AOL embraces social networking

'You've got social networking!"

No, you won't hear that when you log onto America Online, but the "six degrees of separation" craze has arrived in the AOL universe. More specifically, it's arrived at ICQ Universe, a service recently launched by ICQ, which is owned by AOL.

Social networking, popularized by sites such as Friendster, Ryze, and LinkedIn, allows you to meet people with connections. Think of it as a personal introduction service in which the people you meet know someone you know. Linking up in these so-called "trusted communities" has become a hot way for job seekers and business types to network, as well as for strictly social interaction such as finding a date or new friends.

According to Yael Givon, ICQ's director of marketing, ICQ Universe is the first service to pair up instant messaging with social networking. AOL acquired ICQ (as in "I Seek You"), the first widely used instant messaging service, in 1998. As a worldwide service with 8 million active users and more than 175 million registered users, ICQ draws a wide mix of people from around the globe.

The company's new ICQ Universe (universe.icq.com) uses an animated graphical interface to visually map out your "six degrees." So it puts a graphic of you and your particulars (name, age, profession, number of people in your universe) at the center of your network, with images of friends, family, and colleagues in orbit around you. You can upload a photo of yourself or use one of the cartoon-like mugs available in the Universe's image gallery.

In the nice-touch department, as you mouse over your contacts they slowly move forward or fade into the background, and you can highlight anyone in your universe with similar interests. So if you're a graphic designer you can visually spot other graphic designers in your network. Other sections allow you to read messages and search the Universe by name, country, or by an ICQ number.

When you click on one of your contacts the screen switches to their network view, so you can see their info as well as all of their buds. Along the bottom of the screen "bread crumb" navigation keeps track of where you are, making it easy to jump back one or more levels or quickly return to your own universe.

You can tag someone as a friend, relative, or even a nemesis. And while it smacks of high school popularity contests, there's also a short list of not particularly informative characteristics you can affix to a contact such as "ambitious" or "cool." More useful is a "testimonial" section where you can vouch for your buddies.

Tacking on instant messaging gives AOL a boost in the hot social networking scene. At other sites you communicate with your network of friends and colleagues via e-mail. The instant gratification crowd will probably love the way IM is integrated into the Universe. An indicator shows when your contacts are online, although they can cloak their presence. To IM, you simply hit a "message me" button, which launches ICQ instant messenger.

Users of AOL's Instant Messenger can now message ICQ users and vice versa.

Interestingly, ICQ has chosen to make ICQ Universe an invitation-only service. That means you have to be invited in. If you don't know someone on the inside who can issue an invitation, you're only allowed limited access through a browse function. However, unlike another invitation-only site, Orkut, which is affiliated with Google, ICQ Universe lets potential members hang out in an area called the "Lobby" where they can make a plea to "recruiters" looking to issue invitations. Guests also have access to chat rooms.

Although AOL provided a test account for me to check out the site, I also created my own. I ended up cooling my heels in the Lobby for almost a week before receiving a rejection. Having to beg to get in is a little humbling, but this type of arrangement maintains a connection between all of the network's users.

Frankly, I'm not sure of the value of all this exclusivity, particularly when you're giving "strangers" the chance to get in through a "lobby." Other sites either stick to invitation-only or allow anyone to join and set up their own network.

While ICQ Universe wasn't built for business networking, Givon thinks it's possible some people will use it for that purpose. The site's colorful look and feel is clearly intended for social interaction and it will probably appeal to a younger audience. Most ICQ users are under 30, connect to the network at least five hours a day, and are into activities such as gaming, downloading music, and online shopping, according to the company.

Business users should check out sites like LinkedIn.com, Zerodegrees.com, and Ryze.com, which offer tools and services meant for that crowd. LinkedIn, for instance, allows job seekers to enter detailed employment info and does a nice job of automatically finding people who work in your industry or area.

As of last week, about a week after the official launch of the site, about 5,000 people had joined ICQ Universe. Several thousand more were waiting in the Lobby.

It'll be interesting to see how the social networking phenomenon fares. Like many online services that sprang up during the dot-com boom, social networking is drawing investment dollars and acquisitions, but it's a business in search of a revenue model.

Whether you jump into social networking for business or pleasure, you'll currently find dozens of free services out there, including ICQ Universe, which is ad-supported. A few companies are charging small fees for features such as advanced network search, but for now it's still pretty much a free networking lunch.

Michelle Johnson is a freelance writer. She can be reached at mijohn@mail-me.com.