Figuring YouFig Out

With the sad demise of Jonkenpon and 8apps along with it, some people—myself included—may be looking for a new collaborative social network. While there are still plenty out there to choose from—such as 37signal’s BaseCamp–those looking to jump in on one that has yet to become full of members just looking to get in on the next new web app may want to consider giving YouFig a go.

YouFig describes itself as Demo Collaboration Community, aiming to connect those with common interests. Pretty simple, right? That’s the point. YouFig achieves its goal in the simplest way possible: by helping people find others to discuss their interests with and to provide them with a Workspace in which to do it. YouFig has twenty-four categories and multiple sub-categories in each, for a grand total of more than 200 individual interests. Each member is allowed up to ten tags and ten categories to define their interests and specialties. YouFig will look for Workspaces that might interest you and allow you to search for Workspaces and people by category or, of course, start a new Workspace and invite new collaborators to YouFig. You can also add collaborators to your network and keep tabs on what they’re up to. By being active in the community, which includes starting, joining, voting, or collaborating on a workspace, inviting others to join, and referring collaborators, members can earn points which can be exchanged for prizes later on.

Naturally, Workspaces are a vital part of YouFig. They are where people connect, discuss, and share information on their common interest. Being in private beta, the demo version of YouFig doesn’t actually have many collaborators to contribute, making the community seem somewhat weak at times. However, YouFig was created to provide a collaborative application to organizations that need one, such as schools, corporations, and research groups. Customized communities can be ordered for free.

So what do I think of YouFig? Well it doesn’t impress me. It hasn’t drawn me into a rich community of people who share any of my obscure interests. Then again, neither have any other collaborative networks or social networks in general. Then again, when you consider the fact that there are only about 500 members taking part in the private beta demo and that several of them are inactive, you can only expect so much. I think YouFig has great potential, but it requires either a large userbase or use by a private organization to really live up to it. Then again, YouFig was not really meant to be like the larger social networks. In fact, it boasts the fact that there is “no social network required.”

If you would like to learn more, you can read Mashable’s review or visit the YouFig website. Keep in mind that this web app is still in private beta, so you’ll have to request an invite to join! Or, if you’re part of an organization that is looking for a collaborative application, go here to place an order for free.