More on Social Networking
Tuesday, August 15, 2006
“Contemporary youth culture is connecting with each other and the world
in ways never before possible and will continue to do so into their professional
lives. They are early adopters of technologies that are changing the way we
connect and collaborate”
Timonthy
Moenk
My previous post on Bebo and MySpace introduces the concept of social networking and concludes that anyone who ignores these changes in the way millions of people are interacting does so at their peril.
Today I’d like to take a look at some other social networking sites.
Many commentators believe that for us time-poor adults, we need to have a shared goal in order to be compelled to participate online. I would agree with that.
· Friendster was one of the original social networking sites; a site for seeking out old friends and school mates and making contact. It’s on its way out now - here’s an interesting post by Danah Boyd as to why - but in a nutshell, Friendster didn’t give its visitors anything to do except search. They can’t customise pages, or add content and create an identity the way you can on MySpace or Bebo. And Friendster offered no compelling reason to come back again and again - I know I have lost contact with some school mates for a reason – I have nothing in common with them anymore!
· Another site that’s on its way out is Linkedin. Good post here by Russell Beattie on why he opted out. “It started out like a game, whoever had the most contacts was the winner.” So there was a reason to get on there. But then they removed that and I’ve received so many invitations to join Linkedin, I did join in 2003, filled out a little profile, but never really hung out there. Why not? Because there was nothing for me to do there.
Social networking sites that will succeed . . .
Flickr – because it lets you store your digital photos
safely and securely and because it engages your mind . . . You can share them
with your friends, keep them private or have them public so everyone can see.
What’s so great about Flickr is that you are really encouraged to take
part in the site and there’s lots of things to do. Explore ‘interestingness”,
submit your pics to the ‘hey hot shot’ competition that celebrates
spectacular and amazing photographs. Take part in groups on anything from shiny
silver balls to “calling
all pool cleaners”
There’s a whole army of amateur photographers out there, armed with digital
cameras, with at least half an interest in seeing what others have done, so
Flickr is bound to succeed.
Personally I use Flickr when I’m planning my holidays, it’s a great way to get a flavour of your intended destination. . . In fact, I’m eagerly awaiting the launch of Vizta.com, another social networking site, but this time based around your Top 10 places in the world. If you log on now and register your interest, you’ll get an email when the site launches. It’s going to be one of the really cool ones, so it is worth a visit.
43things – social networking based around goal setting. The idea is that you are more likely to achieve a goal if you write it down. So you make a list on 43 Things and see what changes happen in your life. It’s also a way of connecting with other enthusiasts interested in everything from growing their own vegetables to going on a road trip with no destination.
There’s a new site based around life mapping called Dandelife which sounds great in theory – you get to create a timeline of your life story via text, photos, and video. It’s a nice idea to do for someone else as a gift or to celebrate a birth or a marriage. BUT part of the business model will be to license users’ stories to companies seeking case studies and brandable narratives. I suppose they’ve got to make money somehow, but I think that’s scary!
Thanks to JF for steering me towards a few good blogs while researching
this.