Is conversational marketing for real or is it an oxymoron?  Can large corporations really use social media to build influence and valuable relationships in targeted markets?  I believe they can and have been involved over the past several in an effort to test that belief, which is the reason I haven’t blogging much lately.

About six months ago, my business partner Robin Carey and I approached Don Bulmer, head of Industry Influencer Relations at SAP, the major enterprise software firm, with an idea:  Let us help you increase your visibility and influence in the small business market by sponsoring an online business community that we are building around the needs and interests of business owners and managers of companies with fewer than 500 employees, and the professionals and experts who advise them.  

Our logic was that while SAP offers a full-range of software for the small and midsize company market and has thousands of customers in those categories, it is still perceived by many as a maker of software “for the big guys.”  We believed we could help alter that perception by applying some of the lessons of social media and conversational marketing we had learned over the past year or so from developing two prototype communities–Social Media Today and CleantechCollective.

To our delight, Don agreed and SocialMediaTodayLLC had its first paying customer.  MyVenturepad is the fruit of that engagement.

We’re “soft” launching today which is another way of saying we’re not quite sure yet whether the wheels are on right or that we’ve remembered to fill the tires.  In the software business, this kind of launch is called a “Beta” and what it means is that we want your help and feedback in making this a community that you’ll want to belong to and participate in on a daily basis.

You can do this by signing up for membership (upper right hand corner).  Once you get your confirmation e-mail you can click on the link and it will bring you back to this page, already logged in.  Click on “My Profile” (upper left) and fill out the information that you want to share and upload a photo of yourself which will appear on your comments and posts.  Most of the community features are explained in the How to Use MyVenturepad section.

We’ve assembled a great network of featured bloggers for MVP, including people like Dick Costolo, co-founder and CEO of Feedburner; Verne Harnish,  founder of the Young Entrepreneurs’ Organization and the Association of Collegiate Entrepreneurs;  Jeff Cornwall,  Director of the Belmont University Center for Entrepreneurship; Barry J. Moltz, a member of the Entrepreneurship Hall of Fame, and a growing list of other experts. 

We invite you to add your own voice, by commenting on posts, creating your own profile and personal network of connections or even starting your own blog here or adding your existing blog to the MVP content feed.

The site is owned by SocialMediaTodayLLC and we are soley responsible for any shortcomings or screwups that are certain to occur.  Our relationship with SAP, and other future possible sponsors, is third-party. 

About the name?  MyVenturepad is a madeup name based on a combination of the rather obvious “venture” and the less intuitive “pad,” which has multiple meanings–the place where you hang out, a notebook, and–most optimistically for you and for us–a place from which big things are launched.  

To help get us started, here’s a special inducement for new members to join MyVenturepad.  We’ve ordered a bunch of copies of Seth Godin’s new book Meatball Sundae, which is coming out on December 20.  We’ll give a free copy to the first 200 of you who sign up who own, manage or advise a company with fewer than 500 employees, AND fill out your profile page (including your mailing address so we’ll know where to send your book).  You’ll also need to check the box that gives us permission to send you stuff at the end of the registration form.