Purpose of "Thought Leader"

[Cobus Oosthuizen]

With social- and professional networking on the web being the flavour of the day, one's first reaction to a new network might be negative.

"Though Leader", however, is not a social- or professional network in the true sense of the word. For that purpose ample social- and professional networks exist, i.e. Facebook, MySpace, Linkedin, etc. I am personally well acquainted with some of these networks, and also a member with a number of them.

My intent with "Thought Leader" is somewhat different. I wanted to create a space where though leaders could express themselves and share their insights with the world because they have the desire to do so... giving freely of their knowledge, expertise and time to make meaning and initiating positive change.

"Thought Leader" is in the public domain, and as such serves the world out there as a portal of knowledge by accessing the posts and/or articles published by members online.

Membership will obviously also facilitate personal growth through interaction and cross-referencing with thought leaders of other areas of expertise.

The words "community" and "network" comes to mind... A community in the sense of a group of though leaders coming together, giving of themselves and their time to help change the world; and a network in the sense of the interaction and cross-referencing that will obviously take place between members.

Furthermore, as "Though Leader" gains momentum and becomes more known, members' individual reputations could also be enhanced.

Membership to "Thought Leader" is free, anyone can join. The only prerequisites are:

• The individual must be recognised as a thought leader in a specific field or fields.
• The individual must have a desire and confidence to share insights.
• The individual must be willing to give freely of his/her knowledge, experience and time.
• The individual must be an active contributor with regular posts.
• The individual must be willing to respond to questions and/or comments posed to him/her as a result of a post by him/her (can be set to moderate).

Sharing insights can take on various forms:

• Posts on the member's blog in the "My Page" section.
• Discussions on the forum under the "Forum" section.
• Uploading videos of self or other pertaining to the member's field of endeavour.
• Uploading audio clips of self or others pertaining to the member's field of endeavour (no music please).

Other ways to contribute are:

• Sharing photos.
• Establishing a group within "Thought Leader", i.e. individuals in the same discipline.
• Inviting other thought leaders to join.
• Adding a comment to the "Comment Wall."

Members manage their own pages as far as look-and-feel as well as the security settings, i.e. what to make public and what not.

In close I also invite you to make suggestions on how to improve "Thought Leader." With a new site there is bound to be glitches, but we'll make changes as we go.

Let's share knowledge; let's make meaning; let's influence; let's change the world!

Cobus