New social network Unthink: First thoughts

Posted by Jessica Schilling October 25, 2011 at 3:05 p.m.

After months of buzz and speculation, after an oh-so-trendy promo video that made the rounds on YouTube, after months of waiting for an invite, we're finally in to the beta rush for new "liberated" social network Unthink!

Well, kind of. Actually, not really. But we did get to play with the long-anticipated, much-maligned alternative social net before it collapsed under its own weight this afternoon. For about 15 minutes, much of which was spent watching Firefox spin its little "Loading" icon. And here you have it: the social network that is going to Fix Everything. Maybe.

First look: Unthink by jessicaschilling

All sarcasm aside, it's got to be said that Unthink's got a pretty messy user interface, particularly compared to the early days of Facebook. (Let's ignore the current Facebook-in-transition UI mess for the time being; if we assume that a new social network will start simple and grow in interface complexity from there, well, Unthink has some issues already.) The whole modular "portal" layout feels a lot like iGoogle, which itself never really took off but is reflected in hundreds of dashboard-style welcome screens for every web-based app imaginable. But what's this "Lifestyle Tree"? And what's with the old-school news ticker at the bottom of the screen? Oh, and apologies that the ticker in the image above is obscured by my Mac OS dock; when I went to snap another screenshot, it was too late. All I got was this:

Unthink server error by jessicaschilling

Looks like exploring Unthink may have to wait a little while until they get some server load issues worked out. Not exactly an auspicious start.

That said, it sounds like Unthink might hold some promise. Privacy controls are out in the open - everywhere, almost to the point of repetition. Default sharing settings lean toward the private rather than the public, a contrast from Facebook's tendency toward releasing privacy updates that require manual user action to return to previous settings. And if nothing else, there are bound to be new features included in Unthink that, if they don't give Big Blue a run for their money, will at least inspire Facebook to ape something similar in a future rollout. (Google+ circles, anyone?)

We're curious to see if anyone else has played with Unthink yet. Got a screenshot you can share, or just general opinions? Let us know in the comments.

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abrock0202 (anonymous) says…

I find it pretty disappointing that after months of speculation about this new and "improved" social network they can't even keep it running for a solid 24 hours. I thought the purpose of the user codes they sent out was to keep it from getting overloaded to quickly, as well as to add some mistique to the new social network that so little was known about. Clearly there is plenty of interest and people trying to explore the new site, but its server load issues are mildly ridiculous. I the most I have been able to do is put in my information to sign on and watch a little spinning icon. Not the best start for something that was suppose to cause sucha huge social media revolution.
October 26, 2011 at 2:58 p.m.
jessicaschilling (Jessica Schilling) says…

We're still in about that same place; I've managed to update a few bits and pieces, but nowhere near enough to really gauge the new network's potential.
October 26, 2011 at 3:05 p.m.