In The World Of Social Media

Social Media may be a phenomenon but it certainly isn't a fad. Year on year as Internet usage grows and more and more people become connected through high speed broadband, the amount of people using Social networking channels increases in huge leaps. While most of this growth is concentrated in the high profile, established social networks such as Facebook, there continues to be growth in new niche networks designed to cater to a singular commonality between users.

Two of the most interesting new social networks to spring in the last month are FSID's Bubbalicous and Jean-Luc Thiébaut's Connosr.


Bubbalicous

The Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths (FSID), who are a cot death charity, have just launched the social networking site Bubbalicious for teenage parents. The network has been developed and designed by digital marketing agency Neoco, and is primarily aimed as a place to find advice and tips on safe sleep, for both mums and young dads. Users of the site can chat to each other, upload photos, win prizes, and take part in a 4-level baby-care challenge. Participants of the challenge, if successful, are the title of "Top Dad" or "Big Sister". This in turn allows them to give advice to other parents on the site.

The site launch comes off the back of recent survey results released in August by the Office of National Statistics, which show that mothers under the age of 20 are over 4 times more likely to have a baby die as a cot death than older mothers.

Joyce Epstein, FSID's director, said: "Sadly, the latest research shows that teenage mums have the highest rate of cot death, but we think that many are missing out on safe sleep advice. We developed bubbalicious after consulting with young parents across the country, and we really hope that the support available on the site will help improve the life chances of the UK's most vulnerable babies."


Connosr

Jean-Luc Thiébaut, a web developer and whiskey enthusiast, has launched the independent website Connosr as a social network for Whisky drinkers to call their own. With a simple aim of breaking down the snobbery and barriers in the whisky world, Connosr offers members a Google Map of where each whisky comes from, whisky-related event listings and discussion boards.

As a site add-on, members with iPhones can access a mobile version of the site, allowing them to pick whiskies and post reviews while at the bar. Ultimately users can then create a wish list of whiskys they would like to own. This of course can then be shared with other users. The site has been built with the open-source CMS system Symphony.

Thiébaut said: "Connosr is a buzzing social space for a new generation of web-savvy whisky enthusiasts - an antidote to the stuffy image of whisky being an old man's drink."