I don’t love Facebook. I use it but I don’t love it. It is too open for my tastes… even with the privacy features cranked up.
I like Twitter and find myself using it more and more. It is open but feels like there is more, or at least different, control you can have on who sees and can respond to what.
I love Yammer and use it for communicating with both the Gear Diary team and my temple clergy staff. I love that it is a closed system and only the people we want to have access and see the communications do. But Yammer is, at times, too closed, not flexible enough, and it isn’t as reliable as you’d expect for a paid service.
So imagine if you took the best of all of these, the ubiquity of Facebook, plus the Tweetiness of Twitter, plus the closed system of Yammer… and mixed them all together. Then imagine that you added some neat features like precise GPS locations, voice notes, picture and video sharing and more. The result…
Telenav’s new iPhone app MyTies.
As TeleNav explains
Unlike web-based social networking sites, MyTies will not publically show information to anyone outside of a user’s chosen groups. In addition, MyTies reverses the current practice of selling and sharing users’ personal information with advertisers, and does not connect to third party networks. MyTies reduces unsolicited content through enhanced privacy settings that enable users to specify individual and group preferences.
“MyTies restores privacy and gives users full control of their personal network and the information they choose to share among the various groups of people that make up that network. It creates a direct communication environment between groups of people by enabling users to easily identify the specific group they want to privately share information with.”
What makes MyTies different is that you can create closed groupings of people and share information with just those people. Having a party? Create a group of those people who will be attending. Have a school work group? Make a group of just those members. Etc.
MyTies lets you…
Control Your Information – MyTies users can privately update their status, content or location without those outside of the specific group(s) they select seeing the information. When a user leaves a group all of their posted content is permanently deleted from MyTies within seven days.
Share Content Without the Web – MyTies leverages the iPhone’s address book and users’ contacts to establish groups, and is not dependent on web-based user profiles.
Reduce the Clutter – MyTies only sends and receives information from your contacts and does not show postings from irrelevant users, game sites or corporate networks.
Easy Group Communication – Keep teams, groups and family members updated with in-app or SMS group messaging. For example, users can announce and map a meeting via group messaging.
Location-Based Updates* – MyTies allows users to tag postings on a map with an exact location for added context. Depending on the user’s preferences, MyTies can also show where your closest friends are on a map.
Get Turn-By-Turn Directions – MyTies provides static turn-by-turn directions to any group member’s location-tagged posting.
Privacy Protection – MyTies will not sell personal information to advertisers, enable internet-based searching or allow anyone outside of the user-created group to view information.
I’ve been trying the app out for a few days and see some big potential here.
I know what you are thinking… Do we REALLY need another social networking service? No. Well, actually, that is a qualified “no”. No, we don’t need yet another social networking platform unless the new service is easier, more flexible and more secure to use.
MyTies has the potential to be just that.
The full Press Release follows.
TeleNav Launches a Free, Location-Based, Private Social Networking App for the iPhone
MyTies allows users to privately share information among specific groups while mobileSunnyvale, Calif. – Nov 2, 2010 – TeleNav, Inc., one of the largest global wireless location-based services providers with more than 16 million subscribers, today announced the immediate availability of MyTies, a mobile-only, private social networking application for the iPhone. MyTies allows iPhone users to leverage their personal address book and contacts to create multiple private networks by inviting contacts to join and form groups. Users can form separate groups based on whom they want to share information with, for example, a group of co-workers, a group of family members and a group of college friends. This multiple-group structure allows users to easily choose which group or groups can view their messages, photos, videos and location information.
“Whether it’s our mobile turn-by-turn product or our connected navigation product for automotive OEMs, TeleNav is focused on adding value to people on the go,” said Sal Dhanani, TeleNav co-founder and vice president of products. “MyTies transforms the iPhone into a location-aware, private group communication tool.”
With one third of Americans worried about how much information is available about them online,[1] MyTies recognizes the privacy of direct mobile communication and gives users the power to turn their contacts into an interactive network. New users will be allocated a number of initial free invitations to create private groups and in the future, additional invitations can be obtained through in-app purchasing.
Unlike web-based social networking sites, MyTies will not publically show information to anyone outside of a user’s chosen groups. In addition, MyTies reverses the current practice of selling and sharing users’ personal information with advertisers, and does not connect to third party networks. MyTies reduces unsolicited content through enhanced privacy settings that enable users to specify individual and group preferences.
“MyTies restores privacy and gives users full control of their personal network and the information they choose to share among the various groups of people that make up that network,” added Dhanani. “It creates a direct communication environment between groups of people by enabling users to easily identify the specific group they want to privately share information with.”
From moms sharing family photos to colleagues collaborating on a project, MyTies provides users with control when disclosing information by combining an easy group communication system with a high level of privacy. MyTies includes the following features:
· Control Your Information – MyTies users can privately update their status, content or location without those outside of the specific group(s) they select seeing the information. When a user leaves a group all of their posted content is permanently deleted from MyTies within seven days.
· Share Content Without the Web – MyTies leverages the iPhone’s address book and users’ contacts to establish groups, and is not dependent on web-based user profiles.
· Reduce the Clutter – MyTies only sends and receives information from your contacts and does not show postings from irrelevant users, game sites or corporate networks.
· Easy Group Communication – Keep teams, groups and family members updated with in-app or SMS group messaging. For example, users can announce and map a meeting via group messaging.
· Location-Based Updates* – MyTies allows users to tag postings on a map with an exact location for added context. Depending on the user’s preferences, MyTies can also show where your closest friends are on a map.
· Get Turn-By-Turn Directions – MyTies provides static turn-by-turn directions to any group member’s location-tagged posting.
· Privacy Protection – MyTies will not sell personal information to advertisers, enable internet-based searching or allow anyone outside of the user-created group to view information.
iPhone users can create a MyTies account by downloading the application and registering a name, phone number and e-mail address. The application uses credits, called “Invites,” to allow a user to ask others to join a MyTies group. Each MyTies account comes with 10 free Invites. In the near future, users can purchase additional Invites to add more members to any group for 10 cents each. For a limited time, the first 5,000 users to redeem the promotional code, “PRIVACY”, within the application can add an additional 20 Invites for free.
MyTies is available immediately on the Apple App Store for the iPhone 3G, iPhone 3GS and iPhone 4.0. To download MyTies to the iPhone, please visit the Apple App Store at http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/myties/id386406672?mt=8. For more information on MyTies, go to http://myties.com, twitter.com/my_ties, or follow us on Facebook.
*Phone must have GPS capabilities enabled.
About TeleNav, Inc.
TeleNav, Inc. is a leading provider of consumer location-based services (LBS), enterprise LBS and automotive LBS. TeleNav’s solutions provide consumers, wireless service providers, enterprises and automakers with location-specific, real-time, personalized services such as GPS navigation, local search, mobile advertising, mobile commerce, location tracking and workflow automation. TeleNav’s technology is available across more than 500 types of mobile phones, all major mobile phone operating systems and a broad range of wireless network protocols. TeleNav’s service providers and partners include AT&T, Bell Mobility, Boost Mobile, China Mobile, Cincinnati Bell, Ford Motor Company, NII Holdings, Rogers, Sprint Nextel, Telcel, T-Mobile UK, T-Mobile USA, U.S. Cellular, Verizon Wireless and Vivo Brazil.For more information on TeleNav, please visit www.telenav.com. Follow TeleNav on Twitter at www.twitter.com/telenav or on Facebook at www.facebook.com/telenav.
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