Because social media is currently one of the hottest topics, everyone wants a piece of it. For this reason, new social sites are rising up continuously. Even though many of these new sites pride themselves with being unique or geared toward a particular niche, the majority of users are already on social giants like Facebook and Twitter. That said, it’s a real challenge to pull these users onto a new site, unless you’re Google.
Would you make time for social networking sites other than Facebook, Twitter, and now Google+? Let us know.
I know I’m speculating, but I would say that these networks and a few others occupy all the time we have, and then some. Damien Patton understands this theory and believes that people are missing out on a lot of useful information as a result. In an attempt to provide a solution to this dilemma, his company recently introduced a new mobile app called Banjo.
The app is essentially a service, or layer, that aggregates information from existing social networks. It takes publicly available information that users post on other social sites and pulls it into one single location.
“The idea was to help all the people that are having multiple accounts, or those who haven’t even found social networks yet… find a new way to discover local or social on their mobile device in a way that is useful,” said Patton.
To access Banjo, users do not even have to log in to the app. They can simply open the app and discover new people and places around them. Users can also make new discoveries and become a part of other places. Since privacy is always a concern, Banjo helps users customize their settings to be seen either more or less.
While Banjo is all about promoting social connections, Patton was quick to point out that the service was not another social network. Since there are already so many networks that people have yet to embrace, he doesn’t think that they would join another one.
“I don’t think the world needs another social network,” he said. “We’re all missing out on all the great opportunities in life because we’re not able to watch all the networks at once.”
He believes that Banjo helps users by bringing all the networks together. He also told us that he hopes the app will take the combination of local and social on mobile devices mainstream.
As for the name, Patton said it fit because the service is fun and fast just like a banjo.
“It’s very unique and people are always gathered around because, wherever you are, you always have instant community, just like the banjo player,” he explained.
Do you think this new app will be useful for social networking?