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Interview: HerHotSpot Seeks Growth through Facebook Connect Posted: 03 Mar 2009 10:57 AM PST HerHotSpot launched late last year as an online destination site aimed at Gen Y women. With the site off to a great start, HerHotSpot is looking to take things to the next level with Facebook Connect integration. As HerHotSpot is a content network as well as a social network, creating a blend of forums, advise, Q&A and editorial content, I spoke with HerHotSpot co-founder and CEO Brette Borow about the site and how Facebook Connect integration can help this startup grow. Kristen Nicole of Social Times: HerHotSpot launched a few months back as an online destination site for women. What makes HerHotSpot different from other sites for women? Brette Borow of HerHotSpot: HerHotSpot was created to give 20-something women a destination to share their stories, ask their questions and get advice in an environment that they feel safe being open and honest. Other sites in this space do not give the average 20-something woman a chance to replicate her real life community. We do. HerHotSpot is a social network built on top of content created by our members. It’s not celebrity gossip, top 10 lists or cheesy articles written by strangers old enough to be our parents – it's real life and it is never sugar coated. Kristen Nicole: In creating a social network on top of the editorial content provided, what are your goals for HerHotSpot? Brette Borow: HerHotSpot is focused on becoming this audience's premier destination for information, support and entertainment. 95% of our content is user-generated and created by the community. The remaining 5% is expert content that we hand-select in order to give our members a rich blend of content covering a range of topics. Our goal is to be a myriad of a 20-something woman's personal journal mixed with the quintessential handbook for their daily lives. Kristen Nicole: You mentioned that you feel that larger, established social networks like Facebook have reached a saturation point with Gen Y (your target demographic) users. Why do you think that is? Brette Borow: This is an important issue for social networks, in particular Facebook. Gen Y users have experienced a dramatic shift in the type of privacy that they have on these sites. Posting a link, status, comment or note that deals with personal issues can simply reach too many unintended eyeballs. The overall increased popularity of Facebook, in particular the rapid influx of Baby Boomer users, has had a serious effect on Gen Y users. In short, they are tired of having their parents, co-workers, bosses, etc… see every comment, shared link or wall post. Kristen Nicole: Where do you step in for offering the content you think Gen Y users are missing on sites like Facebook? Brette Borow: Social networks have become amazing sources for content as posting links and sharing articles have grown in popularity. At the same time, the average age of social networking users has increased and Gen Y users are now faced with what we call the "fear factor". They have become apprehensive to share or post content because it can be seen as a reflection of their character, values or even most personal thoughts. This "fear factor" does not change the fact that people want to share content they find online or create themselves. The issue is they do not want to share it with everyone in their entire "network" and this has created a content void. We believe that our niche focus, privacy settings and anonymous posting features fill this void by giving these women the freedom to post without their parents, boss or ex seeing it too. Kristen Nicole: In integrating Facebook Connect, how are you hoping to benefit from such options extended to users? Brette Borow: The Gen Y demographic is committed to their Facebook profile information and address book – its their home-base for social interactions. By integrating Facebook Connect we are able to build a vibrant stand-alone community on top of Facebook's social graph. For a startup in this economic environment this is incredibly beneficial – we need to have a presence and give access to our users wherever they are – and almost all of ours are on Facebook. Kristen Nicole: What other ways are you looking to expand HerHotSpot this year? Brette Borow: Our number one focus is to provide our users the online experience they are entitled to. This includes adding new features to the HerHotSpot.com website, expanding our offering to mobile, and migrating offline to ensure that HerHotSpot users have 24/7 access wherever they are and whenever they want.

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