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Do you have Friendsters? Are you part of a Tribe? Is business on the Ryze? Hang out at a Global Pau Hana? Got a pass to Google's Orkut? Have you built your own "MySpace"?
One of the new obsessions of the tech and web addicted is social software. Sites that link you to friends, friends of friends, and - in theory, anyway - opportunities that range from business contacts to hiking partners to hot dates. It's a crowded space, and there are easily two dozen hopeful, energetic companies out there trying to make a business out of it. Of course, one has yet to see a profit... and real business deals and in-real-life marriages aren't exactly flowing after the big launch press releases.
That said, I'm hooked. The simple concept is intriguing. We all know how personal networks work in real life. But what if the usual limits of geography and scheduling were eliminated? Can we make friends that way? Have conversations with people we'll likely get along with (as we have friends in common), even if we've never met? Wouldn't I be more likely to accept a freelance job from a stranger, if they were "introduced" through a common contact?
As things stand, it's mostly a big goofy ego-surfing party, and "collecting friends" is the primary activity. Seeing who your friends know is a close second, and that's actually been cool -- I've rediscovered old friends (who lost touch with me, but not with someone we know in common), and learned time and time again just how small the world is (the "six degrees" theory is closer to "three degrees" when it comes to Hawaii).
A lot of these sites are trying to make their sites "sticky" by adding on additional features, from Tribe.net's classified listings ("You and I know Bob, sell me your boat!") to Ryze's topical discussion groups to MySpace's built in blogging tool. But none of those have been really compelling to me, beyond the original, and basic, premise - building and exploring your personal network in cyberspace.
Do you network online? Any services you like the best? Ever got anything out of 'em? And... would you be my friend, too?
One of the new obsessions of the tech and web addicted is social software. Sites that link you to friends, friends of friends, and - in theory, anyway - opportunities that range from business contacts to hiking partners to hot dates. It's a crowded space, and there are easily two dozen hopeful, energetic companies out there trying to make a business out of it. Of course, one has yet to see a profit... and real business deals and in-real-life marriages aren't exactly flowing after the big launch press releases.
That said, I'm hooked. The simple concept is intriguing. We all know how personal networks work in real life. But what if the usual limits of geography and scheduling were eliminated? Can we make friends that way? Have conversations with people we'll likely get along with (as we have friends in common), even if we've never met? Wouldn't I be more likely to accept a freelance job from a stranger, if they were "introduced" through a common contact?
As things stand, it's mostly a big goofy ego-surfing party, and "collecting friends" is the primary activity. Seeing who your friends know is a close second, and that's actually been cool -- I've rediscovered old friends (who lost touch with me, but not with someone we know in common), and learned time and time again just how small the world is (the "six degrees" theory is closer to "three degrees" when it comes to Hawaii).
A lot of these sites are trying to make their sites "sticky" by adding on additional features, from Tribe.net's classified listings ("You and I know Bob, sell me your boat!") to Ryze's topical discussion groups to MySpace's built in blogging tool. But none of those have been really compelling to me, beyond the original, and basic, premise - building and exploring your personal network in cyberspace.
Do you network online? Any services you like the best? Ever got anything out of 'em? And... would you be my friend, too?
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