“Kickstart” Your Life With This Social Network

I like to follow social networks rather closely to see what features stand out from the rest of the crowd. There are so many social networks these days, it is imperative to be different. When I heard about Yahoo’s new social network, I thought to myself, “oh great, another social network.” I delve deeper to see just what Yahoo’s new social network had to offer, and was somewhat pleased.

Appropriately named, Yahoo’s Kickstart is a professional network with a distinct purpose: to connect college students, recent grads, professionals and alumni to discover internships and jobs, or get career advice and mentorship. Yahoo Kickstart allows you to create a professional profile, browse company profiles and network with your peers, professors, alumni and potential employers.

I like it. It is like Facebook, only a little classier. You will not find “Pet” applications, “Tv Show” applications, or any other futile application. Kickstart is certainly one of the cleanest-looking social networks I have ever joined. Profiles look like resumes. Navigation is easy with a toolbar at the top of the page and boxes on the homepage that immediately notify you of new messages, connection requests, and pending actions. You’ll have to join. It is very simple if you already have an account with Yahoo, which many of you have already. I can imagine this new social network will be quite helpful down the line.

Launching any kind of new social network is a challenge given the competition, but I think they might be able to pull it off. Yahoo might have hit the nail on the head with this one. If you remember back in the day, Yahoo 360 Blogging network did not do so well. Despite its lack of social networking success, Yahoo’s reach is massive and the fact that it is still one of the largest e-mail providers gives Kickstart a great advantage - a Kickstart, if you will.

I always like to say, “persistence is the key.” Only time will tell for this new social network. So far so good though!