Barely 30 hours ago Linda Ikeji the successful blogger launched her chain of business categories under the lindaIkeji group. This has attracted a number of analyst’s comments, condemnations and commendations. In this write up I will like to be critical about the good, bad and ugly part of this laudable project.

As at the time of writing this post, the lindaikejisocial has 753,000 search results and a 0.26 seconds opening rate on google. It shows how this subject trends. My focus is on the lindaikejisocial part of the business. This division has attracted more attention than the others because the idea is indigenous, brave and laudable. The site crashed within the first 2 hours of launch (a sign of good or bad things to come) the sign-up had some major challenges while the few that could get through complained about the usability, aesthetics and feel of the website. This to me is just a teething problem that can be adjusted as progress is made.

Let me start by saying that these teething experiences are not new to tech startups world. This is the normal blue print in the tech world. While many may be expecting things to start working from the launch date, this is not the agile way of product development. The agile way recommends that you plan and make changes as you progressively elaborate.

So what are the prospects of the lindaikejisocial:

1. First mover advantage: This will be the first indigenous company to design a site that brings people together on a social level (although the site does not have optimal social platform features sets that breeds interaction and engagements). This move comes with all the advantage of becoming the first business in a product category in Nigeria. If this works the site will amass much market share and control.
2. Ease of settlement: Recently the problem of FX settlement of adverts on social networks has been a big problem. Because this company is in Nigeria we expect that settlement will be in Naira. Companies will see that placing adverts on this platform is far cheaper than what they cough out to the likes of Facebook and google at a similar level of coverage and impression.
3. Local content: This will limit the conversation to local and related issues. This looks at the power of focus. Even Nigerians in Diaspora can network with their beloved ones through the site. The platform will be the best platform to advertise on if your audience is localize and have similar persona. This brings me to the second advantage under local content which is customization. You can target your advert to a particular set of customers, users in different localities.

The challenges LindaIkejisocial will face include:

1.Creating a friendly user interphase: Gone were the day where you could feed Nigerians with grasses. The site is simply a buying site rather than a social network. This is a no-no for me. You cannot lump up the social part of the site with the buying features in the first few days of launch. Buyology, the great book shows how humans behave, the psychological part of humans - why people buy or refuse to buy. People will definitely sign-up, the question is if they will remember to visit the site next day.lindaikeji-newsfeed
2. Developing a user experience: [/b]According to Victor Asemota, he announced the lack of respect for user experience on his facebook page. User experience is the emotion (joy or sadness ) you feel when you are engaged physically or virtually with a brand (essence). When a site of such magnitude lacks this core ingredient for success, people dissociates.
[b]3. Building asset base: Most great social sites especially Facebook and Instagram have amassed great assets. Now you may be thinking I am taking about money. This is not what they deal in. These great companies are into data business. This takes time and effort to build. Currently Facebook is growing to a 2 billion user network. This is their main asset. It will be difficult for LIS to develop this assets in 2 – 3 years without first showing users sincerely love and commitment to provide a great user interphase and experience.
4. Designing a value proposition that attracts Nigerians: Blogging about people and sharing gossip news can be easy compared to bring people together. Why does LIS think people will leave their existing network to join a new one. What is in it for them? I believe an average attention seeker is already on 3 or more social networks and will crave great incentive to join a new one especially one going through its startup challenges.
5. Continuous engagement: Ask yourself why do I go to facebook and instagram every day. The answer is simple, we need to know or tell others what we have done, what we want to do. This can come in words and in graphics. The idea is that we seek to communicate what we feel everyday to anyone that cares to listen.fb-feed
6. Crossing the chasm: Reaching critical mass requires more than just giving people cash for commitments. It requires a social attachment and addiction to a site. A cash reward system can be good at the start but this customer relationship model cannot be supported long term.

My observations:

1. Interaction void:[/b]At the moment I do not see the social part of the business having a smooth ride like the blog because the core of social networking are interactions, conversation and commonality, critical elements the site lacks at the moment.
The site does not have great business strategy behind it: The name lindaikejisocial differs from what the site does. The site is simply an e-commerce site not a social networking site. Facebook never monetized their site until they reached critical mass.
[b]2. The revenue model is disheartening and disturbing: Why should you pay people to get value. No great social site can be built of cash reward system without likability as the core value. It is like paying peanuts for people’s gold, it’s like raping me and paying me. One day I would have been paid enough not to get raped anymore. The recruitment process must be based on social likability and community building not transaction based.Money can buy real and deep love but can purchase some love for a while. twitter-note

3. Asset mismanagement: Lindaikeji is a brand name and nobody in their right mind can deny this truth however her blog carries more value than you can ever imagine. I expect that the LIS should be a convenient extension of the blog which should eventually transforms into what we are seeing today. The LIS should have stood alone, start with a freemium model to gather traction. Maybe it was too early to show us the end of the road map the first day of launching.
The name lindaikejisocial differs from what the site does. The site is simply
an e-commerce site not a social networking site.

In conclusion, the feeling that the site crashed the first 2 days can be a good and bad sign. This is good because it shows that people are eager to sign up,the bad news is that when these early adopters get in and experience a disrespectful site they may not be kind enough to come back.

Lastly let me warn that the number of signup is only a vanity metric that does not translate to value. LIS must start looking for actionable metrics that will generate value for the site. For LIS to reach critical mass it must invest in the minds of people, show commitment to meet their needs and build a structure that creates a great user experience and interphase.

This might be another opportunity to revalidate the assumption(s) behind the LindaIkejiSocial business model with a view to fix its teething problems on time.

What do you think? Be kind to drop you comments.

Cheers.