Even though Yahoo continues trail Google by a considerable margin in users of their Yahoo search engine, the California-based company continues to do well in other areas, including their flagship Yahoo Network. But now Yahoo is trying to make inroads into the growing online social networking craze with a new site called “Kickstart.”
Kickstart is being described as a social networking portal for college students desiring a more professional online presence than either Facebook or MySpace can offer. With Kickstart, Yahoo is trying to bring a new dimension to social networking, by focusing on current college students and recent graduates. The idea is that students can use the Kickstart service to locate internships, jobs, or just to get general career advice.
Like Facebook or other social networking sites, Kickstart invites the user to create a profile, including information on their university, present internships or jobs, and interests. There is even a section to include an online resume.
Overall, Kickstart pages look much more professional than either MySpace or Facebook, and assuming the user has some experience to help fill up the page, the user profile can really help to sell a candidate for a job or internship.
But Kickstart isn’t all business; the site appears to be striving for a balance between a professional online portal and a casual network. For example, Yahoo advises users to “keep your social profile fun, but your professional profile polished.” They also encourage users to upload professional photos since, “your future boss may see this.”
With Kickstart, Yahoo is attempting to make a social networking portal for “grown-ups,” while still recognizing that college students also want to have fun. But can Kickstart have it both ways? In other words, can users present a professional and polished image and still maintain a casual, friendly social network. The verdict is still out on this question, but so far Kickstart at least looks like it strikes a fair balance beteen the two.
Yahoo’s other social network, “Mash” is still under construction, and is available by invitation-only during its beta testing stage. Unlike Kickstart, Mash is much more of a straight-on social site, which encourages users to contribute to their friend’s profile pages and play online games.
But if Mash is all fun and no business, Kickstart runs the risk of becoming all business and no fun. For example, under the “Top 10 Reasons to Use Kickstart,” on the Yahoo site, nine of the 10 reasons listed are about career development. Useful? Yes. Fun? I guess we’ll just have to wait and see…
