Nimble & WeDemand! -- 2 "MUST CHECK OUT" Companies (For Very Different Reasons)

Yesterday, I participated in live demos for two digital media services that I urge you to check out now -- for very different reasons:

(1) Nimble -- think of this service as LinkedIn on steroids, consolidating -- and making sense of -- all of your social networks (including LinkedIn) in one place.  Lots of power here to do lots of powerful things that will -- guaranteed! -- add value to your business networking.  Run, don't walk, to this one -- it has broad application to virtually all of you who are reading this.  I am adopting it today.

(2) WeDemand! -- this is a very different service with perhaps more limited appeal, but directly in my sweet spot of several of my interests -- including live music and the "Share Economy" (about which I just wrote in Venturebeat).  Think of this one as crowd-funding for music fans to connect to their favorite bands and bring them to a venue near them (by essentially expanding tour dates to reach those motivated pockets of fans).  It is pure "win" on this one -- musicians drive more live concert (and related merch, etc.) revenues; and fans get to see bands that otherwise would be unavailable.  At a strategic level, WeDemand! also gives artists (and their booking agents) important data about demand for them in any particular city.  Although similar to Songkick's Detour service (about which I previously wrote in that same Venturebeat article), WeDemand! operates a bit differently and is not 100% pure crowd-funding.  WeDemand! also was first -- and works within the current "system" a bit more by crowd-funding only a portion of the artist's minimum guarantee, thereby mitigating the concert promoter's risk.