Social Networking Watch: News on the Social Networking and Social Media Industry

Social Sites For Families: More Personal Than Facebook

MASHABLE - Jan 10 - Social networks for families (FamilyLeaf, MyFamily.com, Rootsy, Origami), neighbors (Nextdoor), and select groups of family and friends (Path), have bloomed in the past few years. "Many of our most active users are turned off by Facebook's openness — and they use FamilyLeaf because it's meant only for family," Co-founder Ajay Mehta says.

by Kate Freeman
See full article at Mashable

Social Networks, Small And Smaller

NY TIMES - Apr 24 - Facebook makes sharing easy. Yes, the site does allow you to define smaller circles of friends, but that requires constantly monitoring what should and should not be shared with whom. Newer social networks, like Path, FamilyLeaf and Pair, offer a range of constraints. A Path network, available only on smartphones, has a maximum of 150 friends. FamilyLeaf is restricted to family members. And Pair is as small as a social network can be: just one other person. The average Facebook user in United States has 245 friends. That figure well exceeds the “Dunbar number,” the 150 meaningful relationships that Robin Dunbar, an anthropologist, has suggested is the effective neurological limit the human brain can handle. 50 is the limit for trusted friends, 15 for good friends, and 5 for best friends.

by Randall Stross
See full article at NY Times

See all posts on Path