- 10 Online Communities That Will Save You Time and Money
- 10 Original Communities You Might Want to Join
- Top 10 Bizarre Online Communities
In today’s world of flourishing internet culture, social networking websites are springing daily like mushrooms after the rain. There is a large variety and selection of online communities, all created to fit the needs, affinities, and interests of its members, so selecting top 10 websites with an original and unique approach and content was a tough call.
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ClipStar
Clipstar is a social community that hosts a global online talent competition of sorts, allowing you to upload your own videos and submit them into quarterly competitions that end in a Grand Final, where the prize is one million dollars. Members can form Groups, create Blogs, email friends via your user profile and even Swap stuff. For many young, aspiring video artists, this is a unique way to get discovered by headhunters and other talent spotters.
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43 Things
43 Things is online goal setting community. It’s designed to be fun and inspiring. The concept is simple: you list your goals, and then track your progress by writing entries. You can make new friends and share experiences by viewing who are the others with goals similar to yours.
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Nostradamical
Nostradamical website is another original concept. As its name suggests, this online community is all about predicting. Members are invited to make predictions about world events, sports, technology and anything else really, and then share them with the rest of the online community. Alternatively, you can browse through the predictions that others have posted and vote on them, by forecasting their outcome. Based on your batting average, your status will be eventually updated until you make it to the top of the list as an “Oracle”.
There are many people that have premonitory dreams, and this site is a way for them to put their skills to the task. For the rest of us, it will provide some entertainment, but also some welcome food for thought on the way things are, and the perception fellow men have as regards the world we inhabit.
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Youniverse
Youniverse is a place where you can discover more about yourself and meet other people, through a series of personality tests. The tests themselves provide a means of understanding emotions through images, and provide you with your “visual DNA”. However, the idea behind Youniverse is more than personality testing. It is a doorway to an ambitious concept, based on harnessing the power of your innate personality and applying it to your social networking activities and online shopping. Whether or not you join the Youniverse community, the tests themselves are worth taking. They are easy and enjoyable because all of the choices are represented by beautiful, inspiring images.
You can take a sample test here:
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Geni
Geni is a place for families to connect, share, and trace their lives. It is built on a simple interface that allows its users to create their family tree and invite their relatives to join. Each family member has their own profile and can share photos, videos, events, etc. A family timeline shows the history of everyone in the family. Geni is a private place and only those invited can view the tree.
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Experience Project
This is the world’s largest living collection of shared experiences. It is also a network of people who are growing, learning, educating and supporting each other every day. With over 24 experience categories, this is the definitive online social conversation destination for people to connect with each other.
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Shelfari
Here is a social network for people who love books. You can create a virtual bookshelf, display the books that you read, or are reading, or want to read. The interface is simple and makes it easy to connect with others to see what they are reading and, ultimately, discover new books.
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PledgeBank
PledgeBank is a community with an innovative approach to help people get things done, especially things that require several people. It allows users to set up pledges and then encourages other people to sign up to them. A pledge is a statement of the form ‘I will do something, if a certain number of people agree to help me do it’. The creator of the pledge then publicizes their pledge and encourages people to sign up. The site is free to use, no matter how big a pledge you create.
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Deviant Art
This is the world’s largest online community of artists and art lovers. It hosts an extensive library of over 80 million original works of art. As a member you can set up a profile, create galleries, and grow your fan base. You can connect with other artists worldwide, and make money selling your art through the DeviantART Shop.
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Virtual Tourist
Over one million members worldwide make Virtual Tourist the number one social network when travel is concerned. You can edit your profile, upload pictures of the places you visited, explore travel guides, maps, and other resources, but most importantly, you can connect with others in local forums and get all the insider information about the places you plan to visit from the locals. Not only that, but you can easily make friends in far away places, who will be happy to welcome you in their country when you arrive, and show you around.
Technorati Tags: networking, communities, useful, original, innovative, groups, networks, web 2.0
That’s a great list. Every one of these communities are special and amazing in some way. I like the nostradamical concept, it’s way out there!
I really like Second Life. Amazing!