Neha Tiwari Pvt. Ltd.

While I was out for tea this last weekend, a friend of mine asked me if I had a Friendster account. Ah Friendster, the poor predecessor of Myspace and Facebook that got left in the dust. The site boasts of having “over 50 million profiles,” which is not much compared to Tom on Myspace’s 203 million friends. No offense to Tom, but not even everyone is his friend [some people choose to delete him...I've been nice and kept the fellow Cal alum]. After opening their doors to every Tom, Dick and Harry on the planet, I am sure that Facebook has a sizable community as well. For some reason, I think that Friendster might be doing okay overseas, but is really tanking in the States. Even their dorky Jansport backpack backgrounds can’t save them now.

Why all the bitter blood over Friendster, you ask? Well here’s a little story on my recent user experience. I logged on after approximately 3 months to add my aforementioned chai-going pal. I had a number of changes to make as I realized that most of my pictures were outdated, my favorite tastes had changed, and my “about me” section sounded uber-dorky. I also saw that they had swiped the personalized URL idea from Myspace, and the “It’s complicated” relationship status from Facebook. Way to go, wannabe copycats. I submitted my fancy URL like 4 times, and it kept leading back to my old page without the modifications.

After that, I decided to edit the text and photos. After making my grand total of photos on the site a lucky number 13, I was told that I could post 980+ more photos of myself. Do the internets really need like 1,000 pictures of me being a total dumbass? I think not, thus making this an unnecessary feature. Revising the photos and amending the text took several attempts, despite the “changes successful” message that I received after every update. In addition, I checked out their media section with videos from You Tube, and presumably, music. I eventually gave up because of the lack of direction on how to insert a different video on the profile page, or embed a music player. The only item that was really easy to update was the new “Featured friends” section. Think of it as the “Top 8″ on Myspace, but a tad less seamless. Finally, I tried to alter the background to something more me, which for some reason didn’t stick. Most likely because it was an indirect message–Friendster is so NOT me anymore.

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Usually when one thinks of the word “shiny”, positive thoughts come to mind. A shiny car, a shiny new penny, and the rad indie-punk band, Shiny Toy Guns. The word and aforementioned things are nice, but there are a few situations where we shouldn’t all shine on; noses, bald heads, and finally, laptop/desktop LCD screens.

The good news is that shiny noses and heads can be dabbed down with powder foundation. The bad news: the treatment for an LCD screen is not as simple. While visiting my Uncle up north, I was wowed by his new HP widescreen laptop for its multimedia displays [via Windows Vista], along with sleek design. I was not, however, impressed by the uber shiny screen.

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Pownce recently rolled out some new features, taking the next step into social-network file and information sharing.

With personal experience, I have found that many of my messages get buried. There have been a number of times where I have received private pings and have no clue. I only come to discover them if I am, A. re-pinged; or B. I go Pownce raking [look through the last few pages when I have some time to spare]. The updated Preference tab attempts to address this issue. Basically, you can set filters so you can view replies to your posts or private to you. The only problem is that you have to go into the Preferences page every time you want to switch from filter to filter. I would prefer some differentiating color/text font coding or tab option instead.

In addition, Pownce is making sure that I never miss a clam bake again. The events are now singled out in the top right column, making it easier to view events posted by others. Broadening the social network from Pownce has also been simplified. Links to your Myspace, Facebook, Linkedin, and even Twitter [to name a few] pages now appear on the left column for all your fellow Powncers to stalk…ahem…”check out.”

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