Solving Real World Problems
Good consumer businesses solve real-world consumer problems. Really good consumer businesses solve really big real-world consumer problems. We believe that Fuego Nation Online is an example of the latter. So while we might delineate between specific micro-problems inherent with the current generation of social networks, and how we’re going about solving them in a wholesale manner, let’s focus on the big picture for a moment.
In acknowledging the challenge inherent in the second point above, creating a Fuego Nation Events business was a key component of our business strategy from the outset. We wanted to enable a community where people could meet each other in the environment, virtual or otherwise, of their choosing. In doing so, we could solve the problems associated with ‘chemistry’ that plague the existing crop of online dating sites. If there is really no substitute for ‘face time’ then why not create a revenue-generating product line that solves this market need. Fuego Nation is in a unique position to do this because its members are pre-screened to be of a particular caliber.
Being Proud of Who You Are
As anyone knows who has participated in social networks to date it is rather easy to meet misidentified, undesirable people. The facts that open networks like MySpace are havens for predators of all sorts should not be surprising because the raw architecture of the site encourages this behavior (via self-expression). In other words, the temptation to pretend I’m someone else, in one facet or many, is almost too tempting to resist. When discussing this with a trusted friend he said, “Oh yeah, when I built my MySpace page I said that I was 99 years old.” In contrast, we wanted to create a community where talented folks (or the aspiring talented) could meet others with varying or similar passions in a safe, secure environment. The whole point of our community is to be proud of who you are (not who you are not). This is partly why your public facing Passion Cards indicate one’s user name while each Member profile features real names. And from an aspirational vantage point, if you’re not proud of who you are, then we will provide the atmosphere, tools and support to change your life for the better. In doing so we will win you over as a customer for life.
Our critics might point to the fact that one can easily game the system and get into the club by providing fake biographical/passion-based data and photos. While technically true, why would someone do this for the honor of paying a subscription rate when they could more easily game open networks like MySpace which have no such ‘cover charges’? Secondly, we will ‘lock’ the photo you use in your application so that it will always be available to those accessing your profile down the road. Furthermore, in order to move from a Basic membership to a VIP level membership one MUST recruit friends to the community to garner enough points to move up to the next level. Who is going to go invite their friends to their profile where they feature pictures of someone else? Finally, because there exist consequences in our community, if you are ever caught you will be expelled anyway…so what’s the point? In evaluating the current state of social networks we clearly identified a need for the post-collegiate crowd and custom designed an experience that is better tailored to the tectonic shifts that occur in one’s life once they finish school:
Stage 1 College Graduate
Fuego Nation was built for the ‘jobs and credit cards’ audience. This ‘older demographic’ while familiar with social networking technologies (like MySpace and Facebook) have dramatically changing needs (problems that need solving). After one graduates from college there are two fundamental changes in the way they look at life. The first is social. “Hmm, they say, maybe I’ll start a family some day.” That’s not a driving need of a typical college student. The second is professional. “Hmm, they say, I’ve got to get a job and support myself now.” Though they sound simple, these mark massive psychic shifts in the way people approach and interact with the world around them.
Stage 2 Established Career and Relationships
Many of us, particularly the ambitious amongst us, start our careers with an idealism that the harder we work and the better our results, the higher our career trajectory. We soon discover a unique reality in the maxim ‘It’s who you know, not what you know.’ As you start a family and become more successful in your life, available time for leisure diminishes but your keen awareness of the power of connections does not. This is why we’ve designed a product with a very high ’signal to noise’ ratio. This means that while it may take you dozens if not hundreds of contact points on other social networks to make a lasting connection our target goal at Fuego Nation is only a few. This results from the combination of our FuegoConnect Engine technology buttressed by the type of people attracted to the brand in the first place. At Fuego Nation we leave nothing to chance.
When we designed our system we dissected every current problem in social networking that would either detract from the experience of current users (young demographic) or prevent those outside the early adopter set (mature demographic) from feeling the psychic comfort of a community that protects their privacy while fostering ‘extremely high value’ connections. Below is a matrix we created that delineates the micro-problems Fuego Nation set out to solve in an effort to create the best online social/community experience anywhere on the globe. From the outset, our intent was to revolutionize social networking by solving monumental problems endemic to the current generation while providing a safer, secure and emotionally bonding experience with consumers.
Also, be creating a discreet branded top layer to the community, no one would know the reasons why you were using the site (e.g to get a job, to date, to climb a mountain, etc.). Knocking out the stigma associated with online dating, for example, was a key target benefit of our core user experience architecture.
was to revolutionize social networking by solving monumental problems endemic to the current generation while providing a safer, secure and emotionally bonding experience with consumers. Also, be creating a discreet branded top layer to the community, no one would know the reasons why you were using the site (e.g to get a job, to date, to climb a mountain, etc.). Knocking out the stigma associated with online dating, for example, was a key target benefit of our core user experience architecture.
