These days, it seems Facebook and Twitter are the only two ways to connect with friends besides face-to-face. But there are a few little-known social networks that have managed to carve out a niche of users against the likes of Zuckerberg.
Here are three social network alternatives to Facebook and Twitter.
1. Path
Path is a mobile-only social network, exclusive to iOS and Android devices. Users are limited to 150 friends or family members and that’s it. No budging.
While this limitation may seem to stifle the purpose of a social network – sharing life moments with others – condensing a friends list to 150 makes users seriously think about who is important enough to be your friend on Path.
Meaningful aspects of life are meant to be shared, not Farmville updates. Speaking of which, there are no groups to join, no apps to download, no games to play. This drastically cleans up the clutter found on a typical Facebook newsfeed.
Path also provides a solution to the privacy-concerned: profiles are 100 percent private by default. All anyone can see is your profile picture and a cover photo.
“Path should be private by default. Forever,” its website reads. “You should always be in control of your information and experience.”
2. ASMALLWORLD
Don’t worry – it’s not the Disney World ride. ASMALLWORLD is a very exclusive social network available by invitation only.
The website describes it as “the world’s leading private online community that captures an existing international network of people who are connected by three degrees of separation.”
Meaning users have to know somebody who knows somebody to get access.
Patrick Liotard-Vogt, chairman of ASMALLWORLD, described the social network as “a digital country club” in an interview with Mediaplanet.
The network is useful for making connections or getting reliable business advice due to its private nature.
But if a member breaks any rules in ASMALLWORLD, they’ll be sent to ABIGWORLD as punishment. While technically still a member of the network, they can no longer see any posts in the other world.
3. Bebo
Despite the odd sounding name, Bebo isn’t all that different from Facebook or Myspace. Users have profiles and can share blogs, pictures, music and can interact with one another through direct messages.
However, Bebo’s strength is its integration with email services. In addition to a dedicated messaging service, user’s inboxes can receive updates from Gmail, Yahoo! Mail and AOL Mail.
It’s also got something called “Lifestream,” where the newsfeed gets updates from other websites like Facebook, Myspace, Twitter, YouTube, Flickr and Delicious.
4. Story of My Life
Story of My Life is radically different from most social networking sites. Instead of focusing on everyday person-to-person interactions, it emphasizes putting one’s own life story online.
Its website says, “when you write the Story of your Life, you are participating in this collective historical anthology by leaving behind a Legacy of yourself – your footprint upon this earth.”
Users can upload photos, videos, music and documents to the website and control who can see them and when.
It’s basically an online time capsule, attempting to capture the story of everyone for future generations to read.
____ Contact Taylor Balkom at [email protected]