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MICHAEL SAUTTER
"When words are both true and kind, they can change our world." ~ Buddha
Articles Posted: 645; Links Seeded: 5556
Member Since: 3/2006Last Seen: 11/07/2009
Member Since: 3/2006Last Seen: 11/07/2009
29 Comments
PrintFive Alternatives to MySpace (with poll)
News Type: Opinion — Wed Jan 3, 2007 1:05 PM EST
Live Poll
Which is the best alternative to MySpace?
- Bebo14%
- Hi 53%
- Multiply3%
- Tag World0%
- Vox40%
- Other (please leave in comments)40%
Total Votes: 35
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Anyone who has spent some time on MySpace knows it has problems and a few drawbacks. I have spent time over the last week or so checking out some alternatives to MySpace and here is my report on Bebo, Multiply, Tag World, Hi-5 and Vox. Update: added FaceBook review.
Everyone of these sites lets you share photos and videos, write a blog, and network with friends and join groups. In other words they are very similar to MySpace however none has as large of a membership base that MySpace has.
- - - - -
Bebo
The Good: Bebo is becoming more popular and already is very popular in England. It also has some nice templates to choose from. The White Board and Quiz pages are unique. Works with PhotoBucket.
The Bad: You are out of luck if you want to customize your profile with HTML and CSS - Bebo doesn't allow it. No music player, no way to share your music (there are links to bands). There is a nice liitle music player, you have to create a playlist first and then add songs to it.
Links: www.Bebo.com | mydree.Bebo.com
- - - - -
Multiply
The Good: The default template is nice and clean looking, very Web 2.0-ish. Nice use of tags. Header adds links to sections as you add content to them. HTML - Yes you can!
The Bad: Most of the templates that I tried had problems displaying sections - things just didn't line-up properly. Also the wizard to copy videos over from YouTube doesn't seem to work properly. Forget about music, no player - just links to files. Is anyone using Multiply? There seems to be very few people using it.
Links: www.Multiply.com | mydree.Multiply.com
- - - - -
Tag World
The Good: The nicest looking default template, it's so nice I didn't even change it. Easy to customize by adding and removing modules, HTML is also allowed.
The Bad: The Music player is real bad and the way it handles videos is not much better.
Links: www.TagWorld.com | www.TagWorld.com/mydree
- - - - -
Hi-5
The Good: Nice music player but I can't seem to find out how to turn off auto play (if it is even possible). Videos are also easy to use. Customization is easy and HTML is allowed.
The Bad: Auto play with the music player on profile page (this really bugs me). The name is corny enough but you can also Hi 5 people - get it? I haven't wanted to high-five anyone since grade school, but I guess it's OK in this context.
Links: www.Hi5.com | mydree.Hi5.com
- - - - -
Vox
Vox is by Six Apart, the same people behind Movabletype, TypePad and LiveJournal. Vox is like Blog 2.0 and blends blogging with social networking.
The Good: The best looking of the bunch and easy to customize. Decent linking to videos. Easily integrates with Flickr, Photobucket, iStockPhoto, Amazon and YouTube. 'Collections' folders allow you to group similar things together across media types. Blog posts have a variety of privacy settings. Extensive use of tags.
The Bad: No user HTML or CSS. Music player is very basic.
Links: www.Vox.com | Six Apart | mydree.Vox.com
- - - - -
Update: Bonus, a sixth alternative to MySpace.
The Good: Very popular. FaceBook badge is a nice feature (much better than Bebo's).
The Bad: No video or music player. No HTML (but a URL is turned into a link). Long profile URL (see below).
Links: www.FaceBook.com | www.facebook.com/p/Mydree_Eerdym/558505653 (Is the URL for my FaceBook profile page really that long?)
- - - - -
Conclusion
I would be glad if any one of these supplanted MySpace in popularity. I'm going to throw my support behind Vox and start using it more. I will keep an eye on the others, so if you are using any them then feel free to add me as a friend. Maybe together we can end the social networking hegemon that is MySpace. Until then my MySpace profile is here: Mydree at MySpace.
32 Votes- Enjoy this article? Help vote it up the 'Vine.
Published to:
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11
{"commentId":457205,"authorDomain":"TheVerbalistx"}
Why do I have the feeling that most people are just going to add these to their hourly myspace reconnaissance...
