When privacy matters
Social media has gone mainstream, and even your grandparents know about Twitter and Facebook, which has given rise to a thirst for privacy, and a desire for people to find somewhere that is not open to people outside of their family or close circle of friends, as the mega social networks can feel quite loud and invasive.
In 2011, AG introduced you to Path, an iPhone and Android app that documents your lifestream, that limits users to 150 friends/connections, and emphasizes sharing real-time information about yourself that you might not otherwise share to the public. With a gorgeous interface and user experience combined with the speed and privacy, the social network is a popular option for communicating socially with your real friends.
Your Path network can be a small, private network of you and your five best friends or just you and your family, with the added bonus that your Path “stories” can be shared on your social networks (Facebook, Tumblr, etc.) if you choose to make that specific video, photo, map or update public. Like Instagram, photo editing tools make your update look hip, a major draw of the app.
Path 2.5 – major upgrades
Path has announced version 2.5, which comes with better photo and video sharing, offering photos that now span the full width of the screen in your Path home feed, new filters have been added, and you can now take a photo by touching the volume button, while one tap on the photo screen begins video recording “so you won’t risk missing the moment.”
Thew sign up process has been streamlined, and Path has added a feature to suggest people for your friends and family to connect to, while invitations on Path are “even more personal” now, as users can record a voice message along with the invitation.
Path users can also simply share what movies or books you are reading, just like many apps offer music sharing. The company says you can get access to movie reviews and actor and author info right from your Path, adding that “It’s our hope that these additions to Path allow you to watch and read what your friends are watching and reading.”
The company continues to expand their offering as they grow to one of the largest private social networks, and among the only to truly allow personal sharing.
