Just Be Fly

Just be fly is a Fly fishing forum and social network – covering fly fishing and fly tying for salmon, trout, grayling, saltwater and coarse species.

Fly fishing for trout is a very popular sport, some 500,000 Fly anglers fish in the UK.  Whether its sharing great fly fishing tips, reading reviews, connecting with friends, or organizing the next fly fishing trip, Justbefly has all the fly fishing tools to get you hooked up.

Just Be Fly is a niche social network – A niche is a specialized subset of a larger set, so a niche social network is one that targets a select segment of the general population. Sites like MySpace and Facebook have grown so large that some users feel a bit lost in the shuffle. That’s where niche social networks step in. These networks allow users to connect with fewer people who have the same interests, hobbies or professional associations. Because these networks target special groups, they often incorporate community guidelines. For example, guidelines may direct users to use a certain tone or language on the site, or they may forbid certain behavior (like harassment or spamming). Some niche networks are so close-knit that users begin using shorthand and share inside jokes, much like a group of friends would.

it’s long been said, for the web, that Social media has been compared to many different topics but few comparison to fly-fishing.

Fly-fishing is deceptively complex — what looks like a guy or girl flailing arms and fishing line around is really a well-coordinated effort to get a near weightless fly in front of a hungry fish. Just like social media! My sporadic blogging, LinkedIn network updates and drive-by Tweeting looks chaotic, but is all part of my personal branding plan.

Before you begin, you need to decide where you fish. Will it be a large lake or ocean (Facebook or LinkedIn), a fast-flowing river (Twitter) or smaller streams and brooks for a specific species (like HR.com for human resource pros)?

Next, you need the right equipment. Your fly rod and reel act as an extension of your arm, creating mechanical leverage and are critical to the sport. You wouldn’t fish without rod and reel, and neither should you attempt social media without complete profiles (including your photograph) on sites like the aforementioned LinkedIn, and on others appropriate to your industry.

Along with the right equipment comes skills in your fly presentation — how delicate or deliberate you deliver your fly makes all the difference, much like knowing what value you add to the world (your tagline or personal brand).

To catch the right fish, you need the right type of fly. The same could be said for social media. Knowing which type of person you’re appealing to requires the right lure. Will you use a weighted nymph, to get your fly below the surface noise and present it to a fish lurking in the deep (potential prospects)? Or a streamer, swimming it through the currents to attract fish on the move (social networking)? Or will you use the most delicate of all presentations, the dry fly, where matching the hatch is critical to success (job search)?

No matter where you fish, or what you fish for, always bring along your net (personal blog) — you never know what you might catch! Just Be Fly – the new social network for Fly Anglers around the world.