Multiply for Simplicity Sake
by
on March 21, 2007,
The Web 2.0 community Multiply.com just passed 4 million registered users recently, and the digital content sharing site/network claims that their usage increased over 500% in the last year. The site claims over 13 million page views per month since the beginning of 2007, much of this is attributed to "relationship relevancy".
Multiply relies on a little different structure in order to provide users with community quality. Communications at Multiply are contained to established user networks of real life connections or direct contacts. Relationship rankings are applied to quantify, organize and prioritize shared content via an indexing system similar to Google's page rank.
I think Multiply is actually a kind of online scrapbook or information sharing platform for close networks. Obviously a large number of people have been interested in this platform. As you can see from the screenshot below, Multiply has a lot to offer. My little site, which I created just for you guys; has about me stuff, photos, my own little blog, music, video, reviews, links, groups and contacts.
Potentially, Multiply could be the all in one site for people with diverse interests and networks. I won't speculate about just what a user could do here, but using Multiply as either a close networking tool or a larger venue for consolidated visibility would seem likely. A press release via PRWEB yesterday quoted Peter Pezaris, CEO of Multiply describing the accelerated success of his company:
"Multiply is growing rapidly because it allows people to document and share the most important aspects of their lives with the most important people in their lives - friends and family. It's like keeping an online scrapbook and diary, only now the people they know and love can write in it as well."
I really like sites that tend to live up to their press releases. I like the blog addition function for users to be able to access and cross post their Xanga, Blogger, Live Journal, TypePad and other blogs. A new feature of the community is the Multiply Badge which allows users to take their information to other web sites. The badges are sort of like name tags at a big party or conference so that everyone everywhere will know who you are. I can only find good things about Multiply, the signup is simple, the UI is friendly, the services are varied and useful and the site has great potential for a Web 2.0 community however large the individual users want to make it. The one questionable number is the actual size of this community. Such things are kind of subjective and I do not dispute the registered users, but I am having issues with everyone's numbers, not just Multiply's. Who are these users and which ones cohabit number indications at other sites?
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kalipso
Mav
Orient expresS
Opensource 
Michael Fidler 
Hey Phil,
So that’s how you look like!!, okay now seriously we need a full stop to these social networks; Each one of them have slightly different/new feature or option but more or less they the same how they expect to gain popularity/gain limelight without actually providing something groundbreaking or even remotely interesting.
I know it’s not an easy task but why fill the web with clones all offering similar services? Doesn’t that defy the whole point of bringing people together communicating? Cause different people will join different social networks.
and yes most of them do appear to have that option to import friends from their email address book and sends mass email to everyone on that address book *okay off topic but its annoying*
p.s.; I haven’t tested multiply yet but I was speaking from experience @ myspace hi5 tagged etc
Regards
MJ
Hi MJ,
I agree that there seems to be a community popping up about every 10 seconds. If this were the new world of 1492, we would have the United States in a year. My view is this however, MySpace and a few of the others are not what I consider Web 2.0. Initially they looked that way, and they became extremely popular, but in effect they are not different than Yahoo! was in the dot-com period, they just have more technology.
Community involves a little more than some mutual self gratification society spamming one another for the aggrandizement of something with rather nebulous value. I am not overly promoting Multiply, as it may very well turn you to be a mini-myspace on its own. I think we should elevate our thinking and get on with Web 2.0. It is apparent we are all searching for something, but none of us has really gotten a handle on it yet.
As always, I appreciate your comments and kindness. I think when we see what is possible (if anyone will come up with the package) then we will all recognize it. We have the technology and the people, we need to combine Web 2.0 into the definitive excellence it is capable of. More communities may provide that little niche where excellence can thrive.
Thanks,
Phil