Is Yuwie Addictive? Confessions of a Social Networking Fan

Yuwie is a new social networking Web site that is growing by leaps and bounds. As members know, it is similar to MySpace (with all the profile-making tools) but with one big difference - it pays its users by sharing its ad revenue. Users are flocking to this new Web site at the rate of nearly 1,800 new members a day. I'm a member, and I find it completely addictive, and from what I can see, so do many of the other members.

What makes it so? Well for one thing, it is not hard to gain friends. Most users have public profiles, because having others view your profile, blog, rate your profile or pictures, or add a comment benefits you and the poster. That's where the making friends comes easy. The more friends you have the more likely someone is going to click on your profile and leave a comment. Members are more than willing to reciprocate and can spend hours clicking and thinking of content to draw users to their page. When you become member, you are bombarded with dozens of friend requests, an instantly flattering experience. Especially if you used to be the kind of kid that was the last one chosen for the team and collected about three signatures in your yearbook (I personally have no experience in this area and cannot go into any further detail).

Users appear to spend countless hours (this member included) surfing the Internet looking for websites that offer widgets, text, layouts, and other gadgets to "pimp" their pages. Users' profile pages are chock full of guestbooks, downloaded music, links to Youtube.com videos, maps, polls, blogs, and pictures to draw visitors. A recent blog of mine urged members to post their Yuwie obsessive behavior. I posted a few of my own: staying on line for hours adding widgets and gadgets on end; joining groups such as Del.icio.us, Snapvine.com, Facebook, Twitter, UvME, Cafemom.com, Widgetbox.com, DirectMatches.com, Bebo.com, RockYou.com, Apsense.com, Dada.net, Slide.com, Meez.com, Yahoo Groups, MySpace groups, Helium.com, Digg.com, and yours truly, The People's Media Company to post about Yuwie and try to draw others to my referral downline; obsessively checking my email to see if I have a new referral, friend, friend request, or comment (I delete the emails so I know when a new slew of them have come in); checking Yuwie throughout the day at work (at least until the web block catches on and I can no longer view the website); and going on line as soon as I arrive home. I spent my entire Labor Day sending holiday comments to over 100 friends!

This is how I surf Yuwie: First, I open my AOL e-mail and leave that browser open. Then I go to Internet Explorer and open that browser several times. That way, I can hear the satisfying *click* when a new Yuwie email comes in and with two or three IE browsers open, I can click back and forth between Yuwie pages that much quicker as I surf the Web site.

No sentiment is too trite or silly to post or eagerly add to the comments on your profile page. I surf others' profiles to see what blog, ruse, or gadget I can ape to draw users to my profile page. I've taken to begging and bribing others to at least sign my guestbook. "Thanks for the add" comments include a long stream of requests (demands) to new friends to read my blog, sign my guestbook, map, poll, or bulletin board. Click my voice gadget to record a greeting for gosh sakes! Send me a cute, sparkly comment so I know I am loved. I view other members' guestbooks who have joined after me and ruefully note that they have twice as many members signing their map, their guestbook.

So what gives? Is it me? Am I unlovable? Is my pic too fat, too old, too ugly? Was putting my pic up a big mistake? Should I surf the 'net for some pic of a hot blonde and post her to my profile? Will that get somebody to sign my guestbook? And why did that member reject my friend request? And who was the meanie that rated my profile a lousy "1" for everything? I bet it was that skank that rejected me. Hey, I had been moving things around because nobody, but nobody would sign my danged guestbook and some code got a little messed up. Is that any reason to reject me and rate me a "1" out of scale of "10"? I bet that wasn't even her real picture. I bet she's even a fatter, uglier, scab than that picture of hers. I bet that picture is at least 10 years old and she's gained about 50 more pounds and has warts on her nose. Skanky b*tch! I wish I hadn't impulsively deleted her rejection. I can't remember her name except she was the ugliest fattest swine I had ever seen. Man, if I could only remember. I could go and rate her stink profile a "1". Ha! a minus "1" . A big fat "0" if ever there was one! Yeah that's right I said it, a big fat skanky old wart covered fat, ugly...ah...ah...um...ah...oh...hmmm... (cough).

Ah, where was I? (Cough). Uh, oh yeah. Yuwie seems to be becoming a little addictive for some of its members. Maybe I should start a new club for addicted Yuwie members. Perhaps, I'll call it "YuwieMembersThatLoveYuwieAndAreNotFatOldSkankyWartCovered
MeaniesThat RejectOtherMembersAndRateTheirProfilesABigFat '1'".

And for Christ-Sakes would SOMEBODY, *ANYBODY* SIGN MY DAMNED GUESTBOOK?!!!!!!!!!!!!!

See for yourself, go to http://www.yuwie.com/yuwie.asp?r=28853