Non-mainstream Social Publishing

The last few years have seen a plethora of social applications mushroom all over the Internet. Besides featuring the customary "social networking" elements, many of these applications are centered around Web content sharing and publishing. But, almost all these applications are focused on "mainstream media types".

So, what is "mainstream media type"?
Most social networks revolve around multimedia content publishing such as images (e.g., Flickr), videos (e.g., Youtube), music (e.g., mp3.com), etc. Weblogs (e.g., Blogger) and bookmarks (e.g, Digg), while not necessarily being "multimedia" type, are extremely popular in the "social networking / publishing" realm. So, by virtue of being most popular amongst Web2.0 sites, these media types (images, videos, music, blogs, bookmarks, etc.) can be classified as "mainstream media types".

Then, what would be "non-mainstream media type"?
Besides the "mainstream media types," a lot of content on Web fall into unique use types. An example of such content is DYI (Do-it-yourself) or how-to, which might be composed with multiple media types (say rich text with a video and multiple pictures). Such "hybrid media" content can be classified as "non-mainstream media type."

Another class of Web content that might be considered "non-mainstream" is tabular content. For example, a comparison of X-Box and PS3 can obviously be presented in text format. However, if the same comparison is presented in tabular format, it is easier for the reader to comprehend the information. It is easy to author such a comparison on a Webpage (or Web log) with software particularly with enterprise content management applications. there are no Web applications that provide tools for publishing content in tabular format in a social context. Other examples of content that are better rendered in tabular format are "Oscar picks," "playoff predictions," and so on.

Is there a need for "social non-mainstream media"?
It is arguable whether there is a need for social (non-mainstream) media sharing & publishing. However, it has to be remembered that communities are engaging in such conversation (typically via e-mail) through groupware, forums and bulletin-boards today. So, "non-mainstream-oriented" Web2.0 provides an opportunity for communities to engage in that conversation in more meaningful and efficient ways.

Enabling "social networking" centered around non-mainstream media is also about according users the freedom to "express" and "congregate" over the Web in ways not possible earlier.

Disclosure: I am a co-founder of Cylive - a platform that attempts to empower users with the ability to "share and publish" any content in a collaborative context.