost of missing opportunities in our wider social network. Unfortunately, our brains can only maintain about 150 meaningful contacts at a time. Some people stretch this limit by employing executive assistants and meticulous note taking, and tech startups like Conspire and Dex have tried to be personal CRMs – with limited success.
There’s a better way, and understanding our social networks is the key. Google models consumer interests to match people to the right search results and ads, brokering billions of opportunities. We have similar potential within our social networks, but we need software that understands our social connections and what our friends are seeking to reveal hidden opportunities.
For instance, imagine if LinkedIn pinged you to say your friend Alice is looking to hire someone like your friend Bob – and here’s $100 from her employer for a warm introduction! Or if Instagram offered you $20 to recommend your favorite hiking bag to a friend who’s shopping for one. These would be great deals for recruiters, advertisers, and consumers; but the social targeting tech doesn’t exist yet to fit the pieces together.
That’s where Birb comes in. Birb aims to be the “little bird” that tells you about these opportunities – machine learning that enhances social intelligence. That’s a big goal, but there’s a simple first step: streamlining the serendipitous asking and sharing of recommendations that we already do offline.
Birb’s first product is like Reddit + Fiverr, but personalized to your social network. It’s a way to get your friends’ attention and reward them for convenient, trustworthy advice. The puzzle pieces – the right people plus the right opportunities – already exist. Birb is the catalyst that finds and fits them together.
You can try Birb now and get $5 free to post your first request.
