It’s been a while since I dipped into reviewing a social networking website. The website I am talking about today is a new kind of social networking, in the words of CNET “The Social Networking Site that wants you to get off your butt.” FAQQLY is a site that is designed like most other networking sites with similar aims but it has a twist. Instead of members leaving comments on the profiles of the user it is based on “FAQ’s” or questions that are asked of each other instead.
I should point out that I have not been asked by the administrators of FAQQLY to conduct a review and I have been in contact with Dave Liu since I first started working with the site. Dave, CEO of FAQQLY, and I have been talking about possible ways to improve the website and we have plans to put our heads together in the future. So to clarify I don’t work with or for FAQQLY as of yet.
FAQQLY is an easy website to sign up to, the sign-up process is extremely intuitive and flows really well from start to finish. The forms are easy to fill out and before you know it you have a killer looking profile. It is around that time that the colours of your profile hit you. FAQQLY is primarily red, green and cream, not the best colours in the world for Web 2.0 but certainly not offensive. The neutral colours employed have an almost Christmasy feeling and can become slightly irritating over time. Once you have your profile you can upload photos and caption them just any MySpace or AIMProfiles account.
The general feeling of the website is really good even though their site tour didn’t work when I tried it a few months ago and remains inoperable to this day. While creating your profile you add subjects in which you are “expert” in. These are the “tags” that allow you to relate to others on the website quickly and easily. I have found these tags very useful and have added many to my own profile. I have found most of my “friends” on FAQQLY using these tags.
FAQQLY also features a couple of things you won’t find at MySpace. There is a section called “Helps” where you can ask or provide help to other members. I placed a help in that section not long ago that went totally unanswered, albeit a rather abstract question. Other sections of the website include “Shares” and “Groups.” The Shares section allows you to lend or borrow items from other members. I found it somewhat confusing and heard the little voice of doubt in my head saying you would never get something back you lent out on an Internet site without some sort of collateral. The Groups section is where FAQQLY really excels. You can create a group and/or join the many other groups already on the site. When I first signed up to FAQQLY I created the “Podcasting” group as well as the “WordPress Users” group. The groups certainly have a community feel and are worth looking into should you choose to check out the site.
I have it on good authority that FAQQLY will be undergoing some major over-hauling soon. Some of my suggestions to Dave Liu were the ability to feed RSS into your profile and have audio / video files available for your fellow FAQQLY community members. The site has a long way to go if it is ever going to match the scale of MySpace and the marketing needs to be a little bit more focused. The membership of the site is around five thousand which may seem like a lot but does not compare to MySpace’s multi million user base. FAQQLY has recently added another great feature, a MySpace / Blog widget. (pictured on left) Although WordPress.com users can’t use it because it employs Macromedia Flash and it isn’t supported, it looks like a great feature. I think it is really good that FAQQLY acknowledges the presence of the 800 pound gorilla in social networking, MySpace. They go as far as to make their widget compatible with Myspace profiles. I have needed very little support using FAQQLY but my opinion of their support is biased. I know the CEO to call him on Skype of his mobile phone and when I send him an email I hear right back. I can only assume everyone gets such excellent treatment from the administrators of FAQQLY!
Overall I would definitely recommend FAQQLY as a social networking site. There are people there who are not there for what they can squeeze out of you or offer you free webcam sex like you find on the other “leading brands” sites. The site has a hell of a lot of potential both in it’s current form and whatever it is going to become soon. The guys behind it certainly have good intentions and are very approachable. Check out FAQQLY and you will be glad you did. Let me know how your experience went here and click here to check out my FAQQLY profile!
November 5, 2006 at 12:30 am
Seb,
I am frequently…heck, it is more than frequent, it is nearly every day, asked by someone where the heck they can go on the internet and get away from MySpace and the decay of social morale that has infected that mega site. I have spent more time looking around for people at more networking sites than I would like to, but hey, that is what I do, so why not stay consistent and look at them all and provide my viewers with what I think of a site in hopes it helps them find a good site or stay away from the bad ones.
So, up pops your blog here on the word nation of WordPress mentioning another social networking site trying to make it in the stormy seas of cyberspace..
FAQQLY. Catchy and I am sure it took a while for someone to come up with that name, which is a good sign. Yes, I see all you saw and or see and yes, the colors do drive someone to start looking up the Chimney for Santa. But the big concern is the numbers…I looked at the groups, which I like sites that offer the ability to build a group, but you had the most members than any of the groups with 14 members… I will take it that this site is just staring or has a member base not interested in joining groups.
I also get the feel that this site is a little on the Facebook age group with there being so many High Schools sites.
Since I have seen and reviewed over 50 social and business networking sites I can tell you what works and what does not and in order for a site to last more than the average 18 months, it has to offer the ability to gather members in a physical meeting of some sort. Without that, you will lose members to boredom. So look into finding people in the group who would want to put a FAQQLY member gathering on at a bar…the bars love it since they get FREE PR. For those not old enough to go to the bar or do not want to go to the bar…have a gathering at an amusement park or restaurant or bowling alley…or even a Golf Course… That is about all I can offer you for FREE. But…
I saw more, and the bottomline is this and will be my first question on the site…
Are there any members of this site who are in business and need answers to their business questions? If so, your membership will grow within five days of my blog review of this site. It not, well good luck and ya have fun for as long as you can.
Scot Duke, President of Innovative Business Golf Solutions, and Host of the Mr Business Golf podcast, provides over 31 years of corporate management experience to helping small businesses improve their marketing strategies. As author of: How To Play Business Golf, Mr. Duke outlines the steps to successfully using golf as a business tool. To learn more about Mr. Duke, IBGS or to purchase How To Play Business Golf visit http://www.innovativebusinessgolf.com
November 5, 2006 at 12:46 am
First off thank you for your incredibly detailed comment Scot! I understand your concerns about these websites lasting more than 18 months. When you mention the fact that people have to have somewhere they gather I agree with that as well but not totally. I believe that in this day and age on the internet people meet over Skype, MSN Video Chats, Second Life and a thousand other ways where they are 1 step away from being in the physical presance.
I think that websites like FAQQLY should place themselves in the line of internet users by having setups in programmes like Second Life, get sponsorships from websites like Digg and YouTube (now Google YouTube)
FAQQLY’s population appears to be something in the region of 6 thousand users. I agree with you that the age range is somewhat consistent to the FaceBook demographic but there are some older users there. I know for a fact the people who I have been dealing with on FAQQLY have all been older than me, even Dave Liu, the CEO is 8 months older than me!
I really liked your cut-throat analysis of FAQQLY and the social networking scene. I hope you stick around here on the site and comment again, it has been most enriching having you.
Thanks,
Sebastian.
November 5, 2006 at 6:28 am
I agree with Scot. You have to be able to link people to the real world or else you don’t get them truly interested and excited.
We intend to do just that with my site http://www.HomeAndTell.com Currently folks will be able to showcase their home or home improvement project online. Great but it needs to be grounded with real people meeting and interacting with each other face to face as well as online. Only so many people can visit a home in person but online that can be amplified many times over. This approach allows us to create a virtuous cycle.
I also think social networking sites need something beyond networking to thrive. I think the missing element is content. With content + community you’ve got a much better chance of success. Look at Myspace which uses small bands as a central meeting point around which fans gather. And live shows give people the potential to meet in person. Many people see Myspace as being lucky but they did a thousand things right.