London-based entrepreneur John Horsley has launched the beta of business-networking site Marzar (slightly ironically at a Web2NewYork networking party yesterday, in fact).
Horsley says Marzar is an ‘enterprise 3.0 business networking and collaboration tool’ for the global business community. Marzar’s vision is to, “build an environment for business people to work, collaborate, network, socialise, research, resource, find a job or win the next big deal.”
If that sounds a little like LinkedIn or a kind’ve business Facebook, then you’d be forgiven. However there doesn’t seem to be anywhere near the functionality of those sites.
Access to Marzar is free, but a small amount per month will be charged for if you choose to utilise the file sharing, syndication and data storage functions.
This is a highly competitive space and, in all honesty, it’s hard to see what Marzar brings that’s new to the table. The site looks and feels like one from a few pre-Facebook years ago. Plus, this business networking space has already been tried by one UK startup which bit the dust, SoFlow.com. Ecademy.com, the longest player in this game is doing OK, perhaps because it has been around a long time and offers a pretty vibrant small business community.
But within a day of registering for the Marzar beta I had an email from a guy in Canada wanting to connect with me who I’d never heard of. The limits on this kind of spam are tried and tested at LinkedIn. Marzar will have to try harder before it comes out of beta, assuming it does.