Cloud27.com - A Social Networking Alternative

Can’t get enough of social networking sites? If that happens to be the case, and you can’t rest until you have given every single one a spin, then the next spot you must direct your browser to is the Cloud27 website.

Cloud27 is a social site that has been built atop an open-source platform that goes by the name of Pinax. One has the feeling that this network has been put together to showcase what this platform can do, but it still has all the basic functions we expect to see in any social site. These include the ability to connect with peers and share pictures and bookmarks, engage into forum discussions, collaborate on projects such as wikis… you get the idea.

As it is commonplace, the main page lists some current members and some active groups (they are termed “tribes” in the site’s parlance). You also get to see some of the latest tweets that were produced by users of the site, and the same goes for blogs that are kept by fellow socialites.

It goes without saying that you don’t have to pay anything to register, and you don’t have to furnish information that proves a certain standing either. This is not a private network like the recently launched Affluence. You can join it anytime if that is what you want, and if for any reason you are dissatisfied with other networking options you might give it a try. It does what a network has to do in a satisfactory manner. Just don’t expect any trailblazing features, because you will be disappointed.

“Cloud27 is an early-beta social networking site built on the open-source Pinax platform. It is a demonstration of what Pinax can do out-of-the-box but is also a rapidly growing social network in its own right with many more features to come.”

Social networks always attract a certain degree of attention, and while this one has no radical features it touches upon all the basic points.

What other uses can the Pinax platform be put to?