The Web is rife with social-networking sites promising to offer the Web community an experience they haven't seen before. Here are five that actually deliver the goods.
Thinking of a time before social networking Web sites is like trying to remember what it was like before color television. How did bands get people to listen to their crappy music before MySpace? What did college students do with their laptops during class before there were Facebook walls to write on, LiveJournal to update, and friend requests to accept? What was life like back when there wasn't a place to upload all those self-portraits you shot in the mirror? Social networking has gone from a phenomenon to a fixture in today's world.
While social-networking mainstays like MySpace, LinkedIn, and Facebook are all about the friends you can attract to your network, other sites use social networking to enhance more traditional features. For instance, customizable Internet radio has been around forever, but Last.fm combines it with social-networking options to take music-recommendation to the next level.
The following services go beyond the usual social-network friend-hoarding contests, and are actually good for doing things. Whether you're looking to discover new music, show off your camera skills, or participate in a news community, these services connect you to others that share your passion.
Last.fmBetween streaming radio stations and social networking, Last.fm gives you a lot of ways to get to know your music. Like Pandora, Last.fm creates custom radio stations based on your music preference. Unlike Pandora, these recommendations come from the site's users, not expert opinion. Connect with other Last.fm users and share your stations with each other, or use last.fm strictly as a free Internet radio service that caters to your individual taste.
MOGFor music geeks looking for an appealing balance of social networking and music discovery, MOG is the place to be. The site puts musicians and fans on a level playing field, creating a close-knit community centered on blogging, reviewing, and music sharing.
FotologThis site takes a fun, addictive new spin on the blogging/photosharing genre. Fotolog is the photographic blog that gives limits members to one photo a day with the hopes of forcing people to make sure they post something memorable. The idea looks like it's working well as Fotolog features some of the most interesting pages and high quality photography you'll see on social networking site. With clean, fast loading pages and tons of fascinating content and sub-communities to discover, Fotolog is a worthy addition to your current blogroll and network of social-networks.
TopixWhere other news sites are great at telling the news, none provide quite the interactive news experience as Topix does. As the largest news community on the Web, Topix puts the power of the media in your hands providing quality local news content the big players don't deliver. Topix personalizes the news to your preferences, bringing you the news important to your neighborhood or topic of your choice. Besides reading, submitting, and discussing the news Topix also allows those especially passionate about their community to become a Topix Editor, enabling people to manage their own Topix news page.
GoodreadsIf you're a bookworm looking for like-minded literary community to share your thoughts and opinions, you owe it to yourself to check out Goodreads. Where sites like Amazon provide recommendations from an automated database, Goodreads provides user-driven recommendations from your friends and other users. Goodreads offers an easy to use interface and the cataloging tools to allow users to expand their literary horizons. [PCMag]
Thinking of a time before social networking Web sites is like trying to remember what it was like before color television. How did bands get people to listen to their crappy music before MySpace? What did college students do with their laptops during class before there were Facebook walls to write on, LiveJournal to update, and friend requests to accept? What was life like back when there wasn't a place to upload all those self-portraits you shot in the mirror? Social networking has gone from a phenomenon to a fixture in today's world.
While social-networking mainstays like MySpace, LinkedIn, and Facebook are all about the friends you can attract to your network, other sites use social networking to enhance more traditional features. For instance, customizable Internet radio has been around forever, but Last.fm combines it with social-networking options to take music-recommendation to the next level.
The following services go beyond the usual social-network friend-hoarding contests, and are actually good for doing things. Whether you're looking to discover new music, show off your camera skills, or participate in a news community, these services connect you to others that share your passion.
Last.fmBetween streaming radio stations and social networking, Last.fm gives you a lot of ways to get to know your music. Like Pandora, Last.fm creates custom radio stations based on your music preference. Unlike Pandora, these recommendations come from the site's users, not expert opinion. Connect with other Last.fm users and share your stations with each other, or use last.fm strictly as a free Internet radio service that caters to your individual taste.
MOGFor music geeks looking for an appealing balance of social networking and music discovery, MOG is the place to be. The site puts musicians and fans on a level playing field, creating a close-knit community centered on blogging, reviewing, and music sharing.
FotologThis site takes a fun, addictive new spin on the blogging/photosharing genre. Fotolog is the photographic blog that gives limits members to one photo a day with the hopes of forcing people to make sure they post something memorable. The idea looks like it's working well as Fotolog features some of the most interesting pages and high quality photography you'll see on social networking site. With clean, fast loading pages and tons of fascinating content and sub-communities to discover, Fotolog is a worthy addition to your current blogroll and network of social-networks.
TopixWhere other news sites are great at telling the news, none provide quite the interactive news experience as Topix does. As the largest news community on the Web, Topix puts the power of the media in your hands providing quality local news content the big players don't deliver. Topix personalizes the news to your preferences, bringing you the news important to your neighborhood or topic of your choice. Besides reading, submitting, and discussing the news Topix also allows those especially passionate about their community to become a Topix Editor, enabling people to manage their own Topix news page.
GoodreadsIf you're a bookworm looking for like-minded literary community to share your thoughts and opinions, you owe it to yourself to check out Goodreads. Where sites like Amazon provide recommendations from an automated database, Goodreads provides user-driven recommendations from your friends and other users. Goodreads offers an easy to use interface and the cataloging tools to allow users to expand their literary horizons. [PCMag]
