Flugpo is a creative website that's been dubbed a little bit MySpace and a little bit Craiglist. It features a strong social community as well as a useful online classified section that brings added value to users. The founder of Flugpo, David Metz, was kind enough to answer some questions about Flugpo to help About.com's Guide to Web Logs readers understand what Flugpo offers in terms of blog promotion and marketing.
What is Flugpo?
Flugpo is a community built around classifieds. Members can sell items, promote a service, share ideas, and make friends while networking both socially and professionally. We feel that online classifieds are getting more and more dangerous because of both the anonymity and lack of accountability associated with them. Flugpo meets both of these needs with our profile based community and member testimonials. Community is important to us; too many social networking sites have lost that idea, and we believe hosting a community is a privilege not a right.
How did you come up with the idea for Flubpo and how did it get started?
Flugpo as an idea was never set in stone, rather it's been evolving and continues to evolve. We grow with our community and try to best adjust with our members' needs and wants.
How can Flugpo benefit bloggers?
Flugpo provides many ways for bloggers to gain exposure for their blogs. They can welcome other members to their blog by describing it and providing links to it on their profile page. They can join one of the bloggers' groups or start their very own. They can even advertise their blog through the free classified ads as often as they want.
How is Flugpo different from other social networking sites?
Most other social networking sites are social facilitators. Flugpo is a useful tool for people to list items to sell, gain exposure to a business or a service, network, and build online trust and accountability. Flugpo allows you to advertise to a few select people or to the entire site. The choice is yours. These settings choices meet the needs of both a cautious individual and a growing business. We feel strongly that your online information is your own and you should have complete control of what you want to share. All our profiles are customizable to your privacy preferences.
Getting started with a new social site can be overwhelming. What are the first 5 things a new user should do after signing up with Flugpo to get their experience started on the right foot?
- Fill out your profile completely. Tell everyone about yourself or about your business. Don't forget to include links to your blogs or websites.
- Add some pictures to your profile. These can be pictures of yourself, your products or both.
- Check out our classifieds, and if you have something you want to sell or promote, list it in one of our regions.
- Take a look at some of the groups and forums. Find some that interest you and join in.
- Take a look at some of the other members. Start by requesting other members to become part of your community.
What tips can you share with bloggers to help them use Flugpo more effectively?
Be active, be friendly. There are so many nice people in the Flugpo community. Provide a great lead-in to your blog on your profile page and people will be sure to follow. This will be especially true if they recognize you as an active member.
Are there any warnings or "don'ts" that bloggers should know before they sign up and begin using Flugpo?
Don't spam other members. Flugpo is all about advertising and promotion as long as it is done the correct way. Keep your advertising in the form of classified ads, not in unsolicited messages to other members. This holds true for the groups and discussion forums. Leaving a link to your site in a completely unrelated discussion will not get you anywhere in developing a good relationship with others.
What do you see for the future of Flugpo?
I see Flugpo as a rock in the ever evolving social networking site storm. It is a place where people can go to find things they need and feel comfortable with the people they interact with. It will be the place to go when people really get tired of having their privacy violated. Unfortunately it is not that uncommon to read about people using other online classifieds and getting robbed, beaten up and in some cases killed. Flugpo will become known as the safer alternative to most of the bigger sites.
Answer this question from bloggers who may be considering joining Flugpo, "Why should I join another social networking site?"
Flugpo isn't another social networking site. We like to call ourselves a "Social Classifieds Network". Those who have joined so far say they love the community feel and are glad they have a place that's both useful and safe.
And for fun, what does "Flugpo" mean?
Good question! The truth is that I made the word "flugpo" up. When I was registering a domain name it seemed like every word in the dictionary was taken, so alas flugpo was born!
If you would like to get more information about Flugpo, David Metz graciously offered his direct email to About.com's Guide to Web Logs readers. You can contact David with questions about Flugpo at davidmetz@flugpo.com.
