by Brian Solis

I received an invitation from Lee Oden to jump into Yahoo’s new Mash social network and while I reserve a more in depth post for later, I definitely wanted to take a moment with you to share some initial reactions.

First, Y! Mash is cute. Yes, cute. It’s more related to Myspace than Facebook, so its not a river of relevance or an online hub for your personal brand – at least not in business anyway.

Like Facebook however, it shares a compartmentalized design template featuring modules that can be moved around to create the profile design you prefer, including the ability to upload backgrounds, CSS stylesheets and also to simply customize the colors.

In fact, I’d think of it as a Myspace for dummies ;)

Why?

It’s painfully simple to customize your profile and there are already several applets to further personalize the page, and, even add some fun little games for viewers.

And if you’re into Tamagatchi style pets, you’ll love the little mash pet you get to feed and take care of. WOOT!

OK, but seriously, you can edit not only your profile, but your friend’s pages as well – hence the Y! mash.

It also features the ability to bring in modules, which are basically widgets that add embeddable functionality and fun to each page. For example, you can add RSS feeds, Twitter status, flickr photos, Last.fm artists, and Youtube videos – among many other games, time wasters, and tools.

Mash also features a “pulse,” which is similar to the newsfeed of Facebook, to highlight the latest updates and activity from you and your friends.

Surprisingly however, the social network is missing the viral functionality of searching for friends. The “search” box on each profile is simply for Yahoo search.

If you’re looking for me, here’s the direct link.

Mash is currently in Beta, but if you’re looking for an invite, jump over to InviteShare.

More at TechCrunch, PR2.0 and Social Days.

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About the Author:

Brian Solis

Discussion

    no imageAndrew Mager (Who am I?)17 September 2007 8:30 am

    Great blog post. I like Mash a lot.

    Rate this:
    3.2
    no imagejeana (Who am I?)23 September 2007 7:45 am

    I’ve heard about Mash .but can’t check it out.U have to be invited so how do u know who is on it,how do we get to view it …can u give some info please.

    Rate this:
    2.2