BigTent, a networking and group management service that earlier this year made some news in the venture funding world, is opening itself to the general public today and is marking the occasion with a fresh design.
The company, based in San Francisco, is touted as a connector for “real-world communities.” Thus, it is interesting to find that it has developed into a heavily parent- and club-oriented composite, providing tools for PTA and preschool collectives and the like. Its creators claim that over 50% fall into the “mom group” category.
The objective behind BigTent’s creation is very simple: to cut time typically wasted with administrative busyness so that organizations of all sizes can work together in-person and in remote settings more efficiently. Which is really the pursuit of virtually any social service now residing on the Web.
The formula employed by BigTent is straightforward. Things like newsletters, calendars, review and recommendation components, classifications leaders, groups, and sub-groups, and any assigned roles or permissions associated with particular user profiles, are all part of the BigTent weave. Better still, because it is all free and fully ad-supported, groups without any financial support structure to speak of (which are plenty in number) can engage with their respective networks in ways that can prove as productive as business-level arrangements might be.
Whether you have a club of only several people or a network that counts thousands of members at any given moment, BigTent appears able to handle things in ways that merit consideration amid a competitive market home to names like Ning and Amazee. With a public launch now officially out the door, it seems fair to say BigTent may grow into six- and seven-figure territory quite soon.
