| How the sites stack up | |||||
| Cost | Size | Year | Pro | Con | |
| Konnects | free (Basic) $19.75 / month (premier) | 30,000 publically viewable profiles. (Due to privacy constraints, Konnects does not divulge user numbers for private networks maintained by companies or institutions.) | 2006 | According to Jim Crabbe, CEO of Konnects, the site, "creates private, stand-alone communities." This means that your company, university, or lab can buy space on konnects and the company will customize a private networking site to your specifications that has all the functionality of Konnects.com | Konnects' general body of users is somewhat less than other networking sites, partly because konnects is currently geared towards private companies or institutions rather than individual independent users. |
| Free (Basic) $19.95 / month (Business) $50/month (Business plus) $200/month (pro) | >10 million profiles (600,000+ in life sciences) | 2003 | The sheer size of linkedin's active user base is its main advantage over other sites, making extesive networking possible. Tools, like the "answers" tab, allow you to tap into this vast informational resource. | Divesting yourself of a paid linkedin subscription isn't as easy as signing on. Instead of a simple "unsubscribe" button, it takes finding the link to customer service and writing a message detailing your wish to unsubsrcibe. | |
| Nature Network | Free | 1650 registered users | 2007 | Built and managed by Nature publishing group, Nature Network has the benefit of being associated with a well-established and trusted name in the scientific community. unlike other professional networking sites, Nature Network is focused on attracting and providing services for academic scientists. | Because it is a new kid on the block, Nature Network has fewer registered users than some of the older sites. also, the site is currently focused mainly on job postings, and events in Boston and London. |
| Ziggs | Free (Basic) $4.95 / month (webpro) | 3 million profiles (450,000 - 600,000 in life sciences) | 2004 | Ziggs has developed partnerships with companies like Starbucks, Expedia, and Amazon to offer its users, "peer-to-peer services that help people feel more connected," says Ziggs VP of Marketing Julia Bradley. for example, a Ziggs user can buy a colleague a Starbucks or Amazon gift card with the push of a button. | Ziggs has less of a community feel than some of the other networking sites. instead of maintaining a core group of conntacts, Ziggs users belong to or create a suite of different groups on the site. another glaring omission at Ziggs is its lack of profiles of professionals outside the united States. |
| Zoominfo | Free (Basic) $99 / month (zoomexec) | 35 million profiles (about 150,000 active users) (1.5 million of which are in "life sciences or healthcare"). | 2000 | Zoominfo initiates the building of your profile by combing about one billion trusted business websites. "we create an entire mapping of the business space," says Russell Glass, Vice President of Marketing and Sales at Zoominfo, "and we are able to make it highly searchable." This makes it easy for recruiters to find you, and if you claim ownership of your profile, you can fill it out with even more information. | often, Zoominfo compiles several seperate profiles for the same person. I, for example, have two profiles on Zoominfo for two different jobs I have held (one as Bob Grant and one as Robert Grant). |
How the sites stack up
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Written byBob Grant
From 2017 to 2022, Bob Grant was Editor in Chief of The Scientist, where he started in 2007 as a Staff Writer.
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Meet the Author
From 2017 to 2022, Bob Grant was Editor in Chief of The Scientist, where he started in 2007 as a Staff Writer. Before joining the team, he worked as a reporter at Audubon and earned a master’s degree in science journalism from New York University. In his previous life, he pursued a career in science, getting a bachelor’s degree in wildlife biology from Montana State University and a master’s degree in marine biology from the College of Charleston in South Carolina. Bob edited Reading Frames and other sections of the magazine.
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