Are there any viable alternatives to FaceBook out there?

As a new computer user(and not very computer literate) I find facebook easy to use, and I have looked at other sites, like myspace, but somehow feel safer using facebook. Of course, I only have the account as all of my family live in other countries, and is easier to keep updated with family news, and photo's etc. As I am of the older generation, I don't like to take risks with something I'm not sure of. I am sure there are lots of other alternatives, but just don't feel confident to try them out.

The younger generation are mostly all whizzes on the computer, and are not afraid to venture, but I like something that is user friendly, and (hopefully) safe.

Faecbook is tough to beat... mainly because it has reached a critical mass. The thought of signing up to another social network that doesn't have all my friends or family on it is... well, not particularly fun or social for many people. There are a few challengers out there however, but really it's Facebook's game to lose right now.

Orkut (owned by Google) never really caught on in the US but is pretty big in Brazil (or with Brazilians living in the US) and in India. Both countries have a fast growing computer using middle class... but Facebook is gaining ground in both those countries, and it's not likely that Orkut will gain ground in the US... in fact when rumors are passed around about Google's social network answer to facebook, Orkut rarely even gets mentioned. (incidentally January 24, 2011 was Orkut's 7th birthday) Diaspora ( http:joindiaspora.Com ) is another possible solution to facebook's dominance.

It's currently in alpha stages, and the idea was to make a decentralized non-comercial facebook like social network. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diaspora_(software) Early on, tech pundits gave it a lot of buzz - Facebook without the privacy issues, but lately as they've sampled the software, they've said it's far from a true challenger in anything but concept. http://www.pcworld.com/article/205592/diaspora_social_network_is_no_threat_to_facebook_yet.html http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/211526/opensource_social_network_diaspora_goes_live.html Beyond that, you may see something with a narrow focus like foursquare, yelp!

Or groupon try to grow into a more fuller featured network; however, the odds are stacked against them and also they'd still have all the "marketing side effects" that you mention.

First off, not everyone is on it. Secondly, not everyone likes it. Thirdly, they don't do social networking perfectly, and probably never will.

There will be others (already are others), and I'm working on launching a site. The problem is, we're not the same, and I'm proud to say we're different and I'm not going to go into detail how. If you want something that's the same, there are sites out there that are very similar, and I'm not going to name them because in my opinion, anyone who copies this site is going to die a very slow death, because they are not innovating or differentiating.

You must be different, you must innovate, and you must be creative with your marketing and your efforts when creating a new social networking site. There are very few ways to be different and make a difference as well. The people of the world may think, "What's the next big social networking site on the Internet or what's the coolest new technology that will exist in the social networking industry."

Well, I've got news for you, and you may like, or you may disagree. It's not about the technology that makes the social networking site succeed. You can have the coolest software, the neatest features, on the site, the games, the applications, videos, and you name it.

There are startups in social networking that have proven they could throw as many features, applications, and games onto a site when they first start. They try to put every user feature you can possibly imagine onto the site. So, what?

What's the purpose, it's not necessary for building a network. If you remember, this site did not start with a bunch of applications, it was originally a "dating site" for students at Harvard, then 8 other schools, then before you new it, it grew into hundreds of networks on different college campuses. If you're not about the people first, and bringing the people together you've just failed social networking as the site above has done in some ways.

Social networking is about social, and bringing people together and connecting them, there's no other way to say it. The problem with the site above, which hundreds of millions of people have failed to realize is that a 100 million people may be connected on a networking site, yet they're not really coming together, or connected in the way a networking site should connect people. If you've got 100 million people on a website playing a game, are you connecting or social networking these people?

So, it's not about the tools that makes a networking site, as that same game can be thrown onto any new networking site that comes in the future. This game is not going to make the new site any different than above, it will make it a game site inside a networking site. It's about what the tool does to encourage connection, and that's what I'm aiming at with my site.

I think that a lot of people are accepting of the fact that the above site was created with a different intent, and eventually turned into something it was not expected to. You can have the largest number of people on the networking site, and you can have 4,000 friends on a networking site, yet if you can't say you've been with 100 of your closest 4,000 friends in the past year, then what's the point? Alternatives, there are plenty and a new networking site seems to pop up daily.Do they have the same number of users that the above site claims right away?

They do not. Do they offer the same experience? Nope!

