Social Discovery Site Offers Twist On Networking Concept

By K.C. Jones
TechWeb Mon Jul 17, 8:54 PM ET

A Seattle company has launched a social networking site with a twist.

Instead of encouraging users to list their friends, former Microsoft and Amazon developers are encouraging Blue Dot's new community to link to products, services, articles and other Web content they like. The free "social discovery" site allows users to discover things about one another and look up their friends' referrals and recommendations online.

Users can use a thumbnail image from the source Web page, add comments, categorize content, and create and rank Dots, or links, to other Web pages. Once saved, the Dots are organized in Blue Dot's searchable online collection of personally selected content. Blue Dot can be integrated into blogs or other social networking sites to keep pages fresh with little effort. The site is similar to Digg and Jookster.

Mike Koss, former Microsoft developer and Blue Dot investor, said through a prepared statement that the site has enabled him to learn from his friends and about them. Kabir Shahani, whose official title is Dot Connector (public relations), said he uses the tool to keep in touch with people.

"By Dotting places I go and things I find interesting on a daily basis, I've found a great way to maintain relationships with people I don't see often," he said through a prepared statement. "It's like to time has elapsed."

Once a user registers, an icon with the words "Dot This!" appears in the user's toolbar. Clicking on the dot automatically saves the link with personal comments and a thumbnail.

The first Dot was created September 19, 2004. More than 2,000 users have tested the product in Beta. The company launched publicly in July. Developers said Blue Dot raised about $1.5 million in investments and the site can support millions of users. Backers hope the word "Dot" becomes a household term.

Developers distinguish their community from other social networking sites like MySpace by encouraging the exchange of "interesting information, not personal information."

The company states that it does not share any personally identifying information with third parties. Blue Dot protects privacy by allowing users to limit access to their pages.