[lbo-talk] Snubster

Doug Henwood dhenwood at panix.com
Thu Apr 6 06:05:31 PDT 2006


[from listmember and very occasional poster Geert Lovink, via nettime]

<http://www.snubster.com/>

New Anti-Social Networking Site

April 5, 2006 11:25 a.m. EST

Mary K. Brunskill - All Headline News Contributor

(AHN) -- Online social networking sites like Friendster and the extraordinarily popular Myspace typically ask their users to list stuff they like -- their favorite bands, movies, books, etc. -- so they can forge a connection with like-minded prospective friends. A new online social networking site launched last month, Snubster, is turning this idea on its head. Snubster can more accurately be described as an anti-social networking site -- its goal is to bring people together through their hates.

Members of Snubster focus on what irks them. Their lists are composed of people or things that invoke their anger or distaste. Popular targets of their disapproval: President Bush, guys who talk at urinals, and bologna.

Snubster also allows its users to snub via e-mail. The site has a tool for sending an e-mail to people newly added to the list to tell them why they're being snubbed.

Software engineer Bryant Choung started Snubster as a satire of online social discovery services. However, it is bringing people together -- Snubster users surf each others' hate lists and sometimes get in contact.

"It has developed into a sort of community atmosphere," Choung says. "It seems as though people find entertainment and connections in finding other people that hate the same things as them."



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