If you want a list of social networking sites I can probably send you a list of at least 100 sites that claim to connect people in some way shape or form. Some of these sites are niche, some are hoping to be the next social phenomenon, some of them are open to everyone. These sites that start off saying they are open to everyone have no direction in my opinion, as exclusivity is what grows a network.

Being an exclusive club, makes people who are not in that club want in eventually. My answer to your question about the "marketing side effects" is an absolute no, about growing a critical mass. There's two sides of social networking.

1. The human social aspect 2. The social thing or the social object People need the second part, to be connected to the social object, which connects people to each other in some way.

If location based check in services did not have the place people were check into with a "prize or a badge," then they would not be as interesting. It's the social object that brings people back to the site to communicate. If it were just about people and not balanced with social objects, then the people would have nothing to talk about and the critical mass would not be reached.

Social things need to send people back to the social site. All social sites, whether you like it or not need to have some sort of commercial nature to them.It is inevitable and a social site will not be able reach a critical mass without marketing side effects in order to reach a critical mass. They need marketers to market the site because they're marketing the social object.

That is like asking is there a better auction site to go to than mahalo.com/ebay eBay. There are smaller forums on specific topics like: Filmmaking - dvuxser.com - huge message board forum Vimeo - huge video forum like MySpace But the juggernaut is Facebook when it comes to social networking and where you'll meet the most people. If you can get past the commercialism, which never bothers me because I concentrate on everyone's daily status, then you might just enjoy the experience more.

I have actors, filmmakers, screenwriters and professional photographers on mine. What you might want to do is instead of just inviting anyone and everyone, limit those on your FaceBook to what you are passionate about. You'll enjoy the conversations more and the daily status updates more.

Maybe you just need a different approach to Facebook. Hope that helps.

I've tried some other social networks like Bebo. Com , orkut & myspace (my old friend , Myspace -Tom was my first friend ) but there is no place like facebook :( (yet) but there's a thing that makes me happy , have you heard that rumor (it's real! ) Google me?

I'm really looking forward to see it pray for Google me! Bro.

Least to most favorite :- hi5.com friendster.com myspace.com orkut.com twitter.com.

Hi. As a new computer user(and not very computer literate) I find facebook easy to use, and I have looked at other sites, like myspace, but somehow feel safer using facebook. Of course, I only have the account as all of my family live in other countries, and is easier to keep updated with family news, and photo's etc. As I am of the older generation, I don't like to take risks with something I'm not sure of.

I am sure there are lots of other alternatives, but just don't feel confident to try them out. The younger generation are mostly all whizzes on the computer, and are not afraid to venture, but I like something that is user friendly, and (hopefully) safe.

Faecbook is tough to beat... mainly because it has reached a critical mass. The thought of signing up to another social network that doesn't have all my friends or family on it is... well, not particularly fun or social for many people. There are a few challengers out there however, but really it's Facebook's game to lose right now.

Orkut (owned by Google) never really caught on in the US but is pretty big in Brazil (or with Brazilians living in the US) and in India. Both countries have a fast growing computer using middle class... but Facebook is gaining ground in both those countries, and it's not likely that Orkut will gain ground in the US... in fact when rumors are passed around about Google's social network answer to facebook, Orkut rarely even gets mentioned. (incidentally January 24, 2011 was Orkut's 7th birthday) Diaspora ( http:joindiaspora.com ) is another possible solution to facebook's dominance.

It's currently in alpha stages, and the idea was to make a decentralized non-comercial facebook like social network. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diaspora_(software) Early on, tech pundits gave it a lot of buzz - Facebook without the privacy issues, but lately as they've sampled the software, they've said it's far from a true challenger in anything but concept. http://www.pcworld.com/article/205592/diaspora_social_network_is_no_threat_to_facebook_yet.html http://www.pcworld.com/businesscenter/article/211526/opensource_social_network_diaspora_goes_live.html Beyond that, you may see something with a narrow focus like foursquare, yelp!

Or groupon try to grow into a more fuller featured network; however, the odds are stacked against them and also they'd still have all the "marketing side effects" that you mention.

First off, not everyone is on it. Secondly, not everyone likes it. Thirdly, they don't do social networking perfectly, and probably never will.

