A new
website announced today claims to embody the next stage of development from
classic social networking platforms, in the shape of a fully integrated ?Lifestyle
Management System? Netkot.
The press
release announcing the launching endeavours to make explicit the innovative
character of the offering by listing a number of original features. These range from profile presentation
options, including choice of wallpaper and signature background tune, to
interaction functionalities such as live Instant Messaging (IM) between
members, e-mails sent and phone calls made directly from the user?s
profile-based address book. Specific
privacy settings can be chosen for every item posted, be it text, photo or
video.
Profile
content can be customised using a wide variety of options, including RSS
news/video feeds and a user-created, fully searchable journal or scrapbook. A diary feature is provided for event
planning purposes.
Although
membership of the site is free for individuals, the press release suggests that
it is intended to support a strong commercial dimension in the near future,
with Corporate or Group membership currently available at the experimental rate
of $100 per year. Members can already
submit their resume to a database searchable to paying employers, as well as
buy or sell classified advertisements.
A partner-operated marketplace is been announced as imminent.
The press release explains Netkot's name as being derived from the combination
of "net" for the Internet and "kot". The latter word is an acronym which, we are
informed, variously stands for "keep on talking,"
"king of town," "keep on top" or "keep on tracking".