{"commentId":457205,"threadId":"65317","contentId":"504096","authorDomain":"TheVerbalistx"}
- 3 votes
#1 - Wed Jan 3, 2007 1:44 PM EST{"commentId":457502,"authorDomain":"michaelsautter"}
{"commentId":457207,"authorDomain":"onlineapps"}
I think Leo Laporte of Twit.tv uses Vox. Hey, didn't you leave out a few? Orkut (https://www.orkut.com) is also something similar, and it's owned by Google. And Xanga is also popular (xanga.com).
Personally, I think Wordpress is the best way to keep in touch.
{"commentId":457207,"threadId":"65317","contentId":"504096","authorDomain":"onlineapps"}
- 4 votes
#2 - Wed Jan 3, 2007 1:45 PM EST{"commentId":457378,"authorDomain":"michaelsautter"}
{"commentId":457463,"authorDomain":"michaelsautter"}
{"commentId":457254,"authorDomain":"pody"}
I think you're very mistaken to forget Facebook, which (IMO) has all the features of MySpace, a much more mature user base, and a lot less of the ugliness (the fact that you can't change the default layout is really nice). Plus, it's entirely Web 2.0, and the networking features (like the News Feed) are so much better than those MySpace has.
{"commentId":457254,"threadId":"65317","contentId":"504096","authorDomain":"pody"}
- 7 votes
#3 - Wed Jan 3, 2007 2:16 PM EST{"commentId":457286,"authorDomain":"michaelsautter"}
{"commentId":457299,"authorDomain":"pody"}
Facebook has made the transition from college students only, to college students and high school students, and now to everyone quite well actually. I haven't noticed any drop in the quality of the service throughout the transition.
{"commentId":457299,"threadId":"65317","contentId":"504096","authorDomain":"pody"}
- 6 votes
{"commentId":457464,"authorDomain":"michaelsautter"}
{"commentId":457515,"authorDomain":"MissDev"}
I agree about the music and video - but I love that there's no HTML! I hate the stupid HTML comments I get on my MySpace page and don't really use them in my profile. I love how clean Facebook looks and that it's much easier to navigate. I do wish they would offer skins so that you could change the background of your profile - but in a non-crappy (read: MySpace) way.
{"commentId":457515,"threadId":"65317","contentId":"504096","authorDomain":"MissDev"}
- 2 votes
{"commentId":457641,"authorDomain":"michaelsautter"}
{"commentId":457649,"authorDomain":"pody"}
Some HTML works for Newsvine, because we're all quoting each other and such, so we need tags to emphasize. However, I really don't think that HTML is needed for a site like Facebook-- the site should be focused on content, not making that content look "pretty" (which, IMO, ends up looking really ugly on a site like MySpace).
{"commentId":457649,"threadId":"65317","contentId":"504096","authorDomain":"pody"}
- 5 votes
{"commentId":457285,"authorDomain":"spudsstuff"}
Thanks for the reviews Mydree. I have mainly used Myspace to this point and haven't found the time to really check out any of the others. Based on your reviews I'm going to have a look at Vox and Bebo.
{"commentId":457285,"threadId":"65317","contentId":"504096","authorDomain":"spudsstuff"}
- 2 votes
#4 - Wed Jan 3, 2007 2:38 PM EST{"commentId":459046,"authorDomain":"michaelsautter"}
{"commentId":457298,"authorDomain":"SimplyTRUE"}
Thanks a bunch for doing all the research!
{"commentId":457298,"threadId":"65317","contentId":"504096","authorDomain":"SimplyTRUE"}
- 2 votes
#5 - Wed Jan 3, 2007 2:45 PM EST{"commentId":457465,"authorDomain":"michaelsautter"}
{"commentId":457387,"authorDomain":"JoshMetts"}
{"commentId":457396,"authorDomain":"abenton"}
vox looks promising
{"commentId":457396,"threadId":"65317","contentId":"504096","authorDomain":"abenton"}
- 2 votes
#7 - Wed Jan 3, 2007 3:42 PM EST{"commentId":457477,"authorDomain":"ryaninc"}
I like Facebook. It's so much better than Myspace, in my opinion. It's like, the more professional, refined version of Myspace. :-)
And Orkut isn't popular in the United States yet. It apparently has a huge following in Brazil...but not here yet. Maybe that will change...maybe not. You know how these things are. :-)
{"commentId":457477,"threadId":"65317","contentId":"504096","authorDomain":"ryaninc"}
- 3 votes
#8 - Wed Jan 3, 2007 4:31 PM EST{"commentId":457511,"authorDomain":"onlineapps"}
Wait until Google releases it in public beta. Anything Google releases becomes semi-popular. Again, I still think that a standard old blog is the best but... that's my opinion.