There will be others (already are others), and I'm working on launching a site. The problem is, we're not the same, and I'm proud to say we're different and I'm not going to go into detail how. If you want something that's the same, there are sites out there that are very similar, and I'm not going to name them because in my opinion, anyone who copies this site is going to die a very slow death, because they are not innovating or differentiating.

You must be different, you must innovate, and you must be creative with your marketing and your efforts when creating a new social networking site. There are very few ways to be different and make a difference as well. The people of the world may think, "What's the next big social networking site on the Internet or what's the coolest new technology that will exist in the social networking industry.

" Well, I've got news for you, and you may like, or you may disagree. It's not about the technology that makes the social networking site succeed. You can have the coolest software, the neatest features, on the site, the games, the applications, videos, and you name it.

There are startups in social networking that have proven they could throw as many features, applications, and games onto a site when they first start. They try to put every user feature you can possibly imagine onto the site. So, what?

What's the purpose, it's not necessary for building a network. If you remember, this site did not start with a bunch of applications, it was originally a "dating site" for students at Harvard, then 8 other schools, then before you new it, it grew into hundreds of networks on different college campuses. If you're not about the people first, and bringing the people together you've just failed social networking as the site above has done in some ways.

Social networking is about social, and bringing people together and connecting them, there's no other way to say it. The problem with the site above, which hundreds of millions of people have failed to realize is that a 100 million people may be connected on a networking site, yet they're not really coming together, or connected in the way a networking site should connect people. If you've got 100 million people on a website playing a game, are you connecting or social networking these people?

So, it's not about the tools that makes a networking site, as that same game can be thrown onto any new networking site that comes in the future. This game is not going to make the new site any different than above, it will make it a game site inside a networking site. It's about what the tool does to encourage connection, and that's what I'm aiming at with my site.

I think that a lot of people are accepting of the fact that the above site was created with a different intent, and eventually turned into something it was not expected to. You can have the largest number of people on the networking site, and you can have 4,000 friends on a networking site, yet if you can't say you've been with 100 of your closest 4,000 friends in the past year, then what's the point? Alternatives, there are plenty and a new networking site seems to pop up daily.

Do they have the same number of users that the above site claims right away? They do not. Do they offer the same experience?

Nope! If you want a list of social networking sites I can probably send you a list of at least 100 sites that claim to connect people in some way shape or form. Some of these sites are niche, some are hoping to be the next social phenomenon, some of them are open to everyone.

These sites that start off saying they are open to everyone have no direction in my opinion, as exclusivity is what grows a network. Being an exclusive club, makes people who are not in that club want in eventually. My answer to your question about the "marketing side effects" is an absolute no, about growing a critical mass.

There's two sides of social networking. 1. The human social aspect 2.

The social thing or the social object People need the second part, to be connected to the social object, which connects people to each other in some way. If location based check in services did not have the place people were check into with a "prize or a badge," then they would not be as interesting. It's the social object that brings people back to the site to communicate.

If it were just about people and not balanced with social objects, then the people would have nothing to talk about and the critical mass would not be reached. Social things need to send people back to the social site. All social sites, whether you like it or not need to have some sort of commercial nature to them.

It is inevitable and a social site will not be able reach a critical mass without marketing side effects in order to reach a critical mass. They need marketers to market the site because they're marketing the social object.

People could start making real friends and then talk to them in real life. That way you would actually know when their birthdays were, rather than receiving an email reminder from Facebook. Do you really think movie stars have 1,000,000 friends?

No, just a bunch of people that want to be associated with them. It's probaby the same thing on everyone else's friends list. Just a bunch of people you never talk to, but get to see what you're talking about.

I've tried some other social networks like Bebo.com , orkut & myspace (my old friend , Myspace -Tom was my first friend ) but there is no place like facebook :( (yet) but there's a thing that makes me happy , have you heard that rumor (it's real! ) Google me? I'm really looking forward to see it pray for Google me!

Bro.

Linkedin is like a "grown up" version of Facebook. You could try that site. It's not full of college students/kids.

The Friendster renaissance is upon us, folks. Time to get back to friendster.com --first and best network out there.

I cant really gove you an answer,but what I can give you is a way to a solution, that is you have to find the anglde that you relate to or peaks your interest. A good paper is one that people get drawn into because it reaches them ln some way.As for me WW11 to me, I think of the holocaust and the effect it had on the survivors, their families and those who stood by and did nothing until it was too late.