Have you tried CircleMe yet? You might think at first glance, “NO…not another social network site,” but when you take a closer look at CircleMe, you will discover that the creators have developed a more intuitive all-inclusive way to create your own socially relevant profile. You can shape your public persona by telling everyone what you “like” or “love,” and in turn, you’ll discover people with similar interests giving you the opportunity to interact with those people. You can also comment or recommend things based on your previous likes.
I admit it when I first heard the name, I thought, “Well, that’s strange since Google is using circles. Maybe it is similar to G+ and people can circle me on this site too.” The goal is different on CircleMe. They want you to share what you “like” in a visually documented and interactive (kind of autobiographical) way and connect you with similar people if you want. Having roots as a graphic designer, I immediately noticed how they care about the user’s visual experience as well as the user interface design. It definitely is different than the other “social networking” sites that we know and use daily. The bonus is that while building your profile, they have given the user the ability to choose fonts and change a few design settings. The profile backgrounds don’t require any knowledge of coding or HTML.
Geeks should probably have CircleMe on their radar because it has the potential to be the next app that takes off like wild. I can see the marketers’ wheels turning by using it to help businesses with brand personality, but I will stop there. It will be exciting to watch how users accept and use it. I have only seen a glimpse of its potential. It’s pretty obvious they are intentionally and creatively pushing several concepts together while at the same time not trying to be another Pinterest or Facebook. I recommend you explore their site by signing up for an account. It is the easiest way to see how they are different. Perhaps they are creating a new unknown social media category (one that hasn’t been defined yet), but for now, they tend to be lumped in with the other social sites. You can check out my Andrea Robinson profile to see it in action.
You can download the CircleMe iPhone app
One unique feature is called “Plant.” Recently they launched their new “Plant Guides” feature in an iPhone app. The plant feature works on the app using a geo-tagging location map interface. You can plant a tag literally on a map that looks similar to Google Maps, and from there, add a recommendation or comment with a click of a button. You can also contribute to a plant created by another person through comments, but the real goal of CircleMe is for people to share with the world what YOU like – it’s an opportunity to really create a social profile that doesn’t seem so segmented and not totally influenced by what other people like. The guides are great because they are curated lists of fascinating geo-tagged likes by CircleMe users on a map.
I think the best part of CircleMe is as their marketing video says, “…and then go out into the world with the CircleMe App.” I know Bit Rebels readers use social media and social networks, read or create blogs, use forms, etc. via desktop and mobile devices. All day long we can get caught up and forget to go outside and really live. It’s important that we live beyond our virtual relationships and interact with people in daily living with true human interaction. It’s those experiences that give us joy and inspire new creative thinking. It is also a way that we can connect the brick and mortar businesses to the virtual experiences in our social networks and allow the world to know what we are passionate about. You never know when it will open doors to meeting and connecting with like-minded humans that share your same passions.
Header Image Credit: [The Unlockr]
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