Orem company aims at new form of social networking

Four Utahns have launched a trial of a new social network, one they hope will bridge a gap between those like Twitter and Facebook and the desire for real time, in-depth discussions and information.

Tribalfish.com this week opened itself up for beta use to anyone who wants to try it. It describes itself as “redefining how users complete discussions typically started [yet limited] on Twitter, Facebook or Google+. Tribalfish replaces existing blogs and forums with a long-form content environment.”

The social network was started by Lyle Ball, Chris Crabtree, Brett Haskins and Corey Young, who all have backgrounds in Utah high-tech companies.

“Social media are really good at capturing the attention of new audience members,” said Ball, CEO of Tribalfish Inc. “But when you get into a social media tool today, it’s hard to have a deep discussion. You can tweet on Twitter, you can post on Facebook, you can start to have a discussion on Google+ but there’s a point where you really get into the discussion and there comes a point of frustration: Either this has to become a phone call or it has to become an email thread.”

On the other hand, the providers of blogs and forum software haven’t added tools to help harness the strengths of social media, like connecting and interacting with new people, he said.

“So Tribalfish solves that gap or solves that space between the strengths of social media and the strengths of long-form software like forums and blogs,” Ball said.

Tribalfish allows users to create longer posts that are formatted and that can include graphic elements. It also allows for users to connect their social media accounts and blogs. Crabtree, the company’s chief technology officer, pointed as an example to a blogger who linked posts to a Tribalfish account.

“Anytime he posts new blog entries, they’ll automatically get posted as new topics on Tribalfish,” he said. “It’s a new way for him to expand his audience.”

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The system also allows users to track all of their activities and topics they have expressed interest in and immediately see who is responded to anything you have posted.

“A lot of people are active in different forums across the Web at different sites,” said Crabtree. “It’s hard to keep track of exactly which topics you’ve posted in and who’s responded to your posts. This is a single place you can go and track all of your activity on all topics you’ve published throughout the whole system.”

Beta user Paul Harper, of Orem, said Tribalfish provides more freedom than other social networks for participation and discussion.

“Twitter’s obvious limitation is in the character limit. Facebook limits you by the culture of its use and its interface,” he said in a post on the site in response to a query. “But here, with the large space for viewing stories and posts, I can put a lot out there without people feeling like I’m flooding their space.”

Another user, Richard Esplin, of Utah County, said he already uses Tribalfish as a search engine because he feels that Google limits his selections by profiling him and tailoring the search results.

“Based on my geographical location [Utah County] and my operating system [Linux], Google makes a lot of assumptions about my religion, politics and technical interests,” he wrote in a post. “When I want to get a bead on what the rest of the world thinks, I add it to my ‘Interests’ in Tribalfish and browse what comes back. I’m usually surprised by what I see.”

Users also can message each other privately and have private discussion groups.

Beyond individual users, Tribalfish also is being used by businesses or other entities or even family groups that want an internal-communications system that can be up and running quickly, said Ball.

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