Online business networking is extremely important for entrepreneurs, both for finding partners and customers, and for receiving and sharing useful information. Here are the top ten business networks that entrepreneurs should consider joining:

 1. VentureNavigator – www.venturenavigator.co.uk 

VentureNavigator offers two things that no other business networks offer: firstly, high-quality, edited content (much of it directly provided by the UK’s top universities); secondly, a series of assessments on specific business topics (e.g. investment), to help entrepreneurs improve their skills. It’s also has active Q&A forums and a new locally-focused groups feature.

2. LinkedIn – www.linkedin.com

If you aren’t using LinkedIn you are missing out on the largest business network in the world (by a mile). Engaging in LinkedIn Groups is a great way to meet partners and customers, and the Status Update and Newsfeed provide a highly effective means of sharing and receiving news.

 3. Viadeo – www.viadeo.com

Viadeo started out in France but now has 30 million members globally. Its traffic is also growing faster than any other business network, so it’s one to watch. Like Xing, it aims to offer a more focused service than LinkedIn and urges member to subscribe to benefit.

 4. Xing – www.xing.com

Xing is more focused on start-ups and independent businesses than LinkedIn. Based in Germany it’s also more European, so if you’re an international startup this might be the place for you. Ning has 9 million users and charges ($9.95 per month) for premium services, such as executive search.

5. Partnerup – www.partnerup.com

Partnerup is a popular US-based site that aims to encourage professionals to connect with entrepreneurs and start-ups.  The forums are extremely active and a great place to ask non-UK specific questions.

6. Entrepreneur Connect – http://econnect.entrepreneur.com/

Started by the people behind Entrepreneur Magazine, it’s another US-focused site, but does allow you to create a blog which will get views, since it’s promoted within the site (and posts appear on the homepage).

 7. eCademy – www.ecademy.com

One of the early UK-based business networks, ecademy is still a highly effective place to find and meet useful business connections. On the down-side it regularly urges users to upgrade to subscriber level and lacks many of the interconnectivity that makes LinkedIn so useful (and viral).

 8. Ryze – www.ryze.com

A once-popular US-based business network, Ryze is still a player but looks on a downward spiral. Some of the best features – e.g. “who viewed my profile” and “who’s online” are subscriber only.

9. Doostang – www.doostang.com

Listed here for its value (to those who can join) and the  factor of including a not-for-profit, closed business network, Doostang aims to help graduates find jobs and opportunities. You need an invitation to join, but once you’re in, apparently it’s excellent.

10. Plaxo – www.plaxo.com

Plaxo started out as a connected address book, and it’s still an excellent place to aggregate all your contacts into one, safely stored, virtual address book. The service encourages your contacts to maintain their own contact details (so you don’t have to). They’ve also started integrating social networking features – though these aren’t why you’d use the service.

 This guest post was written by social media consultant, Luke Brynley-Jones. Luke is hosting Social Media Advertising in London on 20^th September.

Do you use another network? Let us know about it via the comments box…