{"commentId":457511,"threadId":"65317","contentId":"504096","authorDomain":"onlineapps"}
- 3 votes
{"commentId":458324,"authorDomain":"ryaninc"}
Yeah, I'm sure once Google devotes more attention to Orkut that it will gain popularity over here.
And I really like Facebook. It's just a lot of fun without all the junk of MySpace. And Facebook's mobile site is one of the best I've ever seen. Newsvine could totally take a hint from Facebook in creating a mobile version. (hint, hint)
{"commentId":458324,"threadId":"65317","contentId":"504096","authorDomain":"ryaninc"}
- 3 votes
{"commentId":457765,"authorDomain":"michaelsautter"}
Bebo Update
Bebo has a music player and a nice one at that. Create a playlist first and then add songs to it from a bands page. The player floats in its own window when someone clicks on a play list.
{"commentId":457765,"threadId":"65317","contentId":"504096","authorDomain":"michaelsautter"}
- 2 votes
#9 - Wed Jan 3, 2007 8:14 PM EST{"commentId":458326,"authorDomain":"mstickel"}
It may be more of a niche thing but I'm testing out Virb.com right now. It's got video and music support, groups, friends, and completely customizable profile pages (including re-arranging page modules).
{"commentId":458326,"threadId":"65317","contentId":"504096","authorDomain":"mstickel"}
- 2 votes
#10 - Thu Jan 4, 2007 8:53 AM EST{"commentId":458354,"authorDomain":"abenton"}
Mike, do you have any invites? I'd reallllllllllly like one. If you do invite me at andrewbenton@gmail.com
I'd really appreciate it!
{"commentId":458354,"threadId":"65317","contentId":"504096","authorDomain":"abenton"}
- 3 votes
{"commentId":458342,"authorDomain":"leftist"}
me like facebook
{"commentId":458342,"threadId":"65317","contentId":"504096","authorDomain":"leftist"}
- 3 votes
#11 - Thu Jan 4, 2007 9:08 AM EST{"commentId":459727,"authorDomain":"vikibabbles"}
Nice little rundown, Mydree!
I have no use for myspace, although I've attempted it. It just doesn't do anything for me. Same with Facebook. Maybe I'm just too old. (Excuse me while I adjust my dentures and locate my walker).
I do like Vox, however, most particularly because of the ability to decide who sees what, and it's not just for me, but for my daughter. I don't want her blogging out there in the real world, and Vox lets her (me) set it up so that only people she has alerted (i.e. friends/family) can see what she has posted. And, as far as I can tell, no identifying information is publicly visible.
{"commentId":459727,"threadId":"65317","contentId":"504096","authorDomain":"vikibabbles"}
- 2 votes
#12 - Thu Jan 4, 2007 10:37 PM EST{"commentId":509331,"authorDomain":"tang"}
I haven't really figured out what to use my Vox page for yet, but I did bump into some familiar Newsviners over there :)
For pure social networking, it's pretty much myspace for me.
{"commentId":509331,"threadId":"65317","contentId":"504096","authorDomain":"tang"}
- 1 vote
#13 - Fri Feb 2, 2007 9:47 PM EST{"commentId":643082,"authorDomain":"pug-public"}
I've started liking spruzme. Check it out at Spruz.com
{"commentId":643082,"threadId":"65317","contentId":"504096","authorDomain":"pug-public"}
- 1 vote
#14 - Sun Apr 15, 2007 2:43 PM EDT{"commentId":3172791,"authorDomain":"fugitive247"}
I got tired of the standard MySpace and FB social network models a long time ago. For the past year I've tremendously enjoyed Multiply. It's not just another hit-and-run Cyberian popularity contest, that's for sure!
{"commentId":3172791,"threadId":"65317","contentId":"504096","authorDomain":"fugitive247"}
- 3 votes
#15 - Sat Sep 27, 2008 2:36 PM EDT{"canLink":false,"threadId":"65317","isPrivate":false}
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