Share, but only real friends need apply

New phone apps are making social networking a more 'antisocial' experience, says Mark Prigg
17 May 2012

While Twitter and Facebook may be great for sharing what you had for lunch with hundreds of people you don’t really know, the discerning phone user has been quietly building their own network using the dozens of “antisocial networks” where friends are tightly controlled and you know exactly who will see your posts.

The most successful by far is Path, an iPhone and Android app that lets you share pictures, locations and even what music you are using with friends. However, unlike Facebook and Twitter, it’s an intensely private experience aimed at your real friends. In fact, there’s a 150-friend limit on the service, although most never reach that.

The upside is that it seems to be used a lot more — there is none of the worry of your boss seeing your terrible holiday photos, and the gorgeous-looking app is also simple to use.

“People have this deep desire to remember things, to remember their lives. It’s a source of real happiness for people,” founder Dave Morin said. “It’s the participation of your friends and family in the story that’s exciting.”

You will have to invite friends but once things are set up Path is a glimpse of how social networks can work in a different and in many ways more rewarding way.

Other “niche” networks have also sprung up, including the hugely succesful London fashion blog WIWT (What I Wore Today), and Pelime, a social network aimed at City high-fliers.

Many of the “antisocial networks” tend to be photo-based. They include Hipstamatic and Instagram, the retro photo-sharing app bought by Facebook for $1 billion in an unprecedented deal which shows just how important the smaller upstarts have become.

However, while no one is suggesting they will replace Facebook and Twitter entirely, they give a glimpse of a world where it’s finally possible to communicate easily and securely with your “real” friends online.

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