Tribe.net

Tribe is a social networking site that is similar to MySpace and Facebook however users are able to create their own small social networks which are tailored for specific interests and hobbies. These are known as tribes and other users are free to join these tribes if they are also interested in the subject. It’s possible for anyone to register as a new tribe user and they can then either create a tribe or join a current one. If creating one then you can then invite people that you know to join your tribe. These people will be in your network of friends and these people will also be able to define their own network of friends. Tribe was founded in 2003 by Marc Pincus and is based in California, USA. The company was purchased by Cisco in 2007 for an undisclosed sum. Cisco also acquired a number of other social networking companies which makes it a fairly big contender in the social networking market. Although tribe is similar to other social networking sites it differs because users are able to create their own groups of people that are known as tribes. In essence they are able to create their own miniature social networks within the site. This means that likeminded people can all participate in one community. Different tribes can be set up including financial tribes, and art tribes. The application is slightly different to other social networks, first you have to search to find a tribe that you might be interested in joining. This is easy and simply involves typing in your interests so that you can find a like minded community. Clicking on these brings up the individual tribe so that you can get a sense of whether or not it’s the right community for you. The adverts are a bit irritating however they aren’t the end of the world. Signing up for an account at tribe doesn’t take very long at all. You will need to use your real email address because you have to use this to log into your account. You can then decide whether or not you want to display your age to other people. After you have finished this you will be sent an email that you have to read and click a link inside to confirm and activate your account. Tribe is a completely free application it’s monetized thanks to adverts which are a bit annoying at times because they get in the way of the rest of the text. Saying that though they aren’t a serious problem and aren’t too hard to ignore. There is also the option of premium accounts which cost $5 per month; these include no adverts, better support, personalized @tribe.net email address and a sneak peak at future features before they come out. Tribe could be useful anyone that has a very specific hobby and wants to meet new likeminded people. Rather than other social networking sites this is split into sections and you can choose to join whichever group or tribe you feel comfortable with.