Social networking websites have sprung up dime a dozen all over the Indian web, and most of them are undifferentiated, having similar functions & features. Corners & Sumitr are a couple of additions to that ever growing list, but they must be complimented for trying to think differently from the pack. Both these sites have their own twist to the generic SNS concept.
Corners is conceptualised as a content centric social network; what this means is that unlike other social networks like Orkut, Myspace, Facebook etc, the focus is not on the users profiles or friendship. ‘Corners’ are a common meeting point for people having shared interests- these could be movies, sports, celebrities, places etc. The socialising happens around this interest and the social objects e.g. photos, videos, blogs etc are the means of achieving the socialising. What binds the people in a ‘corner’ together is their common interest. Check out the corner for Rajnikant in the screen shot below. Or this one about Saurav Ganguly. Corners comes from a company called Melamesa. They plan to have an ecommerce & advertising based revenue model that will dovetail into their site’s basic character. Compared to a generic social network, the socialising in Corners will happen around a context, and hence there are interesting business opportunities for sponsorship, promotion, e-commerce, and advertising. e.g.- while navigating the “kodaikanal” corner, a user can make travel-planning / hotel-reservations.
One small feedback- the current content on the website (sports, bollywood, movies) does not look user generated to me at all.
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Just as a note, this concept of a object oriented social network is not new. With SlideShare, we’ve tried to do something which is somewhat similar. The social theory of online networking runs along a time based continuum. Social networks can broadly be classified as the following
First Generation Social Networks (circa 2003-05): Friendster, Myspace etc – here the focus was on direct online friendship and the socialising is the end/targeted result.
Second Generation Social Networks (circa 2006-07): Flickr, YouTube, Slideshare – the focus is on the object; this could be photos, videos, slides, podcasts etc and the socialising is contextual to the object. Here (in contrast to first generation networks) the socialising is not an end in itself, it is a means of achieving the ends.
3 Dimensional Social Networks (circa 2007-08) – these are the virtual world networks like SecondLife, or communities built around MMPOG/MMPORPG (Massive Multiplayer Online Games/Massive Multiplayer Online Role Playing Game)
The Social Graph Phenomenon (circa 2007-08): This is the new twist in the social networking sweepstakes and has started with Facebook’s stupendously successful platform launch; Facebook provides the social graph (it’s millions of users) and the others get their objects to tap into the existing graph, without trying to build it themselves.
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Sumitr is a platform to manage your family’s social life online. It is a closed door network (password protected) that you can create for your family or friends. What’s unique about Sumitr is that it tries to extend the concept of online networking to the family (it has concepts like core family consisting of your spouse + kids). You can create your own genealogy based family tree with Indian relationships and family details. The family members can share photos & music, write blogs, make bets (wow!), share news items etc. The revenue model is based on subscription as well as advertising. The site has chosen to have a decidedly Indian flavour with its different sections having titles like Yaadein, Baazi, Bindaas Baatein, Taaza Khabar, Mitr, Parichay, Parivaar etc. Screenshot below.
IndyaRocks, one amongst the many SNS websites that dot the Indian internet scene has made a smart move- it has launched an online gaming section, having released app 800 free games (the games are categorized as Action, Adventure, Sports, Racing, Word games etc). This could well prove pivotal in terms of the website’s traction- online gaming is intoxicating as opium to kids/youth, and when it is put alongside online social networking, the combination can be quite heady. What’s more – users can submit their own games and solicit feedback from the community; this will enable independent game developers and gaming cos. to reach out to a large community of avid gamers (guess this can form the basis of a monetization strategy). Future plans include adding downloadable and multi-player games to the collection.