Mash! Playing catchup with Orkut

Mash! A simple Google search of the term throws up references to an Online game & a 1970 film on the top.But Nah...i am not gonna talk about them. The Mash i am talking about is the new Social Networking offering from the Yahoo! stable. It aims to challenge its more illustrious siblings like MySpace, Facebook & yeah Orkut.

Well, until now, Yahoo! was nothing but lame when it came to Social Networking, what with it's hugely unsuccessful Y! 360 offering. But Will Aldrich, the project head for Mash promises to change that.

Few knew what Mash was until last month as it was available only to Yahoo employees as a closed beta service, but a New York Times journalist was accidentally informed about it. Two dayslater, on September 14, the invitation-only beta version was launched. I,like hundreds of others ( 415 to be precise ), left a plea on Mash team leader Will Aldrich's blog for an invite.

With a plethora of Social Networking pros vying for attention, what does Mash! have that would impel me to make that unlikely shift from Orkut? Aldrich has the answer.

Mash is a new approach to online profiles, Aldrich says, adding that there are some new twists that make things a little interesting and a lot of fun. It allows you to make starter profiles for your friends and you can leave your profile open for trusted friends to add stuff you usually would'nt. Now how dangerous can that be?Leave it to your imagination. In short, think Wikipedia, which millions swear by but many don't trust because it can be changed by all and sundry.

You may therefore get up one fine morning & find your Mash profile tweaked by your next door neighbour, albeit with your permission.The main section ”About Me” has questions like If I were an animal, I would be.... Other fill-in-the-blank questions include The soundtrack of my life, What's most likely playing on my iPod, Something I can't leave home without, and My celebrity look-a-likes.

And there is no Scrapbook like in Orkut; it's a Guestbook.The fun part is you have your own little virtual pet which you can feed, smack, poke, jab or kill if you get too bored with it. Aldrich says Mash still is very raw with many bugs & has a long way to go.

The big question I am asking is why would I switch to Mash, and believe me I am not alone. While trotting Aldrich's blog http://blog.mash.yahoo.com/ i have found people commenting on this very subject.

Perhaps, only time will tell!!