AOL launched their "Myspace killer" today, "AIM Pages," so I decided to give it a try. Truthfully, I don’t know if it’ll be successful with so many other social networking services on the Web, but my first impression is that it’s good… Although maybe not quite good enough. In terms of looks, functionality and ease of use, though, it blows Myspace away.
A couple of things I noticed right off the bat: First, users are supposed to be 16 years old to create a page. Second, each time users edit their profile there is a large pop-up safety warning cautioning users to be careful about giving out personal information.
Creating a profile involves smart use of CSS and takes place all in one main window with smaller pop-ups in which users modify information and upload photos. This setup cuts down on load times and enabled me to create a profile in minutes. Users can choose from several templates which all look fairly nice, although several suffer from cluttered backgrounds, making information on the page difficult to read. Fortunately, these templates are fairly rare.
Another interesting idea is the use of "modules." Each section on the page is called a "module" and features drag-and-drop functionality. It’s an easy way to give users lots of control over the ordering of their pages (I wish this idea was ported over to blogging services to make page setup simple). If you want to display your del.icio.us links? Drag the module over to the sidebar. If you don’t want a photo album on your site? Delete it. Want to put a YouTube video or small game on your page? Drag it to the center. It’s a very easy to use and well-implemented idea.
No matter how pretty or easy-to-use a social networking system is, its "killer feature" must be enabling users to easily connect with other people. AIM Pages seems to accomplish this fairly well and closely integrates AIM, America’s favorite IM client. Users can access AOL’s message boards if they feel the need. Unfortunatlely I don’t know anyone who uses the service (yet), so I can’t really test "adding a buddy" yet.
I don’t think AIM Pages will rise to the top of the social-networking heap. While it’s very pleasant to use and look at, ultimately it’s not particularly innovative. Unlike services like Yelp, Sportsvite and LinkedIn, which each bring something unique to the table, AIM Pages is more of an "improved Myspace" than its killer.
Edit: If anyone wants to see my profile, it’s here.
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