Ziki - The Social Network That Sponsors Your Name
Ziki is another social network that has been making waves lately - primarily because the first 10,000 Ziki users get their name sponsored in Google, Yahoo and MSN for free. Ziki is loosely defined as a social network and I think it focuses more as a personal content aggregator while allowing you to promote your work and skills.
Personally, I think Ziki is spreading itself too thin - personal content aggregator, social network and psuedo-professional network; why not focus on just one? Ziki’s moto is “be visible” and that it does. It’s another way to get your name out there and interact with people and companies. Be sure to check out this redeeming Ziki post before coming to any final decisions.
I’m willing to give it a chance… I like the ability to add in feeds instead of posting content directly to the site - and I was also impressed my feeds are republished without edit by Ziti (no ads or link bouncing inserted).
I added you to my network and did note there was no approval by you. For some that may or may not be an issue.
Hum… kind of looks interesting. The site looks pretty… colorful, at least.
Reminds me somewhat of ClaimID. Obviously, both are trying to do different things in different ways, but I think the driving force at the core of all this is online identity management. I signed up, populated a little bit, and will explore some more tomorrow.
Ziki seems to be a good idea, and I like the RSS publishing, but it just doesn’t seem easy enough to navigate for me. I dunno maybe its just me.
I have to agree about the difficulty in navigation.
The social networking ring is getting rather crowded now, this one looks nice, certainly better than myspace, but will it survive in the long run?
Getting your name listed as a sponsor on Google seems quite cool. Finally I can lift myself above Adam Wilcox the racing driver. Although having a namesake with his own line of clothes has proved useful.
Thanks for all of your very interesting comments.
Michael : about network’s “Approval” function : This gonna be suggested to the team
Zach & Vance : we are working hard on improving the navigation and the next version of the site will be much better
Zach & Vance : it seems to me that navigation is complicated but enough logical. So as any new navigation system it seems difficult…
I agree with Paul on that it seems to be trying to be too much. I may give it a try, but I don’t know why I’d direct traffic away from my own blog to send people to my ziki page. I may create one just to try it out, but I’m wondering what will separate it from the rest. Like most others have said, the design is nice, allthough it reminds me of T-Mobile a bit.
I created an account and added feeds for my blogs, podcast and photos on flickr. I like that it gives you a central place for everything you have in several places online. In my case I have different feeds for my personal blog, mac blog, and some feeds for my San Antonio Spurs fansite including articles, blog and podcast. I also added the feed to my flickr photostream and I like how it separates by the type of content. The networking feature is kind of cool and I browsed through people that had the same tags that I set up. You can check out my ziki page at http://www.ziki.com/people/mdeleon
(The site) keeps switching between French and English for me.
I don’t think it’s “why I would direct blog traffic to Ziki” but how Ziki can direct traffic to your blog - and other services. Granted, those with the skill can place all their services on one site with ease, but for the people who don’t have the skill (or desire) to build a custom portal, Ziki can fill that need. This will be a site/company to watch I think.
At first I thought how nice it would be to get a Sponsored Ad after signing up early, then I realized how the sponsor ad would point readers to my Ziki page rather than directly my blog. Unless your name doesn’t already in the first five Google results, I don’t particularly like the idea of my identity being represented by someone other than myself. In essence, it’s a good leg up for new bloggers, but unnecessary for veteran ones. As someone mentioned, it’s like ClaimID, but I think Ziki just add a social element to it.
Paul,
In fact Ziki targets many niches as you mentioned: personal content aggregator, social network and pseudo-professional network.
But deep down it Ziki is the platform of choice for people who want to:
=> be easily found on search engines
=> get their image on the Internet under control (executives, freelancers, consultants, artists etc..)
=> gather all their content and profiles on one page
WITH THE OBJECTIVE TO:
=> promote their content, skills and expertise, business and products
So it is one step beyond ClaimID, which is btw a great service .
Andre
Sorry it did not show above :) but I am part of the Ziki team.
Andre
I think those “free” sponsored ads are a joke. 99% of all names will go for a penny a click because nobody else is bidding for those searches (unless your name is something like Bill Gates or Micheal Dell).
@Andre: Easily found on the internet? Heck, if you googled my name, my blog is on the #1 so do I really need this service?
Oskar, please read my comment above. Ziki is more about content promotion. Content promotion starts with control of your identity.