Mash - Yet Another Online Social Network is Born

So there's the Facebook, Myspace, Xanga, Yahoo! 360, and more. There are all kinds of different social networks popping up for people to make friends, blog on, personalize their profile, and network. Are there too many social networks out there to choose from?

Well some don't think that there's enough out there.

A new social network is on it's beta version right now. It is called Mash. It is a social network made by Yahoo. Some of you may remember Yahoo! 360. Well, I guess Yahoo felt that it didn't do good enough to compare to the other social networks. So instead of fixing the existing one they have, they are making an all new one.

What Is Mash?
So what is this new social network? What is it all about?

Well since it's in it's beta version, I am sure there are a lot of changes to come. Right now it's safe to say that Mash is like all the other social networks out there, but some features of its own.

Some of the new features is that you can create starter profiles for your friends that are just joining Mash. I think that this is a neat feature. Some people may avoid joining these kind of profile pages because they are nervous about how to create their own. If you can have your friend start you up, it may get more than the regular crowd to join.

Another feature is that you can have close friends that you trust to contributions to your page. Finally, another feature is that you can customize your own or even your friends page by a bunch of modules. They say they have a lot of applications being made to add to people's profiles.

The whole application add-ons reminds me a lot of Facebook. The application feature I think was both a good and bad think. It was good because it added a little more flare to the once boring layout, but some people have so many applications on their page it is ridiculous. Furthermore, I get about 5 invites to applications every day, which can be annoying.

So I hope with this feature, it is kept under control or at least not as annoying.

What suggestions do users have?

Since it is a very new site, there is a section open to suggestions. One suggestion I have seen popping up is that people do not want a brand new site, but instead just fix up Yahoo! 360. I think the idea behind Mash is something very different to 360. And if the creators would redo 360 to the way they want to make Mash, it may have people complaining about that too.

Another suggestion is a name change. People are saying that Mash reminds them of such things like the TV show M.A.S.H or mashed potatoes. But then again, almost any name can catch on eventually through buzz advertising.

Yahoo has some great things out there; messenger, Yahoo! Answers, search, Flickr, ect. One suggestion was to make Mash something that would connect all of Yahoo's functions into one social network. People could use Flickr.com an easy way to upload backgrounds or their own albums or using messenger on the site as well.

Since it is new, there are still bugs and thinks to tweak. It'll be interesting to see what it turns into. There are lots of levels of privacy you can have for it. It will be interesting to see how well they keep the spammers out.

How do you get into Mash?

Right now, Mash is only open to invites. Basically, you have to know someone who has a Mash account. Then they can send you an invite and you can create your own profile, and then invite friends from there. It isn't officially open to every one.

Once they get passed Beta, I am sure it'll be open for every one's (hopefully) enjoyment.