Today by way of the mnteractive blog I found GetGoMN which is the new networking portal for Minnesota entrepreneurs, investors, service providers and industry organizations. GetGoMN was announced last Wednesday, Feb 28th by Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty and a group of local business leaders. The GetGoMN is operated as a non-profit organization and a project by the James J. Hill Reference Library. The University of Minnesota, Wells Fargo, the University of St. Thomas and other sponsors helped finance and build the networking portal.

I registered myself today and clicked around in order to get a handle on the features GetGoMN has. The primary feature is to create a network or multiple networks for your organization/s, so I created one for my North Rock Publishing business and this MIMA Search Marketing blog. I can invite others to join my networks, create a network blog, and view related news and info from my community via selected tags or subscriptions.

To discover other people and networks you can browse blog stories, news & info plus browse business and listings. These link to their network pages where you can find out more about these people.

I like the idea of GetGoMN but it feels like the navigation and layout was done by programmers. It does not flow well in my opinion. Features like blogging and rss feeds are hidden and I feel a bit unsure of what I should do or how I should do it. They are trying to go Web 2.0 with the blog and social features but it does not give me the true feel of a Web 2.0 site. Part of it may be there is too much info cluttered on each page and the definitions and labels are a bit rigid and limited. I guess the worst part is that actually making contact with others is a bit too hard.

Maybe I will get the hang of it. This is the first version of it and they do plan on evolving. I still have hope for GetGoMN because I think Minnesota businesses have a use and need for it. So go check out www.getgomn.org and while you are there try to find me! Search for North Rock Publishing under entrepreneurs or MIMA Search Marketing under Professional Services. I will do a follow up on GetGoMN and let you know if I have made any connections or received any traffic from it.