September 6, 1999

Networker Hits Big Apple

Site for IT professionals will provide info on local events, jobs, and training

By Jennifer Mateyaschuk

etworker.com, a company operating Web sites that provide IT professionals with information on IT events, training, and user-group meetings, is launching a site this month for New York, its 11th city to date. The company, which gears its sites to local audiences, plans to add chat, collaboration, and job-search functions to the sites this fall.

Although it's not as developed as Techies.com-another localized Web site that lets IT professionals search for jobs, collaborate, and receive training information-Networker.com's success and value to IT professionals are promising, analysts say.

Robert Shavell, an analyst at Data Monitor, says sites that provide local content appeal to users. And, he says, sites that target a particular area may prove more beneficial to IT professionals than sites that focus on several different areas. "A site that offers in-depth information about IT training opportunities, conferences, and events can prove beneficial, especially when users can post reviews of those conferences," Shavell says.

More To Come
Those functions are just what Networker.com provides. Networker.com sites also feature localized IT professional "people trackers," which list recent moves by IT staffers at local companies. This fall, the company will add a feature that rates IT training and conference events, based on feedback it receives from site visitors. Once a local site's viewer base is built up, Networker.com will add more features, including chat rooms and collaboration features, says CEO Steve Guengerich.

The company also plans to expand a feature that lets users search for events based on their particular areas of interest. Says Guengerich, "Eventually, we plan to add a feature that will let any IT professional log on to one of our sites, punch in a ZIP code and radius, and receive information on all the IT events in that area."

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