10 Social Networks to Watch

Have you ever dropped into Facebook to check your news feed, only to be amazed how many unfamiliar names fill your screen? As the social networking giant expands its user base, it’s only natural to seek out a niche that appeals to you, instead of appealing to everyone.

Here’s a list of 10 social platforms with huge potential. Some are expanding rapidly; others have yet to launch.

1. Medium

Medium, a new blogging platform from Evan Williams (co-founder of Blogger and Twitter), hosts stories quite a bit longer than 140 characters. The network, still in early beta after launching last October, touts a simple, stark design and a stripped-down editing mode designed for everything from recipes to manifestos. In an attempt to wean us off of cat photos, Gangnam Style and Justin Bieber updates, Medium emphasizes longer form, carefully crafted content (like this story on growing up in Saudi Arabia) from users with something of deeper value to share. In many respects, it resembles a carefully curated blog network. While creators are limited to the select few, everyone can read and comment.

2. Kleek

Kleek lets you build your own private social network within Facebook, giving you only the statuses and data of your closest friends (if you’re using an iPhone).

3. Viddy

Think of Viddy as Instagram for videos. The app, which operates across iOS and Android, allows users to shoot videos of 15 seconds or less and edit their footage with special effects, color filters and music soundtracks. Viddy allows for easy sharing across other networks, like Facebook, Twitter and Tumblr.

4. RunKeeper

Have you ever received backlash from the lazybones on Facebook who don’t like seeing your status updates about marathon training or new weightlifting goals? RunKeeper is the network for you. This simple app allows you to track workouts and share fitness achievements with a massive and growing community of more than 19 million.

5. Ghost

Ghost’s landing page is simple and humble: “Just a blogging platform.” The open-source project comes from John O’Nolan, former deputy head of the WordPress UI Group. Right now, Ghost is well on its way to a £250,000 stretch goal after blowing by is its initial fundraising goal of £25,000.

6. Pose

Pose, a mobile and online community where users can snap pics of their outfits or beauty accessories to share with other users, has been called the Instagram of the fashion world. With a clean, tile-based, visual layout reminiscent of Pinterest, this free app operates like an interactive fashion magazine.

7. Vine

Vine – Twitter’s answer to Instagram – has had a tough time gaining traction, but its really simple interface has inspired amazing creativity from some users.

8. Atmospheir

Though it hasn’t officially launched yet, this iPhone app promises a compelling feature: unifying information from various social networks into a single address book, making it easier to reach — and be reached – when it matters.

9. Days

The mobile app Days groups any photos you take through it into a “visual diary” segmented into 24-hour increments (5 a.m. to 5 a.m.). It also gives you the ability to share a “day” via text message or email, or post to other networks.

10. App.Net

Since launching in August 2012, this ad-free social platform has swelled to have more than 100,000 registered users. These users are sharing pictures and documents with file storage apps, spinning yarns with blogging apps and communicating with group message apps across mobile, desktop and the web. Full access to App.net isn’t free – it’ll run you $36 per year, but there is a free tier.

Would you use any of these services instead of Facebook? Or do you have your eye on another rising social network?

Source: strongblogs.com