Buddypic.com - Picture forum & social network

Yet another social networking based on the pictures of yourself you upload, only this one is made up by US teens, where all users get to rate each other and check out who's hottest, and have the chance to browse users by "newest" or "hottest", and thus figure out who you want to chat or debate in the forum with. You don't get access to most of the content in the site unless you are a member, but you do get to see the pictures (after all, that is what the site is about). Unlike similar sites, buddypic.com's side features are overall not too exciting, since you don't get personalized profiles, blogs or interest tags, which in turn means that the site does not fully work as a social network, rather a site where you check out who's looking hot and who is not.

"Q: What exactly is a moderator, and how do I become one?

A: A moderator is a person who has been chosen, by the staff, that has shown that they have the ability to do the job. This only occurs when the site is in need for new moderators, please don't ask to become one, if you're a candidate, we'll see you. Asking may diminish your chance at becoming one. A moderator goes through the forums, checking threads, helping people, keeping everything in order. They are the rule enforcers."

"Q: What if I don't like my username anymore and I'd like to change it?

A: You can't. With as many members as we have, and the people in the forums, everyone changing their usernames becomes a hassle. People are known by their usernames and if they keep switching, everyone will just get confused and not know who is who. So unless there's a really good reason for it to change, please just keep the one you have, it's not going to kill you."

The fact that this site pinpoints its audience and tackles its interests –however uninteresting they may seem for more mature users— with utter disregard of other productive social interchange ensure that it keeps being a teen-only site, and thus provide for its audience specifically what that audience is looking for.

The huge amount of twin-like competitors this site has to face with make the odds of it becoming a killer startup quite meagre, specially taking into account its age-centred outlook. Plus, the poorness of its design deems more sophisticated interfaces like Facebook or MySpace much more interesting and appealing. Will the hot guys and gals at buddypic.com take a look at its competitors and see what they can learn from them?