Multiply Hits Next Version, Ads More Multimedia Features

First there was MySpace, then there was Facebook, and even though the company was born right around the same time as the other two, Multiply hasn't caught fire the way the other two dominant social networks have. While tech industry knee-jerk reactioneers might think of the company as "yet another social network," the company isn't exactly sitting around waiting while the users magically come out of nowhere. Today, the company rolled out its latest iteration, which focuses on more of the multimedia and privacy features that have come to define Multiply. Rather than a catch-all party-promotion music-mashups hotspot, Multiply CEO Peter Pezaris says Multiply has always been focused more toward the digital mom who's looking for a way to share and organize photos, in addition to other regular social network mainstays like wall posts, blogging, and other expected activities.

Should TechVi viewers use the network? We don't expect the social network to replace Facebook, MySpace or LinkedIn for daily use, but taking a quick peek at the interface and prevalent privacy options, it's clear that this service might find use with parents, or family members who have young children.

Using the site, Multiply seems to lack the early-adopter polish of Facebook. For instance, when I tried to import my contacts from GMail, either all of my friends were on the service (not the case), or multiply seemed determined to spam them, as asked me for hundreds of relationships, rather than adding people who might have already been on the service.

Beyond my total inability to find friends on the service, which is likely due to a mix of target audience and not enough time spent in the persuit of said friendships, the interface takes a pretty simplistic approach to sharing media, and thankfully sharing videos, pictures, links, events and the like with people outside of the Multiply network seemed to work fairly well.

If the tortoise and the hare taught Multiply anything, it's that slow and steady will eventually win the race. For his company's sake, I hope the fable holds up well, because while the company hasn't beat any of the "biggies" like Facebook or MySpace, they're at least trying to differentiate in a crowded, and well publicized field. Multiply 4.0 seems to be on the right track, but hasn't hit blockbuster status just yet, which might be the way privately minded users want to keep it.