Social networking is NOT the greatest thing since sliced bread!

Social networking has exploded in recent years. The wave of social networking sites is reminiscent of the mushrooming e-commerce sites during the late 1990s. The entry barriers are so low that anyone can create the infrastructure for a social networking platform with minimal investment. What is more interesting is the frenetic pace of adoption of some of these sites.

So, what is all this frenzy about? Is it curiosity that drives people to become members of these sites and “network socially” through them? Or, is it just a bunch of kids with too much time trying to play with the latest online fad? Or, is online social networking indeed such a significant innovation that it warrants all this attention? Here's my take on the social networking phenomenon from an “innovation” standpoint.

Social Networking v. 1.0
Social networking in the physical world has existed throughout history. The new, virtual breed of social networking obviously has its roots in the Internet. So, how did it all start?

In my opinion, online forums and groups were the v.1.0 of the online social networking world. Fundamentally, the objective of an online group or forum is to give users the opportunity to converse and congregate in cyberspace, thus sharing ideas, opinions; debating issues, exchanging stuff, seeking advice, and doing any of a myriad other things made possible by the Web. The advantage of making group communication less disruptive (through daily digests and the like) is icing on the cake.

Characteristics
There are remarkable similarities in the way social networks and online groups / forums approach the same objective. Private online groups & forums are typically virtual manifestations of real-world groups (at least the private ones) – in which case they are brought into being primarily to facilitate non-disruptive communication. So, in these cases, relationships exist even prior to the group being set up. Otherwise they are no different from a group of e-mail addresses created in your Outlook.

It gets interesting in case of public online groups and forums because even strangers can join these groups. So, in effect they facilitate strangers with common goals, interests & passions meeting. Additionally, online groups provide a private space for sharing files, photos, etc., polling members, scheduling meetings, planning events, etc.

Present Wave: The key difference
The current wave of social networking (let us say v.2.0) pretty much offers the same functionality. The key differentiator though is that the present breed of social networking sites such as Facebook, Myspace, etc. allow users to not only browse groups and (public) discussion forums, but also lets them explore and discover other users who share the same interests and passions.

Thus, instead of networking with groups en masse you can connect with individuals separately. But for this difference the current breed of social networking sites is pretty much the same as the earlier breed. This to me is nothing more the same old wine with a twist.

So, what is all this ado about? It is just evolution of technology at work.

How is Cylive Useful?

Since the time we launched Cylive Beta a few days ago people have asked me what the site is all about. On hearing details of the application, most have tried pigeon-holing the application into an existing Web2.0 space. And, they have had difficulty doing so because the application is very unique and different from what exists out there!

So, here is a little 1-on-1 about what Cylive is about.

"One Roof" Concept
In the physical world, most of my belongings - books, CDs, DVDs, albums, magazines, files, etc. - are all at home under one roof. All items are pretty much stored, shared, displayed and showcased from the same location. The same principle pretty much applies to digital content on my personal computer.

So, why is it that in the virtual realm of the Internet, I have to upload my pictures into Flickr, videos into YouTube, bookmarks into Digg, blogs onto Blogger and so on, with each site requiring a separate ID / password? And, if I have to share my "digital assets" with friends and family, I have to either form groups on these sites, or resort to some good-old link-forwarding via e-mail. Not at all elegant!

We developed Cylive to function as a single destination on the Web for storing, sharing, publishing and distributing any digital stuff.

Publishing Freedom
Imagine watching "Planet Earth" on the Discovery Channel without getting an insight into the effort and the technology behind each clip. Wouldn't such a "commoditized" clip lack some of its appeal? Unfortunately, social media publishing sites - Picasa, YouTube, and the like - all adopt a one-size-fits-all approach. This means I am forced to publish, for instance, each of my photos with just a title, a brief description and some tags. A picture may be worth a 1000 words; regardless, a 1000 words may still be required to describe it.

And, what if I wish to share an album of my best photos along with a audio clip attached to each photo? Or, publish a recipe in my blog with a photo to go with each step? Isn't technology supposed to enable such "out-of-the-box" creativity?

So, we designed Cylive to support personalized media publishing. In other words, Cylive permits users to remix media-types - thus enabling "media mashups."

Content Diversity
Last year I tried publishing a table (of Web2.0 memetic attributes) in this blog. I realized there was no easy way of dong it. In fact, I discovered that "social applications" are all geared towards mainstream media types, i.e., audio, video, photos, etc. So, if I have to pubish and share my Oscar picks with my buddies I had to get my hands dirty in cumbersome HTML code. In other words, I had to become a HTML geek. Why?

Therefore, we architected Cylive in a way that makes it real easy for a layman like me to publish any information in a structured manner.

Shades of "Sharing" Gray
Just to make sure I had exposed the richness of Cylive in this blog entry, I wanted my colleague (and fellow Cylive co-founder) to preview it. So, I forwarded a copy of this text (via e-mail) for his critical review. Evidently, the "social" element of Blogger applies only to the 'sharing' of published content.

Most "social media applications" are deemed 'social' because they permit a two-way dialog between the producer and the consumer. But, what about collaborative content creation, i.e., simply co-creation? And, I am not just talking about blogging wikis (or blikis), but also rich media here.

Thus, we created Cylive to serve as a collaborative platform. Content owners can control "who gets to do what and when with content." For instance, all the invitees in my New Year Eve party can upload snaps (captured in their respective cameras) directly into a common photo album on Cylive.

Conclusion
In marketing and Web2.0 parlance Cylive is a "social publishing and content-management" platform. Forgetting the geek-speak, it really is the "site of the free" - it gives you the FREEDOM to express yourself in any way you deem fit. Come, take a test drive and find out how easy it is to become a "multimedia" Web publisher on Cylive!

Cylive Launch

I am very excited about our recent launch of Cylive (http://www.cylive.com/ - pronounced ‘sy-liv’) - a "social publishing and content management" platform. Cylive gives you “one roof” for ALL your digital stuff – photos, music, videos, bookmarks, articles, reviews, and MUCH MORE. You are now able to keep ALL your digital items in ONE place. You are always in control of what you do with your stuff and how & when you do it.

On Cylive – the “home of your digital stuff” – you can safely store ALL your private and confidential information. You can share ANY of your digital items with friends and family. You can also publish ANY stuff online and showcase it on the Internet for everyone to view...all with the click of a few buttons!

With your “digital home” at Cylive, you can work with your friends and family to jointly produce and publish digital material. And, you have the POWER to create material in your own new and unique way. For instance, you can create a photo album with a voice clip attached to each photo in the album about how and when you took the snap.

You can also control who can do what and when with your stuff. For instance, you can assign ‘add photos’ privilege to everyone in your family, but only give ‘view photos’ right to your friends. These privileges can be specified individually for your contacts on Cylive.

Summary:
So what can Cylive do for you? It is the easiest way for you to:

• Create, organize and share ANY digital stuff;
• Share and co-create content with your family, friends, or groups;
• Plan, organize and coordinate your personal & group activities;
• Publish your or view, rate & comment on other users’ thoughts and opinions;
• Express your ratings and recommendations on any topic – books, movies, etc.;
• Seek answers to your questions from other Cylive users;
• Discover user reviews of various things and places, such as restaurants, vacation destinations, etc.;
• Identify and connect with people who share your interests and hobbies;
• Store safely and access your private and confidential information online.