Taste networking

Taste networking, also called value networking, is a specific mode of social networking that uses personal tastes as a basis for making social connections in an online environment.

Whereas the majority of existing social network services use schools, workplaces, geographic locations or pre-existing friends to connect users, sites that use the taste networking model use tastes and values. Assessing users’ preferences in any number of areas (the model’s pioneering site, MyTrybe covers the full spectrum of arts and entertainment categories: music, film and TV, gaming, the visual arts, and so on, plus a variety of lifestyle topics: food, travel, fashion and news), taste networking services connect users based on their similarities. The theory behind this model is that it allows users to make more personally relevant social connections than does the standard social networking model. By using more granular tastes and values, that is, rather than the broad commonalities implied by membership to a school, workplace, or the like, this model is able to make high-quality, individually tailored connections.

One major advantage of the concept is that it allows for the seamless integration of both online social networking and content delivery. Within a taste networking environment, content has a particular relevance: social connections are made based on substantive preferences that can be expressed and tracked easily through content. And, since users are already filtered by their preferences in this model, content can be easily personalized as well. MyTrybe, for example, is a dual service, offering both social networking and social bookmarking platforms. It offers users the chance to network with others based on their shared taste, and to get personalized content recommendations through that network (called a “Trybe” in this case).

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